Thankyou for keeping BSA alive with that magnificent machine you've obviously lovingly restored - I'm an ex Brummie, now naturalized American but BSA will always be the best for me
54macdog You are correct sir! I have a 1967 650 Lightning Rocket. Been riding it since 1969. Wouldn't trade it. I love my Harley but there is nothing like a British twin.
That Aussie accent confused me. At the end of the video, I thought he said: "No worries. I'll take my clothes off now ..". And I thought, Whoa, no need to go that far. The bike is enough as it is, without gratuitous nudity!
During the sixties in the UK I worked on one side of London, and lived on the other side necessitating a crosstown trip twice a day, on my Super Rocket, which was great fun, every other weekend I rode up the A40 from London to Wales, for Sunday lunch with my Grandmother in Blaenavon, returning the same day, rain or shine. In 1973 I met Wal Phillips, and we started testing his fuel injector on my bike, which I adapted with a vacuum controlled fuel pressure regulator, which cured the traditional problems that Wal suffered with the unit. ( refer to WilliamsPowerInjections.com ) the three day week followed in 1973, and petrol was scarce, so I fitted a Calor Gas 8.5lb. propane tank to the fuel injector, and ran back and forth with the Super Rocket running on gas. I built many A10 based specials during those years, one with an RRT2 gearcluster, which was great for motorways with a 24 tooth engine sprocket , it would easily pull a hundred miles an hour in third ! Your bike is the best that I have seen for years, and if it comes up for sale, let me know at a-williams@outlook.com. Ride safe, and thanks for the upload.
Lovely restoration. My dad had a Gold Flash back in the 1950's but he was continuously working on it as the build quality wasn't brilliant. Your bike looks to be better built than it came out of the factory with all the care you have put into it. If the management at BSA had reinvested and updated design and machine tools etc, they might have survived the Japanese onslaught but that's a well told story now. Thanks for the great video.
Privileged to see this bike in person ,absolutely perfect Alan does great work and is meticulous. Would and will be doing all my work. Cheers Al. Kind regards Greg Brassington.
Well done both for the restoration and the video. I had a 1962 preunit A10 Super rocket in 1967 and sold it in near original condition for..£75. Which was the approximate going rate at the time.Beautiful bike, beautiful sound.Fast forward to the last five years and at 68 yo, am back on the bikes. It stays in the blood! Thank You for sharing.
1:07 "If you've got some idea what you're about", and I'm sat here wondering whether it's a twin or a single. But I recognise a twin leading shoe when I see one (I had a great one on my YDS7). Absolutely magnificent bike. The alternator is a great addition, I hated flickering 6v electrics.
You've made a superb restoration, sir! She is lovely and runs like she had just come off the production line. I have a question, please: why do 180-degree parallel twins idle like V-twins? I have noticed that with vintage Triumph Speed Twins, Enfield Interceptors and Norton 650 SS's.
That's an interesting question. They are 360 deg twins so should have a smooth even exhaust note. The burdump - burdump - burdump sound is probably due to ignition timing variance between the two cylinders. A bit like the syncopated sound of a steam engine. Lovely!
Possibly the most attractive bike I’ve ever seen. You’ve done a wonderful job on this machine, it’s an absolute credit to you! You’ve got me thinking hard about trying to find / build one myself now!
My wife has one of these (1959); but it's infinitely better because it's tatty, got faded paint, dirty under the guards. The crank is modified and oil is filtered and it has panniers fitted. And a good mileage on the clock. We're going to fit a "Wader" mag' and modify primary drive sealing so it can cross deeper fords and rivers. Perhaps I should post videos and/or pics of it in use.
Had a 1959 mode utterly reliable did not have leaks as others claim did 70 miles a day in all weathers only complaint was inefficient rear brake . Took in for an mot at 90,000 miles and the workshop Forman took one quick look and said there is nothing wrong that and wrote the certificate out, 😊
What is the compression ratio 9.5 or 10 to 1? as a guess judging by the hard kick required to get the kickstart to spin the engine! A few mates "back in the day" fitted 10.5 to 1 pistons and they used to kick like that and on occasion took flying lessons over the handlebars much to everyone's delight!!! As good a BSA as you will see anywhere in the world! Well done.
Great video - right up to the bit near the end where we had a lengthy conducted tour of the path running from back to front of house in a somewhat unsuccessful attempt to get shots of bike on the move , then back along the path again. Feel well informed on flora along route and impressed with neat paving work. Just kidding ! Have a genuine '62 RGS (RRT2 box) , originally a US export but returned to UK twenty years ago - fitted with clip-ons it's a great handling machine and totally reliable. Your Super Rocket rebuild is just superb.
The BSA Gold Star duplex frame was in fact the BSA 500 twin duplex frame that the Gold Star Development Engineers used and then fitted it with the McCandless Brother's third party swinging arm unit, in place of the BSA Drawing Office's undamped plunger frame design. They had to modify the starboard side bottom rail to clear the Gold Star engine's oil pump housing with a "kink". They also added hexagonal sockets to the rear foot rest loops to enable fitting of rear set foot rests, for Clubman's racing purposes. The Development Engineer's frame was sent up to the BSA Drawing Office to draw up. The Super Rocket's wheel hubs were a Triumph derived design, whereas the Gold Stars used the 8" front brake but with finning and knock out discs to improve cooling and the finned quick detach single sided brake hub rear wheel design. Optional front hub was the full width 190mm unit. Introduced at the suggestion of Eddie Dow, a BSA Gold Star Isle of Man racer, the 650cc Rocket Gold Star was to use up stocks of BSA Gold Star cycle parts between 1962 and 1963 before the introduction of the somewhat less successful Triumph influenced unit construction models.
Great job. I live in BC Canada and I bought a brand new 63 Goldstar rocket it was a great bike in my opinion it was the down fall off BSA when they went to unit construction. I won a couple of drag races
Beautiful well done. My family sold Bsa's from 50 to 71, my brother's personal bike was a rocket gold star he had an accident and on the rebuild and replace the frame which took eight months to get back from Bsa . The rocket gold star frames were one off for that model and we're based on the A10 frame, not the gold star frame, there were modifications for rear sets and some different lugs on the down tubes, They're also steering stops that were adjustable mounted on the fork yolks, which you didn't see you on the regular rockets. These are for if you mounted clip Ons handlebars, to keep them from slapping the tank.
Thanks for your comments. You definitely know the detail. I see people doing “Tribute” RGS bikes regularly using a a Big Valve Super Rocket as the basis. My opinion is why bother as a BVSR is the same engine, a road friendly set of gear ratios and a beaut riding position ( for an old bloke 😂) Besides, I prefer to have the real thing and enjoy it as intended. Cheers, Alan
Thankyou for keeping BSA alive with that magnificent machine you've obviously lovingly restored - I'm an ex Brummie, now naturalized American but BSA will always be the best for me
Thanks very much! You can see more of our work on our Ace Classics Australia FB page or our website.
What a gorgeous restoration. I don’t understand why people modify these to RGS specials when the OG itself is so damn beautiful.
Well said
54macdog You are correct sir! I have a 1967 650 Lightning Rocket. Been riding it since 1969. Wouldn't trade it. I love my Harley but there is nothing like a British twin.
How true
Lovely bike fantastic sound ctedit to you
That Aussie accent confused me. At the end of the video, I thought he said: "No worries. I'll take my clothes off now ..". And I thought, Whoa, no need to go that far. The bike is enough as it is, without gratuitous nudity!
Hahaha! that was never going to happen :)
During the sixties in the UK I worked on one side of London, and lived on the other side necessitating a crosstown trip twice a day, on my Super Rocket, which was great fun, every other weekend I rode up the A40 from London to Wales, for Sunday lunch with my Grandmother in Blaenavon, returning the same day, rain or shine. In 1973 I met Wal Phillips, and we started testing his fuel injector on my bike, which I adapted with a vacuum controlled fuel pressure regulator, which cured the traditional problems that Wal suffered with the unit. ( refer to WilliamsPowerInjections.com ) the three day week followed in 1973, and petrol was scarce, so I fitted a Calor Gas 8.5lb. propane tank to the fuel injector, and ran back and forth with the Super Rocket running on gas. I built many A10 based specials during those years, one with an RRT2 gearcluster, which was great for motorways with a 24 tooth engine sprocket , it would easily pull a hundred miles an hour in third ! Your bike is the best that I have seen for years, and if it comes up for sale, let me know at a-williams@outlook.com. Ride safe, and thanks for the upload.
I had one of these in ‘64 - oh how I wish mine was as clean as this one!
Nice job, that's loud, if my 1962 super Rocket had been that loud my neighbours would have been well pissed off.
Beautiful!
Very very nice. Love the pre-unit BSAs.
HOT DAMN I love the sound of BSA motorcycles.
I'll sell you mine!
Orgasmic, mate. Fantastic job. Gotta admit, I do prefer the twin pipes.
Lovely restoration. My dad had a Gold Flash back in the 1950's but he was continuously working on it as the build quality wasn't brilliant. Your bike looks to be better built than it came out of the factory with all the care you have put into it. If the management at BSA had reinvested and updated design and machine tools etc, they might have survived the Japanese onslaught but that's a well told story now. Thanks for the great video.
Beautiful, Stunning, reminds me of my childhood, those were the days
Look nice and sounds nice better than a bonnie
Goes harder than a Bonnie of that year too! They were known as the "Bonnie Beater"
Privileged to see this bike in person ,absolutely perfect
Alan does great work and is meticulous. Would and will be doing all my work. Cheers Al.
Kind regards Greg Brassington.
That's orgasmic, mate. An absolute credit to you. Gotta say tho, I'm not a huge fan of the Siamese pipes.
I've got a 1963 A10 SR custom bike.
Well done both for the restoration and the video. I had a 1962 preunit A10 Super rocket in 1967 and sold it in near original condition for..£75. Which was the approximate going rate at the time.Beautiful bike, beautiful sound.Fast forward to the last five years and at 68 yo, am back on the bikes. It stays in the blood! Thank You for sharing.
Looks great, would like to see the 'before' picture? (love the flip flop sound effects too!)
looks fabulous, wouldnt change for rgs look
I had a couple of A10 s back in the 60s. Nice work sir !
1:07 "If you've got some idea what you're about",
and I'm sat here wondering whether it's a twin or a single.
But I recognise a twin leading shoe when I see one (I had a great one on my YDS7).
Absolutely magnificent bike.
The alternator is a great addition, I hated flickering 6v electrics.
You've made a superb restoration, sir! She is lovely and runs like she had just come off the production line. I have a question, please: why do 180-degree parallel twins idle like V-twins? I have noticed that with vintage Triumph Speed Twins, Enfield Interceptors and Norton 650 SS's.
They are actually a 360 degree parallel twin.....makes for an awesome sound eh!
That's an interesting question. They are 360 deg twins so should have a smooth even exhaust note. The burdump - burdump - burdump sound is probably due to ignition timing variance between the two cylinders. A bit like the syncopated sound of a steam engine. Lovely!
Beautiful job, just bought one and hoping to get it to simular standard.
nice garden path........................
Immaculate bike, better than new, such an amazing sound too! Well done, enjoy!
Magnificent example. Well done that man!!
Beautiful bike. WOW
Beautiful
Lovely bike mate
Good on you dude :)
Superb, better than the day it left the showroom.
So Aussie near then end, the sound of thongs and "no worries". 👍👍👍
I love it! I'm in the middle of a total resto on my 62 SR. Where did you find your fenders? Great job!!
Fenders and stays from Burton Motorcycles in the UK. Needed to re chrome to get perfect tho....but I’m a fussy coot 😎
could i ask what height are you ? i am 6ft and wonder how i would fit .ps it`s a beaut .
I'm 5ft 8 with short legs. You'd enjoy it :)
It doesn’t get much better than that mate. Joy.
Possibly the most attractive bike I’ve ever seen. You’ve done a wonderful job on this machine, it’s an absolute credit to you! You’ve got me thinking hard about trying to find / build one myself now!
Thanks very much. It rides just as well as it looks too. Yes I think you should find a tired example and rebuild it to your dream.
that is a beautiful machine. Top class renovation.
Hello from Arizona.
Great video, great bike. I used to have a Rocket, and a 441 Victor, sadly they're both gone now.
very nice, i have a 57 road rocket , great attention to detail.
I bought a Big Valve in 64 and sold it in 65 because my girlfriends' mother would not let her on a motorbike. Missed that bike ever since...
Superb job! Well done with all the work and paint finish 👍 great sound too 😁
This is immaculate.i have always believed that bsa,s were under developed,but still love them!
My wife has one of these (1959); but it's infinitely better because it's tatty, got faded paint, dirty under the guards. The crank is modified and oil is filtered and it has panniers fitted. And a good mileage on the clock. We're going to fit a "Wader" mag' and modify primary drive sealing so it can cross deeper fords and rivers.
Perhaps I should post videos and/or pics of it in use.
Nagyon gyönyörű szuper motor. Imádom!!!!!
Egan !
X-TRA sharp BSA but i like the twin mufflers.That particular model was fairly easy too work on.
Had a 1959 mode utterly reliable did not have leaks as others claim did 70 miles a day in all weathers only complaint was inefficient rear brake .
Took in for an mot at 90,000 miles and the workshop Forman took one quick look and said there is nothing wrong that and wrote the certificate out, 😊
Excellent work, you are a dying breed. Thank you
well done mate you done a super job
Very nice restoration man !!!!
LOVELY 😊😎👍🇳🇿KIWI PIP🇳🇿👍😎
Beautiful Machine >>> Rode a couple in Rhodesia !!!!
Goddamn that just looks Pristine!!!!!
Be your best friend forever if you give it to me, promise!
What is the compression ratio 9.5 or 10 to 1? as a guess judging by the hard kick required to get the kickstart to spin the engine! A few mates "back in the day" fitted 10.5 to 1 pistons and they used to kick like that and on occasion took flying lessons over the handlebars much to everyone's delight!!! As good a BSA as you will see anywhere in the world! Well done.
9.5 to 1. Ride it regularly, too much fun to leave in the shed
great bike ... from Bali ,Indonesia
good work well done they must putt
Loved the a10 I'm so envious of this bike what a Bute
Looks just right.Strong work.
What a lovely machine, Hopefully still giving you pleasure. Thanks and best wishes from the wild west of England.
It is indeed. She’s a whole lot of fun😁
BSA was King back in the day
I put many miles on one of these.
The engine looks remarkably like a Gold Flash but with a aluminium head?
Well the engine was always an A10 but higher performance unit. This model Super Rocket 🚀 engine is the exact same spec as a Rocket Gold Star
That sound music to my ears 👍
Yep :)
That's the baby xxxxxxxx
Sounds lovely!
Wish mine looked like that
Great job well done
Stunning bike👍
Lovely bike.
Very nice 👌
Great video - right up to the bit near the end where we had a lengthy conducted tour of the path running from back to front of house in a somewhat unsuccessful attempt to get shots of bike on the move , then back along the path again. Feel well informed on flora along route and impressed with neat paving work. Just kidding ! Have a genuine '62 RGS (RRT2 box) , originally a US export but returned to UK twenty years ago - fitted with clip-ons it's a great handling machine and totally reliable. Your Super Rocket rebuild is just superb.
I'm hearin ya!! My camera man is a great auto elec. I can never find a teenager when I want one :)
... ha ha ! Looking forward to your next rebuild ...
AWESOME 😎
Brylant
beautiful
The BSA Gold Star duplex frame was in fact the BSA 500 twin duplex frame that the Gold Star Development Engineers used and then fitted it with the McCandless Brother's third party swinging arm unit, in place of the BSA Drawing Office's undamped plunger frame design. They had to modify the starboard side bottom rail to clear the Gold Star engine's oil pump housing with a "kink". They also added hexagonal sockets to the rear foot rest loops to enable fitting of rear set foot rests, for Clubman's racing purposes. The Development Engineer's frame was sent up to the BSA Drawing Office to draw up.
The Super Rocket's wheel hubs were a Triumph derived design, whereas the Gold Stars used the 8" front brake but with finning and knock out discs to improve cooling and the finned quick detach single sided brake hub rear wheel design. Optional front hub was the full width 190mm unit.
Introduced at the suggestion of Eddie Dow, a BSA Gold Star Isle of Man racer, the 650cc Rocket Gold Star was to use up stocks of BSA Gold Star cycle parts between 1962 and 1963 before the introduction of the somewhat less successful Triumph influenced unit construction models.
Perfect !
Nice!
Wow, what a beauty.
Great job.
I live in BC Canada and I bought a brand new 63 Goldstar rocket it was a great bike in my opinion it was the down fall off BSA when they went to unit construction. I won a couple of
drag races
A superb restoration. Perfect. A real beauty.
Beautiful well done. My family sold Bsa's from 50 to 71, my brother's personal bike was a rocket gold star he had an accident and on the rebuild and replace the frame which took eight months to get back from Bsa . The rocket gold star frames were one off for that model and we're based on the A10 frame, not the gold star frame, there were modifications for rear sets and some different lugs on the down tubes, They're also steering stops that were adjustable mounted on the fork yolks, which you didn't see you on the regular rockets. These are for if you mounted clip Ons handlebars, to keep them from slapping the tank.
Thanks for your comments. You definitely know the detail. I see people doing “Tribute” RGS bikes regularly using a a Big Valve Super Rocket as the basis. My opinion is why bother as a BVSR is the same engine, a road friendly set of gear ratios and a beaut riding position ( for an old bloke 😂) Besides, I prefer to have the real thing and enjoy it as intended. Cheers, Alan
2 into 1, the sound of one hand clapping.
sounds like 2 balls jangling!
Absolutely gorgeous, one of the best restorations I’ve ever seen, a credit to you.
Thank you. She's a blast to ride as well. Doesn't want to cruise, a bit like an angry ant :)
Lovely machine, well done. LEN UK.