Jesse began the 1965 BSA project in 2009, when one of his customers brought in a rigid chopper to be customized. After dissembling the entire bike, all that was left was the engine, frame, and stock BSA QD rear wheel.

Jesse’s customer, Brett Scully, wanted to have a girder fork, so he found one from a BSA M-20. He had to fabricate a new top clamp, neck stem and new linkage. Jesse used antique faucet handles for the friction ride control because of the look of the porcelain and brass. By adjusting the rake, offset and height of the fork, he was able to obtain the correct frame stance.

The rear wheel is stock BSA 18” powder-coated black with stainless spokes and Coker tire. The front wheel is a thirty-six spoke 21” laced to a BSA Bantam hub and Avon tire. Both front and rear drums were windowed out in the mill, then the shoes were drilled.

The fuel tank began as an oil in frame Triumph item that has been chopped and fitted with late model Harley style rubber mounts. Jesse found a local die maker to duplicate the BSA golden flash emblems and cast them in bronze for the tank. Jesse fabricated the oil tank from scratch, then fitted with the cap and fittings of a 1960’s BSA stock item and rubber mounted.

The entire engine was disassembled and polished. The sludges were cleaned. The notorious BSA crank bushing was upgraded and cylinders were fitted with the next size over 9:1 compression pistons. Jesse fabricated the exhaust from stainless steel and styled it after the BSA high scrambler pipes. All of the electric was upgraded to Boyer.

The handlebars were made to act as part of the top clamp for the girder. The levers are Cook replicas of pre-war British bikes. The grips are made of the same leather as the seat. The headlight is a fender light from an early MG and had to be modified to adapt to the girder.

The paint is black with gold-leaf and red striping by Jerry Koenigsmark of Jerry’s House of Kolor. The leather work was done by Jason’s Custom Upholstery. All of the polishing and nickel plating was done by Jason’s Show Quality Metal Finishing.

The GasBox

The GasBox was opened in 2009 by Jesse Bassett and specializes in custom fabrication and vintage motorcycles. Jesse has over twelve years of mechanical and fabrication experience including engine rebuilding, repairing, restoring, customizing, and building motorcycles. Check out the shop and Jesse’s projects at www.thegasbox.blogspot.com

 
   
1965 BSA Specs:

Engine: BSA 650cc Lightening, polished and completely rebuilt

Frame: Custom Hard-Tail stock BSA

Front End: BSA M-20 girder, modified to fit onto 1965 frame

Front Wheel: 21” modified BSA bantam hub

Rear Wheel: 18” BSA QD hub modified BSA drum

Fender: modified Wassell

Fuel Tank: modified Triumph OIF

Oil Tank: handmade, fitted with BSA cap and fittings

Carb: Amal 389 monobloc

Ignition: Boyer

Tail Light: 1930’s Dodge

Headlight: 1930’3 MG

Exhaust: Handmade Stainless steel

Handlebars: Handmade

Levers: Cook replica of pre-war British style
Seat: Jason’s Custom Upholstery


Paint: black with gold leaf by Jerry’s House of Kolor

Polish and Nickel Plate: Jason’s Show Quality Metal Finishing

All fabrication and assembly was done by Jesse Bassett at The GasBox in Lakewood, Ohio.