BSA Super Rocket Photos

My A10 seems to be running well. I got about 150 miles on it now.
I took the break in oil out and put sae 40 in, torqued all down and did valve clearances and put on the red tank that Brent painted (thanks Brent). It starts first kick every time.

Only issues are:
Brake light not working right
Tacho not working for some resson
It’s smoking, but that is getting better as rings bed in,

I like poodling around on these little back roads here.

Looks like a sister bike to mine Jerry, same small tank and all. Mine isn't nearly as shiny & perfect looking though!
Back roads are best on these old solid mount parallel twins.
We have some quiet old country roads to the south of us in Washington State.
I might venture down there on the SR this summer.
This SR is definitely happiest at speeds of 60 mph or less.
If I recall correctly, you had your SR crank dynamically balanced?
Have you tried the bike at speeds above 60 mph and, if so, how were the vibes?

My SR gets pretty buzzy at 70 and that is after raising the gear ratio about 15% above stock.


The fellow looking at it had fond memories of his 56 A10 Road Rocket, a very similar bike to our SRs

Hi Glen, your A10 looks great.
I was surprised with that tank as it holds nearly 2 1/2 gallons. So far I have not gone much over 50 MPH. I am paranoid about something going wrong, It’s really smooth up to 50. The gearbox is smooth. Once I get these little issues sorted out I will feel more confident on it. The riding position is comfortable. After I parked it up a bit of oil has dripped from behind the primary. I can’t tell if it’s the breather or the primary. I think it’s coming out of the crank breather back there and possibly related to crank pressure due to rings not sealing or crank breather timing is off. It’s got an SRM oil pump, that seems to work almost too well. I am really hoping the rings will bed in a bit as I get miles on it. Thinks are improving after todays ride for sure.

It’s a beautiful bike, but the reality is that I have 2 commandos and thruxton as well. I am not sure how much I am going to ride it. For now I am going to keep riding it in the little roads around here, but it might end up in the living room, to be honest as I love looking at it. Around here people drive like nuts, so I am best/ safest on my other bikes.

I think I might need to change the gearing as well. It’s a bit long in the tooth. If I am serious about riding, then I might put a belt drive in the primary. Will see. I am surprised it does not stop too bad and brakes are getting better as I ride it more.

The funny thing is when I raise my left hand to signal, these silly people in their cars think I am waving to them, no clue.

Jerry

Same up here, for most rides you need somewhere around Commando power and speed as minimum.
The Norton 650SS is also a useable bike with good passing power and a reasonable vibration level at 70 mph. It needs a few more revs than the 850 when passing, but it will get up and go. The performance difference between the 650ss and the 650SR is shocking, as on paper they should be very close. I also tried a 650 T120R a few years ago. From memory it was similar to the BSA in terms of performance and vibration.
I got off the Vincent Rapide and onto the T120 so perhaps that was the problem. The Vincent twins have very long legs!

So far I have only used the BSA on short local rides and will probably continue to use it that way.
The hand signal problem is universal as well!

Glen

Was out yesterday on the 1969 RE Interceptor. Very much like as you describe. Vibes start at 60 mph. No indicators.
Avoid heavy traffic. Great on the B roads. Very much the go to bike for a local ride. Otherwise the Commando beckons.

A10 looks amazing Jerry. I hope to see it again in person sometime soon. I'll be racing my A10 this weekend with AHRMA at Thunder Valley on the west side of town if you want to come check out some old bikes. We have a good group of Triumphs and BSAs that will be out there.

AZMatt said:

A10 looks amazing Jerry. I hope to see it again in person sometime soon. I'll be racing my A10 this weekend with AHRMA at Thunder Valley on the west side of town if you want to come check out some old bikes. We have a good group of Triumphs and BSAs that will be out there.

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Hello mate, that sounds fun. Can you text me more details? We got to get caught up, cheers

Jerry Doe said:

It’s a beautiful bike, but the reality is that I have 2 commandos and thruxton as well. I am not sure how much I am going to ride it. For now I am going to keep riding it in the little roads around here, but it might end up in the living room, to be honest as I love looking at it. Around here people drive like nuts, so I am best/ safest on my other bikes.

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Perfect bike for riding around Oregon...

My impression of the Portland area was that it is an excellent area for riding.
I spent two days riding there with another fellow who was also on a Thruxton R. We were so intent on the fast riding that we didn't really see the place.

I would like to go back with the BSA, perhaps trailer it down, and do some more leisurely riding.
There is a lot of beautiful countryside and many quiet old roads there.

Glen

Rockets are beautiful bikes. Been thinking I might try to find one. Perhaps a difficult question, but how are parts availability on 1961-63 Super Rockets?

Another dream bike would be a A65 Lighting Rocket but I'm pretty confident that's well outside my range, even if I found one for sale.

My restoration took some effort and time due to parts. For example I purchased 3 gearbox mainshafts on eBay and they were all bad. It took me ages to find a new one, which is the only way to get a good one it seems. There is a lot of Asian parts available, but I was able to avoid them. Parts in the US are definitely getting more difficult to find.

I had no fastenings for my cycle parts. It was difficult finding the right sizes.

All worth it now. I will do a super rocket movie soon. It goes surprisingly well…

Jerry Doe said:

My restoration took some effort and time due to parts. For example I purchased 3 gearbox mainshafts on eBay and they were all bad. It took me ages to find a new one, which is the only way to get a good one it seems. There is a lot of Asian parts available, but I was able to avoid them. Parts in the US are definitely getting more difficult to find.

I had no fastenings for my cycle parts. It was difficult finding the right sizes.

All worth it now. I will do a super rocket movie soon. It goes surprisingly well…

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Your bike is beautiful, definitely something to shoot for if I decide to embark on restoring one. Your MK3 was inspiration for mine when I started on it. Given it was my first British restoration it presented a host of problems however parts and knowledge provided here wasn't one of them. That said, I'm encouraged by "All worth it now". Thanks for the feedback.