1965 BSA A65 Lightning Rocket, in Spitfire trim

A 650cc parallel twin, which started production in 1962, the A65 and its smaller stablemate the 500cc A50 were BSA's unit-construction successors to the A7 and A10. Many people nowadays prefer the earlier pre-unit twins, especially the A7: as with Triumphs of the period, ever-increasing performance led to increased vibration and a far less relaxing ride, sometimes coupled with reduced reliability.

The Lightning Rocket was only made during 1965/66, and was supposedly only for the USA market, though some were sold in the UK. This example isn't at all original - but it is an authentic example of this type of machine. It shows how British bikes of this era were modified by their owners to look like later and/or better models. This one has a Spitfire 4-gallon fibreglass petrol tank (the correct tank is a smaller chrome-panelled steel one), and a humped seat and twin leading shoe front brake as fitted to later models.