Keeping The Rockers Rolling: Switching Gears - '64 BSA Lightning Rocket Restoration

The estate sale that delivered a Series II Interceptor on my 50th birthday also brought me a 1964 BSA Lightning Rocket and several lots of parts. What attracted me to the Lightning Rocket? If you have been reading my blog for a while you have found I have an affinity for BSA's which started in the early 80's. I'm not totally sure why. I just like them. Maybe its the styling which I find appealing, maybe its their mechanical design which I appreciate, or maybe its the BSA that was featured on Kolchak the Night Stalker's "Chopper" episode in the mid 70's. Maybe you saw it? Anyway, the Lightning Rocket was the first Dual Carb A65 head and was the drag bike of its day or so the advertisements and bike magazines proclaim. Made the year I was born, unique styling, a bike with a history that will help make it competitive for shows, and something about it appealed to me. Luckily it went for a price I could afford and ended up in my workshop.

Absolutely terrifying to a 10 yr old kid. "Kolchak the Night Stalker's" headless BSA knight and sword. A bit Lightning Rocket, a bit Hornet, and a bit 70's moto-cross for the jump scenes. A complex set of bikes for a semi-dead guy to bring together.

I have been pondering what to do with the Lightning Rocket since it came home with me. It is setup in touring guise with what appears to be a factory touring seat and grab rail. Not as stylish as the stock look but unique. I think I will lose them to start but restore both and put them on at a later time. BSA did a great job with its factory out of the box styling so lets not mess with it.

The Lightning Rocket as found straight from the shed where it spent many years.

BSA's high performance model for '64. The lightning Rocket.

Details that made the Lightning Rocket break speed records and just a great bike.

As far as originality goes it has most of the parts it departed jolly old England with. The previous owner took it apart and repainted most of its bits at some point coating all of the hardware with gold paint. Why? The last title was from the late 70's. Maybe a disco induced bad decision? I was not a big fan of disco and blame it for everything I can. As with the Interceptor the BSA came from the same small town I grew up in. I probably saw it running about in my early days. The trials rear tire bound with the fender which was probably its final downfall. After reviewing the the setup it appears adding a link to the chain would move the wheel back far enough to provide a fix, although that still leaves a few other problems to tackle.

All of the hardware painted gold....hey, it was the disco era...weird stuff happened.

When it was purchased I checked all of the oils and they looked relatively good. The fuel tank was a bit rusty and the lines were not hooked to the taps. The coils were unhooked which told me there were electrical issues as well as the binding rear wheel problem. A spare dual lead coil was wired into the system, a battery added, and fuel was put into the lines. Three kicks later it was running although very rough. I did not detect any mechanical issues and suspect carbs and/or electrical systems caused rough running. I considered putting it on the road but decided not to do so as the shocks were locked up and the forks had lost all of their oil. Time to move to restoration mode.

The rear wheel pressed against the fender and the shocks completely locked up :(

The wiring had been converted from 6V to 12V and the necessary bits had been added. Another point to ponder, which system to put back on? My plan is to make this bike safe to venture out on longer distances. It will feature the best bits I have found in my past tinkering which should be easy to conceal with the large side panels. I will also use more powder coating this time around as I like its durability. The headlight bucket and rear number plate will be sprayed but all other bits will probably head to the powder coating source.

Not supposed to have one of these I think...

The tank is badly damaged and a well used duplicate was purchased at the Wauseon AMCA meet a couple of years ago. It has one small dent to remove, although it is in a bad spot. Now that "the master of metal" Ross Thompson has retired I am not sure where to go with tank repairs but will need to figure it out at some point.

A bit of an issue.....major dents...not sure who can fix them...research time.

Better yet....get a tank with no dents....this has one small area needing attention.

The front fender is banged up pretty bad. I will try to fix it but will most likely get an original to replace it with. The rear number plate is Swiss cheese and a bit broken up to. The primary cover is cracked and missing its plug cover and screws. Overall needing a few bits but it's a pretty complete bike.

The front fender has dents in bad places....a tough fix but possible.

So now its time to start collecting missing bits, do a rough assembly, then take it apart for restoration. I rather like starting new projects and this is an exciting one I can't wait to get going on.