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Welcome to our blogs, news and tech area of our site! Please understand that Classic British Spares works diligently and hard to ensure our work is accurate and correct. Although our team has deep roots with vintage British motorcycles that spans over 30+ years, we are in no way shape or form "experts" or an "authority" in our industry (nor do we pretend to be) but instead real life enthusiasts (like you) looking to share our opinions and experience. Happy reading!


The BSA A65 Oil Pump Journal 1962-1972

The BSA A65 Oil Pump Journal 1962-1972

The BSA A65 Oil Pump Journal One of the leading features that the BSA unit twin has over the Triumph twin is it's robust rotary oil pump. Although many folks do not like the engine design of the BSA A50 & the BSA A65, you still have to give BSA some props for designing and using a pump that works, and works very well when rebuilt properly and well maintained. The downfall on the BSA oil pumps are the material that most where made from. First, not all BSA rotary oil pumps are created equal. In fact, to my knowledge,...

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The 37th Annual Hansen Dam Ride 2016 Review

The 37th Annual Hansen Dam Ride 2016 Review

37th Annual Hansen Dam Ride 2016   37th Annual Hansen Dam Ride. This was only half of the shot!   The annual Hansen Dam ride for 2016 was an incredible turn out and a great way to end the 2016 year. This was the 2nd time that I have personally attended the annual "Hansen Dam Ride" and let me tell you, this year was the biggest turn out yet! I have never seen so many vintage Triumph motorcycles and Norton motorcycles in one spot at the same time. Everywhere you look there was a sea of Triumph and Norton motorcycles...

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New Copper Head Gaskets - Why You Should Always Anneal Them

New Copper Head Gaskets - Why You Should Always Anneal Them

Anneal Your Copper Head Gasket   BSA A65 copper head gasket before we annealed it using a Bernzomatic MAPP gas torch.   Everyone has there own opinion about when to and how to anneal copper head gaskets or any type of jointing surface that happens to be made of copper. We had an interesting experience here on our personal 1969 BSA A65 that costed us more time than it did money. It involved a copper head gasket that didn't seal properly after we completed our top end job. I'm going to explain my own personal experience to persuade you to...

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Needle Bearing Oil Holes - Is It Necessary?

Needle Bearing Oil Holes - Is It Necessary?

Needle Bearing Oil Holes   Have you ever pulled apart a gearbox on a vintage Triumph, or classic BSA motorcycle and noticed that some of the needle bearings have holes on the outside? If you have wondered that, then you need to read this blog post. I will get further into detail specifically on needle roller bearings and the "oil holes" for British motorcycles. But first there are a couple questions you need to ask yourself. What is an "oil hole" needle bearing? Why do some needle bearings have oil holes on the outside? Does it matter if I install...

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Spotting Fake Vintage Triumph, BSA, & Norton Engine Numbers

Spotting Fake Vintage Triumph, BSA, & Norton Engine Numbers

Spotting Fake Engine Numbers With vintage British motorcycles increasing in value and popularity everyday, the rise of bogus engine numbers are starting to appear more frequently. Why "bogus" engine numbers? Well, some are trying to capitalize on rare models engine and frame numbers to increase a motorcycles value. For example, if you have a Triumph T120 engine case stamped "T120 DUXXXX" and you stamp "TT" after the "T120", you have now made a fraudulent Triumph T120TT. Some do it to get titles, the list goes on and on. Altering engine and frame numbers is a felony here in the states...

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