BSA Lightning Bobber

Check the number of teeth. IIRC they use a "hunting tooth" so that the gears don't wear out unevenly. There's one more tooth that there should be on one wheel and that way they move relative to one another but because the diameters are the same, they stay in synch but the marks "move".

Now I could be completely wrong with that. I am trying to remember something I haven't had to think about for decades. And I sold all my T120 stuff a very long time ago, so I don't even have the manuals to check.
 
john83 said:
I noticed that whenever I kicked the engine through I would feel a slight puff of air coming back through the carburetor so I started to wonder if the cam timing was off. I wanted to get a look at the kickstart quadrant shaft anyways so I decided to remove the inner timing cover. I turned the engine through a bunch of times and never got the timing marks to line up so I removed the idler gear and line things up. I think I’ve got it pretty much the way the picture in the manual shows it.

How did it get this way to begin with? We may never know. Fairly certain that the PO told a few lies when he said that he had been riding it though. I don’t see any evidence that it jumped time. More to follow when I get time. View attachment 234041


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Mines the same

But once you set it up properly it could take a million spins for the timing marks to line up properly again

The other side was not so pretty
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Just got a new kickstart quadrant in the mail. New kickstart ratchet pinion and the timing box gasket should be here this week. Hopefully I can get it put back together and see what happens.
 
Installed the new quadrant and new ratchet pinion. Put the timing cover back on and finally got the kick lever to install smoothly. Shot a little starting fluid in the carbs and gave it a kick. She lit right off!
Now just to get some fresh gas in the tank and see if she will run on that. I made a video of it firing up but can't upload it for some reason.
 
Great news!!!
Upload vid to YouTube then post the link.
I think I’ve had trouble here, if video is more than just a few seconds long.
 
Wow, been a long time since I updated this. Still working on it when I get a chance. Garage time is few and far between with a little one in the house. I also lose a lot of motivation to go out to the garage when it's frigid.

My tank was pretty crusty inside and the petcocks were pretty well shot. I ordered some new petcocks and let some vinegar soak in the tank for a while. It's not as clean as I would like but it's enough I'm not too worried about fouling the carbs for now.
I was troubleshooting the bike without a key switch and a battery siting on the floor, just connected enough to power the ignition. I got a new key switch and connected things up properly. I will still need to make it pretty later on but I can at least start and work on the bike now.
I can get the bike started but the carbs definitely need some tuning. At first it would only run on one cylinder but I think I figured out that the left carb needle was stuck. Now it'll run on both cylinders but idles very high. Next garage day I'll try sorting that out.
 
Finally some updates on the Beeza. I found a local shop in Atlanta that only works on British bikes. I caved and took it to them for a few things. I needed a weld repaired on one of the chain adjusters and had them sort the carbs to get it running.


Rode it down the road a couple of times. Seems to run great but won’t shift higher than second. I can get it to shift through all the gears with both timing side covers removed and spinning the rear wheel a bit so I’m a bit stumped.

For now I’d like to just get it shifting, tidy up the wiring and clean a few things up.


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Great to see your bike running!

Are those Betor forks on your bike? They look the same as those on mine.
 
BTW, when I got my BSA, the front brake was on the right hand side:
4M7Iw8v.jpg

I'm not saying mine is right (it's not a runner anyway) but just checking you/I have the wheel on the right way round...
 
I’ve actually been curious about what forks are on mine. They obviously aren’t stock but I’m not sure what they are. The do look pretty similar to yours.

That’s a good looking bike you’ve got there.


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I think it doesn't really matter which side the brake is on as long as the tire rotes in the direction of travel, but I'd feel better if someone more knowledgeable chimed in
 
john83 said:
I’ve actually been curious about what forks are on mine. They obviously aren’t stock but I’m not sure what they are. The do look pretty similar to yours.

That’s a good looking bike you’ve got there.


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The wheel looks Japanese, maybe Honda 350/450 (DOHC). No help on the fork.
 
a single leading shoe it wouldn't worry as one shoe is trailing anyway, but wouldn't a twin leading shoe become a twin trailing shoe if the rotation was reversed?
 
So recently I learned that BSA transmissions are not lubricated by engine oil but have their own gear oil. Put everything back together took it down the road. I got it to shift into third but trying to shift above second is a challenge. I think clutch adjustments are needed, shifting seemed to get easier with adjusting the clutch cable. The clutch pull on this thing feels like about 1000 pounds, I’ll have to figure that out.


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Some fresh gear oil might help , John

My bike had been sitting in a shed for thirty years , after I got it started it would only go up to 2nd

Drained the gear oil , the fluid looked like it was a caramel milk shake , it think its because it can soak up water

Anyways I filled the gearbox up choca block with ATM and kerosene and let it soak for a couple of weeks

Dropped that out then filled it to the correct level with ATM fluid

Rode it up and down my street for half an hour , got 1st 2nd 3rd and 4th no worries but couldn't get 5th no matter how hard I tried

Got it back to my shed , cracked a beer , then realised there is no 5th gear

I'm a fucken idiot

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Haha. Well, maybe I’ll give it another shot before I go pulling out the gear box. Wondering if my shift lever return spring is up to snuff as well. Maybe I’ll replace some easy stuff first.


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So still going out and messing about when I can. I realized that with the bike in gear pulling the clutch lever does not let the bike roll. Clutch is still engaged and no manner of cable adjustment seems to have any effect. I started working on pulling the primary cover and found that the left foot peg nut is rounded off. Hopefully I can find some time to overcome that soon and keep going.


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