BSA A10 Golden Flash 650 1954 Owner review
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- Опубліковано 4 жов 2024
- Road test and owner review of our 1954 BSA GoldenFlash 650.
This was the first year of the swinging arm frame and saw a move to the standard gearbox common to the rest of the range. - Авто та транспорт
Ma Grandpa had one bought it new way back said there is no better way to see our Scotland than on one of these .
I’d imagine so
Scotland looks great on any motorcycle
Had a a10 around 1970 totally reliable, with out fairing no engine noise so smooth,ports were gas flowed with a 1.1/8 carb give little boy racers a surprise 60 in first 80 in second then change to third and fourth so don’t cut this old man’s bike off again.I loved Sunday afternoon riding when I limited speed to under 50mph so smooth and quiet,sometimes my brother borrowed the bike wearing my helmet and coat to cover a distance of about 10 miles
and return ,one Monday morning I got told off for speeding by a coworker 95 to 100 mph guess who not me.one night I had to brake hard 90mph locked front and back wheels stopped engine released brakes at 70 and I still remember the bike bouncing off the springs.Loved the bike.
I’m definitely fond of mine
Pretty standard trim though by comparison
My Dad had one back in the 70’s, and it was the first “big bike”I ever rode. It was truly a grand machine! After Dad passed, I sold it to a collector of British machines from the Golden Era. He restored it back to museum quality, and still occasionally rides it. It’s parked between a Gold Star on one side, and a Norton Fastback on the other, so it’s in good company!
Cool
The main problem with my A10 was premature wear in the plain main bearing. Of course I was a speed demon, I remember Dublin to Galway (130 miles) in 2hours 20 mins. And that was in the days before motorways existed, the road went through every small town on the way. I fitted an SRM bottom end with Carillo conrods while keeping the cast iron head, it coped very well with unleaded petrol. When the magneto wore out I converted it to electronic ignition, at the same time I converted the dynamo output to 12 volt. This mod absolutely transformed the performance and allowed me to ride with the headlight on all the time. Coping in modern traffic with standard single sided brakes eventually became too dangerous and as I didn't want to modify the original shabby appearance by fitting later type brakes the Beezer gave way to more modern machinery.
Well the same bearing was used on Triumphs 500s until 68
Changing the oil regularly makes all the difference
Converting to 12v is ok but won’t generate any meaningful charge at lower rpms
I find the breaks ok with a little thought 💭
@@bikerdood1100 BSA also used the plain bearing until the end of production on the A65.The problem I had at the time was the quality of aftermarket bearing which was all that was available. Phosphor Bronze rather than Babbit. Mine only lasted 4000 miles. British twins unfortunately gained a reputation for unreliability due to their plain bearing arrangement which contributed to them losing out to Japanese competition. SRM / Devimede roller conversion was the choice for racing engines, I also fitted a high output oil pump and changed the oil every 500 miles. I was tempted to fit an oil filter but opted for the former so as not to affect the oil pressure. I never had a problem running out of battery capacity, I used a 12V gel battery in a dummy Lucas casing, solid state regulator wired for negative Earth allowed for LED bulbs, and toothed drive belt with a better ratio than the original dynamo drive chain turned the dynamo faster. A reliable battery was essential to power the electronic ignition.
My party trick at club runs used to have the old boys scratching their heads. With the bike on the stand I would first turn on the lights, (this also turned on the ignition) I would then accidentally drop a glove. As I bent down to pick up the glove I would "kick" the engine into life with my hand, jump on the bike and ride it off the stand. Electric Start? No, standard low compression pistons and electronic ignition with built in retardation meant easy starting and no chance of kickback. Another trick was to screw the steering damper down and see how many miles could be covered without touching the handlebars and arms crossed on twisty rural roads. I never crashed until I ran out of brakes on a run with a group of lads on modern machines. Something up ahead caused the leader to make an emergency stop. I think it was the sight of a cop car! A heart attack at 52 ended my teenage years, I bought a BMW with luggage ES and ABS and became a gentleman.
@@dwansbo or people skipped oil changes 🤔
I’ve had the A10 for well over a decade and it’s fine without the experience of an SRM conversation, just lists of lovely oil and a bit of consideration for a machine that’s older than I am of course
Over the years I had many British twins including Norton, A J S, Matchless and Triumph, the '54 A 10 Golden Flash was my favourite as it was born in the same year as I was!
@@dwansbo nice 👍🏻
I had a 1960 A10 back in 1980, paid £400 for it. I loved the bike, a great torquey engine and would do 100mph. Brakes and 6 volt headlight were rubbish though. Had to sell it as it needed a new clutch as I was skint and could not afford the repairs. I only got £200 for it as nobody wanted old Beezers in 1980. I wish I still had it now.
Dam
I had 650bsa 1954 plunger frame best bike ever wish I had it now .
Ditto,my favourite bike of many.
👍🏻
unbeatable british gem
We do love ours
I love mine and condone every word in the video such a good bike easy starter comfort plenty of low down grunt and so is the A7 great bikes
Thanks
Thinking o getting a bsa never had one before just for work 3 miles there and back !A 7 ANY GOOD ?
My late dad had a 1956 model here in India for about a decade
Nice 👍
Lovely bikes A10s. Had one back in the day (1968/9) My brother John had modded it to be a cafe racer, with Road Rocket alloy head, 10:1 pistons, Spitfire cams and TT carb etc. It was my first big bike, I got it off him when he bought a 500 Goldie (DBD34) in Clubmans trim from Cundles in Liverpool, where he worked as a mechanic.
Lots of customising going on then
Nice little review that & it does make a good noise the closest thing to me having a British bike was an Enfield Bullet 500 that I named Harry (I'm sure I'm not the first one to give one that name) that I used to plod down the country lanes on & to a biker pub some years back, I sold it & the poor thing the last time I saw it looked like it were left to rot which is a shame.
All bikes need care and attention
Like Mrs Bikerdoos 😂
Lovely thoughtful video, mate about a good old British icon.
We do love our BEEZA 🙏
As an owner of several A10's over the years I couldn't agree with the bike review more. An old BSA sales man once told me that 1 in 4 bikes sold in the 1950's was a BSA, wonder why that was?
They are surprising good, we like it more than the Triumphs we owned previously
Andy Tiernan has a 1955 one for sale .Looks pretty good and well serviced.I live in N.Ireland so not seeing it in the flesh holds me back.Always liked BSA though.
Great bikes . Bike anything unseen is something of an act of faith though
@@bikerdood1100 Very true,You zoom in on the pics and video but you still can't tell how good the paintwork is .
Just sums up my A10 Golden Flash. Very nice bike to ride. Allow plenty of time to stop though !!.
Yep definitely pays to plan ahead
Magnifiques, la belle anglaise et la belle Angleterre !!!!!
Mercey
@@bikerdood1100 OK, thank you ..... !! ... I'm born in 1954 Lol ... !
Brilliant video well explained I'm waiting for my 59bflash to come back from full engine rebuild can't wait you did the a10 justice there 👍
Happy riding
Coming out of Market Drayton towards Nantwich - I know it well. I loved the video :-)
Yes I was
An old mate of mine had one of these back in the 70's. Wasn't this bike the one used
in the long running tv series "Heartbeat" My friends bike even had the same black
panniers on like the one on the tv series. Sadly he crashed it in 1978.
Nice
Like the video
Lovely machine
Thanks
Love the video
Can I ask is it the Go pro camera that you’ve been using
I’m thinking of purchasing one along with the app
Thanks
Yes they are older GoPros. Seem to work OK 4K would be nice but work well enough for now.
@@bikerdood1100
Cheers for that
It's like mlne if they were side by side they look identical twins .Nice bike 😅😅😅😅
Nice
Congrats on your excellent taste
Used to ride a black one when I was at university. Heavy but comfy, lots of torque, and a 'big' exhaust sound. Where are you now, 441 BOR?
They are pretty heavy but bikes did get a lot heavier latter
441 bor is now a blue bmw. So it looks like that beeza is no mor
I'm gutted.@@highdownmartin
well said
Thanks
Hi, it would be nicer to hear the engine rather than the music. Lovely bike though ...thanks for the video
That’s the theme of the thing 🙄
We rarely use music in fact but doing the same Thing every single time is apt to get boring
Great video although could have done with more of that beautiful engine bark
Oh it’ll feature again
Like to put the old lady out there every once and a while
Taper-roller steering-head bearings...all this bike really needs...otherwise a fantastic machine.
Oh...and the brakes...
They are definitely in Britains top 10 I think
My first big bike..... £20
Not anymore
If only
I had a 1950bsa bored to 750, stolen at some point.
Sad to hear
How do I check the oil level in the gearbox
Level plug just behind the kick start
Fill till it’s Just dripping out
@@bikerdood1100 - thanks a million. got it topped up.
I inherited an a10 and i am planning to do a full engine rebuild. It does run but the alternator is broken. Im kinda scared but exited at the same time
Fortunately they are pre simple and very robust