1968 BSA A65 Lightning and 1972 Triumph Bonneville T120V [visit 10 of 31] 

This is the best video you've made, I think. Andy is a lot of fun and makes me laugh. He's a real comic. I miss this kind of humor as I've been retired for 12 yrs. and used to joke around with the men at work like this. We love to tease and make fun of each other. Thanks

Great video Mike, for all their faults and frustrations British bikes are still the worlds best looking most charismatic machines

Those BSAs were gorgeous.

Had a 1970 BSA Lightning in H.S. when I lived in Belgium. Picked it up new in London. Great memories and wish I could find another 1970 BSA. My current bike is a Norton Mk3 but still think about all the good times on the BSA. Thanks for all your video's

Great to see those bikes. I had the A65 in the "oil in frame" frame. My dad always said it was quicker than the bonnie, that's acceleration. I always felt it needed an oil cooler and that was in cold and rain of the North of England. It used to get hot. I went to work on Monday and the boss started tearing strips off me. "Sunday morning you came round burrow bank at 100mph you'll kill your'sen." I just stood there and took it. Then it dawned on me that dad had taken the bike to his mates to do an oil change. I kept quiet there was no need to dig a deeper hole.

Love the bikes but all the banter back and forth is the golden nugget that should be treasured as true friends are priceless, great video again thanks keep it up your doing brilliantly.

I had a sixty four, and really enjoyed it, before to "conical brake", it is stopped pretty well. Very nice looking, I miss my Triumph. I hope to have one again, soon. Thanks!

Thanks for a blast from the past! My first motorcycle was a 1969 B.S.A. Lightning in Candy Apple Red.It was purchased and delivered with snow on the ground in New York City in January 1970 for 1,199.00 U.S. Dollars new.At the time the Triumph was about the same price.A Harley Davidson Sportster was priced at 2,200.00 U.S.D. For a first bike for a16 year old at the time ,that price difference was enormous.The Lightning was quickly nicknamed Big Red by my neighbor.The only difference I could spot between the 1968 and 1969 was the addition of an equalizer pipe between the exhaust pipes where they exit the heads to balance the exhaust.And as mentioned the headlight bracket was gloss black.I will say it was a true learning experience owning a British Bike.My first long distance trip camping had the Beezer loaded with gear.Having stopped for gas,I topped off the tank.When I kicked the starter pedal,it just broke off and rolled away...While I was sitting there it was getting dark and at the time motorcycles came with a halfway decent tool kit.I took one of the box end wrenches and inserted it in place of the kicker pedal.it was a little awkward kicking it this way but it got me over the road.Another time I burned out the headlight bulb at 2.00 a.m. in the morning on the Baltimore Washington Parkway outside Washington D.C. Fortunately I had a flashlight that I taped to the headlight to finish the last 50 miles of the trip.i learned to carry spare headlight and tail light bulbs after that trip.This is only what I can remember now,but the joys of British Bike ownership with the B.S.A. And Triumph motorcycles have only served to convince me that today we are truly experiencing the golden age of motorcycle reliability and engineering.Its an awesome time to ride today’s bikes.Happy trails to you all,and thanks for sharing the rides of your buddy’s🏍🏁

Haha that first "thank you for watching" got me thought I had skipped ahead by mistake. Gorgeous machines!

Andy is a very funny guy. The kind of guy I would love to talk bikes over a brew with.

I had a 72 t120.i absolutely loved it..then it got stolen..i still miss that bike after 30 yrs

I can't tell you great it is for the bilingual conversation, necessary for some of us Yanks! I really love all the new safety features, and special features, that is one fine bike, a Triumph, no less. I hope some day to ride one as special. Thanks for the visit!!

Luv those BSA Lightnings. Bought a new,lighting in 1967 while stationd,at NAS Miramar San Diego. rode all over the west coast. when i meet my wife i sold it, what a jerk i am. I wish i never sold it.

Had a 69 Lightning in high school. Got home from school one day and found a brand new 69 Bonneville in the driveway. Dad traded his 250 Starfire on it so he could keep up with me he said. Ah, the good old days.

It's not just the bikes, as lovely as they are, it's the characters who ride them. I really enjoyed looking at the bikes, and listening to Andy, John and Mike. Thanks

There is nothing - NOTHING - that can duplicate that BSA 650 sound. Especially the A10 650's! I know - because I own one! MUSIC to all BSA owners everywhere.

Three years! where has the time gone?. It stoated up again, so I had to watch. Old comment still holds up, my kind of bike.

That BSA looks exactly like the one I used to ride back in 69 to 77. Did a lot of miles on that bike, rain or shine and it never missed a single beat. Outstanding motorcycles and would just eat up Harleys. BSAs were fast. These 2 here are supurb examples. They look awesome guys.

Never had a Triumph. However, compared to the Lightning my 63 Super Rocket was the most solid, attractive, and comfortable of the two. Wish I had never sold it. Great video for those of us consigned to lawn chairs and photo albums, and memories.

Blast from the past.....pure magic!

Mike - Thanks for another great video - Whenever I see a Triumph with a white tank, I think back to my 1964 Tiger 90 fitted with siamese pipes 961PK and bought in Croydon, Surrey. I used it extensively as I was doing part-time as a dispatch rider for a London press photo agency, and it never missed a beat. Although just a 350cc, I never found it's performance to be much different from that of my friend's T100.

Hey MIKE!! ENJOYED THIS ONE!! THE TRIUMPH GUY SHURE HAD A SENSE OF HUMOUR!!! LIKED BOTH BIKES!!! USED TO SEE A B. S. A. SIMILAR TO THIS ONE?!! BACK WHEN I WAS 12 YRS OLD!! 49 YEARS AGO!! IT SAT ON THE FRONT PORCH AT A HOUSING PROJECT. GOV. APARTMENTS!! AND NEVER SAW THE GUY RIDE IT!!! THERES A MAN AROUND HERE WHO HAS A 72 TRIDENT!! HE RODE IT UP TO A YEAR AGO AND I HAVENT SEEN THE MAN SINCE THEN!! THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR GREAT VIDEOS!!! TAKE CARE!!

BSA 650 is by far the best sounding British bike ever. I miss mine.

Nice to see you all having a good time the bikes are all amazing stay safe and enjoy

LOL good funny one this morning LOL ! Thanks all for sharing! Cheers, Eric

Love them both especially the BSA Lightning!

Ah the British Motorbikes! The sound and the nimble handling were Magic!

These British bikes had Style, power, and were beautiful machines, in 68, I had a BSA Firebird 68, wich I loved.

The BSA looks and sounds better! Even the Lighthing with the OIF-Frame looks better then the Bonnie. My list of favorite: First BSA A65, second Norton Commando, third Triumph Bonneville 😉

Hi. Two great British machines. I love "em.

Great to see this, the banter just seems to happen naturally around 'ye olde motor bikes'....great to hear that, too😁

Still enjoying the good old days

That BSA is sweeeeeet!

Would love to see more BSAs!!!

Old brits and old yanks and the bikes are great too. Myself I had a 71 Thunderbolt followed by a 75 Trident. Loved both bikes and neither leaked. Thanks for the memories.

Great stuff! The bars on that Beezer are just perfect. Even as a Brit I've always preferred most US stylings.

Owning two t120's I had to laugh at "you put the oil in up here and it comes out at the bottom!"

the BSA looks really nice, a cheerful red, more chrome work and the engine looks great, regards the Triumph, speedometer, either the cable isn't routed quite right and it is snagging or it needs some lubrication, the inner cable maybe damaged. If the guy on the Triumph had put it on centre stand i would of switched off, they look far nicer on a side stand. The 1972 Triumph seems understated, as if not regarded as a high end motorbike back then and livery more mundane, almost commuter, just lacking the X factor, but respond to being loved with more alloy

fantastic bikes and great conversation.

Truly a beautiful pair of Brit bikes, side by side, I almost forgot the "hundreds of mice running around when the engines are running", a familiar comforting sound. When it stops, one must get a trailer. I used to ride from Memphis to Chicago, back in the seventies, wonderful bikes to own and work on.

Well Done!

Great to see you guys having such a laugh 😂 made my day! I had to put my brew down, laughing so much! Have a good one Mike, all the best 👍

I had a hardtail chopper based on a '72 Bonneville engine.

Absolutely brilliant , great bunch of characters 150mph. When he started the Trumpy was probably doing 30mph😃 Love the Vids Mike. Cheers Greg 👍

I got out of the Navy in San Diego in 1976. At the time I had a BSA Firebird Scrambler. Not sure anymore but I think it was a 69 or '70. It wasn't running but just needed a proper service and a battery etc. I had a little cash and bought a dedicated Mikuni carb kit which was, at the time, an exorbitant 300 bucks! For some reason the lovely SS pipes had been replaced with normal Lightning pipes. I had it up and running in about three weeks. I even went for a cafe racer look with low bars. I can't remember what else I did with it but it looked pretty sleek when done...nothing fancy though. Meanwhile I enrolled in a school in Tulsa, Ok and so the clock began ticking. I put a sign on it for 800 bucks. No calls, nothing. I dropped it to 600. Still, not one call. I went down to 400...same thing. I had a week now to get to Tulsa. In desperation I called some bike shop in San Diego. I told him I had a running 650 Firebird Scrambler for sale. He told me it was his policy to never pay more than 250 dollars for a used bike. I said ok and took it. When he saw the bike he said it honestly deserved more but that's all he could give. Ha. Today, years on, guys are selling Lightning and Bonnie basket cases for five to seven grand. Running models sometimes hit five figures. When I was still in the navy I bought a used '70 Trident because I was stationed at NAS Miramar, therefore on a base instead of a ship. I loved that bike but some bikers would actually walk up to me and ask me how I could ride British crap. We're talking 45 years ago. By 1975 English bikes had such a bad reputation in California you could barely give them away. I remember being on the side of the road one sunny day with an ignition problem. A group of about four guys on Japanese bikes rolled up, looked at me a moment, laughed out loud and yelled "BUY A HONDA". So much for the old biker's code... Incidentally my first bike was a '64 Bonneville. After that a Trident then the Firebird. It was my first Beezer and I was impressed by the enclosed pushrods (no oil leaks there baby). I actually preferred the BSA motor over my Bonny. It just felt more torkee. Now I'm rebuilding a '72 Trident. I guess I have some English tea in my veins somewhere although I've had my share of Japanese bikes over the years...love them all really.

Excellent bike banter Loved listening to you guys cracking on each other

Good job! Great bikes and a good bunch of guys!

Beutifull Machines, thank you for shareing.

The English bikes are so incredible. Just bought my first Triumph Thunderbird and I’m taking it to the grave with me.

Mike, thanks for another fun video. I also owned a Triumph and BSA at the same time. BSA was a 67 and Triumph a 79, 750. BSA was all original, and I was the 2nd owner. I enjoyed the BSA more but the Triumph was more dependable (?) because I had done a full restoration. Hated the left foot shift though. Some day will talk about my 68 P11 Ranger

Thanks for this. Makes me happy and jealous at the same time!

Not sure on this one... The beautiful bikes or the comedy. I surely enjoyed them both.

This is an entertaining little series you've got going, Mike. Keep it up!

That man must have been a comedian back home in blighty... Diamond Geezer !

Yes, go for the good looking one. That would be the OIF BSA Lightning, Thunderbolt or best of all Firebird Scrambler than!

I'd rather have the BSA of the two, it's a great looking bike, especially the engine and the sound. Andy is a good laugh, good company on a trip, "I've fixed it!!" lol

What a lovely video

Had my T120 Tiger for 44 years and would never sell it, I always liked the look of the Commando Roadster as well, Great vid thanks

You Guy's make me laugh it's a thumps up it is so nice to see great bike's love the videos

By the way, I'm about to get myself a '72 Bonnie. So thanks a million for that video.

Another enjoyable instalment from the cul-de-sac ! . . . . I do love those late model Beezas, especially the "Export" models . .. Great fun once again, nice to see them head off in formation at the end, sounding like a couple of Spitfires in 1940 . . Your neighbours are so lucky to have all of this entertainment laid on for free . . I wonder if they know their little road is now famous . . !

What a laugh, brilliant. Love Andy's comments I can relate to all of them. In my youth I owned a1960 pre unit Bonnie café racer with goldies on, lol. John's BSA sound nice. The Triumph has a higher tingle on the handle bars. You don't grip them you lightly caress them lol. Both bikes look stunning. Great video.

Lovely old bikes, great banter!

The British accents in suburban America caught me off guard! Nice to see you flying the flag with the bikes, lads!

Really nice bikes. Thanks for sharing.

I have a 1972 Bonneville 4 speed black and red American Spec thanks for sharing with us all. 👍🇬🇧

I tend to prefer the aesthetics of the (the 60's-era) Bonnevilles over Lightnings, but they were both beautiful bikes in my eyes. I didn't like the 70's-era (1971 - up) Bonnevilles as much, and to me, the Lightning was the prettier of these two.

You outdid yourself! Thanks Mike.

What a great pair those two make!! And their bikes aren't bad either!

How did one guy end up with so many cool friends? You really are a lucky guy Mike. Thx for doing this cul d sac series.

The only thing that really stand out about my memories of my owning a 1970 T120.....is that all we Triumph and B.S.A. owners had to be sure we had one or two Zener Diodes in our pockets...for they always let go, on the road...and the Lucas electrics were truly horrific quality...

What a dagg made me laugh so much. Great content 👍 beautiful bikes with two great personalities on top of them.

Old beauty s o that sound 😎

There´s two of you !!

A couple of beautiful beasts. Brings me back to my childhood. New Subscriber.

Two for the price of one, sort of. Great so see the bikes & the guys enthusiastic chat about their ownership history. Thanks for sharing Mike, Andy & John. atvb t ..

Enjoyed the bikes and banter.

BSA all the way, I had two back to back 67 & 68. Found the BSA to more oil tight less vibs and slightly quicker than Triumph Bonnie of the day. 👍

Two of the nicest bjkes ever made. Had both in 72.

I wonder if Andy thought of lubricating the speedo cable?

The best of British 🇬🇧

Nice motorcycles! My very first bike was a 1959 BSA 650 Super Rocket in 1963, 17 years old! High pipes no mufflers, no front fender, a bobbed rear fender and a leather Bates TT saddle. I now ride my self-restored 1970 Triumph 650 (750 kit) Tiger. Had several Triumphs over the years- TT Specials, Bonnies, custom-builds- and I'm most partial to the pre O.I.F models.

This video really brought back pleasant memories. I had a '72 Daytona 500 Triumph, a buddy had a '70 A50 Royal Star BSA, and we rode together a lot. This was in the waning years of BSA/Triumph, Honda had come out with the 750 Four and Kawasaki was blistering everyone with their 2-stroke triples and then the Z-1 900 (which I bought several years later). There is still nothing that matches these Brit twins in terms of style. The Lightning in the video may have a 1968 engine, but there are several parts that aren't 1968, such as the twin-leading shoe front brake, which is a 1970, the '68 still had a single leading shoe. I haven't been on a motorcycle since 1987, but if I had a choice of anything on the road to ride today, a 68-70 Lightning would be perfect.

Agnostic Oregon.I like it!

I would add that having owned both the bikes shown here, I much preferred the Beeza !...it was even the same colour Dave NZ

Thanks for the fun video. Two great bikes, the BSA has the quieter engine.

BSA had the coolest tanks

I grew up drooling over a Rocket Three and a Trident. Then we went racing with a CB 750. Oh, and a Commando as well. That thing went like a bomb. Until a carburettor vibrated off. The tipples both left the CB 750 behind - for a while. Then the middle cylinder started seizing up and one had to stop to piss on it. By then the CB 750 was miles ahead.

I had the exact same 650 lightning 1968 model in blue and Chrome it was a great bike but I traded it in for a 1970 Rocket 3 in tangerine and Chrome. Also a great bike wish I still had both of them

I thought at first that this was recorded "oop north" but the setting didn't look quite right, the cars, lack of terraced houses, no food banks. Very funny video.

Hey! That 68 is my bike! Or looks just like it. Had to check the garage, make sure somebody hadn't stolen it! Cool video! Thanks!

Had both both bikes, the BSA has a better designed head and with a spitfire cam fitted were fast, but it also has a bush on the timing side crank so you need to put in a good filter or they didn't last long with dirty oil (I used a BSA B25 cartridge fitted where tool kit sits in side panel). 72 Triumph OIF are the in between of best of pre OIF 67-69 and best of OIF 75 to 78, but still does most things pretty well. Both good bikes hard to choose between, have fun.

The 500 cc model BSA is called the Royal Star and was smoother and much more reliable than the Lightning and Thunderbolt. My 1970 Lightning died with only 5000 miles on the clock, looked exactly like the 68 model in the video but blue colour. There was a conversion kit that made it a 750 with only 7.5 compression ratio and a better oil pump with double the amount of oil circulating. Should have installed that in time but shit happens ...

I really Love your video‘s , I Ride Harleys , BMW‘s and Suzuki , but I Love Brit bikes . Sadly I have no more room for another project , but good luck to you all !!

Two marvelous bikes there Mike. Great to see. Andy's a card isn't he?

I love the Triumph but the rarity of the BSA is going to always pull me in. Just like seeing a steam locomotive.

Excellent Mike ,wish I could be there lol 🤣 Don't they look small compared to a lot of modern bikes . They sound so different to each other the Bsa sounded deeper on exhaust note. Take care .

That BSA is lovely even if it can't do 150.

Really nice.

Thanks for sharing this clip. It was very interesting to see the comparison between the two models, one being more mellow in tone and delivery who I believed you referred to as John, whilst the other displayed the unmistakable eccentricity of an Englishman caught out in the midday sun, who I believe you referred to as Andy, both nevertheless iconic and both provided enjoyable descriptions of their individual bikes, well done! I really enjoyed it.