Why an A7-A10?

[Caretaker]

Lots of bikes to choose from out there, anybody wants to write about why they wanted or did choose the A7-A10? May make some good reading.

I can start by saying the beautiful engine design (timing side!) made an immediate impact when I looked trough classic magazines, books etc. Then one day I was waiting to pay at a petrol station, had a look in a bike magazine from the news stand, no plan to buy anything at all, and found the A10 for sale a few miles from were I lived. Went up to see it, and bought it. Little did I know I'd even be riding it in Monaco!

Regards
Erling

[LJ.]

Well I guess as I'm a late commer to Motorcycling I owe my thanks for my choice of bike to my Mum & Dad. They were big bikers back during the mid to late 1950s, Dad being a police motorcyclist riding Triumph 500s with the local force.

I grew up hearing the many tales of their adventures whilst holidaying across Europe, they went as far as Italy, France and Spain on a number of occasions. This was a brave thing back then as like today there were no spares for Brit bikes on the continent. Europe was still in recovery mode from the last war.

My problem was as soon as I turned 16 I turned down the chance for a 'moped' yuk! because it was not a *real* motorbike and I thought I may as well remained turning pedals on my push bike. As soon as I turned 17 I got my 4 wheels licence and since then and up untill two years ago I never bothered with two wheels, BUT I always took an interest in Brit bikes! and I supposed deep down I hankered after one.

It was not untill four years ago that the oppotunity arose while we were in Scotland and I saw an old Brit bike go past... The chrome shone! and the bark from the silencers sounded good. I was hooked! Along with my mid-life crisis  I easily puesuaded the wife to get one. Ebay was the first and obvious place to look and although there was some good looking machines there... An A7 Shooting Star just like my parents bike back in the later fifties. We decided to go and look elsewhere and not purchase on ebay.

The fool and his money are easily parted or so they say. An excellent example in my case, although I have been extremely lucky because my A10 has been a real joy with no problems what so ever. I knew NOTHING about bikes back then, wet sumping meant nothing to me either. But it has been an excellent learning process because its such an easy bike to work on. I am unlikely to be rid of it for a long time because of the joys it brings. My kids who love riding with me will have long lasting memories of their adventures of being on the back with me. Something that I missed out on in my youth.

The pictures below are of Mum & Dad on their BSA A7 Shooting Star somewhere midway in Spain 1958.

[fido]

I bought my current A7 because my previous A7SS was such a good bike. I also had a hankering for something older than the 50s and 60s bikes I'd tried. A prewar Triumph Speed Twin would have been my first choice but they are very rare and expensive.
The A7SS was bought as a restoration project around the same time as a college mate bought an A10 basket case. Trouble is, I can't remember now which of us bought our bike first. At the time I joined the BSAOC so I've tended to maintain some loyalty to the BSA brand over later years. I like to think I would still own that Shooting Star if it had not been stolen. I had just got it how I wanted it when it went. At fist I didn't know where to get the correct polychromatic green paint so I had some non metallic green paint mixed to roughly the right shade. I then learned that Brietie Motorcycles could supply the correct paint so the tinware was removed again and re-painted. I did the transfers and gold lining round the painted sections of the tank but never even had chance to take photos of the completed bike before it was stolen.  :'( The irony of it was, at the time I also had a Suzuki GS650GT which was good in dry weather but would not start on wet days. I had agreed to sell the Suzuki to another student as soon as the BSA was back on the road after its 2nd re-paint. He had taken delivery of it the day before the BSA was stolen, so I went from having 2 bikes to no transport at all.