Yet another new member

[sckemp]

Hello everyone. Just got my first old bike, a black 1951 plunger A10, so thought I should join up here as this seems to be an amazing community/resource. I've been into classic bikes since teens when my dad used to take me out on his Trident (T150V not Hinckley). In fact he had a black A10 when I was little so I'm kind of following in his footsteps (tyre tracks?).

The bike is a non-runner having stood for 10 years after magneto trouble forced it off the road. It kind of fell into my lap when my brother mentioned his neighbour had an old BSA sitting unused. A short time later it was mine! The guy had actually had the magneto refurbed but lost interest and never got it back together properly. Hopefully it won't be too difficult to get it going then I'll be flying around fifties style!

My experience of old brits is limited to magazine reading and hanging around at old bike meets. I have little hands on experience so I'll probably be calling on your help from time to time but as I get to grips with it I'm sure I'll have plenty to contribute too. One pleasant surprise has been how easy the bike is to work on. Everything seems very accessible so far and I haven't had to deal with any seized threads... yet! In fact my nineties Honda has been more trouble to work on than the BSA. Actually I do have some hands-on experience - back in the mid-nineties as a teenager I did Saturday work at Ted Bloomfield's shop MCS in Leytonstone. Mostly general shop stuff but sometimes in the workshop at the parts washer.Anyone remember MCS?

Anyway, you didn't want to hear my life story... See you on the road sometime soon!

Stephen

[terryg]

Welcome to the forum - you've certainly found the right place.  The information available from the guys here is practically priceless, no matter half of them live on the other side of the world.
Enjoy your new acquisition and get it on the road soon.  Spring surely can't be too far away.

If you're still in the Leytonstone area, try looking up East London BSA Owners' Club.

[RichardL]

Stephen,

Welcome! That's a great intro. Maybe you've been lurking around here long enough to  have heard some of the advice given for intros.

I won't ask how much you paid for the '51. First, it's not polite and, second, I don't want to be that jealous. We always like to see pictures of our members' bikes. For some reason, it never gets old.

As far as advice goes, there is plenty of patience here. Better to ask than to error. It's a rare few here who haven't been helped by asking a question. I'm not one of them. Be sure to get yourself a parts manual and a Haynes Owner's Workshop Manual. The Havnes manual is a bit controversial for giving some less-than-perfect, or incomplete, information, but there is a lot of useful stuff there, as well (particularly if you are undertaking your first rebuild). Folks here can help straighten out most Haynes shortcomings. 

Good luck,

Richard L.

[Greybeard]

Hya! 

[orabanda]

Hi Stephen,
Welcome (from Western Australia).

This forum is a bit like sex; once you've tried it, you realize what you were missing out on!

Richard

[sckemp]

Thanks for the welcomes, dudes.

I would have put up some photos but I don't have any yet. That's way down on the to-do list after fiddling around and getting down and dirty with it (that's bike maintenance not sex, orabanda!). Will add some photos when I get a chance to take some.

Price was good - very good! I couldn't have justified it if the price was more like the typical market value. Also got a Haynes and a bunch of imperial spanners thrown in too. Point taken about the Haynes - will use with caution. I am in Southampton now so will join the local BSA group.

[WozzA]

Hi Stephen,
Welcome (from Western Australia).

This forum is a bit like sex; once you've tried it, you realize what you were missing out on!

Richard

it DOES become addictive doesn't it...
Welcome sckemp   

[muskrat]

G'day Stephen, welcome to the forum.
I luv the plungers, they look old skool but ride quite well. Once on the rosd I'm sure you'll luv yours too.
Cheers

[a101960]

Actually I do have some hands-on experience - back in the mid-nineties as a teenager I did Saturday work at Ted Bloomfield's shop MCS in Leytonstone. Mostly general shop stuff but sometimes in the workshop at the parts washer. Anyone remember MCS?

Welcome to the site Stephen. Actually I do remember MCS. Long gone now of course, but interestingly I bought my A10 from a shop right opposite to MCS in Leyton high road about 14 years ago. The place was rather grandiosely known as The Classic Motorcycle Emporium, also long since gone. MCS I seem to remember was at one time selling Tridents repatriated from Saudi Arabia. Ex Saudi police bikes so the story goes, and most of them had hardly been used. I heard one story that apparently many of them had been ridden around on full choke and eventually the plugs fouled causing the engines to stop. Once that happened the bikes were just cast to one side and were never used again. Who knows? Interesting story though. Ted had a very large stock of BSA parts, I have often wondered where they all went when the shop closed down.
John

[bsa-bill]

it DOES become addictive doesn't it...

I'm not going to mention withdrawal symptoms      (oops I did) 

HI Stephen and welcome

[Bikergrandad]

 Hi Sckemp. Welcome to the forum I am a new member this week.
   I have done a lot of reading and they and seem VERY HELPFUL and FRIENDLY Bob.

[sckemp]

Yes MCS was an interesting place - a proper old school shop full of "characters". As a naive teenager my eyes were definitely opened in a number of ways! Ted died a while ago but there was a guy called Matthew who, even in the mid-nineties was keen to get the place organised and catalogued and computerised but I think it was just too big a job. A mechanic there, Dick Smith, now runs the Baron's Speed Shop in south London so I'd say he's done well. Only made that connection recently and I will drop in on him when I get the BSA going - see if he remembers me.

So Bob, you're in Eastleigh. Anyone else in the Southampton area?

Still no pictures but watch this space...

[Butch (cb)]

Err yes, I remember MCS too. I recollect a sticker on the wall - "Don't be a c**t, vote National Front".

There seemed to be a whole bunch of bikie type shops along the strip there including Rivetts of course, and some kind of Guzzi place over the road from them. Was it MCS that was selling those DKW rotaries for a while?

[sckemp]

I know that they had something to do with DKW rotaries but I don't think they sold a lot of them, at least not when I was there. Ted had this rundown shed in Forest Gate (I think) and sent a few of us there in a van and we unearthed a DKW Hercules, all covered in pigeon shit having stood for years but the mechanics got it going in about half an hour and were riding it up and down the road, no helmets and smoking out the local residents. That was my first sight and sound of a rotary. Happy days.

[Butch (cb)]

That would be the ones. I remember a couple on the pavement out front of the shop. Looked like noo as I recall. That would have been late v. 70's I guess. Hmmmm, got me wanting one now ...