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1960 BSA A10

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

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