Hello from A10 and dusting in Adelaide

[craigb]

Hi everyone. I feel like I've earnt it being here after the entry process, but i know what a pain the spammers are from other forums I am on. I am 47, biologist working on rangelands of arid australia, wife Jo (a tolerant woman!) and 2 boys 4 and 6. a great fan of all vehicles and have them from most decades starting from my 1924 Amilcar on that I built up from bits and pieces (before I had a young family to chase!). I am sure you know the influence Brit bikes had over here and I have a few Nortons and a Matchy.... but none working!! So when this working A10 and Dusting came up, albeit from unfortunate medical circumstances for the seller which is never nice. Its pretty rough but a runner and now the hardest part will be keeping my promise to the wife not to restore it until I have a few other projects out the way. The exception will be to chase a few oil leaks.... and then while the covers are off it doesn,t take long to polish and......I am sure you see the dilemna!

I will post under another thread these questions, but my thinking is that if I was to get a new indian tank and have it painted, that wont affect the mobility of the bike and I think I have the wrong hubs so a couple of those an some new rims could be set up and easily swapped over. Polish some covers, new gear lever etc and then with a clear few days should be able to clean up and paint mudguards, toolbox etc.

I have a number of other questions too and greatly appreciate any sharing of your experiences.

Craig Baulderstone

PS and this stupid computer has photos stored under my wifes login so will need to get in there and post photos in a few minutes.

[Sidcar]

Hi Craig
I wont say g'day as it's the middle of the night here.
Look forward to seeing the pics but unless it's really rough why restore it? If it's already scruffy you wont feel guilty about not cleaning it.

Regards

Sid (The insomniac)

[craigb]

So back with photos and please chime in if you see non original stuff. According to engine and frame numbers this appears to be a 1962 A10. Obvious things that I have researched so far are that I think it should have full width hubs, different headlight arrangement (nacelle), will replace the rear shocks, mufflers not original although I dont mind the sporty growl from them (but see the pic below from behind with the kids with hands over ears!). Blue paint obviously not original but no sign of anything but black with a bit of a scrape underneath.

Brought back old times for my mum too - great sign for a vehicle if it makes you smile!

You can see the photographer Jo is more in love with the sidecar than the bike - hardly any photos from that side.

had to shrink photos quite a bit so hope still visible

[Brian]

Hi Craig, were not too far apart, I'm down in Mt Gambier and I have a 61' model.

The bike looks good, a good clean and a tidy up will do wonders for it. Dont be too hasty thinking it has some non original parts on it, the SA police used A10's and the spec for them seems to vary quite a lot so its possible yours could be right. Even if its not it will still be a nice looking bike.

By the way, welcome to the forum. I am sure you will be able to get any technical help you need here plus its a very good way to keep in touch with other A10 owners.

[RichardL]

Craig,

Welcome.  After being here on the forum for some time,  one comes to learn when good stories of personal experiences or bike building are going to come around.   I sense you will be providing some good stories.  (No pressure!). For example,  I love how you are telling your wife that you are NOT rebuilding the bike,  you're only going to replace the tank,  the wheels and the paint,  and,  "oh,  by the way, I need to take the engine apart to fix the oil leaks,   so I'll polish everything while I'm at it.  Honey,  you wouldn't want to mess up the shed floor with a bunch of oil drops, and anyway,  it will be nice and shiny."

Richard L.

 

[LJ.]

Ha ha... got to laugh at Richards comments which I had considered posting...but Richards a braver guy than I. Welcome along Craigh nice bike and side car.... all the better still if the wife likes riding along with you. Tell you what.... why not get HER doing the polishing? Cheers. LJ.

[a10 gf]

Welcome, & thanks for the story (& sorry for the quite rigid registration rules, but it's needed, & in the end, it keeps even the most agressive spammers out, and lets good members in). Great comment, Richard 

[muskrat]

G'day Craig, welcome to the forum.
                                               Looks like the other projects will have to wait. You'll be having too much fun riding the A10. If it ain't broke don't fix it.
Cheers.

[craigb]

Thanks for the welcome everyone and great when a forum is so international.

Particularly Brian thanks for the Police tip off. I googled BSA A10 SA Police and found a Bay to Birdwood story of a breakdown of one of the SA Police historical society bikes and rebuild, and while the photo is small I can pick exactly the same brake set up and headlight - so you never know. This story also talks about help from a guy Geoff Barnes who I know from a couple of club connections. I was planning to call him anyway because I remembered he had a BSA (possibly A10) with a huge covered sidecar. He has a good and long local knowledge and if he has been rebuilding this other bike I am sure he can put me on track. Another interesting point is that there is this funny extra bracing on the rear guard - me thinking that I must cut that off and if it is because of a crack or something, weld that up (remember polishing not rebuilding!!) but now I am wondering if it was for a radio, maybe panniers? Just goes to show you it pays to do an "archaeological dig" first. Brian do you know if the SA cops used sidecars? Time like this I wish my dad was still alive, he would have known for sure, and was saying to Mum he was the one person I would have most liked to have shown the new purchase - she was thinking the same thing. Still the ride in the sidecar took her back - she had a boyfriend with a Harley and sidecar that none pleased her dad!

[Brian]

Afternoon Craig,

They did use sidecars but of course it could have been added at any time. I believe their historical society does have some records, engine/frame numbers etc but how you would gain access to them I'm not sure, you could start by sending them a e-mail and see if you get a response.

You probably saw this photo on the police historical society website but if not I'll add it to this post. Not very clear but you can make out the wheel set up and headlight etc the same as yours.

[craigb]

Yep, thats the photo I saw thanks! And I did send them an email from links on their site. That's exciting that they might actually have frame numbers etc! Also rang Geoff and he is back from 2 weeks away tomorrow but his son who I spoke to had been and seen the bike in that photo and sounds like they have spent a bit of time helping out with it.