Wheels again

[Wylyetom]

My 56 road rocket is about to have some new rims laced into the hubs, only problem is i have just realised the I think it is fitted with the wrong ones! The hubs on mine are the full width cast iron hubs front and back as seen on he later super rockets, I'm now not sure what to do as to whether to try and find the correct drums, I even wonder now as to the identification of my bike as it has a super rocket engine but the frame is 1956, I may have to try and find out from the BSAog, what should I do!!

[orabanda]

The correct hubs are the Ariel alloy full width.
They are offered on Ebay from time to time.



Richard

[Brian]

It could get even more difficult as the alloy "Ariel" hubs require different forks to the cast iron hubs and maybe a different swingarm ?

Let us know the engine and frame numbers and we should be able to work out what year they are.

[beezermacc]

The Bacon Books, whilst not perfect, have enough information (frame no.s, engine no.s, general spec.) to identify your bike. Alternatively you could post your engine and frame no.s on the forum; I suggest replacing the last two or three digits of both with # just incase somebody wishes to fraudulently 'lift' your bike's identity. The BSAOC has a page with engine and frame numbers if I remember correctly. You can send me a PM if you like with your numbers if you don't want the whole world to know what you've got! Basically, as orabanda says, if you want your bike to look like '56 you should have Ariel hubs, if you want it to look like a Super Rocket ('58-) it should have the cast iron hubs. '56/57 frames started with the prefix EA7, 58/59 - FA7, 60- GA7. 56/57 engines are prefixed CA10, 58 - from CA10R 6001, 59- from CA10R 8193, 60 - DA10R. Quoted from Bacon Restoration.

[muskrat]

Yep a different swing arm and fork legs.
Cheers

[Wylyetom]

Thanks to you all, my frame number being EA71***, means it is indeed of 1956 vintage, my engine on the otherhand number DA10r75** hc,  means that is from 1963. I bought this bike 8 years ago as being a 1956 road rocket and but knew the engine was not original, now it turns out that maybe it isn't a road rocket at all. I think that I am going to contact the BSA owners club?? Hopefully they can tell me from the factory records what the frame was when it left the factory. My whole restoration depends on it as if it is a true road rocket then I will try to find the correct forks/ hubs, but if it is in fact a BITSA then I can restore it as it had been ( clip-ons, siamese pipe, rear-sets,ect), and how I liked it,  without the guilt of having messed with an original bike!

[KiwiGF]

Others will no doubt know but I wonder if the flash and rocket frames were identical, if they were then you probably will have to ask the the VMCC UK like I did (numbers below) to ascertain whether your bike was despatched as a rocket or flash, or even a 500cc! You just need to find someone who knows. I always thought mine was a flash, and it turned it out to be.

I also wonder if the very first export 56 models might have had the "wrong" hubs, from what I've heard BSA did sometimes try to use up stocks of "old" parts before fully moving onto the next years spec.

I also have a similar decision to make regarding originality as I have the original engine cases but the timing side is stuffed and needs a lot of welding due a long crack caused by a blow up long ago... so.... do I fit a matched pair of cases from another bike (and let the next owner - who I might never meet - do the necessary work to use the original case) or do I do get the necessary (expensive) machining work done myself in order to use the spare timing side case I have.... Just to get a little number "correct"!

Decisions decisions

Anyway, I've decided to sit on the fence and keep (and buy where necessary) all the original parts needed to make the bike to original spec but also make the bike like I want it without messing up anything important to get the bike back to original like the frame - so it's RGS guards and 356 cam for me and the cow pat can also go on the shelf....and if I can ever afford an alloy head that will go on as well :-)