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I Finally Finished my 1965 BSA Lightning Build!

One day in early 2016 I happened to be at a house party in Queens NYC in the backyard of an apartment complex. In the corner of the small yard I saw what looked like a couple old motorcycles underneath a tarp. At this point I had already secured a new garage in Queens where I had modified and rebuilt about a dozen motorcycles under the Clubman Cycles name (CMC, NYC) so I was constantly on the prowl for new projects. A couple of my bikes had even been featured in some prominent cafe racer magazines and website articles so my confidence was high so when I saw a ’65 BSA rolling chassis underneath the tarp I said, “I could build that!”

This blind confidence would later prove to be a soul crushing, 7 year crusade to get a 60 year old bike running for the first time since it had been titled and registered in London in 1965! At first, the hipster owner told me he had no intention selling it when I came knocking on his door but I couldn’t get the bike out of my mind. I showed up two weeks later with two grand in singles and put it in his hand in the threshold of his apartment saying, “how does that feel? Keep it and I’ll take this rust bucket off your hands.” Thinking I had pulled the heist of the century, I busily got to work on what I thought would be a 6-8 month build.

Drawings by bike designer, Joshua Lutz

First, the tank was so badly rusted it had to be acid etched and required some pretty serious metal work that was beyond the scope of what I could do in my garage. Next, I discovered that both the top and the bottom of the engine had to be completely rebuilt. Luckily for me, John’s Motorcycle Repair Shop was still open at this time in Woodside, Queens so I brought it there for an overhaul. These guys used to specialize in old British bikes and sold T-shirts that had a 60’s BSA on the front because as the owner put it, “nothing looks sexier spitting oil all over the place than a BSA.” He used to joke that British bikes were designed to weep oil to keep ’em from rusting. After all, what do you expect from a bike that was designed with clutch on the left and shifter on the right?!

Everything was shot. The brakes, forks, electrical, trans, lights, paint… even the seat was crap. The only thing that stood strong as an ox were the frame and wheels.

Unbeknownst to me, this job would take the better part of 7 years and around 10K to complete. The bike now rides and shifts like a dream. Yea, it weeps oil and spits gas like a baby with colic (like every other vintage British bike).

This machine is now as reliable as it is beautiful. The following work was completed to become the flawless rolling artwork you see in front of you here:

  • Tank Etched and professionally painted by Matt at Elegant Motors in Englewood, NJ
  • Bike was completely rewired Oct 2024 – New Rectifier and Regulator
  • Badges professionally cleaned and painted
  • New rear shocks
  • Engine completely rebuilt from the ground up – runs like new
  • New Ignition System with two keys
  • New Flat Tracker Leather Seat – Features Hand Fabricated custom frame redesign and mounting system
  • New Blinkers and Electrical Blinker wiring
  • New Tail Light and License Plate Holder
  • Rebuilt Carburetor
  • New Air Filter and Clamps
  • New Red Gas Lines
  • New Battery, wiring and terminals Nov 2024
  • New Chrome Gas Filter
  • New Brakes and Cables
  • New HD Straight Chrome Pipes – New Hand Fabricated Chrome Mounting Hardware
  • Modified Frame – Frame Painted Nov 2024
  • Reconditioned Fork Boots
  • Rebuilt Forks
  • Rebuilt Transmission & Clutch
  • Brand New Whitewall HD Front and Rear Tires Nov 2024
  • New Header Wraps with clamps
  • New Red Kick Pedal – Modified
  • New Kickstand from a 63′ BSA – Center-stand Included but wired To Frame (No Spring)
  • New Clubman Bars, levers, cables and Vintage NOS Red Grips
  • New Chrome Cafe Racer Left Side Mirror (Not pictured)
  • New Gas Tank Cap
  • New Headlamp wiring with New Highbeam Switch (works!)
  • NOS Vintage Lucas Headlamp Glass
  • Rebuilt Fork Stabilizer – No tank slap at high speeds! Very solid
  • Sourced Rear BSA branded vintage Rearset Pegs – Bike fits two people nicely
  • Lots of new hardware
  • Extra Primary, Engine and Transmission FluidS included with sale of bike
  • Bike fully tuned, points system calibrated Nov 2024
  • Also included will be 2 big boxes of spare parts, hardware, 300 page manual, extra ignition key and a hand written instruction manual I made just for this particular bike.
  • Registered in NJ – Clean title in hand

 

Check out this video tour of the bike for cold start and close up detailed 4k video.

No other oils should be used on a BSA Lightning. SAE 20W-50 Valvoline VR1 should be used in the engine oil tank (as a superior alternative to STP 20W-50). Vr1 + these are included in the sale of this bike.

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