1950? 500cc BSA project

GoldenMotor.com

harry76

Well-Known Member
Apr 16, 2011
2,557
47
48
Brisbane, Australia
Harry,
Here are two more words that you will never see used together in the same sentence.

Harley and cheap.

Steve.
So true. Ive always thought that. Ive got a friend that has spent a fortune on Harleys and he tells me i should get one. Ive told him for the longest time that i wanted to do a Yamaha XS650 and he used to think i was crazy, ive showed him many modified ones and the cost of a cheap secondhand base bike and hes finally coming around.

I think if you have a lot of money to spend a Harley is fine, everyone knows the Harley name and automatically think its a better bike, and they have good resale so you dont necessarily lose money, but bottom line is you need the money to buy one in the first place, and i just cant spend that sort of money on a bike thats still going to leak oil in my garage. LOL
 

harry76

Well-Known Member
Apr 16, 2011
2,557
47
48
Brisbane, Australia
Hey Harry, I just saw a post about this on F.B. will this be anywhere near you so you can go? It looks like there will be some real Indians and other old motorikes...

http://www.vccansw.org/2012/vcca_2012.htm
Thanks John, unfortunately Sydney is 1000km (630miles) from Brisbane where i live, its a couple of hours flight but i have my first child due early in April so my girlfriend wouldnt appreciate me attending that event LOL. It would have been cool to see though, they are travelling quite some distance from Western to Eastern Australia.

Last weekend there was a vintage motorcycle swap meet not far from where i live (maybe 1 1/2 hr drive) but weve been getting a LOT of rain here in Eastern Australia so i chose not to attend, and i presume it may have been cancelled unfortunately. There arent many parts in Eastern Australia that havent flooded at some point this year, and its still raining here, so sick of it!!!!!!!!!!!
 

harry76

Well-Known Member
Apr 16, 2011
2,557
47
48
Brisbane, Australia
Well our usual motto for our state is "beautiful one day, perfect the next"........ weve had our hot weather, almost unbearable heat with constant rain, my backyard and pumptrack are flooded, all my leather seats on my bikes have gone mouldy and seeing as i dont have a workshop, if i want to do some work on my bikes i have a double garage and i need to move my car (the one thats going) get all my stuff out, then at the end put it all back..... frustrating to say the least....... our new motto should be "crappy one day, even crappier the next :-("
 

harry76

Well-Known Member
Apr 16, 2011
2,557
47
48
Brisbane, Australia
Thanks Gearnut but I guess I really shouldn't complain, my backyard is a little flooded and it's difficult to work on my bikes. But many people in other areas have lost their houses and some even lost their lives. And still it isnt as bad as last January's floods where many many more lost their dwellings and loved ones.
 

harry76

Well-Known Member
Apr 16, 2011
2,557
47
48
Brisbane, Australia
I haven't been doing much so not much to report, but it seems I have decided on wheel size. I won on EBay 2 x 23" Honda XL front wheels, one is a complete wheel minus the brake drum for $79 and the other was $72 and is a complete wheel with brake drum and what appears to be a brand new knobby MX tyre. I'm very very happy with those buys.

I'm going to price 2 new Bridgestone road/trail tyres tommorrow. I forget the brand but I'll post later, on their website the OD was over 29" so they should look awesome.

I haven't decided if I'm going to use the front drum or try and find a brakeless hub for the front, I'd like a brakeless front hub for that boardtrack look but a front brake may be advisable, it depends if I'm going to ride it much..... Does anyone know of a brakelss front hub I could use? Otherwise I could use a MX disc from hub and file off the disc tabs..... I'll also need to find a rear hub and lace it to the other rim. Haven't seen any rear hubs on EBay either, I may have to visit the motorcycle wreckers, I went to the big motorcycle wreckers a while back and they were closed, I found out the owner of 30 + years is selling up, just my luck.
 

harry76

Well-Known Member
Apr 16, 2011
2,557
47
48
Brisbane, Australia
I received my wheels, they are massive. I am very pleased. I ordered my tyres but just have to go pick them up from the tyre shop.





I placed them next to a 26" bicycle wheel for size comparison



 

rustycase

Gutter Rider
May 26, 2011
2,746
5
0
Left coast
Wow Harry, they look BIG!

Are you going to sandblast the chrome off so you can paint them?

They will be very impressive on the new racer!
rc
 

harry76

Well-Known Member
Apr 16, 2011
2,557
47
48
Brisbane, Australia
Wow Harry, they look BIG!

Are you going to sandblast the chrome off so you can paint them?

They will be very impressive on the new racer!
rc
They ARE BIG, very BIG!!!! I think it will help a long way with getting "the look".

They arent chromed, they are alloy, so all ill need to do is sand and paint. But this bike is going to take a long time to build so i wont be painting them just yet, and i havent decided whether i want an old barn find look or nice and shiny.

Now i have my wheels and when i get my tyres i can start to get my frame happening, i havent been able to find another gearbox yet so i may just end up using the one i have even though it may not be the best. So i have the parts needed for frame dimensions. I just need to find a rear hub and have it laced into one of the wheels, then i need to decide whether i want to use the original front drum brake or find a brakeless front hub which in my opinion would look a lot better.