1961 BSA Super Rocket Rebuild

I thought wow the tank has fan stencils on it, previous owner was a nutter!
What is the story on needle bearings in the swinging arm? Got some part numbers for us?
 
Maybe get the correct cover from Leighton and then have a local shop do the foam and build?
 
You need to obtain a new cover and replacement foam, then send it to nearly any upholstery shop.

The guy I used in Laredo for a dozen years could build foam using just the pan & cover. I could get his address and send it to you. I'm certain he would charge between $75 - $100, plus postage.

I always gave him photos of the best examples i could find, so the final shape would be assured.
 
grandpaul said:
You need to obtain a new cover and replacement foam, then send it to nearly any upholstery shop.

The guy I used in Laredo for a dozen years could build foam using just the pan & cover. I could get his address and send it to you. I'm certain he would charge between $75 - $100, plus postage.

I always gave him photos of the best examples i could find, so the final shape would be assured.
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Thanks Paul, I asked some friends in the Norton club and apparently there is someone nearby, so that is where I am going first. Leighton in uk said they can do it, I would have to ship the seat base to them. Will see how it goes.

I should be getting the motor back soon, that’s gonna be an exciting moment…
 
Jerry Doe said:
Thanks Paul, I asked some friends in the Norton club and apparently there is someone nearby, so that is where I am going first. Leighton in uk said they can do it, I would have to ship the seat base to them. Will see how it goes.

I should be getting the motor back soon, that’s gonna be an exciting moment…
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Leighton has nice covers and foam. Have bought several from them and had local guy fit them. Last couple I did myself and looked good in the end. Leighton cover for my Commando had lettering too high on seat back.
 
After much thinking I could not be bothered to ship my seat base to Leighton. I got a couple of quotes to build a new seat on the base in the US and the cheapest quote was $450. I was able to find the right seat at Baxter for $350 new. It’s going to work out well. It feels good to get the commando work done and get back into the bsa.
 
1961 BSA Super Rocket Rebuild
 
Jerry Doe said:
After much thinking I could not be bothered to ship my seat base to Leighton. I got a couple of quotes to build a new seat on the base in the US and the cheapest quote was $450. I was able to find the right seat at Baxter for $350 new. It’s going to work out well. It feels good to get the commando work done and get back into the bsa.
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$450 for reupholstering 1 frigging little motorcycle seat, yikes!!

Not advice or a criticism just a thought: If that seat material is glued and stapled to a fiberglass base, you can use pop rivets to hold the material down a lot better than staples after the material stretches from use. The staples eventually fail in my experience with a couple of seats. Re-stretching the material down over the base and using pop rivets really works well. However, it might take 20 years before the staples start to pull out, so you have a lot of time to think about it. :)
 
My Super Rocket came with a good looking seat that felt like had a granite lump in place of seat foam.
At that time Leighton's still offered complete new seats so I ordered one of those, about $400 CDn shipped.
It and the Vincent Rapide seat are the two most comfortable motorcycle seats I have sat upon.
I had the Vincent seat recovered a couple of years ago. The cushion is a product from the 1960s called Dunlopillow. The upholsterer said it was still in perfect condition. It doesn't crush or go hard like most seat foam.
Whatever type of foam Leighton's are using is also extremely comfy, although I doubt it last like the Dunlopillow.
I'm 67 so, that probably won't be a problem!

Glen
 
I have the original base and might send it to Leighton later. This project is costing a lot, so for now will see how the seat from Baxter’s works out.

One dilemma I have now is with the clutch cable. The earlier gearbox inner case has the clutch cable threaded adjuster down at the gearbox ( no adjuster at the bars). The later Super Rockets, like mine did not have the adjuster at the gearbox it was up at the bars. I did not know about this when I rebuilt the gearbox. I used the wrong inner case for an earlier a10 with the adjuster. I had a few gearboxes and they all have the threaded adjuster on inner case. A lot of work went into it, so I will probably keep it like that. These kinds of things throw me over the edge.
 
Shot in the dark... Is the threaded abutment superfluous/wrong on the cable entry, adjustment having been moved to the lever?????
Plunger vs Swingarm??
 
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EstuaryBoy said:
Shot in the dark... Is the threaded abutment superfluous/wrong on the cable entry, adjustment having been moved to the lever?????
Plunger vs Swingarm??
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You are exactly right.

The 1961 Super Rocket had the adjuster up on the handle bars and the earlier A10s had the adjuster at the inner G/B cover like you see on mine.
I did not know about this when rebuilding my G/B and selected the best G/B inner cover that I had out of 4. When I found out, it was after I already had a new Lay-shaft bush made (inner cover) and had the original Lay-shaft turned down to match. I am not a complete purist, although I try. Bottom line is my bike is going to have the adjuster both at the bar end and G/B end as I cant be bothered to open it up again.
 
worntorn said:
Well I'm signing off.
If you are going to be one of those Double-Adjuster Neanderthals, there's no hope.

JK, it looks fantastic.

Glen
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Doesn’t everyone have adjusters at both ends of clutch, brake and throttle cables?

Neanderthal Man actually had a bigger brain than Modern Man. That was their downfall- they got too smart for their own good.
 
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