REAL ROCKET
Over the past 50 years, my A10 has changed appearance so much that some members at the Worcester Auto-Cycle Club have wondered if it was more than one bike which shared a registration. Obviously, these allegations are totally unfounded! But the BSA 650 has gone through many incarnations since first acquired in 1968, when it was swapped for a 250 Greeves Challenger.
Although it was re-registered in August 1967 as a Rocket Gold Star, I discovered that the A10 was actually a 1958 Super Rocket engine housed in a 1958 Goldie frame. It was presented in café racer trim, complete with an 8” front brake converted to a twin-leader, Taylor Dow Superleggera alloy top yoke, clip-on bars and rearsets. Its crowning glory was a glassfibre combined petrol and oil tank which, I soon discovered, could create more than a little discomfort to certain sensitive parts due to the hot lubricant which lived in its rear section…
Its previous owner was unable to start the A10 when I bought it, because of a ‘broken oil pipe’. Caveat emptor: I entered a very expensive learning curve and the truth is that I’m still learning. After fitting new oil pipes, the motor would only run on the one pot. So I rode my 325cc single-cylinder A5 to
