IN COMING

BEST SINGLES ANYWHERE

Early in 1970 I had a good friend who was a professional motorcycle mechanic employed in a 'government department '. Under threat of secrecy he related a story to me of how he had once borrowed, as emergency transport , a 833 from a mutual acquaintance of ours in exchange for agreeing to 'look at its engine' which was reported to be making strange noises. The bike's owner had no mechanical idea and only owned a motorcycle as a means of commuting to work.

Suffice to say the BSA had to be towed home from Liverpool, having blown up in a big way while my mechanic friend had used it for holiday transport at that year's TT. This result was not surprising in view of the state of the B33's engine but perhaps was also influenced by the mechanic's last own bike being a state of the art DBD34 with all the bells and whistles.

Mechanic friend hurriedly rebuilt the BSA engine, using the original crankcases as about the only salvageable parts, but did not have a correct replacement crankshaft available. His only useable version was shorter on the drive side, resulting in the crank nut retaining the shock absorber assembly only engaging by a couple of threads, even after the spring was reduced in length. In desperation the nut was double - wired and Loctited in place as a temporary measure, just to allow the return of the bike . Likewise fitting a 831 top end which reduced the engine's capacity to 350 ...

The bike's owner was not at home when it was returned , so it was left with his wife in readiness for commut ing duties. My penn iless friend went into work the following Monday having rehearsed various excuse speeches, but was greeted by the bike's owner , who was delighted by the improvement in his machine's performance and its new, quiet engine. Said owner was known for not having any sense of humour or practicality and it seemed a pity to destroy his peace of mind. So he was NEVER told, and in blissful ignorance he continued to pay for the missing 150cc for the duration of his ownership. The bike changed hands a number of times within the workplace and, when passing, I always had a look to see if there was a hole in its chaincase from an escaping nut.

My own 831 experience was similarly an unloved emergency replacement purchase, as my pampered , polished, contemporary parallel twin was again off the road receiving more of the same treatment. In hindsight , 659 BFM was,