Description
1956 BSA 500cc A7 Project
There were two versions of the Val Page-designed BSA A7 – made at the Armoury Road, Small Heath, Birmingham factory starting in 1946 – the original 495cc, and soon an improved 497cc, launched in 1950. There were two models, one model the A7 lasted to the end, but the other started as the Star Twin (through 1954) changing to the Shooting Star, to the end of production in 1962. To some extent the 650cc A10, the Golden Flash, took away the market glamour from the A7 in 1949 at its launch, but the “little brother” was no less an excellent motorcycle, and today, perhaps rarer, too. Parallel twin architecture with a 360-degree crankshaft and single camshaft at the rear of the cylinder block was used, with a 4-speed gearbox bolted directly to the crankcase in a form of semi-unit construction. In 1954 a swinging arm frame was introduced as was a change in bore and stroke to 66×72.6mm (an increase in bore and shortening of stroke) to reach 497cc. Production ended in 1961.
The motorbike offered
This 1956 BSA 500cc A7 Project is offered from a Southern California collection. As per factory records, we can confirm this is a matching numbers example. A starting point for restoration, potential buyers should satisfy themselves as to the condition of this motorcycle. Contact us with questions.
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