1967 BSA 650cc A65 Lightning, Frame no. A65LA6099 Engine no. A65LA6099-Y

1967 BSA 650cc A65 Lightning
Frame no. A65LA6099
Engine no. A65LA6099-Y
• Matching numbers example
• 650cc dual-carburetor performance
• Gas tank and side panels re-painted in original factory colors

Introduced in 1962, the BSA A65 twin was the unit-construction follow-on to company's venerable A10 series. The powerplant retained the 360-degree crankshaft and single cam mounted at the rear of the cylinder block, but now engine internals and transmission were contained within a single set of cases. Marking it as a bold new step forward, the engine was treated to streamlined "power egg" styling. Soon the factory catalog would carry no fewer than 11 different models powered by the new-style engine, in both 500 and 650cc displacements. 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 It was superseded the following year by the yet-faster Lightning 650, first of the BSA unit twins to be equipped with the new splayed-port cylinder head fitted with dual carburetors.

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.

Produced through 1970, the original A65s are considered to be the last of the classic BSA twins, as first the Rocket III triple, then the updated oil-in-frame 650s met with mixed market response, no doubt hastening the company's demise in 1973. This matching-numbers 1967 Lightning has logged some 21,000mi. from new, and is equipped with a period aftermarket luggage rack. The previous owner had the gas tank and side panels repainted in the original factory color, while the top-end was refreshed in 2003, including rebuilt and re-sleeved carburetors.