From the archives. Luggage capable.

This is about as minimal as you can go, I guess, and still carry a tent and sleeping gear, for an awesome trip such as the yearly Old Irons:

I have an idea for something of a stealth trip in the spring, near Bracciano lake for choppers and small bikes. Let's see if I can make it happen.

From the archives. Front view.

An unusual front view of the Rising Star highlights the bike's narrow, skinny profile - notice also the front brake's air scoop:

From the archives. Paint.

After fabrication and a full mock up were completed, the Rising Star was stripped back down to the frame, which was lovingly and skillfully primed and painted by Witold in his backyard. Thanks again dude, that paint is still going strong:

From the archives. Inner workings.

A look at the rockers and valves reveals the eminently rational layout and design of the BSA unit construction motor:

The entire valvetrain is easily accessible by removing a single cover retained by six nuts (below); this is a far more modern idea than what we find on contemporary Triumphs or Nortons.
There is a deep enough "lip" on the edge of the cylinder head to avoid oil leaks here, something that seems to work at least on mine.

Moving onto the starboard side of the motor, we see the timing gears, oil pump below them (exploded, in the following photo), and the gearbox at the rear. All a very compact, efficient and rational layout:

The gearbox itself can be pulled out as a complete mechanism (save for top gear, which stays in the crankcase):

While the A50/A65 is not a true unit construction motor in terms of lubrication (oil is still separate for engine, gearbox, and primary transmission) this is an evolutionary leap for the year 1962 and the result is a compact powerplant that packs "zesty performance" - as the press of the time would say - into a small and relatively lightweight vehicle.

Here are some cam lobes:

At the very front, and at the very rear of the bike we find wheels. Together with the front forks, these are matching Triumph/BSA oil-in-the-frame (OIF) components, which I didn't necessarily choose from the outset, but it just happened this way in my gradual search for parts.

It all started from a pair of OIF rims, which were donated by a good friend:

The spoke drill pattern means you have to use conical hubs, so at that point everything else followed, and I'm glad it did as it makes for a much more coherent set-up. There's nothing wrong with mixing parts from different makes and years when building one of these contraptions, but it's a different style (and you'd better remember where everything comes from, when you need to order spare parts!).

A rear conical hub was procured, after a very long search to source what ended up being the most elusive part of the entire project:

A matching brake plate and all-new components for the brake:

The front brake has a very sporty looking air scoop, a bit odd on a chopper, but I like it:

 

The nocturnality of motorcycles - 12 - Sleepwalking.

From the archives. April 2013

One of my all-time favorite photos, and not just of the Rising Star:

Taken on an unseasonably hot day in April 2013; better days, better times, gone but not forgotten.

From the archives. June 2013

You may not realize it, because your eye is understandably drawn towards the Jaguar (hey, everybody loves a shapely rear end) but the Rising Star is also in this photo, taken at Brian's garage some years ago:

That car is known to keep good company...

From the archives. February 2013

Another three-quarters view, this time by the waterfront during an outing to lake Bracciano.

From the archives. 2010

One of the most fun and enjoyable things about building a chopper is looking around for individual parts; this comes after you have decided what the overall look of the bike will be, in itself a challenging task, given the variety of styles out there and the many pitfalls that lie in wait any time you think a certain piece will look good or work well on your build.

For the better part of 2010 I amassed major components and came across some unexpected parts that I liked and had never seen before, such as the spare spark plug holder (which has been a hit everywhere I've gone, someone always says "hey that's cool").

Other parts require fabrication from scratch, and this is where you need to be skilled or rely on someone else who is. These are just some of the many purpose-built items on the Rising Star:

Above: the sissy bar made by uncle Fester is a very functional piece, and necessary if you wanna carry luggage on a motorcycle like this one.

From the archives. February 2013

A photo of the completed Rising Star (including the gas tank painted by Toni Raia), shows off the bike's low-slung stance: