1952 Golden Flash - The BSA Bitsa (Part 1)

Nothing excites us more than receiving an email that goes something like...

"I just picked up a 1952 Golden Flash and a couple of basket cases (the fruit box kind). I’m itching to get the Flash up and running, but it’s not firing. I’d love to chat with someone about an engine rebuild."

This is what rolled into the workshop 'not firing' 

The A10 Golden Flash hit the BSA lineup in 1950, right when they were itching to compete with Triumph’s twins. This beauty came with a fresh 646cc engine designed by Bert Hopwood, and you could choose between a rigid frame or plunger rear suspension—just like we’ve got here. The A10 was so similar to the A7 that it borrowed a ton of its proven parts, which meant better reliability and fewer headaches with the issues the often plague ‘new’ tech.

Now, we’re no strangers to old iron, but we wanted to nail down exactly what we’re dealing with before diving in. Often, when parts don’t fit just right, your dealing with pieces from different years, and even different model of bike AKA a ‘bitsa’. So, we started digging into the history of this old Beezer that rolled into our workshop. Turns out, this frame and motor aren’t exactly what we thought. The frame is from 1951, which means it could’ve housed either an A7 (500cc) or an A10 (650cc). But the motor we’ve got is a genuine A10 from 1953. We also ran into a hiccup with the carburetor alignment and the airbox that came with this bike.

The airbox is from an A7 of the 1940s, which means it’s got different airbox, filter element and rubber intake boot to what we need. So, we’re on the hunt for the right airbox. With a 1951 frame and a 1953 motor, it looks like this 1952 is a bit of a mix-and-match. But hey, we’re excited to get this bike up and running and restored back to its former glory, as close to original as possible. Got a basket case? Hit us up! 

Text: Piet Photos:Jessie Rae /unknown/shopmanual