Engine but no frame

I've got a spare engine and roadholders but no frame for it. Recently, a BSA A10 frame came up for sale in my area. Does anyone know if a norton engine can be rigged to fit in the A10 frame?

You don't say what engine - Norton twin?
If so, maybe

You mean a NorBSA? https://wesellclassicbikes.co.uk/products/norbsa-flat-tracker-special-1959
This one is in a B31 frame, but surely an A10 frame would be even easier?

pretty sure I saw a Commando motor in a BSA A10-type frame at Kempton, and it looked fine.

jan nelder said:

pretty sure I saw a Commando motor in a BSA A10-type frame at Kempton, and it looked fine.

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If it's the same one that I saw at kempton it also had the full isolastics ,it's been discussed on here before
Also there have been a few commando engines rigidly mounted in A10 frames
So the answer is a definite yes

The engine is from a 1962 88 SS. I have had no luck locating a featherbed frame, aside from buying a repro. I also have access to some pre-OIF unit Triumph frames.

When it comes to Norton engines, a '62 88 SS engine seems like it would be a good candidate for a BSA frame. Some would argue that a Commando engine could only be transplanted if the isolastics went with it, because of the crankshaft balance factor.

Many years ago I showed some photos of Pete the paints bike. Pete managed to fit the bottom iso into the Bsa frame. It ran a Seeley drum front brake. I must try & find the photo as it was so well done that people didnt notice it was a Norbsa.

Fritzer_108 said:

I also have access to some pre-OIF unit Triumph frames.

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That would make a No-Umph …

I guess you aim at building a road going bike. Although I dislike the huge size of the frame, finding a slimline frame or even ordering a repro frame is your best choice of building a bike with the least hassle, the best looks, and financial value. Parts can be ordered off the shelf. By using a Commando trans and some ingenuity, you could incorporate an electric start from the outset.

- Knut

Non plus ultra?


A Seeley Mk2 frame from TGA is half the cost ...... even a G50 frame is cheaper ..... but the above has more stiffness and ruggedness.

- Knut

I have the front half of a N15 frame. No paper work, but when I tried to register with the state, they said it was not stolen. That I would have to take the completed bike to a state patrol office for inspection and then would be given a HOME BUILT title, not a NORTON title. I quit the project then.
In post number Eleven of this thread I discuss it abit more: https://www.advrider.com/f/threads/66-matchless-g15-and-soa-eagle-sidecar.1435574/ PM me if you are interested.

Yes the Scramble lads use the A10 frame, with just about any type of engine. I’ve toyed with putting a single in there for pre 60 races.

I built a Tribsa using an A10 BSA frame and a 650 Triumph engine. There eas a tank mount which hangs down from a top rube on the frame. It stabilises the tank. I think I removed it. My Tribsa had 1963 Triumph fork yokes and it's handling was better than my 500cc Triton which replaced it. One of my mates also built a similar Tribsa, but used the BSA A10 fork yokes - it scared him shitless. It did it's antics at about 70 MPH.

Devondan said:

Yes the Scramble lads use the A10 frame, with just about any type of engine. I’ve toyed with putting a single in there for pre 60 races.

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Not because I own one, if you are serious about road racing, a Mk3 Seeley frame is the best way to go. It is the lightest while still being strong. A unit Triumph frame might not have enough room, and a BSA A10 frame is heavier. I followed my Seeley frame for about 2 years before I tacked it down and bought it. But I could not get the Laverda 750 motor it was housing when I raced agaisnt it. It had taught me a lesson about handling when the idiot who was riding it crashed me. What he did was impossible with any Triton or Manx. He rode around me in a high speed corner then braked in front of me. My drum brake tossed me.
The Seeley frames were way ahead of anything else in the 1960s. People who believe in featherbed frames are kidding themselves. I have ridden an original Manx and my Seeley - I know which handles better. A really good guy on a Manx might be somewhere near me in a race, but never in front.

DO NOT RACE IN A DRUM BRAKE CLASS, even if your bike has disc brakes.

Paper work / titles and Registration are a hurdle with this type of build, that's for sure. Cj

Bandit frame

In most jurisdictions, the laws allow allow for production of vehicles ouside of corporations. In Australia standardised design rules apply to every vehicle, and certification by an engineer is required. The cheapest emginerrs' certificate is $2000. But if a motorcycle is older than a certain number of years the rule does not apply. Something which has a different frame but normal engine and gearbox can be registered faily easily.
Many years ago In Melbourne, there was a kid who got a lot of publicity about his hot-rod car. He then bounced it off a rockery which was in the centre of a divided highway. The car flew apoart killing both him and his passenger. The laws changed in every Australian state.
There is still provision for producing your own vehicle, even though we no longer produce cars in Australia and only ever produced one type of motorcycle in a factory..
We do not usually have laws which discourage development.

acotrel said:

In most jurisdictions, the laws allow allow for production of vehicles ouside of corporations. In Australia standardised design rules apply to every vehicle, and certification by an engineer is required. The cheapest emginerrs' certificate is $2000. But if a motorcycle is older than a certain number of years the rule does not apply. Something which has a different frame but normal engine and gearbox can be registered faily easily.
Many years ago In Melbourne, there was a kid who got a lot of publicity about his hot-rod car. He then bounced it off a rockery which was in the centre of a divided highway. The car flew apoart killing both him and his passenger. The laws changed in every Australian state.
There is still provision for producing your own vehicle, even though we no longer produce cars in Australia and only ever produced one type of motorcycle in a factory..
We do not usually have laws which discourage development.

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What caused the kid to crash the hot rod?
And why did the car fly apart?

I think that kid was just an idiot. He was doing about 100 MPH on a main road in a Melbourne suburb in a car. And that was just after he was in a newspaper and on radio selling his bullshit about hot-rods.
Some guys fantasise a lot about speed. When I was a kid, we used to do those sorts of speeds on motorcycles and a lot of my friends died. But with that hot-rod, it was all the prior publicity which made it so bad. From memory, one day he was promoting a hot-tod show, and the nect day he and his mate died, in one which flew to pieces.
My mate up at Glenrowan still works on hot-rods, and often comes up against the need for engineers' certificates.
If you want to build a different motorcycle for road use, it is better to buy a registered donor bike and alter it, than build one from scratch and take it to get registered.
How many cops can look at a motorcycle and recognise that the frame is not standard production ? It would need to look very daggy to be detected.