The BSA Golden Flash was a 646 cc (39.4 cu in) air-cooled parallel twin motorcycle designed by Bert Hopwood and produced by Birmingham Small Arms Company at Small Heath, Birmingham. Code-named the BSA A10, it was available in black and chrome; but it was the distinctive golden paint scheme that gave The Golden Flash its name. Bert Hopwood served an apprenticeship under designer Val Page at Ariel. In 1936, Hopwood moved to Triumph, where he worked under Edward Turner to develop the 1937 Triumph Speed Twin. The innovative Speed Twin became the exemplar of the parallel twin engine layout for British motorcycles in the 1950s and 1960s. In April 1947 Hopwood joined Norton to design the Norton Dominator engine. BSA, then the largest UK motorcycle manufacturer, was falling behind in the parallel-twin race. Although BSA had a parallel-twin, the BSA A7, they needed to develop the bike to remain competitive. In May 1948, the factory enticed Hopwood after only a year at Norton,[1] and he was commissioned to create a competitive BSA parallel-twin.

[2] Launched in October 1949, Hopwood's A10 Golden Flash drew heavily from the A7 design by Page and Bert Perkins.motorcycles for sale in houma la Early Golden Flash A10s had frames with either no rear suspension, or plungers, and had a semi-unit engine and gearbox, with the gearbox bolted to the rear of the enginemotorcycle repair ringwood nj The A10 was increased to 650 cc (40 cu in), with a revised alloy rocker box and cast-iron cylinder head, plus an integral manifold for the single Amal carburettor. motorcycle shop pittsfield maA semi-unit gearbox meant the primary chain was adjustable via a slipper tensioner within the primary chain case. 1200cc harley engine for sale

The frame was available in rear rigid format, but the more common option was plunger suspension, adopted for the export market.motorbike trike for sale nz[4] The A10 featured a hinged rear mudguard to ease rear wheel removal. snell motorcycle helmet reviewsThe A10 was so closely based on the A7 that it used many of its well-proven components, and this large carry-over of parts from the A7 promised greater reliability, with minimal risk of new technical problems.part worn motorcycle tyres doncaster Early cast Golden Flash tank badge The BSA Golden Flash was launched in a new gold colour, and 80% of production was destined for the United States. This resulted in long delivery times for British customers, who were offered the model only in black.

Although never designed as a sport motorcycle, the Golden Flash was nonetheless fast for its time and competitive with the Triumph Tiger 100, achieving over 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) in tests in 1950, and covering a standing quarter mile (400 m) in under 16 seconds.[6] Its gold colour proved a marketing success, outselling Triumph's Speed Twin and 6T Thunderbird. BSA were concerned about that wear in the plunger suspension was leading to uncertain handling. In 1954 the factory adopted a swinging arm,[7] and the hinged mudguard was deleted. In seemingly backwards step, the semi-unit gearbox was abandoned for a separate "pre-unit" item. The new design had a different primary chain adjustment, a modified clutch, and new gearbox internals. Late Golden Flash A10s had Swinging arm frames and had a separate engine and gearbox. This one dates 1961. A more sporting model was launched in 1954: the A10 Road Rocket with twin carburettors and an alloy cylinder head. In 1956, alloy brake drums were fitted as standard to reduced unsprung weight and improve braking performance.

Later transfer-style Golden Flash badge In 1957, the 40 bhp (30 kW) 105 miles per hour (169 km/h) BSA Super Rocket was launched for the 1958 season, with an Amal TT carburettor and high lift cam. The final A10 development in terms of power and performance was the 1962 BSA Rocket Gold Star. A tuned A10 Super Rocket engine was installed into the well-proven BSA Gold Star single frame. The result was a fast bike that handled well, and which became a collectable "classic". Demand for the Rocket Gold Star, or "RGS", is such that non-original "RGS A10"s are sometimes upgraded to RGS specifications. In the late 1950s, motorcycle electrical component manufacturer Lucas decided to switch production from magneto/dynamo systems to alternators/coil systems. This forced British motorcycle manufacturers to completely redesign their engines. With the launch of the new unit construction (combined engine/gearbox) BSA A50 and BSA A65, the A7 and A10 were discontinued at the end of 1962 but the Rocket Gold Star continued into 1963 production.

^ a b c ^ Real Classic BSA A10 (accessed 2008-05-13)Bsa TrikeTrike HarleyMotorcycle TrikesCustom 1971Bsa CustomCustom Trikes1971 6501971 BsaChopped ChopperForwardThe 1971 BSA Custom Trike Motorcycle for Sale is a custom 1971 650 BSA trike with RAT ROD styling! Buying Motorcycle Exhaust and Tail Pipe Systems imageBuying Motorcycle Exhaust and Tail Pipe Systems Exhaust is a critical component of engine performance and rider comfort because it moves heat and burned gasses, the by-product of combustion, out of the...Read More about Buying Motorcycle Exhaust and Tail Pipe SystemsBSA BANTAM D14B FOUR SPEED SURVIVOR BIKE SPARES OR REPAIRS BARN FINDWhile not as popular as the Triumph, BSA developed a solid rival in the form of the Golden Flash. There are two, equally valid, ways of looking at the BSA A10 Shooting Star. One, and it’s the view you will most often hear being offered by Triumph enthusiasts, is that despite its polychromatic golden paint finish, the BSA is a dull, conservatively styled lump of a bike which looked old fashioned even when it first appeared in 1954.

All this is true. The second, more objective, opinion is that the A10 is, in every way but one, the equal of Triumph’s sexy, charismatic 650cc Twins – and in some respects is a markedly better motorcycle altogether. The one missing ingredient, and it’s a magic one too in terms of making a motorcycle’s reputation, is styling. In the 1950s and early 1960s, nothing in the world looked as lust generating as a Triumph T’Bird – and later, a T110 and Bonneville. By contrast, BSA’s offering appeared worthy to the point of dullness – until you look under the skin of the bike. We will come to the engine and gearbox in a moment, but let’s start with one of the great unsung heroes of motorcycle design: the BSA duplex frame. Received wisdom at the time was that there was only one frame in the world and this was the iconic Norton “Featherbed.” In truth, the Norton duplex frame does work wonderfully well when it houses the Single-cylinder Manx engine which sits low between the bottom frame rails and provides an exemplary center of gravity.

However, put a Twin-cylinder engine in the same chassis and it is not nearly so good. The A10 Golden Flash suffers from a lackluster braking system that easily could have been upgraded by using the units off the Gold Star. By contrast the BSA frame is peerless, not only as a home for the Twin-cylinder A7 and A10 engines but, with a slight kink in the right hand side bottom rail, also as the frame for the legendary BSA Gold Stars. And anyone who thinks that “Goldies” don’t handle hasn’t raced against one! So, the A10 handling is a treat – and would be even better except for the penny-pinching brakes both front and back. The A10’s younger sporting brother, the Rocket Gold Star, had brakes lifted straight from the Gold Star’s parts’ bins and these should have been standard across all the BSA 650s but BSA accountants ruled the engineers, so the Flash comes equipped with feeble 7-inch hubs front and back. The A10’s engine is, by the standards of the day, a real peach.

It began life as a 500 just before the Second World War as a Val Page concept – and Valentine Page was the greatest of all the British motorcycle designers. Post-war, the legendary Edward Turner – he of Triumph Speedtwin fame – had a dabble with it but the bulk of the work was done by BSA’s Chief Designer Herbert Perkins. The BSA engine is arguably a neater, more efficient design than its Triumph competitor. A single, four lobe camshaft – located neatly behind the cylinder barrel – lifts the pushrods and this gives a quiet, oil-tight engine. When Bert Hopwood joined BSA in 1949, a hurried decision was made to re-vamp the 500c engine into a 650cc power-plant capable of matching Triumph’s all new Thunderbird. In just five months, Hopwood re-worked and significantly improved the A7 into a 650cc engine which was a match for the T’Bird in terms of performance. Hopping up to 650cc to match the T-Bird, BSA used iron for the cylinder heads which caused occasional overheating.

Better still, it was a paragon of reliability and smoothness and the gearbox and clutch were first-class too. The A10’s engine has iron barrels and cylinder head. This was a real drawback in its heyday in terms of overheating and so the sporting versions of the A10 had alloy heads. Now, when classic bike owners are not chasing performance, the quietness of the all iron engine is rather attractive and gives the Flash an air of sophistication. What the A10 lacked was Triumph’s charisma. Worthy as the Flash was you could never imagine Marlon Brando riding into Carbonville on a BSA Twin: he would have been far more likely to be delivering gifts to orphans. So this brings us to the present day and if you want a practical, highly useable classic then the Flash ought to be right at the top of your shopping list. Critically, a decent A10 starts instantly and the original, highly robust powerplant can be further improved with modern internals. This is an engine which can deal with a 1000-mile trip without a moment’s hesitation.

Hopwood’s Parallel Twin runs near silently and never a drop of oil will appear on the motor. Nor for that matter does the BSA primary chain case leak oil. It is a robust, all-alloy construction and, once prepared properly, stays bone dry. In all, a very non-British classic in terms of oily incontinence. The rear chain is just as well sorted with an all-enveloping metal case which means minimal lubrication and long life. While it wasn’t the big seller BSA wanted it to be, it was still a solid mount for the everyday rider and an affordable classic. The original A10s were good for a solid 90 mph-plus and so a classic today will happily run at 65 mph all day without a hint of stress. The four-speed gearbox is sweet, reliable and positive and the clutch, again with modern improvements to the friction material, utterly trustworthy. Even the brakes can be tweaked so that they are at least capable of handling relaxed classic riding although if I had an A10 I must admit that I would be sourcing a 190mm Gold Star front brake.