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• A neverending tale of longing and desire. Story by Lannis
• Polly meets with BSA GoldStar engine shop foreman Story by Barry 'Polly' Palmer
• Do you want a pre-unit or unit twin Story by Barry 'Polly' Palmer 
  (a thought about A10 and A65)
• Restoring and Racing a BSA Dirt Tracker Story by Nick Voge
• The Best Ride by a Dam Site! Story by Bill Melvin
  (Triumph vs. BSA)
• BSA 1965 A65 650 cc Restoration Story by Paul Jahelka

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Rick purchased the bike in 1990 from T&M Cycle in Los Angeles (a BSA/Triumph shop) where it had been gathering dust since its last outing on the Ascot TT back in `72. Its Trackmaster frame, Barnes wheels and Cerrani front forks were standard equipment of the racers of its era. Its engine, a 1971 BSA B50 MX with Clew's performance modifications displaced 500cc. Originally, it powered the Gold Star Scrambler, an unsuccessful attempt by BSA to capitalize on past glories of the more famous DBD34 Gold Star. It was running, but only just. The next two years would see a thorough development program encouraged by steadily improving race results. As a former A&P mechanic who now flies big jets, Rick has the know-how to deal with the demands of a British race bike (His street ride is an insanely fast, stripped down B50 hot-rod which has given many riders of modern sport bikes major attitude adjustments when they discover that the BSA single which just smoked them in the turns also has a top speed of well over 100mph.) In the first few outings, and Rick's first as a racer, the bike consistently finished in last place. It also revealed a strange handling quirk which would eventually be traced to the engine being too far back in the frame. New engine mounting plates moved the engine forward and the BSA began to pick up speed. Further improvements were gained by replacing the old Pirelli dirt-track tires with modern Goodyear's. But, although Rick's results began to improve, the engine was obviously way down on power when compared to the competition. After the `92 season Rick pulled the engine apart for a careful inspection and rebuild. What he found was shocking. The oil pump was only barely working, the valve guides wore worn out, the piston and rings were long gone, and the camshaft was street stock. Like so many older bikes, many different hands had been inside it and their spotty work was all too obvious. Fortunately, the big end was fine, so work focused on improving the engine's breathing. Rick opted to increase the displacement to 570cc using a Venolia piston with a modern 3-piece oil ring. The quality of a cylinder bore job is very important on a race bike. This crucial task was entrusted to Gary Bray, a top BSA tuner at Ascot during the fifties and sixties. To ensure perfect perpendicularity between the crankshaft and the piston, Gary chucked the cylinder into a special lathe fixture and faced square the cylinder base. Mounted on the now true cylinder base for the bore job, this would ensure perpendicularity. (Most shops center their boring tool off the existing cylinder; that's fine if the cylinder is true, but many old British cylinders are not.) While Gary took care of the cylinder, Rick checked that the crankcase's cylinder mating surface was square to the crank. He did this by laying a precision ground bar across the cylinder mounting surface and then using an inside micrometer to  measure between the ends of the crankshaft and the bar (dividing by half the differing crankshaft diameters to achieve a zero). Surprise, surprise, the mounting surface was .007" out of kilter, a not uncommon flaw on old British bikes. A few careful hours with a quality hand file put the mounting surface square with the crank. Like a true master mechanic, Rick was able to do all this with no machine tools or other expensive gadgetry - just careful thinking and careful work. The cylinder head already had big valves and modified ports so Rick's efforts focused an a very careful valve job. The guides were reamed out and special phosphor-bronze linder made by K-Line were fitted and honed to size. This time-consuming process guarantees idealized valve-to-guide clearance and, thanks to special fixtures, ensures concentricity between valve and seat. It also eliminates the need to remove the valve guides, a
process which is not all that good for the head. The valve and seat surfaces were then reground, and the valves were laboriously lapped in with ever finer mixtures of lapping compound until the seats had a mirror finish. To match the larger bore size, a narrow squish band was machined
into the combustion chamber. The most difficult job was installing and timing the cam. Since the machine is raced mainly on short tracks and quarter-miles, the profile from BSA's B50 scrambler model was deemed suitable and the cam was sent out for regrinding. After degreeing it in, the clearances between the piston, valves and head were checked. This is done by placing small bits of modeling clay at various places on the piston, assembling the engine and then turning it over one revolution. The head is then removed and the clay is measured to determine clearance. Needless to say, amateur engine builders often neglect this step with disastrous results. The bike's total-loss battery ignition with points was retained, but the 34mm Mikuni carburetor was replaced with a 36mm Amal smoothbore on a lengthened intake spigot. The bike was then taken out to the desert and run easily along dirt roads for about 50 miles to break it in. Tentative bursts of throttle revealed dramatic improvement - The BSA was fast! In his first race after the rebuild Rick won his heat race and led the main event for three laps before eventually finishing 3rd, ahead of a whole pack of modern bikes, many of whose riders could be seen after the race in Rick's pit nonchalantly inspecting the BSA and shaking their heads in bewilderment. Development continues. Rick thinks there may be a few more ponies in more efficient crankcase breathing and further experimentation with exhaust pipe length. A second spark plug would certainly improve the combustion efficiency of the dated head design. Of course, you could probably find a few people who would prefer he leave it just the way it is.

Story by Nick Voge.

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Hey, I haven't seen so many people of one mind since Jimmy Hoffa presided over Teamster meetings.    The all-British "Best Ride by a Dam Site" was really impressive.  Hundreds of riders on BSA's, Triumphs, Tritons, Ariels, Vincents, Nortons, and Ducati's.  Ducati's? Are they British?  Well, even the teamsters had Italian connections. Everyone met Sunday morning at the parking lot of the Hanson Dam.  There were very few trailers, as most people rode their bikes in.  Then everyone left on a two-hour ride through the winding roads and hills near Angeles Crest.  You couldn't have asked for a more perfect day - sunny, warm, but not too hot, a light breeze, fantastic scenery, and beautiful British iron. The Norton Owners' Club of Southern California put on another great event, supplying maps, pins, and T-shirts to all comers.  The route was well-planned, all the bikes in neat single-file order and driving at the same speed.  (NOT!)  The event IS well planned, so riders leave when they feel like it and ride at their own pace; some slow (if they're on, say, Triumph's) and others fast (if perchance they're riding a BSA Lightning).  All in all, everyone I observed had a great time and rode with respect for their limy brothers. My wife and I (Bill & Marge Melvin) are new members to the BSA club.  We are originally from Detroit, Michigan, and now have a home in Aliso Viejo, California.  We collect old British motorcycles and others.  I started riding in 1963 and Marge in 1965.  Although I started on a Honda step through 50, in 1964 I was racing a Honda Benly 150 at a local Michigan scrambles event, when a buddy suggested I was crazy for riding the Honda and should try a real bike: his BSA Goldstar. The next thing I knew, I was sitting on the starting line in the 500 cc open event next to Bart Markel, and my life changed forever. My wife and I are maybe a little obsessive when it comes to motorcycles.  Let's just say we went through a lot of British bikes in the '60's and spent a lot of time at the race track.  I worked in the motorcycle industry for about 14 years, spending time with Norton, Triumph, BSA, all the Jap bikes and the Spanish.  My interest in British bikes began shortly after riding the Goldstar.  My buddy, Bob, and I began a debate over which new street bike was the ride of choice.  A BSA Lightning was Bob's favorite and I decided that a Triumph Bonneville was the way to go.  We debated, we argued, we almost came to blows.  We both based our positions on hard facts and gut instinct.  The hard facts came from ads and magazine articles, and the gut instincts had to suffice since we had absolutely no first-hand knowledge or experience.  In fact, neither Bob or I had ever been in a Triumph or BSA shop.  I demanded we take a trip to Shores Motors, the local Triumph dealer. Saturday morning, we hitch-hiked to Shores, and I drooled over the sleek and beautiful two-tone paint job of Edward Turner's master creation.  We picked up literature and Bob admitted that the Triumph's had great lines and super paint.  He seemed duly impressed.  Just when I thought I had won him over, he did an about face and swore his devotion to the Lightning.  The battle resumed, and when the kicking and gouging ended, nothing had changed, except the time of day. By around 11:00 PM, Saturday night, Bob's best defense was that if I saw the Lightning in person, I would change my allegiance.  The gauntlet had been thrown and I accepted the challenge.  Shortly after midnight, Bob and I pulled up to Andy Pelc's BSA shop.  We had driven there on the  Honda 150 and now, on a warm summer night, we stood in the dark and stared at the showroom window. Andy Pelc had constructed a large turn-table that revolved at an angle toward the outside.  The slowly revolving disc was bolted to a new, highly polished candy red and chrome BSA Lightning.  Two spot lights were directed from the ceiling down on the BSA.  The BSA twirled, with the chrome and candy paint glistening like diamonds illuminated in the darkness.  The BSA Lightning with chrome side panels, and chrome fenders, was the ultimate macho machine.  The fight was over.
The winner by unanimous decision: The BSA Lightning.

Bill Melvin.

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Well this isn't really a story, just an overview of my Bike (1965 650 cc BSA Lightning)...  And the two partial restorations I did.  (The first was partial due to lack of funds and the second was the "Should have done it right the first time"  restoration.) I bought it in 1975 literally as a (Two) Basket Case.  The case was cracked under the sprocket and the owner had it ALL apart.  I ended up having a buddy heliarch the cases and it didn't take more than 3 hours to grind the bearing seat.... it worked. Since it was tore down already, I put new pistons, rings, bearings, seals etc. The frame was in good shape, but those forks needed attention.  Oh yes, the rear shocks were dry and since they were a uni-body structure, I drilled/tapped a small hole in the base and using a coffee can filled with my best guess weight oil, I sucked oil into those shocks, much like you'd baste a turkey.  Hey, I was only working part-time and it worked.  I replaced the brake shoes with the pads that you re-rivet yourself.  Electric's, bought a battery every year and would put it on charge a few times a month.  Oh, and I painted it Ford Engine Blue and only used 4 spray cans.  It ran, passed inspection and I was proud, it came a long way from those two baskets. Eight years later, I had a full time job so I thought it deserved a make-over. Rear shocks- I actually parted with those modified shocks and got after market ones - Good Idea Forks - replaced weeping seals Handle Bars - Installed kind of a straight bar and nice plush grips looked good Seat - Got a real nice BSA replacement seat cover Tires - Yes, Continentals Electrics - Yes, after market alternator, and rewired the entire bike using Flat Ribbon Cable Carburetors - Replaced the original ones, the original slides were so warped, they'd stick. Exhaust - New pipes, new shorty's, and I inserted the Volkswagen internal muffler into each exhaust pipe (perfect fit) so I could run it W/O the shorty's. (this worked good) Drive train - Chain, sprocket, seals, breaks Frame - Stripped and painted Gloss Black Tank / Side Covers - I had Gary's (Owego, NY) do the paint.  (Great Job, it's 15 yrs old and looks like new paint). Candy Apple Red with several Clear coats and Gold Leaf Lettering/striping. In summary, it runs good, sounds good, looks good and can even perform at night.  Yep, should have done it right the first time. ..... But, things go in cycles, the case cracked again........
Got any cases so I can continue the saga ?.

Paul Jahelka

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