1960 BSA A10
Pre-Unit 650 Twin
1960 BSA A10 Spitfire Scrambler
1960 BSA A10 SPITFIRE SCRAMBLER
The Spitfire was indeed a ‘scrambler’ in the true sense of the word, with knobby tires, high pipes on the left side, one carb, and stripped of everything that wasn’t essential. These are gorgeous bikes, and actually make a great off-road ride. They practically dominated desert racing in the Western US, and also many a scrambles track. The big torquey motors didn’t need to be revved tight to get up hills and out of holes. Big British twins and singles ruled off-road racing around the world until the lightweight 2-strokes started pouring in from Japan and Europe. BSA sold tons of Gold Stars well into the early 1960s. But as they converted all the rest of their models over to unit-construction, and it was announced that Lucas would cease production of their magnetos, which combined meant that something had to be done with the pre-unit magneto-sparked Gold Star and soon. 1963 was the last year, during which BSA switched over to the unit-construction 441 Victor, thereby ending the magic.
1960 BSA A10 SPECIFICATIONS
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Engine type Displacement Bore & Stroke Compression Carburetor Engine output Primary drive Clutch Final drive Gearbox Ratios, overall: 1st, Bottom 2nd 3rd 4th, Top Wheelbase Seat height Ground clearance Suspension, front Suspension, rear Brakes, front Brakes, rear Tires, front Tires, rear Fuel capacity Curb weight |
Air-cooled OHV vertical twin 646cc 70mm X 84mm 8.3:1 1- Amal Monobloc 42 hp @ 6,000 rpm 1/2″ X .305 single-row chain Multi-plate, wet 5/8″ X 3/8″ chain BSA constant-mesh 4-speed, foot shift — 11.68:1 7.96:1 5.48:1 4.53:1 56.0″ 30.0″, unladen 6.0″, unladen telescopic forks, 2-way damping swing arm, 2 hydraulic dampers 8.0″ SLS drum 7.0″ SLS drum 3.25″ x 19″ 3.50″ x 19″ 4.0 gal 439 lbs |