Not sure I thought I’d get this far today, but here we are. I started today with the foot pegs and pedals as a goal. The right one (gear lever) is still attached—mainly because the bolt/nut is now perfectly round. Definitely on the replacement list. I even wondered if it was reverse thread (still trying to find out), but whichever way I tried, it just sneered at me. I’ll get later to the fact that the gear lever is on the right and the brake pedal is on the left.. total opposite from all our other bikes… hmmmm. Not sure why this just due to the left side driving, but here we are.. discovery.
The brake-side foot peg and lever were a bit kinder. The foot peg nut turned out to be reverse thread (thank heavens for small mercies). The brake pedal, though, came with its own bag of tricks. One wee nut had a cotter pin that had rusted in place—took more finesse than a Glaswegian trying to eat soup with chopsticks. There is also the brake-light switch which is going to need some love and attention.. wonder if it was working in the end… at first glance I’d guess not.
Next came the sheet metal that holds the battery and assorted bits, which of course led me straight into battle with the shock absorbers. Those, in turn, demanded the fender come off, which politely insisted that the rear wheel had to come off first. This BSA clearly has a sense of humour—every step feels like being told, “Aye, you could do that… but not until ye’ve done three other jobs first.”
Looks like a bit of a bees nest in there.. but it and the brackets all came out ok.
The upper bolts for the shocks were tighter than a Scotsman’s grip on his last pound note. Just when I was about to admit defeat, my neighbour wandered by. With the two of us and a hammer (the ultimate Scottish torque wrench), the shock absorber finally waved the white flag.
After that, I removed the wiring harness and then the electrics inside the headlight—the 1960s version of a modern fuse box, except with fewer safety standards and a lot more character. Grips and electrical connectors came off the bars to allow everything to snake through the headlamp.
Now the bike is rather bare (phew), stripped back to a skeleton. Next job is the front wheel and forks—but that’s a story for another day, once I’ve had a strong cup of tea (or perhaps a dram, depending on how the bolts behave).
Man, those shocks are looking tired. Can they be restored or, at least, refurbished to operational status?
I was certainly tired after fighting to get them out. I’m going to have to check them after 50 years of sitting still. Two swap meets coming up in September that I’ll be attending, so having a shopping list started. Need to rig up a way to test them and see if any life left….