Dave, Bill, Keith,
Thanks for your reactions. I am having lots of fun with the bike and it gives me some oppertunity to test things and techniques, before going onto the Chev C8.
Thanks Bill. To be honest it is stressful, but I am confident I will find a nice job again and for now I try to concentrate on getting the best out of my last few months at work. The product design scene here in Holland is a small one, so I might need to look at other sectors, though.
regarding the brakes:
I have been able to buy some repro brakes parts from someone here in Holland who produced a run of repro BSA brakes some years ago. The stock was sold out a long time ago, but he offered me the test-parts and some remaining bits. Although the parts will need some work, it does give me something to start with.....which should save time. The set included most of the brake parts, but some were missing. I have ordered the missing parts at laser-cutting firm and expect them to be ready soon.
Bill, I agree with the comments on the reliability of the BSA brakes, but I do want to stay as close to the original as possible and not look for replacement brakes with a more reliable system. Who knows....maybe next month I will think different after rushing down one of the cliffs in Normandy, followed by a bunch of broken bicycle parts.
Anyway, I do plan to ride the bike, but I will probably walk when I think the stress on the bike might get too big.
The design of the BSA brakes is indeed somewhat overdesigned, allthough I do respect the way they created a brake from basically sheet metal parts, which makes them easy to produce in larger numbers.
Alex