When I lived in New York City (NYC) in the mid nineties, I found the high energy of the place really inspiring. So much music, so much art, and such a great custom motorcycles scene..
I seems that a couple decades later that energy is still very much there, certainly when we take a closer look at what Joshua Lutz is up to….
Besides playing dozens of musical instruments, running a production studio and a rental company, working on numerous albums and films, he also is rebuilding and customizing motorcycles under the Clubman Cycles name.
Joshua’s latest completed project is a 1965 BSA Lightning, which turned out not to be his typical build however…
This particular BSA Joshua uncovered by chance in the backyard of an apartment complex in Queens NYC back in 2016. After he convinced the hipster owner to sell it to him and brought it over to the Clubman headquarters, it turned out there was almost nothing on the bike that didn’t need a complete rebuild…
So it took 7 plus years and a mountain of work – not to mention determination – to get this 60-year old bike running again!
The tank was badly rusted and had to be acid etched plus needed some serious metal work before it was as-proof and in its original shape again. Next came a total rebuild of the engine. This was expertly handled by John’s Motorcycle Repair Shop out of Woodside, Queens, who specialized in old British bikes. John has since closed shop, but he really knew and loved BSA’s. Joshua recalls him saying “nothing looks sexier spitting oil all over the place than a BSA.”
Except for the frame and wheels, pretty much everything else needed to be rebuilt or replaced as well – brakes, forks, electrical, transmission, lights, paint…
Resulting in a 7-year journey and a serious chunk of cash to get it to the beautiful bike it is today, which really is a blast to ride.
As Joshua says: “yea, it weeps oil and spits gas like a baby with colic, but that’s the case with every vintage British bike….”
Besides the ground-up restoration, Joshua added some custom touches like the flat-tracker leather seat which rests on a hand-fabricated redesigned rear frame, new straight HD pipes mounted on handmade hardware – all in shining chrome, new Clubman bars, levers, and cables… Not to mention the vintage NOS red grips, matching the red gas lines. All in all, a really nice bike to look at and to ride – now looking for a new owner as we understand it…
