Stunning bike! I started out as a teenager on BSA's back in the late 60's, they were cheap and plentiful. I'll always have a soft spot for them! The new 650 Gold Star is my favourite retro bike!
Cool bike , I have a 1968 thunderbolt which I restored a few years ago , it was brought back from the USA in the late 1990s gets riden regularly, I went to work at the BSA in 1959 I was 15 years old at time.
Lightning was red, Thunderbolt was black in '69, at least the T-Bolt I bought brand new in the spring of '69 was black and silver. $900 and change from Bob's BSA in Williamstown NJ. Changed to megaphone exhausts with the baffles removed and flat handlebars, I was 19 and wanted speed. Turned 14.8 at 88mph at the drags at Atco, pretty quick for those days. BSA was based in Linden NJ back then, bikes shipped from Birmingham to Linden, and I ran with the Linden boys at the track. Thanks, your ride took me back to the days of Woodstock and my Thunderbolt.
Of all the Brit bikes ive had in the past from pre unit 500 / 650 and OIF 750 Triumph's to Matchless to Norton"s 500 dominators to 850 Commandos etc s i have to say that one 70 Thunderbolt 650 i had was the best all around bike. Easy to start, easy to maintain . rodé It for years everywhere highways, dirt roads etc never let me stranded. Miss that BSA the most.
When I lived in Hawaii, 73-77, this was my island chopper. It had a teardrop tank and extended forks, with pullback handlebars. All painted black and red flames on the tank, that I added. What a great running bike! Easy to work on and fun to ride. It was perfect for my needs at the time.
I knew a fellow who had a later oil in frame version of the Thunderbolt. As far as British bikes of the era went, those A65 engines were a pretty darned good unit. Unit construction was obviously an advantage. And you can't beat the styling. I'm pretty sure that they were a single cam design, from memory, which reduced unnecessary complexity. They were also, as far as Brit bikes go, pretty oil tight. They were nowhere near the sieves that the Triumphs of the era were, that's for sure. Your guess at 40 hp sounds about right. The single carb Thunderbolt didn't have the same out and out power as the lightening, but they were known to run much better and had much better low and midrange response and power. By all accounts they were also much easier to start, much easier to tune and used about 2/3 the fuel of the twin carb variant. I've spent a bit of time as a pillion on one of these. They go better than they should. They had a claimed top speed of something around the 100mph mark, which I wouldn't dispute. Cruising 2 up at 60 is a walk in the park. 70 is doable. They are effortless at a good pace around town. I would not mind one of these in my garage, that's for sure.
Nope - nothing to do with the new "BSA" model. It's because the old Brit bikes are now collectible and there is a lot of disposable income in this country. We were throwing those bikes into the scrapyard in the 70's, now they are desirable. Just try to find a cheap, decent 70's SL350 if you think I'm wrong about collectors and their cash.
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Stunning bike! I started out as a teenager on BSA's back in the late 60's, they were cheap and plentiful. I'll always have a soft spot for them! The new 650 Gold Star is my favourite retro bike!
@@WOLFIE-96B-UK hoping to get a look at that new BSA soon
Cool bike , I have a 1968 thunderbolt which I restored a few years ago , it was brought back from the USA in the late 1990s gets riden regularly, I went to work at the BSA in 1959 I was 15 years old at time.
Very nice!
Lightning was red, Thunderbolt was black in '69, at least the T-Bolt I bought brand new in the spring of '69 was black and silver. $900 and change from Bob's BSA in Williamstown NJ. Changed to megaphone exhausts with the baffles removed and flat handlebars, I was 19 and wanted speed. Turned 14.8 at 88mph at the drags at Atco, pretty quick for those days. BSA was based in Linden NJ back then, bikes shipped from Birmingham to Linden, and I ran with the Linden boys at the track. Thanks, your ride took me back to the days of Woodstock and my Thunderbolt.
Love it!
Of all the Brit bikes ive had in the past from pre unit 500 / 650 and OIF 750 Triumph's to Matchless to Norton"s 500 dominators to 850 Commandos etc s i have to say that one 70 Thunderbolt 650 i had was the best all around bike. Easy to start, easy to maintain . rodé It for years everywhere highways, dirt roads etc never let me stranded. Miss that BSA the most.
@@guillermomaclachlan1072 bsa made great motorcycles 🙂
When I lived in Hawaii, 73-77, this was my island chopper. It had a teardrop tank and extended forks, with pullback handlebars. All painted black and red flames on the tank, that I added.
What a great running bike! Easy to work on and fun to ride. It was perfect for my needs at the time.
Life is good 🙂
Just as I remember...
Beautiful!
I knew a fellow who had a later oil in frame version of the Thunderbolt. As far as British bikes of the era went, those A65 engines were a pretty darned good unit.
Unit construction was obviously an advantage. And you can't beat the styling. I'm pretty sure that they were a single cam design, from memory, which reduced unnecessary complexity. They were also, as far as Brit bikes go, pretty oil tight. They were nowhere near the sieves that the Triumphs of the era were, that's for sure.
Your guess at 40 hp sounds about right. The single carb Thunderbolt didn't have the same out and out power as the lightening, but they were known to run much better and had much better low and midrange response and power. By all accounts they were also much easier to start, much easier to tune and used about 2/3 the fuel of the twin carb variant.
I've spent a bit of time as a pillion on one of these. They go better than they should. They had a claimed top speed of something around the 100mph mark, which I wouldn't dispute. Cruising 2 up at 60 is a walk in the park. 70 is doable. They are effortless at a good pace around town. I would not mind one of these in my garage, that's for sure.
Love this kind of information. Thank you so much! Great motorcycle!
@@classicbritishbikesupersto2247 You're welcome. Thanks for the reply.
nice bike the problem is because of the ????? new BSA the price of these has gone MAD ??
Wahoo!
Nope - nothing to do with the new "BSA" model. It's because the old Brit bikes are now collectible and there is a lot of disposable income in this country. We were throwing those bikes into the scrapyard in the 70's, now they are desirable. Just try to find a cheap, decent 70's SL350 if you think I'm wrong about collectors and their cash.