BSA Lightning Rocket
   HOME
*



picture info

BSA Lightning Rocket
The BSA Lightning Rocket was a Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) motorcycle made in Birmingham. A highly-tuned version of the BSA A65R Rocket, it was BSA's bid to capture the potentially lucrative USA export market in the mid-1960s. Twin Amal 389/206 carburetors and high-compression pistons, combined with an optional close-ratio gearbox, gave lively acceleration. Sharing many A65 cycle parts, the Lightning Rocket had a slimmer fuel tank and mudguards, with additional chrome. From 1965, the A65 was discontinued in the UK and the BSA A65L Lightning became the main BSA production twin. See also * BSA Royal Star * BSA Spitfire The BSA Spitfire is a high-performance BSA motorcycle made from 1966 to 1968 with model designations of MkII, MkIII and MkIV. Announced at the Brighton motorcycle show held during September 1965, it was based on the earlier BSA Lightning with a ... References {{BSA motorcycles, state=collapsed Lighting Rocket Standard motorcycles Motorcycles ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




BSA Lightning Rocket 1964
BSA may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Basketball South Africa * Bearing Specialists Association * Belarusian Socialist Assembly * Bibliographical Society of America * Birmingham Small Arms Company, UK manufacturer of firearms and vehicles * Black Socialists in America * Boston Society of Architects * Botanical Society of America * Boy Scouts of America **Scouts BSA, the flagship program * British Social Attitudes Survey * British Sandwich Association * British Science Association * British Sociological Association * British Speleological Association * British Stammering Association * Broadcasting Service Association, former name of the Australian radio network Macquarie Media * Broadcasting Standards Authority * BSA Company, motorcycle manufacturer * BSA motorcycles, made by the Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited * BSA (The Software Alliance), a trade group established by Microsoft, formerly called Business Software Alliance * Business Services Association, of UK ser ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Birmingham Small Arms Company
The Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited (BSA) was a major British industrial combine, a group of businesses manufacturing military and sporting firearms; bicycles; motorcycles; cars; buses and bodies; steel; iron castings; hand tool, hand, power tool, power, and machine tool, machine tools; coal cleaning and handling plants; sintered metals; and hard chrome process. After the Second World War, BSA did not manage its business well, and a government-organised rescue operation in 1973 led to a takeover of such operations as it still owned. Those few that survived this process disappeared into the ownership of other businesses. History of the BSA industrial group Machine-made guns BSA began in June 1861 in the Gun Quarter, Birmingham, England. It was formed by a group of fourteen gunsmith members of the Birmingham Small Arms Trade Association specifically to manufacture guns by machinery. They were encouraged to do this by the War Office which gave the BSA gunsmiths free access ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West Midlands metropolitan county, and approximately 4.3 million in the wider metropolitan area. It is the largest UK metropolitan area outside of London. Birmingham is known as the second city of the United Kingdom. Located in the West Midlands region of England, approximately from London, Birmingham is considered to be the social, cultural, financial and commercial centre of the Midlands. Distinctively, Birmingham only has small rivers flowing through it, mainly the River Tame and its tributaries River Rea and River Cole – one of the closest main rivers is the Severn, approximately west of the city centre. Historically a market town in Warwickshire in the medieval period, Birmingham grew during the 18th century during the Midla ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

BSA Royal Star
The BSA Royal Star was a Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) motorcycle whose new engine design paved the way for a range of successful unit construction twins. As well as giving a clean look to the engine, with the pushrod passages part of the cylinder block casting, unit construction reduced the number of places oil could leak from. Development The decision by Lucas in the late 1950s to switch production of motorcycle electrical components (from magneto/dynamo systems to alternator/coil systems) forced British motorcycle manufacturers to completely redesign their engines. Triumph and BSA took the opportunity to move from pre-unit and semi-unit construction to full unit construction, that is, with the engine and gearbox together in an integrated casting. At the same time, Bob Fearon, Managing Director and General Manager of BSA recognised the need for an updated look that built on the best features of the A10 but which would succeed in the potentially lucrative but competitiv ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Motorcycle
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising, sport (including racing), and off-road riding. Motorcycling is riding a motorcycle and being involved in other related social activity such as joining a motorcycle club and attending motorcycle rallies. The 1885 Daimler Reitwagen made by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in Germany was the first internal combustion, petroleum-fueled motorcycle. In 1894, Hildebrand & Wolfmüller became the first series production motorcycle. Globally, motorcycles are comparably popular to cars as a method of transport. In 2021, approximately 58.6 million new motorcycles were sold around the world, fewer than the 66.7 million cars sold over the same period. In 2014, the three top motorcycle producers globally by volume were Honda (28%), Yamaha (17 ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


BSA A65 Rocket
The BSA A65R Rocket was one of a series of unit construction twin cylinder Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) motorcycles made in the 1960s. A version branded as the A65 'Thunderbolt Rocket' was aimed at the US market. The A65R Rocket was produced from 1964 but was stopped in 1965 when all development at BSA was halted by financial difficulties. Development The A65R was a development of the old model range led by Bob Fearon, Managing Director and General Manager of BSA and Chief Development Engineer Bert Perrigo they developed the unit construction ''Star twins''. To make the A65R more of a 'sports version' of the original BSA A65 Star (and in anticipation of more stringent noise control legislation) it was given 'siamesed' 2 into 1 exhaust pipes with a special baffle, as well as chrome plated mudguards and headlight brackets. Able to cruise at 85 mph (137 km/h) and with a top speed of 108 mph (174 km/h) it was sold as the fastest BSA in production. A special versi ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Amal Monobloc
AMAL was a British engineering company servicing the motorcycle and other light-engineering motor industries between 1927 and 1993Amalgamated Carburetters
Grace's Industrial Guide. Retrieved 2013-07-09
based in . AMAL is a British trademark. Amal was the supplier of carburettors to many marques within the British motorcycle industry including the largest of British manufacturers, such as
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

BSA A65 Star
The BSA A65 Star was a Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) motorcycle aimed at the US market for unit construction twins. As well as giving a clean look to the engine, with the pushrod passages part of the cylinder block casting, unit construction reduced the number of places oil could leak from. A range of A65 Star twins was produced between 1962 and 1972. Development The decision by Lucas in the late 1950s to switch production of motorcycle electrical components (from magneto/dynamo systems to alternators/coil systems) forced British motorcycle manufacturers to completely redesign their engines. Triumph and BSA took the opportunity to move from pre-unit and semi-unit construction to full unit construction, that is, with the engine and gearbox together in an integrated casting. At the same time, Bob Fearon, managing director and general manager of BSA, recognised the need for a new look that built on the best features of the A10s but would succeed in the potentially lucrative, ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

BSA Lightning
The BSA Lightning is a British BSA 650 cc-class motorcycle made in Birmingham between 1965 and 1972. Development The BSA Lightning was designed as the all-round sports machine of the 1960s,''Motorcycle Sport'', June 1969, p.226 ''BSA Lightning road test''. "The catalogue describes the Lightning as a sports machine...". Accessed and added 2014-07-02 planned largely for export to the US market Motorcycle Mechanics, August 1965, p.36/37, ''Leapaway Lightning. Road test by Editor John Houslander. "Bulk of the Lightning production is said to be earmarked for the American market—and frankly we can't blame the Yanks for wanting them—they are the cream at the top of BSA's big bike production''". Accessed and added 2014-07-02 to complement the touring Thunderbolt and the later development, the supersports Spitfire. Development of the engine aimed to make it more reliable, quieter and less prone to oil leaks, with top speed sacrificed to improve mid-range and rideability. Never ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

BSA Lightning Rocket
The BSA Lightning Rocket was a Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) motorcycle made in Birmingham. A highly-tuned version of the BSA A65R Rocket, it was BSA's bid to capture the potentially lucrative USA export market in the mid-1960s. Twin Amal 389/206 carburetors and high-compression pistons, combined with an optional close-ratio gearbox, gave lively acceleration. Sharing many A65 cycle parts, the Lightning Rocket had a slimmer fuel tank and mudguards, with additional chrome. From 1965, the A65 was discontinued in the UK and the BSA A65L Lightning became the main BSA production twin. See also * BSA Royal Star * BSA Spitfire The BSA Spitfire is a high-performance BSA motorcycle made from 1966 to 1968 with model designations of MkII, MkIII and MkIV. Announced at the Brighton motorcycle show held during September 1965, it was based on the earlier BSA Lightning with a ... References {{BSA motorcycles, state=collapsed Lighting Rocket Standard motorcycles Motorcycles ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

BSA Spitfire
The BSA Spitfire is a high-performance BSA motorcycle made from 1966 to 1968 with model designations of MkII, MkIII and MkIV. Announced at the Brighton motorcycle show held during September 1965, it was based on the earlier BSA Lightning with a power-upgrade achieved by higher compression-ratio 10.5:1 pistons and two large-bore Amal GP carburettors with velocity stacks Motor Cycle, 21 April 1966. ''Road test'' Accessed 2013-06-28 it was one of the first BSAs to have 12-volt electrics. At introduction in 1966, it was the fastest standard BSA ever produced and the fastest standard motorcycle tested by Motor Cycle with a best run at 123 mph and average of 119.2 mph The Spitfire was used for travelling Marshalls' course duties at the 1967 Isle of Man TT races. Development Spitfire Mark II The first A65S Spitfire of 1966 was confusingly designated ''Mark II'' and had a number of new features including two-way damped front forks, Girling shocks and a brace between th ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


BSA Motorcycles
BSA motorcycles were made by the Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited (BSA), which was a major British industrial combine, a group of businesses manufacturing military and sporting firearms; bicycles; motorcycles; cars; buses and bodies; steel; iron castings; hand, power, and machine tools; coal cleaning and handling plants; sintered metals; and hard chrome process. A government-organised rescue operation in 1973 led to the takeover of BSA-Triumph motorcycle operations by Norton-Villiers, later known as Norton Villiers Triumph. At its peak, BSA (including Triumph) was the largest motorcycle producer in the world. In the late 1950s and early 1960s poor management and failure to develop new products in the motorcycle division led to a dramatic decline of sales to its major USA market. The management had failed to appreciate the importance of the resurgent Japanese motorcycle industry, leading to problems for the entire BSA group. When Norton Villiers Triumph was liquidated in ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]