Author Topic: oil tank in 1953 Road Rocket brochure. (the one that is mostly a Super Flash)  (Read 944 times)

Offline Lightningpower

  • A's Good Friend
  • ***
  • Join Date: Jun 2010
  • Posts: 80
  • Karma: 0
I'm wondering what the collective wisdom is regarding the oil tank in the advert in the link. The bike has a Super Flash frame, petrol tank etc, but a different oil tank with a large froth tower. I'm guessing this is an adaptation of another oil tank with an expanded rear section to fit behind the kinked frame and the forth tower added to that expansion. What do you think? What do you think was the original tank that was modified?

Thanks,
LP
http://www.laurent-roy.com/moto/img/BSA_650_Road_Rocket_Super_Flash_(US)_1953_2.jpg
1953 Star Twin - Racing
1953 Super Flash
1956 Road Rocket
1958 Super Rocket
1959 Spitfire Scrambler
1967 Hornet

Offline BSA_54A10

  • Wise & Enlightened
  • *
  • Join Date: May 2008
  • Posts: 2544
  • Karma: 37
    • BSA National
What you see in advertising and even road test and what actually left the factory are oft two totally different things.
Preproduction bikes were made & sent to the USA so they could be tested & the results get to print before the bikes had arrived.
Where there were significant changes from one year to another the catalogue images were generally a current year model with mock up parts fitted.
Bike Beesa
Trevor

Offline Lightningpower

  • A's Good Friend
  • ***
  • Join Date: Jun 2010
  • Posts: 80
  • Karma: 0
Which is why I want to know what the basis for the photographed tank is. Its clearly not what became the Super Flash oil tank. It is identical to the Racing Twin. I have an RT but the oil tank is missing. I need to recreate it, so I need to know what the best tank would be for me to start with. The likelihood of finding an original '53 RT twin tank is pretty well nill.
1953 Star Twin - Racing
1953 Super Flash
1956 Road Rocket
1958 Super Rocket
1959 Spitfire Scrambler
1967 Hornet

Online Beeza

  • A's Good Friend
  • ***
  • Join Date: Oct 2014
  • Posts: 188
  • Karma: 4
It's a rigid tank, but lots of changes, I have an original super flash one of these tanks. The filler, supply line, brackets and shape to fit around the frame kink are all different from a rigid tank.
I don't expect your RT has the frame kink?. So with a bit of skill you should be able to make an RT oil tank, happy fabricating.
BTW I can PM you more pics if you need.

Thomas
62 A10 BVSR, 62 A10 RGS, 53 SFS, 57 G/Flash-black one

Offline edboy

  • Resident Legend
  • *****
  • Join Date: Oct 2012
  • Posts: 531
  • Karma: 5
that bike in the photo looks like a collection of bits from all sorts of other models. were the factory having a clearout that year and sent it to our puzzled cousins across the pond?

Offline Lightningpower

  • A's Good Friend
  • ***
  • Join Date: Jun 2010
  • Posts: 80
  • Karma: 0
Hi Beeza,
That is exactly what I'm looking for. My frame does have the kink in it. The Super Flash was a homologation machine of the 12 RT's that were made (at least for their cycle parts, as the engine was an A7 derivitive), so no surprise some of them (probably the early ones) came with the same RT oil tank. I'll PM you.

Cheers!
1953 Star Twin - Racing
1953 Super Flash
1956 Road Rocket
1958 Super Rocket
1959 Spitfire Scrambler
1967 Hornet