I thought is was about time that I put just a little up here about my carry-on at the Dry Lakes Racers Australia Speed Week 2019. Some of you might have seen related posts on the forum on my intent and progress to run in the 2019 Speed Week with a BSA 500cc SV, some of you may already be aware of the outcome via BSAMOA (Vic) or Facebook or word of mouth. Anyway, here's some notes, a very short form of what went on!
Firstly I was a complete novice, I'd never done any form of motorsport in my life, I'd never restored, let along build a non-standard bike. As you'd expect the journey was not direct and the outcome not what had been planned. The objective was simply to run in the 2019 Speed Week. The base for the bike was a Gumtree purchased 'barn find' 1948 BSA M21. The bike was mostly all there, but what was there was mostly not in good shape. The story was that some work had been done many years before but it never made it back on the road. As I took the bike apart that was most likely a true story, rebored, piston marked with BSA +0.5mm, honing marks still visible, engine sprocket too close to crankcase so that chain touched the case, i.e. if you had started it you'd have made a mess. Frame with a large slug of braze sliding inside one leg of the chainstay, chainstay in two parts. A long list of things that weren't going to be a motorcycle without lots of work.
As a novice I spent a long time cleaning off grime to see the extent of the below-grime materials and 'assuming' I'd then do something to fix these things. One example was the wheels, where I researched what rims I'd use (Japanese ally rims were the selection), before coming to the realisation that by the time I'd dealt with the rear sprocket replacement, fork rebuild (read as replace almost all the parts), and the wheel re-build I'd have spent quite a tidy sum. Sense pre-vailed and advise from DLRA members had me purchasing a 'modern' rolling chassis for a pittance, and using the forks, wheels, brakes (well brake, you just need a rear for land speed racing), and even buying a narrower wheel having seen that the CBR250R rear from the rolling chassis wasn't going to make a viable chainline, a CBR125R was a better option.
After this I focused on foot-rest and seat loops, fabricating them from stainless steel tube and learning that I'm in need of much more practice at welding stainless steel. I had a plan, which said that each month I'd hit a key step, the first step was 'rolling chassis' and was due to May or June 2018. I think I actually made that, even then with things not actually final-state, in something like October 2018.
People asked if I was still going in Ma1rch 2019. Yes, I said, clearly with no real clue of how! So as December approached I had a more sensible answer, mostly for the couple who'd said they'd come and be part of the team (they'd never been to Lake Gairdner, or been part of a motorsport team...so we were well matched in novice content). Anyway, they needed to plan getting there, hiring 4x4 and stuff like that, so they needed some certainty, to which my plan was "I will make a go / no-go decision on the Australia Day weekend". Now that got me working, I worked my Christmas holidays to get to a rolling chassis with fairing fitted, and a tank that was primed for some paint. I worked every weekend, and four nights a week from then until the pre-inspection, reaching the go / no-go and making a "well lets give it a good shot" near-go decision. The pre-inspection in early Feb 2019 saw a bike that was at least inspectable, an engine and gearbox fitted, but no chains, but the all important chainguards to inspect. I was chuffed that the list of jobs to do post-inspection was no-longer than it had been before, some had gone and some had been added!
Now, it's at this point that I should mention the engine, and gearbox. These were not those intended for the bike. Just after Christmas indulgence the BSAMOA has a recovery run, I headed off for that on by road bike, BSA M20, 1939 (ish). I got 10 miles from home and found I now had just the one gear to play with, wisely turning fore home and trying not to create too long a queue as I limped back in 2nd gear. No big deal, just a pawl-spring broken. But this was a 'sign' that Bessie was offering her gearbox, and therefore engine, to Salty Bessie. Well that's how I took it! So I bought a shoddy ally head (for a reasonable price believe it or not) from eBay from the UK, which was skimmed to take several mill from the valve end and just clear up the bore end and the mill level the head-bolt lands. I bought some 65-2446 cams, and some new valve springs, including some inners. These were put to one side until the bike was finished in standard set-up, well near standard, as I also bought a VM34 carby and a lovely inlet manifold. The latter intended for a Triumph but 34mm tapered to 30mm, which fitted quite nicely to the standard block.
The departure for Lake Gairdner was 28 Feb, the racing starting on Monday 4th March and a good old journey, two overnight stops, from home in Melbourne, that last in Port Augusta where we met up with the couple who were still game to be in the team. The clutch, primary and rear chains still hadn't been fitted and the tank hadn't had petrol put in, in fact hadn't had any in since goodness knows how long. Still we pack and headed off, having finished up final jobs at about midnight the evening before, with many of the now regular spectators wishing me well - much work was done in the car-park space where the trailer lives, we're apartment dwellers so there's no shed to work in, but on the plus side you have a regular stream of fellow residents enquiring after you!
We arrived and set-up pit, then camp, and were back on the lake - no camping on the lake - on the Sunday to finish the bike, scrutineering was going to close at about 1500, I got the bike started with maybe 30mins to spare, but she wouldn't start a second time. Still scrutineering were prepared to pass her, subject to a kill switch test later. Non-starting was diagnosed as a closed up plug gap. Odd, this had worked for many hundreds of miles...but I didn't think any more and just changed the plug, this was with the cast iron head and standard cams, and (spoiler alert) the original valve springs. Monday start of racing, and up first all rookies. I was last to the line with last minute seeping tank tap troubles, but I was there. Land speed is mostly waiting, so we waiting to run. When we got the front I then had the moment of 'will she start', it appeared this was going to be "no" but one final swing with what felt like my last bit of energy and thump thump goes Salty. Off we go, successfully completing the rookie run, but failing to make it back to the pits unaided, yes, the plug has closed up, and yes, she'd misfired for the last part of the timed mile and yes it was because the old springs with the extra breathing form the bigger carby were floating the valve into the plug! Still a very respectable 74mph, just over, for the timed mile. Now to put the go-faster parts in. That was all the rest of Monday and then Tuesday morning, mostly due to having a supply of P for protrusion plugs, when I really needed non-protrusion, or better still surface discharge plugs, none were on hand so I turned my BP5 into a side gap plug with some delicate cut, grind, bend work, plus placed a copper washer under the plug. Worse case we'd crack the centre electrode now, rather than close-up the gap. Still, I was very glad I'd turning the engine over slowly by hand with the allow head resting with the bolts lose to find out that it popped up with the inlet fully open. Of we went to wait most of Tuesday arvo, getting to run at about 17:30. Back to the pit, check all the bits are still on the bike, then toddle over to get my timing slip. Shock - 90.393mph, please go to the impound, you have qualified for a record run in the morning! You have a limited number of hours to maintain the bike in the impound, or in our case until end of the day, which was a lot less time. However, I had no planned maintenance, so we lubricated the chains and checked tensions, checked oil level and wrapped her up for the overnight alone on the lake.
Back Wednesday morning, stormy weather had played hell with the timing equipment, some lovely lightening, but the track timing was less impressed by the currents provided. Delayed the start a little, but not too long. Of we go, I reach the timed mile, mile 3 on the short course, and she was misfiring badly, this wasn't going to be good. I run back along the return road and glance down...the reason for the misfire is the carby as tilted 45degress due to a duff hose clip. Hold on I knew that wasn't tight, why didn't I replace it! So, back to the pit, after picking up the timing slip, just over 79mph, no record, the average has to be above the existing record. Ponder, do we just fix the hose clip, or that plus revise the gearing, I felt she'd pull a little higher gearing. We opt for the quicker option of just the hose clip and get back in the wait at pre-stage. Again we run at about 17:30, back to the get the timing slip, 91.494mph, there was I admit a strong tail wind! Same routine, this time we have slightly more clue, not much!
Thursday morning, and we've decided this will be our last run, we pack up and head back before the last Friday morning of racing, as our friends need to get a good start to make it back with the hire 4x4 in time and we have a good old journey too. So we line up with fellow racers, one a mate from the BSA club, LEs Toohey, another Joe running her 50cc Debry with the Aflick Aflick and Aflick team (that felt to me like being on the line with Rossi or Sheene, I was in awe!). We make our run, we've got 83.985mph, we were 1.6mph under the record on average. Never mind, next time!
So, we're going back, not 2020, but 2021, which gives time to actually prepare the engine I intended, 88mm stroke, 87mm bore, 50mm inlet, custom cams, custom head, are the main points, that's work-in-progress, and still a long way to go, so March 2021 seems a little close already!
When we got back, I had a limited time for the All British Rally, so the simplest path to getting Bessie back on the road was to put the yellow tank from Salty Bessie on, and keep the VM34 and the cams. I've been running with that set-up, and that hand-crafted plug, since then, I'll get round to 'fixing that' at some point!
This links to some powerpoint slides, you should be able to view by clicking, it will take a while to load-up, but will save me ages with the upload of photos!
Salty Bessie, Part 1; the long road to the salt
Hopefully you won't be too horrified and my poor old BSA antics!
email (option): dickie.bobbie@hotmail.co.uk
A great story...and a good result from a first attempt....Interesting to see Goughs M20 that's in the museum in Tasmania...He got that one going really well in the 60's...104mph I think....Good luck with it all and keep us up to date with progress!....Ian
email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com
Indeed really interesting stuff and a great read. I saw the details of Gough's M.20 Racer back in the late 1970s and remember Pat Jeal's effort. My M.21 racer is less radical but still pretty quick for what it is and I hope to have it back on the road in late 2020.
I will look forward to further updates and wish you all the very best.