Classic Bike Review - BSA Lightning 650 1972 

hi the bsa a65 was never meant to compete with the honda 750/ 4 however the bsa rocket 3 did and it competed very well with power and handling, i have a a65 lightning and i have a 650 xs and the lightning holds it's own all day long with the yam and the bsa is 16 years old. kind regards ps the bsa a65 is a very under rated bike

G’day Adrian, Thank you and Norman for keeping these classic machines on the road. Not everyone is fortunate enough to ride and own the classics but to blokes “in their twilight” years, we can still think about our misspent youth. 🏍🇦🇺☕️

Had one back in 1972 was three months old when i got it love the sound perfect for the roads here in northern ireland its still around

Have an A50 Royalstar with the A65 motor. Learning carbs is fun. Finally got it running after finding the plugs fouled.

360-degree parallel-twin....it does sound tight Dave nz

Excellent review! 👍

That's a lovely BSA, good to see it out on the road, classics should go on and on....

Cor Squawly Pucker Dum mate have you gone Drongo!! That Pohmy twins a 360° crankshaft you great Gahlaa! 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🤪🤪🤪!

I had the Triumph T120v Bonnieville in early 70s.... Sadly let down with multiple issues with build quality AND infamous Joe Lucas electrics....lol Enjoyable when it was running right

Gday mate back when i was a lad around 100 years ago the police here in S.A used to ride 650 bsa bikes i think it was a thunderbolt or lightning bolt used to have a chrome tank sides and black and of course the nostaligic bsa logo same as the new ones now yes you cant beat the sound of a bsa or triumph twin the way a bike should sound take care .

Which carbs jetting does it have? What's the cruising speed you've found to be it's sweet spot? It's supposed to reach over 100mph but mine won't go over 70 and need a very high tickover so it won't stall when hot. Its lovely anyway, but your advice would be priceless. Thanks in advance

how come Norman has all the nice extra toys

A lovely looking and sounding bike, I'm not sure I could rewire my brain enough to operate a right foot gear change. Have you both been changing bikes this year?, it looks like Wendy is riding the new Honda Rebel. or is that another of Normans Triumphs?.

bsa had some good features, but the bonneville twin carbs put triumph out front in the states.

BSA Looks Great, But those handlebars would have to go. I also owned a Honda CX 500 many years ago,

and whot about the NSU TTS 1200 Munch Mammoth????????????????????????//

May not buy it for its performance unless it’s got an srm/devimead conversion

Stop keep kicking to start on the center😂 stang it looks so feminine 😂