The BSA A65R Rocket was one of a series of

unit construction : ''For the vehicle design where the vehicle's skin is used as a load-bearing element, see Monocoque.'' Unit construction is the design of larger motorcycles where the engine and gearbox components share a single casing. This sometimes includes ...

Birmingham Small Arms Company The Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited (BSA) was a major British industrial combine, a group of businesses manufacturing military and sporting firearms; bicycles; motorcycles; cars; buses and bodies; steel; iron castings; hand tool, hand, po ...

(BSA)

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

s made in the 1960s. A version branded as the A65 'Thunderbolt Rocket' was aimed at the US market. The A65R Rocket was produced from 1964 but was stopped in 1965 when all development at BSA was halted by financial difficulties.

Development

The A65R was a development of the old model range led by Bob Fearon, managing director and General Manager of BSA and Chief Development Engineer Bert Perrigo they developed the unit construction ''Star twins''. To make the A65R more of a 'sports version' of the original BSA A65 Star (and in anticipation of more stringent noise control legislation) it was given 'siamesed' two-into-one exhaust pipes with a special baffle, as well as chrome plated mudguards and headlight brackets. Able to cruise at 85 mph (137 km/h) and with a top speed of 108 mph (174 km/h) it was sold as the fastest BSA in production. For the 1964 Isle of Man TT races, the BSA factory supplied the travelling Marshals with A65Rs, specially modified to be more 'racing-style' with lower handlebars, rear-set foot controls and a seat having a rear hump. A special version of the A65 branded as the A65T/R 'Thunderbolt Rocket' was aimed at the US market and featured high rise handlebars and a smaller fuel tank. By 1965 competition from motorcycle producers such as

Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...

were eroding BSA's previously rising sales figures. BSA's marketing team was slow to respond and new motorcycle development contributed to substantial losses, so by 1972 the company was absorbed into

Manganese Bronze Holdings Manganese Bronze Holdings plc (MBH) was the holding company of LTI Limited. The firm's sole business in its final years as a company was London black taxicab manufacturing through the LTI subsidiary. The Manganese Bronze and Brass Co was foun ...

in a rescue plan initiated by the

Department of Industry Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

. A plan to combine Norton, BSA and Triumph failed through poor

industrial relations Industrial relations or employment relations is the multidisciplinary academic field that studies the employment relationship; that is, the complex interrelations between employers and employees, labor union, labor/trade unions, employer organ ...

and the BSA factories closed.

BSA Lightning Rocket

The

BSA Lightning Rocket The BSA Lightning Rocket was a Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) motorcycle made in Birmingham. A highly tuned version of the BSA A65 Rocket, BSA A65R Rocket, it was BSA's bid to capture the potentially lucrative USA export market in the mid-1 ...

was a highly tuned version of the BSA A65R Rocket and featured twin Amal 389/206 carburettors and high compression pistons combined with an optional close ratio gear box to give lively acceleration. The Lightning Rocket had a slimmer fuel tank and mudguards - with extra chrome. From 1965 the Lightning Rocket was discontinued in the UK.

References

External links

A65 Rocket restoration project
{{BSA motorcycles, state=collapsed A65 Rocket Motorcycles introduced in 1964 Motorcycles powered by straight-twin engines