Hello from new A10 owner from Exeter, Devon, UK

[Klaus]

Yeah, forecast is sunny bright sky at 20 degrees for our region in Germany for the sunday

Best weather to go out for a ride

So dont be jealous, you have wait  so long for a realy nice bicke, doesnt matter the few days you coudnt ride it.

[Butch (cb)]

What-the-heck is a "skip"?

Behind the machine in the picture you can see a 'Skip'. They are dropped off by a special truck for builders etc. to fill with rubble or timber etc. The truck returns and takes it away for disposal. See attached image. Do you not have them in USA?

Unusual to see one without a mattress and a 2CV parked on top.

(Go on - what's a 2CV?)

[bsa-bill]

Not too sure but is the US version a Dumpster or is that something else altogether

[BrianS]

Couldn't wait so collected the A10 myself. I was nicely surprised how easy it started. Not sure why it didn't need any choke though.

I went for a short bimble to get some milk and didn't take it above 40mph but it rode lovely.

The gear change/brake situation is going to be an issue until I get used to it! I miss having indicators and a neutral light. It goes into top gear (fourth) very quickly and with all the torque I kept looking for another gear. I also need to get used to the kickstart lever not folding back!

I was also aware that I had no toolkit with the bike so will need to trawl the archives to see what I need to carry as a bare minimum.

I dropped the oil when I got home and that was interesting - 3 or 4 pints suddenly gushed out the very large drain hole and I only just prevented a large oil spill. I was advised to get the sludge out the bottom of the oil tank which is proving a bit difficult. Whilst I was working on this a Brit-bike friend turned up and he told me that if I want to de-sludge properly I need to take the oil tank off so I can swill it out with petrol. He is off work this week so we may go for a trundle together tomorrow.

There are a few oil leaks (rocker cover and a plug toward the front right of the crankcase) that have made themselves known but don't seem disastrous.

I also need a rack to mount a top box to put supplies in when sent shopping.

Looks to have a newish Amal carb.

And the brake lever and footrest seem uncomfortably close to the clutch casing.

But, so far so good!

Brian

[Greybeard]

My A10 doesn't need choke, just a tickle of the carb. I believe that is common.

[KiwiGF]

Hi Brian, after riding modern bikes most Brit bikes of this era seem like they need a higher top gear, they seem to rev far too high cruising at 60mph but it does not actually seem to do them any harm, a lot of people gear them up but standard gearing does mean you can plod around in top even up quite steep hills.

I found swapping between left and right gear change bikes much easier than I expected, as I the a10 is so different to ride in other ways I think, no chance of forgetting which bike I'm on!

Ps you will need to increase the gap between primary case and levers......otherwise the slightest crash and the case will get dented or worse.

[ellis]

Hi BrianS,
           I agree about your rear brake pedal it is too close to the chain case. I took mine off the bike and warmed it up near to the pivot hole and bent it out so now it rests under the foot rest rubber making it a very comfortable position to use.   


  ELLIS

[jachenbach]

Hi Brian,
  Excellent introductory post, and looks like a nice bike. Looking forward to more stories as you get acquainted with her.

[BrianS]

My first classic bike run today! Actually it was just me and my mate Derek on his 1950 B33 

The day started out foggy in places but that was soon burned off and we had a lovely sunny day.

Route - Exeter to Whiddon Down via the old A30, on to Chagford for a pasty and cuppa (thanks Derek!), across Dartmoor to Widecombe in the Moor (compulsory stop for ice cream and another cuppa) and then back to Exeter via Bovey Tracey and Chudleigh. The last bit was interesting as we used a section of the M5 and 10 minutes or so held at 60mph resulted in a very tingly backside!

It was a perfect day for a run with roads dry and traffic quiet - apart from on the M5 that is.

Derek's B33 ran perfectly but I was reassured that it dripped just a tad more oil than my A10....

I was quite nervous about taking the A10 out as I hadn't travelled further than around the block but I shouldn't have worried as it ran like a (very big) sewing machine. There is a bit of a rattle from the LH chain case which needs investigating but it didn't get any worse.

I noticed halfway round that the clutch had started to slip slightly on hard acceleration and started to put together an order for clutch plates and springs in my head. However, it was something much more obvious - no free play in the clutch cable. Under Derek's supervision (and with the use of his tools), the little cover on the gearbox was removed and the clutch adjusted until I had free play again. It was at this point that I really appreciated Derek's "Imperial" adjustable spanner!

I think the M5 vibes were probably responsible for losing the tap on the RH fuel tap but hope that is an easy fix.

Great day out on Flash and thanks to Derek for the route planning and company - and lunch 

Brian

[Greybeard]

What a great post! Thank you for reminding me what our old motorcycles are for.

[BrianS]

I think it's any motorcycle in my case Greybeard!  My mate popped by earlier on a Suzuki GS750 circa 1978 that he has just bought - also to relive his youth. He let me take it for a spin and it was a great ride - nice being out in this lovely weather on anything with two wheels - well almost anything 

Regarding tools for the A10, I thought I had a lot of the "right" sort but after going through my box of old tools it turns out that most of my old spanners are AF   

AF on left of photo and Whitworth/BSF in the blue box on the right of the photo.

[bsa-bill]

Well done BrianS getting out and about, should you wish to impress your other bike riding friends then Forum Tee shirts available here (shameless ad coming up)

http://recklesspromotions.uk/product-category/bsaforum/

Cheers Bill