cake street in classic bike

[bonny]

anyone see the article in classic bike about roger shirman and his work on pre-unit bsa twins ? i think classic bike are only paying lip service to british bikes now as most of the magazine is concentrating on 70's japanese stuff.
i was shocked to see that he uses conrods from wassell , i wouldn't buy a seat cover off them let alone a pair of conrods. 

[lawnmowerman]

Talking about Wassel seat covers...........
I have a Wassel seat on my SR fitted by the PO. It looks very nice but does not have the step in the middle so you end up sitting too high on the bike and sliding backwards. I suppose I will have to get it rebuilt with the foam reprofiled - either that or fit some Western bars 
Jim

[A10Boy]

I think Roger and the team are top geezers. I saw his two RGS's at the stafford show last year[?], £17,000 each!

I would be bloody well upset if I had paid that to find out they had frikkin wassal con rods in there. I bought a fiber mag gear from them once, it didnt fit, proper ones are 14mm wide, this was 12 and the unit wouldnt fit together, [it was probably intended for a non A/R mag] but I mean, if you are going to sell stuff its not that difficult to make sure its fit for purpose. We were discussing cheap rubbish on ebay -- no further comment required...

[a101960]

What Roger Sharman actually says is this "I fit American made alloy rods sourced from Wassell" I would therefore be inclined to believe that the rods are of good quality. I must agree with the sentiment that one needs to be wary about Wassell parts in general. Certainly parts that I have had from that source have not impressed me. I have bought parts from Roger Sharman: RGS siamese pipes (excellent quality and excellent fit) they are exact replicas of the genuine BSA originals. No cutting, filing, bending or any other remedial work was required. The pipes were just offered up and they fitted perfectly. Isn't that what we all want? The pipes were supplied unplated so that was an additional expense, but crucially because I was able to choose the chrome plater, the quality of the plating is superb. The pipes have been on the bike for 10 years and there is no sign of rust or bluing. I got my RGS kick start quadrant from Len Haggis (£90) so not the cheapest option by far, but it has served for 7 years without trouble. When buying parts you really need to do your research before purchase. There is one well known supplier of BSA parts for example that had some A10/A7 big end bolts made. These bolts were CNC machined!! Not the proper forged rolled thread specification. Personally I am very, very, wary of ebay. I bought a set of rear mudguard stays via ebay (repros) and dimensionally they were miles out. The quality? of the plating was abysmal. The cost was £30 a pair, so maybe I should have been more alert to the probability that these items were unlikely to be satisfactory. Another example of price versus quality is ammeters. There are any amount on sale for around £10. They look fine, but the pointer will oscillate all over the place. However, if you pay around £20 the ammeter will not only look fine, it will work fine. The pointer will be damped and give an accurate indication of what is going on in your charging system. I could cite many more examples.The old adage, however applies, "if it seems to good to be true, then it probably is " in the final analysis you pay your money and make your choice. Pictures: Roger Sharman pipes.

[bonny]

even if the rods were made by an american maker , i would still be wary , wassell and quality simply don't go hand in hand in my experience, i bought a seat for my triumph from them mail order and its rubbish compared to the original .

[Goldseeker]

I have bought parts from Roger Sharman: RGS siamese pipes (excellent quality and excellent fit) they are exact replicas of the genuine BSA originals. No cutting, filing, bending or any other remedial work was required. The pipes were just offered up and they fitted perfectly. Isn't that what we all want? The pipes were supplied unplated so that was an additional expense, but crucially because I was able to choose the chrome plater, the quality of the plating is superb. The pipes have been on the bike for 10 years and there is no sign of rust or bluing.

That is very much of interest to me as I have just taken delivery of a pair of siamese from Roger. Haven't fitted them as yet but the quality looks really good, the bends have no distortion at all. They come plated now.

He couldn't supply an original clamp for the joint, apparently like rocking horse s**t, so I need to get a clamp of some description, mind telling me what you used?

[alanp]

Based on my experience with Roger Sharman's Cake Street Classics while building an RGS rep., there is no question in my mind that the many parts I've had from him have been excellent. Once he even pointed me to another source because he couldn't get a part with the correct quality. Regarding seats, if you don't want disappointment, just get them from Leighton. Over time and wasted money you learn who to get parts from, so posts on this site can help others.
Alan

[lawnmowerman]

Thanks Alan
I have just ordered a seat from Leightons. They were really helpful and know what they are about and fortunately they had one on the shelf so it will be with me on Tuesday. Apparently there are two types of A10 S/A seats - the earlier (up to 59) was flat at the top and the later version has a step between the rider and pillion and is slightly wider. I have an earlier Wassel seat on my 59 SR fitted by the PO and I feel that I am sitting too high and after a ride there are creases from front to back in the cover.
Leightons are not cheap but hey - what price quality! We have had this debate many times on many topics on the forum and buying cheap for unusable parts is a total waste of money. We need to support quality suppliers or they will go out of business and we will have no option to pay extra for decent parts and be left having to use the multitude of sub-standard manufacturers and suppliers who sell purely on price.

Jim

[a101960]

Goldseeker,

I got my pipe clips from George Prew. http://www.goldstar-rgs-gp.co.uk/index.html Telephone 01763 848763. Silencer and siamese pipe clip part number 42-2860.

John

[A10Boy]

We need to support quality suppliers or they will go out of business and we will have no option to pay extra for decent parts and be left having to use the multitude of sub-standard manufacturers and suppliers who sell purely on price.

Too right.


I avoid George Prew if possible. There's no problem with the quality of his spares, but he can be a friggin miserable git. I went to the VMCC Founders day show and wanted a four spring clutch centre - sold out he says - can i have the display one then says I [which was cable tied to a board] - No says he "cos i will have to put one back on the board" - I thanked him profusely for his help and went elsewhere. 

[bonny]

Too right.


I avoid George Prew if possible. There's no problem with the quality of his spares, but he can be a friggin miserable git. I went to the VMCC Founders day show and wanted a four spring clutch centre - sold out he says - can i have the display one then says I [which was cable tied to a board] - No says he "cos i will have to put one back on the board" - I thanked him profusely for his help and went elsewhere. 

some people really know how to promote their businesses don't they, i know what i'd have told him .

[a101960]

I avoid George Prew if possible. There's no problem with the quality of his spares, but he can be a friggin miserable git.

I would concur with that statement. George can be very acerbic and surly sometimes. He is a bit of an enigma in that respect because he can also be extremely helpful and informative on other occasions. This does seem to be the consensus view reflected by most people that have dealt with him however. I am sometimes amazed at how he is able to continue trading given his unpredictable behaviour. It must be due the the quality of what he sells. To give George his due, if an item does not meet his quality standard then he will not sell it which is more than be can said about some of the alternative BSA parts suppliers.

John

[A10Boy]

Yes absolutely right.

My first priority when I buy parts is the quality of the product, I much prefer to buy a well made top quality £50 widget from a miserable and rude old git than buy a poor quality £35 widget from the likes of wassel that would probably fall apart even before I got it home.

However, I usually go to the likes of C&D, Burton Bike Bits or Cake St before I go to someone who couldn't even be bothered to cut a cable tie to make a sale. - F'kim.

[brackenfel]

In my limited period of BSA ownership I have found C&D to be absolutely excellent for what I've needed so far.. I too started out buying stuff on Ebay, most of which in fairness has been ok.. In future though I'll be putting quality & service first......

Adrian

[Goldseeker]

Goldseeker,

I got my pipe clips from George Prew. http://www.goldstar-rgs-gp.co.uk/index.html Telephone 01763 848763. Silencer and siamese pipe clip part number 42-2860.

John

Hi John,

No luck today from Mr Prew.  Claims he hasn't ever come across one before  so guess I better look for something else.

Col.

[bsa- bill]

Tri-cor have them listed

www.tri-corengland.com/acatalog/40-4735_to_42-2860.html

Have had good stuff from them

[a101960]

Claims he hasn't ever come across one before

Col,

Sorry that I sent you on a false trail. All goes to demonstrate what a odd character George is. He is of course telling porkies. I bought my clips from him at the Cheltenham Auto Jumble. Still at the end of the day it is his loss. Incidentally, the part number I gave you is from his parts list "NEW SPARES" page 5 and I quote "Silencer & Siamese Pipe Clip 2"  meaning quantity two of. That is verbatim.

Now for the good news. You will find what you want here. http://www.burtonbikebits.net/exhaustfittings.htm

John

[Goldseeker]

Thanks BSA-Bill and John,

After looking at your links I think I now know where George Prew was coming from. I asked him for a genuine BSA clamp and the ones in the links are not. Obviously suppliers are using the BSA part number for an alternative.

This came to light after phoning Simon from Barleycorn Eng. We had quite a long chat about him trying to replicate the original and having little success due to its complexity. What he described to me was nothing as simple as the ones shown. He did say that he would have another go at making a replica but I'm not too sure how successful thats going to be so in the meantime I will get one from Tri-Cor or Burton.

Col.

[a101960]

Col

This obviously what you are looking for. I have not seen this type of clip for years. Be aware that if you do locate one it will in all probability damage your chrome plating. Due to the way that it is made the clip grips on two quite sharp edges and tends to dig in as you tighten up. The band type clips spread the load and therefore do not damage the chrome in this way. The original clip is as I remember a rust trap. For these reasons I personally would not fit one.

John

[Goldseeker]

Col

This obviously what you are looking for. I have not seen this type of clip for years. Be aware that if you do locate one it will in all probability damage your chrome plating. Due to the way that it is made the clip grips on two quite sharp edges and tends to dig in as you tighten up. The band type clips spread the load and therefore do not damage the chrome in this way. The original clip is as I remember a rust trap. For these reasons I personally would not fit one.

John

John,

That drawing was quite a find  . It illustrates why there are no exact replica's as not easy to make without specific tooling and the convex inner profile will, as you say, mark the pipes. One part to take of my ‘must find’ list. 

Col.