'64 BSA Lightning Rocket - Building Wheels

The wheels on the Lightning Rocket were in vastly different condition front to rear. The front was close to as new condition as you hope to find while the rear wheel was quite crusty. One thing I have learned is to spin the rims to an indicator to see how true they run before breaking them down. It is much easier to check them at this point than when they are laying in parts on a bench.

Overall pretty good shape although a few rust spots through the chrome sealed its fate. 

Pretty crusty....no question what to do here...off for new chrome....

The spokes looked good but were rusted in the nipples. Many broke off upon disassembly. They were discarded for new stainless items from Buchanan's Spoke and Rim. The rims were re-plated as they were not pitted into the base metal to badly and were straight. I prefer to reuse the original rims when possible but I always question this while I am paying for plating and trying to indicate in old rims....

My "custom" wheel prints to guide my assembly. The factory workshop manual also has offset specs.  

The rear rim ready for assembly.

Although the front brake drum was slightly grooved it probably could have been used as is. One thing I have found with 50 year old castings is that they tend to relax over the years which is probably brought on by all of the heating and cooling. Truing them removes the pulse you can experience with these old units. Very little material was removed on this drum which translates into brake shoes that will be fit with minimal sanding.

Skimming the front drum to improve brake performance. 

Building the wheels was pretty straightforward having done the task several times previously. It is one of the parts of the build I find very satisfying. Having taken notes on the wheel offsets, spoke alignment, having photos and another BSA for a pattern made the job a snap.

Lacing the front wheel with Buchannan stainless spokes and nipples.

The rear wheel was laced to .03 TIR which matched what it had prior to disassembly and I could not improve upon it. Spokes were torqued to 30 inch/lbs. I found specs from 22-80 and settled with 30 which was close to my original bikes and seemed quite tight. I think 80 would have been too much while there is a lot of support for 35-55 on the net......The front rim was a different animal. I used "feel" to get the spokes to where they rung and the hub was at the proper offset.  A check with the torque wrench showed them at 24-26 which seemed plenty tight.  

One puzzling thing on the rear wheel was the fact that it possessed threads for a speedo drive. The '64 BSA had an engine driven speedometer while the '65 had a rear hub drive gear. My bike had the transmission gear and the hub drive threads. Odd. The bike was built at the very end of the model year and I believe the combination of parts came from this bike being caught up in the changeover. 

Hidden under the hub dust cover are threads to mount a rear wheel speedo drive. A sign that '65 model year parts were starting to work their way into the assembly line or did someone put on a later wheel? 

BSA used 19 inch rims front and rear in 1964. My newer BSA's used 18 inch rear tires and I was tempted to update the 64. After pondering the situation I decided to stick with the stock rims as the 19 inch rims front in rear on my Norton work well. I also stewed over which size tires to fit. The '64 had a 3.25 front with a 3.50 on the rear. I like the steadier feel of the 3.5 on the front of my Hornet but eventually decided to go with what the BSA folks sent from the factory. A lot of thinking for something so simple. I can't wait to take it for a spin and see how all that pondering worked out.

The brake shoes were fit by taping sand paper into the drum and lightly working out the shoes. I have done this on the bench in the past but find I get better results with the wheel mounted to bike. 

The "marker" cross hatch has been mostly sanded through. 

The brakes are fit and ready for a road test...

Tire dilemma behind me, brakes fit and hub assemblies sorted. 

Time to line up fenders and tighten things down...

The completion of the wheels closes out the majority of the chassis build. Now it's on to the rebuilding of the power egg which is a job I rather like. The LR should be on the road by spring of 2022.....

'64 BSA Lightning Rocket - Chassis Assembly Pt 2

It's time for the BSA to start looking like a motorcycle again. I have sounded like a broken record to my friends during the past couple of years. Each time they come over I tell them about the work I have been doing on my bike and all they see is bits on a rack This part of the process makes me feel much better about my efforts and I will soon have something to show. 

Installing the swingarm & spindle.

The frame was pressed slightly apart to allow entry of the swingarm without boogering up the paint. It is in a spot that will not move much so the swingarm must be close to fitting before adding the jackscrew. The thickness of the powder coat is enough to cause a headache. I will remove it with a grinder next time and coat it with a thin layer of brushed enamel. 

The rear shocks & fender fit and we are now looking a bit more like a motorcycle.

I installed SRM tapered roller bearings on the Hornet front end and they perform well. I am going the same route with the Lightning Rocket. A worthwhile upgrade in my opinion.

 

SRM tapered roller bearings for the steering head.

SRM outer races installed.

The triple tree mounted and ready for the forks.

The Lightning Rocket forks were a bit different than the later BSA's I have rebuilt. They required a new tool to remove the fork seal holders which I found at Baxter Cycle in Marne, Iowa. The bushings also require shims to keep them from rattling which were not to bad to setup. The biggest pain was the circlip to hold things together. It took a bit of fussing to get it in . 

The original fork pieces were pretty crusty....it took heat to break the seal holders loose. 

Parts reconditioned or replaced and ready for assembly.

On the early A65's shims were placed above the upper fork bushing and below the retaining clip. I assembled them without the fork tube or a shim and measured the gap to find the shim needed. A check was performed after assembly to confirm the shims were correct. 

To head off oil leaks an o-ring was used in place of  the "twine" called out in the workshop manual. I also added silicone between the seal and the holder (per the manual) and PTFE tape on the threads. I have had issues here before...trying to head them off. One o-ring worked well and one squeezed out a bit. The PTFE tape should seal that side. If not, apart it will come. 

Installing the circlip that holds the shim and bushing. I pushed one end in the groove with a screwdriver and walked it around while holding the other end with my finger. The green tape notes the location of the notch that aids in its removal. I put one end in this groove to help the next person..... 

Forks loose fitted to the steering head. They will be tightened after working them up and down with the wheel mounted to insure all is aligned. 

Front end assembled and ready for wheels. 

Time to build the wheels.......

'64 BSA Lightening Rocket - Petrol Tank & Side panels

The tank and side panels have been in process for a long time. They were the first bits to get restored but were put on a shelf while I amassed parts for their completion. Parts bought, 5 degrees below zero outside and I have time....

The original panels....a bit tatty....

The Lightning Rocket still sported its original Ewarts fuel taps although they would not open as someone had used gasket sealer to stop them from leaking. They were glued shut and wouldn't budge. WTF?? A short soak in the ultrasonic cleaner broke them loose. They were disassembled, cleaned and reassembled with new corks. Good quality corks work well if setup correctly although I have had issues with them leaking as I drain the gas each season. After several years of drying out and re-swelling the dripping starts. Have extras and buy good ones!

 It appears someone filled the plungers with gasket sealer to stop leaks. Really?!!?? 

Fuel taps cleaned up and ready for new corks & lines.

The ultrasonic cleaner does wonders on these bits. 

Pieced together fuel lines. Not good enough to use "as is" but a pattern to follow.

The fuel cap was in decent shape although a screw had replaced the rivet in the hinge and the seal was dried out. I machined off the swage on the inside of the cap and pressed the assembly apart. Hindsight being 20/20 this can probably be pressed apart without milling. I made a new gasket from cork, installed a felt ring from the rear axle of a '70 BSA to keep fuel from sloshing out of the vent and put it back together with a screw in place of the swage. The handle was re-chromed and a stainless rived was used to make a new hinge pin.

The starting point...

Disassembled and ready for reconditioning.

Swage milled off and the T handle tapped for a screw. 

Making the new gasket

A hinge pin was made from a stainless rivet. 

It was drilled and tapped to accept a tiny screw.

 The cap finished and ready for petrol.

The Lightning Rocket used some parts in common with its older brother the A10. The tank badges are one example. Don't look for them in the spares manual as they are not shown for this model. The badges are held in place with a clip that is fastened with small screws. Nothing difficult here it was just problematic finding a nice set of reproductions. I assumed NOS would be as brittle as my originals and opted to not hunt them down. I purchased two sets of reproductions to get a good set. The good one still needed some clean up. Both sets of original badges were worn beyond use. 

New "Made in England" badges with fasteners mounted. 

Two sets of badges ordered from England. The top set was advertised as "Made in England" and will be used on the LR. The lower set has a very poor finish quality molded inside of them. The country of manufacture was not specified on these. I assumed "Made in England" but most likely not.

Even the "Made in England" badges had issues. A gate used to make the plastic part was top center and looked like Fido's ass.  Tool design 101....hide the freakin' gate!  Why not put it on the bottom?!!?

Molding boogers being polished off. They came out well. 

Looking fine to me.....Time to put it on the shelf until the rest of the build catches up. 

The side panels were pretty straightforward. A set of badges were purchased from the UK and I was told they were the last set that would be available for a long time. Although they doubled the price at checkout I was still happy to get them. The new emblems were aluminum and flat. They were bent to fit an old panel so my new paint would not get buggered up. The same small screws specified for the tank badges are used on the side panel.

The side panel badges formed and fit. Nice design BSA!

BSA used Oddie studs to fasten the side panels to the frame and they work quite well. There are variations throughout the years using different length studs and supporting grommets. The part manual was not to clear on the grommets to use so trial and error was needed to get it fit. I have an abundance of the variations available so this was not an issue. 

After a bit of adjustment to the mounts the panels are fit and looking fine. 

Time to build wheels.