What’s the damage and will it run

My mate Tosh had this old 1960 BSA sat in his dark garden shed since 2014, looking around it with a torch I could see the potential, it had no magneto and loose bolts around the timing case, so I knew I was in for a welcome challenge.
A vivid memory
Tosh remembers it was only running on one cylinder when he stopped riding it, but was insistent there were no strange noises to be concerned about.
Flat tyres, furry alloy, blistering paint, my initial thoughts were to make it into a Bobber or custom job of some sort.
Buying a non runner is the flip of a coin, I couldn’t test the compression because there were random timing gears floating around in the timing case, from the magneto removal.
The deal was done and Tosh found the magneto in his house, so the first job was to investigate some obvious choices.
Magneto – Oil drain – Fuel drain – Carb clean – Battery
The magneto was stripped and nothing obvious was found, we got a random spark when rotating it on the bench so decided to leave it at that and try it on the bike.
Overall the bike was in pretty good condition, that’s mainly thanks to being stored in a dry environment and being on the centre stand.
The BSA A7 / A10 Achilles heel
As a rule these engines are pretty bulletproof, however the right-hand crankshaft bearing on these bikes is not actually a bearing, it’s a phosphor bronze bush and notorious for wearing if regular oil changes are not adhered to.
I removed the timing case and carried out some tests on the crankshaft, there was no up and down movement or end float, so I said a little prayer to the oil gods.

A little BSA A7 Shooting Star history
The BSA A7 Shooting Star, produced through the 1950s and early 1960s, stands as one of Birmingham Small Arms’ most charismatic middle weight twins — a machine that blended British engineering confidence with a sporting edge that appealed to riders seeking something livelier than the sedate singles of the era. While its sibling, the BSA A10, often steals the limelight with its larger displacement, the A7 Shooting Star carved out its own identity as a refined, eager, and beautifully balanced road machine.

The annoying dent
The fuel tank was in reasonably good condition, but there was an annoying dent in the Chrome. I have a friend who is an expert at paintless dent removal who saved the day, watch the video at the end.
You could see and smell it had never used modern Ethanol based fuels, which was a real bonus.

A full oil tank in the sump
The sump drain really was an eye-opener, there was literally a full oil tank in the sump, however the oil was like new and the filters in the oil tank showed a well maintained bike. BSA recommend the oil is changed every 2000 miles.

Overall paintwork
The paint on the tins looked like it was game over, although not important at this stage it was a conversation I needed to have with myself at some point…Restore or leave alone?

Battery and Electrics
We fitted a new 6 volt battery and the electrics sparked up and everything worked.
Fresh oil and fresh fuel – Will it start?
Initial start up
We started it up in the evening, the bike ran on 1 cylinder for about 5 minutes and then cylinder 2 ripped into life.
The oil return to the tank was strong and the engine sounded sweet.
The clutch was still stuck, so we stripped it down and freed everything off, that was it for one evening….or at least it should have been.

I couldn’t walk away
The plan was to revisit the A7 SHOOTING STAR the next day, but I found myself walking around it with an after dinner beer, contemplating its future.
Cuts and bruises
This bike was too good to throw down the custom road, it had age related cuts and bruises, but that just added to its charm. I had made a decision I got the polishing compound and Solvol and worked into the early hours bringing the old girl back to life.
The next day she shone in the sunlight ready for it’s first official start.
Im sure you will agree, after a light commission and a lot of polishing, the old girl looks and sounds fantastic.

After the initial start up, my pan was to take the bike down the road, in total a 3-mile trip, come home and check things over.
Well that was the plan, 50 miles later I arrived home with a massive smile on my face, the engine was so strong, it didn’t miss a beat, as you will see in the video below.