“Originally, I thought Mike just wanted the BSA restored, but he wanted it built the same way I did the Norton – sleeper-style,” Garrie says. With a rolling chassis on the bench, Garrie turned his attention to the heart of the machine – and engine work is what he enjoys performing the most. Tires are Bridgestone Spitfire at both ends, and Garrie added stainless steel fenders. Out back, Hagon shocks were bolted into position.įront and rear wheels were rebuilt using freshly powdercoated stock hubs with stainless steel rims and spokes that came from Walridge Motors in Lucan, Ontario. The hard chrome fork stanchions were renewed, and fresh BSA springs and bushings installed. The swingarm was in good shape, so it and the new frame, front fork triple trees and lower legs were all powdercoated black at Precision Powder Coating in Dartmouth. They had a new-old-stock 1970 BSA frame, and it replaced the original. Enter his friends at British Cycle Supply in Wolfville. The chrome was rusty and even the frame was bent,” Garrie says of his initial assessment of the project. “It was all there, but it was in rough shape. For some reason, the A65’s powerplant had been taken apart and stored in dusty boxes on shelves behind the bike. Thirty-one years later, he called Garrie in to collect its rolling chassis and engine – from the same basement. But, wanting to travel the world, Mike stored the motorcycle in a friend’s basement and vowed he’d one day return and restore it to top-notch condition. He even had it with him in Halifax when he went to college.”Īccording to Garrie, Mike kept riding the BSA well into the early 1980s. Mike bought it, installed a new points plate and rode it all over Nova Scotia in all kinds of weather, including rain and snow. “He’d bought the BSA back in 1974 from a friend who couldn’t keep it running. “This bike was important to him,” Garrie says. That’s when Mike delivered bike number two – the 1970 BSA A65. After picking up the Norton, riding to Digby, Nova Scotia, and picking up first place in a local motorcycle show, the results were in: Garrie had passed. Mike just wanted to see how good Garrie’s work really was. To make that happen, Garrie added to the engine a dynamically balanced crankshaft, SRM Engineering connecting rods, high lift cams, custom pistons with total seal rings and a belt primary drive. “ wanted the Norton to look as stock as possible, but also to run as strong as possible,” Garrie says. Garrie first met Mike Mackin, owner of the BSA A65 pictured here, when he dropped off a 1971 Norton Commando. Essentially, he knows his way around the bits and pieces of many different kinds of bikes. In 2008, in order to properly certify machines requiring a safety inspection, Garrie became a red seal motorcycle technician. Now 61, he’s been operating Cook’s Classic Rebuilds for close to a decade. Over the years, his expertise and tool collection grew. “I couldn’t afford a car when I was younger, so I had to buy and ride motorcycles if I wanted to get around,” Garrie explains. Back then, Garrie says, he used British motorcycles as the maker intended. Garrie Cook of Cook’s Classic Rebuilds in Halifax, Nova Scotia, has been tinkering with old motorcycles since the mid-1970s. Imagine holding a lit match to a sparkler, only to discover it’s a stick of dynamite. This gleaming, finely restored 1970 BSA A65 might look like a stock motorcycle, but there’s something lurking below the surface. After receiving more than just a restoration, this BSA is a wolf in sheep’s clothing
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