Britbike forum Forums British Motorcycle specific Brands Bsa bulletin board turns out to be a 64 lightning rocket RUNS!!!!!

WOW! She runs!
I'm totally flabbergasted by the sound, it really goes through your whole body.

http://www.youtube.com/user/bmxtobias#p/a/u/0/gyjtqEZe6jw

http://www.youtube.com/user/bmxtobias#p/a/u/1/Nv_n75FVh2Q

you might've noticed the kickstarter not coming back, I will take a look at that tomorrow. This problem occured after I put in new oil
stationary, she is too high in her revs.
A bit of AMAL finetuning I guess.

I took the bike for it's first testrun today.

gearbox works perfect, she shifts lovely and the clutch is also fine.
I hit 100 kilometers an hour thats 60 miles an hour.
After some finetuning with the carbs she would run very low rev stationary (correct word?) so thats also fixed.
some small things though, when I give full throttle the bike first hesitates before accelerating (hard to explain).
Also, the carbs have 2 small holes beneath the inlet.
http://www.britishonly.com/pdf/more/AMAL/Monobloc/guide/guide2.pdf
On the left side, if I put my fingers on one of the holes the bike will go high in its revs.
On the right side this is not the case.
What are these holes for? And why does this happen?

If you are talking about those two holes in the center drawing of the AMAL carb, inside the bell mouth of the intake, DON'T BLOCK THOSE! They are part of the air/fuel mixing effects [ simple explanation ].

Your remarks may indicate the one that has no effect by plugging, may mean you need to take that carb apart, and clean it out...

When you talk about WOT, are you talking about wicking the twist grip quickly? What about when you roll the twist grip open?
This may also be associated with that one carb...

Are there air cleaners on the carbs yet?

The bike looks good! A tail light lens and rear view mirror[s], it looks like you'll be ready for the road!

That is a good looking machine. Here is a picture of my '65 L/R.

Oh well. O.K. Seeing as we're showing off our bikes here's a shot of mine.
Also a '65



Photo taken outside what used to be the local BSA Spares shop but is now I believe a house of ill repute.

Rickman, I will clean out the carbs for the second time. Hope this will fix it.
Last time I used some old guitar strings, they work excellent for al those tiny holes!

Is my bike supposed to have airfilters?
What about this picture?


I'm also looking for these ofcourse :

If anyone has a pair of these laying around please send me a message

And another thing, the electronics in the headlamp are a mess.
Thats why I simple bypassed al that, but now I am trying to figure out how everything in there is supposed to be.
Has anyone got pictures of that?

Brian and M Shearer, those are very good looking lightning rockets! They look perfectly restored! I chose to make my bike in an nice original runner, I'm 17 so there is plenty of time to one day restore the bike completely.
How do those mufflers sound compared to mine? I really like the sound mine make, but I have no reference.
I DO like my bike to be as loud as possible

This one is also nice:

if you are only 17 and have that bike you are lucky at that age i was buzzing around on a Yamaha 80.......keep the BSA a lllooonnngg time you have a treasure

Great news on getting your bike running.
The speedo is fairly std for a lot of bikes from that era , but the rev counter is a 3:1 drive ratio , not the same as a triumph so watch out,
The stock silencers are reasonably loud , but you probably have other things like air filters to spend on first.
Well done
Pod

Tobias,

Good on you for getting the A65D running. And some good pictures of Lightning Rocket's in this thread.

I sent you a diagram via email of the schematic I use to simplify the wiring on those models. Let me know if you have any questions.

Hi Rich,

Thanks a lot, I appreciate that.
You are absolutely right, the electrics are a nightmare to figure out. Even with the correct schematics.
Your version is a lot clearer, you also switched from positive earth to a common earth system is that correct?
Makes it a lot easyer.

I always switch my bikes to negative earth. Makes remembering how it is connected MUCH easier. Most of us have become wired to negative earth. Staying positive earth might be pure for hte purist, but it causes grief for the rest of the world who has become used to negative ground.

Mark, Brian,
REALLY pretty bikes! Better yet, they have the larger tank, which is what I have, unlike the pic that is shown in the factory pics I have. Those pics have the smaller tank, and there is a large space between the seat and tank... NOT pretty at all!
Are both of your bike frames with the full rear loop, or the 'other' "normal" one?
Hmmm, maybe not, Mark, yours has that drated fender loop....

My project started out with A seat, a full loop frame was given to me. Years of gathering parts for what were supposed to be A10 bits, all started fitting EASILY onto this odd frame, and a project was born.... Yeah, right...
But in the mish-mash of parts, a number of them are single carb bits....
I never was able to find a set of twin carb side panels, in any kind of good enough condition, or cheap enough, to warrant their purchase.
But I did find a set of single carb metal side panels...

The pair of fenders [ mudguards ] I have, are both full valenced, of which I frankly like the looks of, better than the valenced on the rear, blade on the front, which is stock for LR's....
The rear one also fits the full loop frame fender brackets, which I understand were unique???

And, the full width hubs in the set of 18 inch wheels I have...

SooOOoo, I guess I need to find a set of cases for a Star, or Thunderbolt Rocket, and peddle my set of LR cases....

The seat I have, looks like the one on Brian's bike.

Tobias,
I can't get that pic you are asking a question about...

Are you using any kind of chemical carb dip cleaning solution? Piano wires are great assistants, but they cannot get all the gunk out of the crevases, nooks, and crannies.... If you don't have a gallon can of carb cleaner, get a pair of rubber gauntlets, and the gallon of carb cleaner, disassemble that carb, if not both of them, soak for about a half hour, hose the parts off over a large cement area [ so you can find all the small bits again! ], air blow dry, reassemble and install.
Your problem OUGHT to be gone....
Lots of machined passages, with block offs, you probably can't get a wire into.... Maybe?

That gallon of carb dip will last you for YEARS.... Great stuff to have around. But it IS caustic....

As far as I know, YES, your bike came with air filters from the factory.

Yep. You're young. LOUD is proud. Gets attention... Do those martini shakers still have the baffle in them, or have they been removed?
Sure, keep 'em, use 'em up, but keep your eyes sharp for a set of stock mufflers...Some day, you will want them.
Brett

Thanks Brett. My frame is the open rear type not the full loop. L/R's should have the open frame. Not sure what you mean by drated fender loop(typo?). Mine doesn't have the tabs on it for attaching a grab rail which I think might be handy at times. Maybe Rich could tell me how this was achieved.
Having the large tank is an definately an advantage unless you like regular fuel stops. They are certainly more common here than the small one.
My seat cover is not original. Probably made up by a local auto trimmer. It was on it when I bought it.
Tobias you should try and pick up some air filters. Central screw mount or offset with hose clamps and adapters are both available. The central screw mounts are easier to deal with I feel.
Good luck. Stick with it.

This was hidden under the red cross in Tobias' earlier post.

Allright all you L/R fans.
Here's a treat for you. This is my Lightning Rocket folder.
Images collected from all over the net for reference purposes.
Don't think I've violated any copyright laws. We'll see.
http://s964.photobucket.com/albums/ae129/MarkCF/Lightning%20Rocket%20Pics/

Mark

The typical LR fender support rail didn't have tabs for a grab handle. And usually unmolested LR's don't have a grab handle, even though some advertising stuff may show one. So not real sure how they mounted the grab handle.

Rich I thought that might be the case. I cant see how a rail could be mounted to my bike. The only other holes are in the forward area of the guard( maybe these were later used on the Spitfires?)The spares catalogue however shows 2 grab rails listed for the L/R's.
Those old BSA guys must be laughing in their graves at all the confusion they have created.

Mine actually has holes for those grab rails, these are only shown on some of the lr pics. I guess it is better to fit a pair
because of all the vibrations.

The bike is really getting pretty now, lots of new chrome working electronics pretty tyres etc
But I can not make any pictures right now because I'm rebuilding the engine.

I'm on a mission to find a speedo and rev, according to the parts catalog I need a 19-2175 as speedo and a 19-2178 rms 3003/02 as rev. rev should be 3:1
Is that correct?
If I check lightning rocket pictures I see this one:

and this one:

The second one goes up to 10.000

Does anyone know the answer? rev up to 80,90 or 100 for my model?
I might have found a set so I really need to know.

80 was standard. 90 was an option.

Tobias:
Peter in Berkel has this one on the shelf for you. Not new but in good condition. When he says it's good you can believe him.
[Click for a pic]

I've got my crankshaft balanced, opened up the slush pipe which looked very clean.
Now, the hard part will start getting it back together.
-what tolerance is right for the crankshaft? It is supposed to have a couple of shim rings (spacers) right? How can I determine how many of them to use (it had none when i opened up the engine)
-the copper bushing on the right side has a small scratch from the inside to the outside.. is this bad? the oil is pumped into the crankshaft via the tunnel in that bushing, that scratch may cause oil leaking out the wrong way is that correct? The bushing seems to fit pretty tight to the crankshaft.
-will the main bearing pop out just by heating it? or does it need a blow with a hammer?

I love progress!

Jeez Tobias! Looks like a new bike.
Glad to see you've stuck with it.
Well done my man!

You came a long way, Tobias. Congratulations.
Do you have money left to get a drivers licence?
If not: I volunteer to ride that bike for you :bigt