FS: BSA Tandem, circa 1937 - £300

14th March update - now on ebay
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BSA-Piled-Arms-1937-Tandem-proven-in-Eroica-/182054665266?ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:GB:1123

Original post:

I'd like to offer this for sale here before resorting to ebay in case there's someone who can see potential in this, but it's a bit of a long shot I suspect!

I have a BSA tandem, reputedly from 1937, possibly called a 'Piled Arms'. It's a close match for the pics here, albeit plenty of the components are replacements from various eras:

https://bsamuseum.wordpress.com/1937-bsa-piled-arms-tandem/

We bought it in May as a project for the Eroica GB. It arrived 'ready to ride', but needed a bunch of work doing to it (inevitably). We focused on making it robust enough for Eroica, and this involved:

• Getting the fork steerer rethreaded, and fixing the headset (new BBs, grease)
  
• Unseizing and greasing various stuck bearings until everything moved OK
  
• Unseizing the old seatposts, fitting new ones
  
• Replacing bars and stems, and fixing shims, until everything was tight enough to withstand tandeming loads
  
• New Schwalbe Marathon tyres
  
• Additional rear caliper break.
  
  

This worked, and the bike did the 50mile route at Eroica in a respectable time! It was a beast up the hills, but on the downhills it flew.

Specs, loosely: 5 gears, rear drum brake, two caliper brakes, Middlemore sprung leather(ish?) saddles

It is still a project bike. Here are some pitfalls I know about:

• The next job is to strip and regrease the BBs. They got us through Eroica, but are starting to creak. The eccentric mechanism in the front BB to tighten the front chain does work OK.
  
• The seat posts only fit into the lugs of the frame and not further down into the tubes - the seat tubes have a different inner diameter. They are currently cut for people of about 5'10 to 6' ... for shorter people, you will need to take a hacksaw to the seatposts
  
• The frame's paint is a (probably rattle-can?) soft respray over what looks like it was a rusty frame. It's easily scratched, and is showing a few scratches already.
  
• It has 5 gears, but generally only settles into bottom, 'middle', and top. 'Middle' is usually 3rd, but sometimes you can find 2nd or 4th with a gentle touch...
  
• Stoker cranks not holding at a perfect 180deg... they can be adjusted, but then shift to 170deg or so when pedalled.
  
  

I paid £250 off ebay, and we spent ~£100 on parts to get it robust enough to be truly 'ready to ride' so I knocked a bit off that and got to £300 for my asking price... I think I'll probably hold out for £300 and if that's unrealistic for the good people of LFGSS, I'll put it on ebay.

I live in Sheffield. Without the wheels it fits in an estate car (it was delivered in a Galaxy). I'm currently travelling down to Cambridge once a week for work for which I hire a car, usually a Corsa-sized one. If someone was able to cover the cost of a car upgrade to something a bit bigger, and cover any significant petrol from a diversion, I would happily deliver it to anyone on a Sheffield-Cambridge-London transect - should work out no more than £50 all-in and hopefully a bit less.