Hoofddorp Barn, BSA folding Bicycle

[Alex van de Wetering]

I decided to use four extra welds along the edge to decrease the chance of failure while driving in the sun along the Normandy beaches

Than...cleaning up the welds and checking the chainwheel on the bike again.

Now......changing teeth! With a basic saw I removed the teeth from the chainwheels that came with the bike. I cleaned up the remains of the spokes from the "old" chainwheel and than used it as a template to draw onto the newly cut wheel. This way I knew where to cut it the teeth from the newly cut wheel. Then it was basically removing some material and testfitting....removing some more, testfitting again, until it fit perfectly. The last picture in this batch shows the pieces combined with a few welds.

Alex

[Alex van de Wetering]

The first two pictures of this batch show the chainwheel after cleaning up the welds.

Next up was changing the cranks into the BSA type with the bushing at the end. The cranks were sanded down to the correct "rounded" shape in a previous step already, the stock ends were cut off and the newly turned bushings were welded to the ends. The process was basically the same as with the chainwheel; first two welds to tack it in place, than aligning the pieces properly, so the holes at both ends of the crank move parallel....and welding it fully afterwards.

I am not a very good welder and a very basic MIG weld set doesn't help either, so I usually have to weld a bit, clean it up....weld a bit more, clean up a bit more....and so on, and so on.
I cleaned the welds up with an angle grinder, then a powerfile and than the Dremel multitool for the last bit.
After both cranks were finished, I noticed that I had welded the bushing on one of the cranks the wrong way round
So, it was time to turn off the light and close the door of the barn for that day!

The next session, the bushing was cut from the crank again and welded in the correct orientation. I drilled holes in the end of the crank, cut some thread and testfitted the little thingys with a spring and small ball. After testing the setup with the rods, about to be converted to pedals, the thingys were removed for painting.

[Alex van de Wetering]

The BSA pedals are basically nothing more than a rod with two washers at both ends which can slide in and out the cranks. The ball thinghy in combination with two groves in the rod ensure there are bascially just two positions of the rods......(think what would happen if one of them would slide sideways into the frame while you are cycling at speed).
My friends basically gave me a kit to make two repro pedals; two rods turned on a lathe and the four washers for the ends. I started welding the big washers to the ends and welding two smaller washers in the centre, resembling the look of original paddles. Than they were assembled with the cranks and chainwheel. After a coat of paint, I welded the other two smaller washers at the other end of the rods. So, the pedals were now part of the cranks. Than I realised I painted the rods as well, but they should have been kept blank steel as with the original! so, here we go again .

Anyway, it was easy just to remove the paint and given the other parts another coat afterwards.
Oh. I paint all parts with a zincprimer, than satin black paint to replicate the black primer used on original BSA bikes and than the green.

The last pictures shows where I am now.....time for a beer in the sun and another walk around the Chev C8.

Alex

Next up......Fork, steering wheel and brakes!

[cletrac (RIP)]

Alex, the hardest part about restoring a bicycle is when it comes to renewing the tired old power plant. You're doing such a great job so far, I'm sure you'll handle the power plant too!
Did you ever get through all that stuff on the DVD?

[cliff]

Originally Posted by Alex van de Wetering

The last pictures shows where I am now.....time for a beer in the sun and another walk around the Chev C8.

Alex

Next up......Fork, steering wheel and brakes!

Alex to someone like me who has never used a welder, metal lathe etc the work you show is nothing short of a miracle. Don't forget while on that walk around the Chev to polish the badge again for luck.

[Bill Miller]

Alex, what a superb job you have done so far! I am truly impressed with your ingenuity to replicate the crank. You are putting me to shame, I can't even find the motivation this week to fix the brake cables on my BSA! (The fresh snow and ice outside doesn't help either, my garage isn't heated)

One thing intrigues me about the paint on my BSA however. You mention black primer and the green top coat. My bicycle seems to have the turd brown colour inbetween the primer and the green This only applies to the frame/forks/handle bars/crank. The brake calipers seem to be only green on black. BTW, my pedals show evidence of paint on the rods. It is likely they were painted at the factory, but the paint would very quickly get worn off due to use and there purposeful sliding in and out of the crank arm.

Since mine is the only unrestored BSA Airborne cycle I have seen up close, I can't explain the odd paint or have any reference to compare too? Mine is serial number R14015. Most of the BSA's I see in photos are much more green colour than mine. Mine only has a very light coating almost a "mist" of green over the brown?

Here is a photo of the crank on my bike (I had removed the rear wheel and chain for maintenance when this picture was taken)... shows how accurate your build is and my odd paint job. The brown shows clearly where the green has worn away from contact with boots and trousers. Also a shot of the BSA logo/decal on the downtube, shows chips that reveal the primer, the brown and the top coat of green.

(Alex, I am also assuming you received the photos I emailed you the other day?)

[Alex van de Wetering]

Bill, Dave, Cliff, thanks for your reactions.
@ Dave......yes I am working on the tired power plant as well......I eat my vegetables and cycle to the train every day on my way to work

A quick update.

My bike came with a non-original fork; the top was too "elegant" compared to the BSA style and the sheet metal "washers" were missing, near the axle.
Bill Miller helped with a series of pictures of his bike and along with measurements from another BSA survivor I was able to modify the fork to look like the BSA one.

[Alex van de Wetering]

I welded the little elegant edge into a flat, straight line, like the BSA fork and also added extra material to the top of the fork, also creating a flat surface at that end.


At first I used washers with the correct inner and outer diameter to weld to the end of the "legs". Unfortunately these washers were very thin, so I wasn't able to weld them to the fork, without the welding equipment "eating" the thin metal. So, I found some thicker washers in the garage and welded these to the forks without trouble. I welded the holes shut, so I can drill a smaller hole later on (the second washers had a slightly oversized hole).

I discussed these "washers" with Bill and they were most likely intended to fit a fender or luggage carrier. The folding Bicycle didn't have these, so BSA probably used a "civil" fork for the production of their folding bike.


Currently I am working on the frame and steering wheel. Removing the paint and dirt from the frame takes more time than I anticipated. But, I work on small section of the frame at a time and spray zinc primer in stages afterwards.

Oh. Bill was correct about the pedals. They were originally painted, but paint wore very quickly during use of the bike. I have removed the paint of mine, so the sliding system works properly.

Alex

p.s. the last picture shows a wheel I bought two weeks ago; it's 26inch and 32 spokes, just like the oiginal. The shape is also very close to original. The only thing is the rough surface on the sides of the rim.....I will try to remove a little bit of the surface, hopefully creating a flat surface again....