PART THE LAST
L ast month we met owner Andrew, and his Rocket Goldie which came with what can only be described as ‘unique’ provenance.
‘My RGS was dredged up from the Manchester Ship Canal in 1980. It was dumped on the side along with a Citroën 2CV and a Reliant Robin. All three had been scraped up by a dredger bucket when a mooring was being extended. The BSA was taken to its new home, hosed off, and brutally stripped down, then, sadly, neglected for many years in a damp shed.
‘However when it was retrieved from the canal, the registration numbers and frame and engine numbers were all clearly visible, so the new owners were able to retain the original registration from DVLA. I ran all the checks I could, including HPI, before I bought the bike in 1999 and everything came back clear. The original factory despatch records confirmed that the bike was supplied to a dealer in Chester in May 1963. How it ended up in the Manchester ship canal remains a mystery!
‘I became aware of the bike's existence through friends in the BSAOC.an oil drum in the owner's back garden. It had already been sprayed with rattle cans. I am aware of the skill of some people with welding torches and grinders so I was a bit suspicious that it was just a reincarnated A10 frame. However, all the RGS idiosyncrasies checked out and there was no evidence of bodgery.
