Hi All,
Can't really believe it. At last my 58 Flash is on the road! I bought this in 2011 and have been working on it on and off since then. It has been fully rebuilt so am just running in/sorting problems at the moment. Still working on the jetting for the larger carb and alloy head to suit the flat-top pistons fitted. Have also had so sort a partially seized kickstart and the rocker box bolts have been nipped up several times. Is this normal? They don't loosen off, they just seem to be choosing their own torque settings.
Really enjoying riding it, a lot more relaxing than my B40WD, except for the gearchange which I'm getting used to. Just have to remember 'up for down, up for down, when slowing down for a junction. Have taken it to 60 downhill and feels great. 50 feels even better.
The bike had been restored previously and last ran between 1998 and 2003 but only for 1000 miles as far as I know. Found plenty of horror stories during rebuild so it says a lot for the rugged nature of the A10 that it got this far.
I took the bike to show to my dad the other day, he was delighted (and probably surprised) to see it. He had an A7 plunger with chair back in the 50's but with a growing family he switched to 4 wheels as soon as he could afford to.
It's my first full rebuild of a british bike and has been a challenge to say the least but all good experience. Also gave me an excuse to buy and restore a lathe. And a mig welder. Reckon I could do another A10 in less than 3 years now! Still, early days (200ish miles) yet so will keep you updated and include some better pics. Plan is to take it to the MotoGP at Assen in a month with the BSAOC Cheshire Branch so plenty of riding required before we set off.
Huge thanks to Beezermacc of Priory Magnetos for help throughout the rebuild. From supplying parts old and new, doing the tricky stuff like timing side bush and swing arm bushes to serving up endless tea whilst enduring my latest tales of woe. And there have been plenty of them believe me. He also rebuilt the dynamo and mag and provided much needed motivation. He even came round and got it running after I had spent a couple of hours kicking it over with no success, apart from getting oil round the engine. Cheers mate!
Thanks also to SRM, Brian at Lightning Spares, Niphos in Crewe for vapour blasting, Wilkinsons for powder coating, Dave Middleton Stainless for cycle thread fastners and all the gang in Cheshire Branch for tolerating my numerous failed deadlines.
Now I just want to ride it!
Cheers, Paul
