1970 BSA Chopper

I have been in love with motorcycles and riding them since I was a kid. It was my dads 1970 BSA Thunderbolt that got me hooked on the old school bikes. So, one day out of the blue I said to myself, “I want to build a Beezer like the old man had back in the 70′s.”

So, I found a 67 BSA Lightning out at Baxter Cycles in Marne, Iowa and began to get her running just so I could cut her up.  One day on the net looking for parts I ran into this old school BSA chop out in Michigan for sale, the price the owner wanted was cheaper than what I already had in my 67 project and I hadn’t even cut it up yet!  So, after talking to the owner for about a month, I sold my 67 Beezer to a dude in Colorado for the price I bought the chop for.  Story goes is that the guy I bought the bike from was the second owner; he got it back in 72-73? He could not confirm it, but if you look at the sissy bar it is surely a “Finch” bike.   Either way it’s still cool.

A four day road trip to Michigan with my buddy Robby took us to a very cool old school chopper virtually untouched from the day.  It was truly a step back in time, I couldn’t wait to load it in the back of my truck and get on the road before this guy changed his mind.  The looks all the way back home to Omaha, Nebraska were crazy, I mean people looked up at her said “What’s that?” or “I remember those, my dad had one.”  The grin on my face went along with awesome feeling I had inside that I really had something here that was special.

After a year of riding her and taking her to the local “Bike Nights” it was time to make it mine! So, last winter I turned the heater up in the garage and began tearing her down completely.  Boy, you want to know your bike, take it apart bolt by bolt. First things first, I took the motor to Baxter Cycles in Marne, Iowa where Nathan Wahlert did a stock rebuild and installed a mild cam along with having it balanced.  While Nathan was working his magic on the engine, I enlisted the help of Mike @ Sprockets, Inc. and Jimmy from Judd Performance to do some minor modifications on the frame and just clean it up a bit.  I then took the frame and painstakingly worked all the little areas, before I had it powder coated.  Changed the battery box, moved the ignition and light switch and removed the center stand.  Also rebuilt the Hurst/Air Heart brake, twice.

I had Mumbles from Custom Air lay the emerald paint down and also had him add flake and pin striping to it to keep the theme in the same area. Industrial Plating did all the chromed work and my brother Kirk and my son Brandon helped me replace the neck bearings and put the roller together.  I had double Carpal Tunnel surgery at this time so; my hands were not much use.

The original seat was that banana style and I really wanted something original and cool so, I had Preevo Leather Works build me a new pan and pee pad wrapped in hand tooled leather, now that’s cool, but not half as cool as the RatFink logo I had him tool into the seat to match my tattoo! Very Cool!

Nathan was finished with the engine, so I took the roller over to him to install it in the frame (I would have scratched the s – h out of it).  With a Boyer Electronic Ignition and a new Amal 930 Concentric Carb. from Baxter’s she was ready!  Tickled her a few times (for those who don’t know British bikes the tickler is a plunger on the Amal carbs that floods the bowl with fuel).  One Kick, Two Kicks BOOM! She started right up and has on the first or second kick since then.

This bike is a blast to ride, my wife Christy even enjoys it and there’s nothing better then pulling up next to another bike and getting looks of amusement and envy. I feel I did my father well by doing this project because of the Old Breezer he had.  I’m already ready to start working on another project, maybe a Triumph Bobber.

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