Britbike forum Forums General discussion The Rod and Tappet BSA is back - Return of a legend

New bike routine maintenance? chain , adjusting the valves , oiling any cables and tire pressure.....You won't be chasing oil leaks and light bulbs .And reading forums here, the majority of problems are the AMAL carbs and ignition....No carbs or points on newer ones.And the electronic ignitions available for classic bike , overall, don't seem as reliable as OEM...
But I don't care for bikes heavier than 400 pounds and or bulky like the modern Triumphs...
Contrary to some opinions you can service new stuff is not afraid to learn and use proper tools..

It will be heavier due to the balance shaft, starter motor and larger battery for the electric start.
If they built it without electric start and balance shaft, they would sell next to none

Spec sheet for the “new” BSA

Sounds like something I would be interested in buying depending on price. Glad they went with spokes on wheels and a big single would be fun and hopefully sound good to. Listening to the fellow sounds like they don,t want to stray to far from the classics, not till they are established anyway. Maybe they will bring back a modern triple rocket. He said sensibly priced, hope they are looking at enfield prices and not triumph.Maybe these guys can pull it off,wish them luck from an old BSA guy in Canada.

Hi GrandPaul; the new street twin 900cc Triumph; is not so incredible regarding my 79 model. Not good forks; not so good high speed; looks a bit more crude; not so good clocks. Nothing that an old model do not have or beat.

We will have to wait and see. I’ll stick with my Victor. My son is working on a project that will make an electric vehicle sound like any combustion engine machine. It can make a Tesla sound like a Shelby Cobra. Seems stupid to me, but they have a gob of funding. The future is going to be weird.

IT looks rather like a double or even triple wall pipe
You have to go double wall on big singles to pass the drive by noise tests
Apparently a lot of noise radiates out from single walled tubing
When they converted the XT 500 to the SR 500 they had to use double wall tube for the exhaust
Could have been worse, they could have wrapped it

Fairly sure the punched plate ( yes it does look cheesy ) is just a stying strip.
The real intake will be under the seat for the same noise abatement reasons
And is it just me or does that seat look a bit on the thin side ?

That part is like a real BSA, then

Picture of the LH side

45HP, 450+ lbs.

A bit heavy, and a bit weak.

A lot will depend on the price.

I do NOT like modern "plank" seats, cue taken from "brat" bikes. NO, no no.

Actually mate, I’m 46 and much prefer my 1970 B25.

A couple or three questions

Presumably this is the prototype?
Is there a production facility in operation somewhere?
Is there a dealer network?

...I am a designer (not bikes) and from here looks perfect. They had the eye to try to please many but that is impossible.
The bike looks like an old BSA but in steroids due to what Andy Higham mentioned and as you have been seeing; happens the same in all the cars and bikes. Compare a new BMW with the old ones; a new HD; a new Triumph a new Ducati etc Compare a luxury house with mid 50s luxury houses...
The power is limited but at 6000RPM is fairly good to ride at 115-130km/h constant speed. That is ok for a non fairing classic style bike.
DOHC is pretty good. Do not know why Triumph and HD do not use that. Husqvarna; KTM; Kawasaki et all have most of their new engines DOHC; With a single that is even more important.
I bet that this engine is very elastic in the middle range.
However; I do not see a market for this motorcycle or I see a very reduced market.

Not too sure about that ... Every motorcycle group I watch has 10 or 20 posts about the launch... The word and excitement is out there.. Of course just like here , there are plenty of naysayers but id say more people seem to have positive outlooks on it... So I think it will do well as long as the dealer network and service and price point all fall into place.... And the bike rides as good as it looks ....

I would have liked to have seen the launch in person. The range of BSA History on display looked impressive

You have got to be joking. The old T140 wont beat the Hinckley Speed Twin on engine smoothness, torque, power, top speed, reliability, longevity or roadholding thanks to the cartridge forks. Regarding the BSA range, every manufacturer is producing retro models so there will be a demand for the new BSA's.

What have you got against John Bloor? He started the rebirth of the British bike industry (Triumph is the British bike industry)) no need to discuss the crook(s) that were running Norton, but the Norton brand is up and running though no longer a British bike like the Enfield's and now BSA's all being produced in India. But the country of origin has as much relevance to the quality of the product as does the brand. I don't know why people get so nostalgic over something that reminds them of the past but apart from the badge and styling, has no history.

Well the launch bike looks reasonably good, although I can't say I like the massive radiator, although I do understand it's a trade-oof between styling and the desire to glean ore power out of the "big" single. The question in my mind at this point however is whether or not that 650cc single is going to be available in the U.S.? Seems there have been plenty of times in the past where single were marketed everywhere but here

Hi Chris the camper; I am not joking; did you checked the street twin? in those aspects that I mentioned? Did you ride one? Is an expensive bike that offers too little in these times; if I sell one of my 79s to buy a new Triumph; that is definitely a no no. Is like buying a R Enfield 650; no upgrades. Good for the guy that want the same feel.
T120 1200 or better speed twin 1200 with the other tuning, is stronger; but the change is to buy a thruxton 1200 R; the same engine than the speed twin but real better forks.

I haven't ridden a Street twin but I have ridden a 1979 T140D, low mileage and standard. Engine vibration limited the cruising speed to 50mph. The front forks are primitive.

REMINDER
This is a thread about that BSA IS BACK!

SP how was the do
Good food & booze
Don't suppose they gave you a test ride

The bulky exhaust pipes on this RE and most other new bikes is to enclose a catalytic convertor..and the noise factor....

Hi Tony; the convertor is between the frame tubes (down under) in most bikes and yes, the pipes are for the noise factor that the Euro laws demand. In many cases, is not a wider pipe but 2 or 3 layers inside (like the classic Japanese bikes to avoid blueing chrome.

--Chris the Camper--50¿? man that is a very very bad T140. I ride mine at cruising speed of 115 125km/h for long commutes. Thousands of km it has. No vibration at those speeds. Crankshaft was not dynamic balanced. I dismantled the other day and saw.