Finally got my first BSA and need some help!

Hey , well I finally got my first bobber and it happens to be a BSA! the bike looks great but needs some cleaning and a good rebuild! The bike came with a lot of paper work and many manuals! Ill have my 71 norton to ride around while I tear the BSA down so I have plenty of time to work on it, does anyone know any info on good conversion kits that are recommended? I know there are new products out now that replace 40 year old technology. If anyone has any info of parts, gaskets, seals or bearings that I should convert over please let me know, any tips or tricks for this bike would be very helpful for me! here are some pics!



let me know what you guys think, by the way, I go it for only $1,400

The unit twins were very popular in sidecar racing, but only after the timing side main bearing was converted to a proper journal bearing, and the crank converted to end-feed (per Norton and Triumph).
Devimead and SRM in the UK are/were the people to do the conversion, but I don't know about the US.

I had a '68 Lightning which locked the crank solid on the motorway due to oil starvation, and I wouldn't entertain another one unless this mod has been done - it didn't recall it having any particular main bearing rumble before it let go, so not easy to say when it would happen...

Funny how the older A7/A10 twins had a smaller diameter plain bearing, but were OK in this respect.

Otherwise, everything else was pretty good.

You made a very good buy lots of work went into this. First let me say that you need not worry about changing the stock bearings and oil delivery system on a BSA as it comes. With just an oil filter added to the return line they will do many miles. The A-65 motor needs to rev to produce good power much more than a Norton. You do not want to lug this motor. Learn to love RPM's nearing 5000 at a study pace it has the rod ratio to take that and the stock cam is hot you will feel it kick in. With a duel carb bike mileage will not be your strong suit. But third gear will have you doing the ton beating on even modern bikes. Make sure the carbs are well sorted spend you time and money there first. Oil filter second. These days with our gas an E.I. and leaned jets are a must. Clean up the wiring people who do these customs often fail here.
I can't see you effectively winning races on a bike built like this and a bearing conversion should not be necessary, they cost a lot because they are a lot of work as you will see. Get the bike running well and hold it at 7000 RPM if you fall in love with the feeling proceed with money gun a your wast. These pictures were taken just a week ago at Ed V's shop of his very well thought out bearing conversion. Main case modified :

Oil pathway modified:

A pocket added to the inter side cover:

A quill added to the crank:

A two piece sleeve to run in the new bearing:

If it's piece of mind your looking for You will need to get out the wenches and an indicator to check the state of the fit were the timing side of the crank meets the bushing that supplies the oil to the whole lower end. It is wise to use that same indicator to check the end play of the crank at the same time. Do a lot of reading there is tons of good info on all this stuff. I recommend you do a search on Brit Bike .com in the BSA section under the author richB that will lead you down the right pathway. There is something like 40 pages of good reading buy many folks just on this site. Welcome to the world of BSA.

That's an odd fish! Rigid rear, modern disc brake front.

It has a good look, although I'm not a "saddlebag" kinda guy...

When the pipes are a good fit and braced well you can loose the finned clamps totally for a cleaner look but but at least I would be changing them back to stock clamps. JMO never cared about this particular butt jewelry.

Looks like the builder moved the rear brake over to the shifter side Flat tracker style I would consider moving it back to the other side Myself. So that you could shift the gears with a linkage that is purpose built and stop the bike with the left foot as we know to be the correct way.
I would also consider finding a rear frame loop off any old BSA and re-working it to hep support the fender using the notch in the tail light housing as BSA intended and graphing the other ends onto the new hard tail.That's a lot of moment arm hanging out in space shaking away in the wind. I did a similar thing here but I shortened the stock loop and you would be leaving it longer.

Greg, it's got that fender strap underneath the saddlebags carrying a reasonable amount of the load...

Yea I would give it 30 days of riding be for it broke in half. There was a reason for all ten bolts in a stock fender. Easy to say till your ass is sliding down the pavement. Sorry, I darn near lost a buddy to this very cool factor two years ago. As always do what you want you will anyway....Your mileage may vary... But a fender that breaks away with the tire spinning in the direction of the rider is bad JU JU all day long.

I get the feeling Norbsa likes these A65's.
I have had 2 Lightnings & a Thunderbolt, & they are bloody lovely bikes, & various A10's as well.
I have replaced a few timing side bushes, for myself & friends. Never had a problem with them provided it is done correctly.
Personally I woudn't bother converting to roller, but of course the decision is with the owner.
Too many of these bushes are bodged up, then, of course, they are a load of crap.
The A65's are a remarkably quick bike for a 650 when sorted out properly.
I have been contemplating getting another one for everday use to replace my Yamaha, & japanese bikes don't really interest me. The only thing that has stopped me is that the gear change is the opposite way round.

Greg, I agree about stuff jammin up rear tires at speed being "bad JUJU"...

...don't ask how I came to that point of view, it wasn't funny.

1400!?!!?! awesome deal... only thing I don't like about it is the seat. Would look better if it was a little lower and more sleek

hey guys im sorry , i forgot about this post, so last week I changed out the clutch / primary cover seal and now it dosnt leak anymore, I also changed out the valve cover seal too because there was oil all the way up there and it was draining down covering all the engine fins. I hooked up the battery a few weeks ago and kicked it over and the battry got knocked over and arched a spark and caught the wires on fire, I replaced them and now when I hook the battery up the left side coil gets hot and theres no spark coming out of the left spark plug but the right side pug sparks. could the coil itself be bad?