I guess I'm not going let this debate die.
Where I am, few BSAs are ever seen. I mean, really few. I have lived in the area for 18 years and have probably seen a total of three when I wasn?t actually at a motorcycle event. However, when I ride someplace with a lot of older bikers who were around in the day, like a Harley Davidson event, they notice I'm riding a BSA but they don't say, "what a pity the tank isn't chromed." I think if I rode into the middle of the Fenman Classic, I doubt many, or any, would say it. In any case I think the "hallmark" in this forum is really a tri-pointed timing cover. Anyway, I like to think that the three or more years it took me to raise my bike from the dead were not in vain. I apologize for my not-well-veiled indignation.
Richard L.