1973 BSA A65 Lightning, 650cc. Registration number CTC 718M....

Hammer

£2,900

1973 BSA A65 Lightning, 650cc. Registration number CTC 718M. Frame number A65LEE08883. Engine number A65LEE08883.

BSA turned to unit construction for its range of parallel twins as the 1960s dawned, launching the all-new 500cc A50 and 650cc A65 in January 1962. The basic architecture of the preceding A7/A10 was retained, so the new engine remained an air-cooled parallel twin with 360-degree crankshaft and single camshaft mounted at the rear of the cylinder block. The first high-performance variant, the A65R Rocket, arrived in October of '63, aimed squarely at America's speed-obsessed throttle jockeys. It was superseded the following year by the yet-faster Lightning 650, first of the BSA unit-construction twins to be equipped with the new splayed-port cylinder head fitted with twin carburettors.

Cycle World's editors really liked the Lightning out on the open road. "It is a sumptuous, torquey machine suited to a wide open highway where it can stretch its legs," they wrote. "It’s smooth, quiet gearbox, good muffling and excellent powerband all contribute to fatigue-free riding for hours on end." Produced through 1970, the A65s are considered to be the last of the classic BSA twins, as first the Rocket III triple, then the oil-in-frame 650 met with mixed market response, no doubt hastening the company's demise in 1973.

CTC was first registered with the DVLA in June 2019 having being imported from Denmark. The machine is one of the last to run off the production line with the oil in the frame configuration. The bike also benefits from an owner fitted external screw on oil filter.
Sold with V5C and two ignition keys.