Richard Simpson Mark II wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 10:01 pm Jeeeze....what ever happened to a screwdriver and a C-spanner?

I feel really old now

Yep, I’d get the dealer to remove the screen

Just curious, is the bike in the photo a production model or a custom?

If it’s a production bike, looks great, my only criticism is the dodgy looking number plate mount!

This mate was very good with Brit bikes. At that time he had a Vincent Comet and others in his garage. He hadn’t had the 650ss long and when he stripped it down he found that the rebore was slightly tapered - don’t remember the details but basically when it got hot it pinched up - see why I don’t li...

Lovely bike and if the chrome is original then that’s amazing. The tacho cable routing is a bit odd but I’ve looked at photos of others and they are much the same! I remember towing a mate with the same bike with my Guzzi Le Mans. We were on our way b back from ‘festival of 1000 bikes’ at Brands Hat...

I do like the magneto because as you say it’s independent of the other electrics. Mine is probably a bit weak with age which can make the bike hard to start in damp weather. I’m in the process of improving by BSA, mostly adding stainless steel as it seems that modern chrome is rubbish and wheel rims...

Great thread AS, the 650ss looks like a great bike, interesting to see that even in 1967 Norton were still on magneto ignition and monobloc carbs when Triumph and BSA had moved on to coil ignition and concentrics about 5 or 6 years earlier. My 1954 BSA A10 has a magneto - sometimes I love it, someti...

Interesting list, sounds pretty spectacular to me.

I should give mine some thought!

I have a BSA A10 (650cc) from 1954, I’ve owned it since 1974. It’s easy to start and easy to get parts for but, although in my opinion easy to live with it does require a bit of attention quite a lot of the time - realistically a 2:1 ratio riding to tinkering although that probably depends how much ...

I quite like the FTR although it’s a shame that like so many recent bikes the silencers are more about conforming with the Euro rules than anything else.

Always enjoyed the design exercises - Katana, K1 etc. but in reality I prefer the more organic designs that have evolved rather the the drawing board wrap arounds.

Before the marketing men got involved the Vincent and the Brough Superior are good examples of designs that evolved from the function.