1954 BSA Road Rocket Project

The choice of bike came about almost by accident when, back in March 2009, Andrew accompanied a mate on a road trip to pick up some BSA parts. In the seller's shed was a rolling frame and assortment of parts for a 1954 BSA Road Rocket. At the time, Andrew had just finished the Aermacchi resto, and was looking for a new project, but something different. He was getting a bit sick of Harleys, so the 1954 Road Rocket (the debut year for that model) fitted the bill. After talking to the seller, a deposit was paid while they were there, and the Road Rocket was on its way to Andrew's place soon after! Andrew owned a late model Harley at the time, which while it was a good bike, didn't fuel his enthusiasm for tinkering, so that was sold to fund the rebuild of the Road Rocket.

Andrew told us the BSA was about 70 percent complete when he bought it, but needed a lot of work, and still required a bunch of parts, like new wheels, engine parts, exhausts, brackets and a lot of smaller, bolt-on bits. What makes the '54 particularly hard to get bits for, Andrew said, is that only 600 were made that year. It should be noted that there are parts unique to the 1954 model Road Rocket, like the headlight and cylinder head. Fortunately, some of these rare bits came with the rolling frame, also a 1954-unique item, when Andrew bought it. With the natural attrition of time, parts specific to this model and year of BSA have become harder and harder to find. Andrew soon discovered this, but thanks to some helpful contacts, swap meets and various online classified and auction websites, he was able to find all the parts - more specifically, the right parts - to complete the project.

With the Victorian branch of the BSA Owners Club hosting the 2009 National BSA Rally at Torquay that October, Andrew set himself the goal of having the Road Rocket ready to take part in the event - which meant he had a little under seven months to get everything together. That included getting things like chrome plating and painting done by outside suppliers. Huntingdale Chrome Plating and Classic Chrome in Geelong handled the former, while Ray Drever, also located near Geelong, did a top job with the paint work.

With all the parts ready to assemble, Andrew described the resto as being fairly straightforward, even rebuilding things like the magneto and generator, but he hit a major snag when it came to actually getting the Road Rocket to run. The bike proved hard to fire up, even after roll starts - dozens of them - Andrew said with a note of frustration! When it did turn over, it was spewing out smoke and pumping oil out of the exhausts. Stripping down the engine, Andrew soon identified the culprit as a faulty oil pump, so a new one was sourced. The bike did improve with the replacement pump, but was still blowing a lot of smoke. A test run up to Healesville made the problem all the more apparent, so Andrew decided to strip the engine down - again - in an attempt to pinpoint the fault. By this stage, the start of the BSA National Rally was less than a week away, so time was running out!

With the engine in pieces again on the Sunday evening before the start of the Rally on the following Friday, the damage wrought by the first oil pump became apparent. The pistons were damaged and the bore was seriously scored, so the engine had to be rebored and the pistons replaced, courtesy of Modak in Melbourne.

Two days before the start of the Rally, Andrew was able to put the repaired engine back together. The run down to Torquay on Friday became its maiden voyage with all the new and repaired parts in place. Andrew described those last few days as pretty frantic, but thanks to his own experience and some valuable contacts he'd made over the course of this and past projects, he was able to get the engine sorted in double quick time and attend the Rally as planned. The time and attention Andrew put into the Road Rocket paid dividends, as it ran perfectly during the run on the Saturday of the National Rally organised by the BSAOC. To top it off, the Road Rocket won the award for 'Best Pre-Unit Twin' at Saturday's concours from a strong field, including a couple of later model Road and Super Rockets.

Unfortunately, this project took a dark turn the day after when Andrew and some friends were heading back to Torquay after the BSA club's organised ride to Lorne. A head-on collision with an oncoming car (a late model Ferrari, no less) destroyed the Road Rocket and put Andrew in intensive care. His friends were caught up in the accident, too. With multiple fractures, internal and brain injuries, Andrew was lucky to be alive, but thanks to the staff at Victoria's Alfred Hospital, and the Victorian Rehabilitation Centre, he pulled through. Aside from the medical staff, Andrew credits his ongoing recovery to the constant support of his wife Christine, daughters Jess and Chloe, and the rest of his family and friends.

With riding the furthest thing from his mind in the months immediately following the accident, Andrew sold off most of the parts that were usable from the wreck. Needing funds to buy a house, Andrew also sold his Aermacchi Harley resto, as well as a rare AJW Grey Fox motorcycle. The 'pinball' nature of the accident meant the Road Rocket was hit from multiple angles, so very little was salvageable anyway. Andrew described everything on the bike as either bent or smashed. The only thing he hung onto was the oil tank.

However, Andrew's urge to ride - and tinker - couldn't stay suppressed forever, so a little over six months after the accident, he decided to restore another 1954 BSA Road Rocket! Andrew has set himself the goal of making this second Road Rocket project even better. He's also committed to making it 100 percent authentic, too, so no later year or substitute parts will do, everything has to be true to a 1954 model Road Rocket.

Andrew started off by sourcing the 1954-specific cylinder head, which is extremely difficult to get. Once he'd got hold of that, he was set on course not only to see the project through, but to see it done properly. For example, he could have used a 1955 frame, but refused, searching for over a year before a correct 1954 frame became available from Mike Reilly in Queensland. Andrew also sourced a bunch of literature and manuals not only to help identify correct parts, but also to confirm the correct way to put them all together.

In April this year, Andrew attended the All British Rally at Newstead, Victoria, his first ride since the accident. Seeing all that British metal and chrome no doubt fuelled his determination to push on with the project, so a lot of engine parts and other rare components like the Road Rocket's tacho drive and Amal carbys have since been sourced - but there's still a long way to go. Andrew is currently on the hunt for things like gauges, brakes, cables, nuts and bolts, and a gearbox, amongst other things, so any assistance or leads in tracking down parts would be welcome. Andrew has put himself under less pressure this time, but is keen to get 'Road Rocket 2' done before the next Victorian-hosted BSA National Rally - which isn't this year, by the way! However, with all the right parts, funding, and help from his good mate Thomas, Andrew reckons he could easily get Road Rocket 2 done for this year's National BSA Rally in Nuriootpa, South Australia. This rebuild will also be a tribute to one of Andrew's great friends, Arthur Couch, whom he describes as the 'Original Rocketman'. Given what we've seen of the first build, we can't wait to see Road Rocket 2!