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QUOTE: "....a ditch-pump 2-valve Guzzi"Never heard that one before! binary tool
Hot Rod Magazine rated the Lightening as the fastest motorcycle tested at 135 mph. (IIRC)It was Hunter Thompson's bike when writing the Hell's Angels book. He purchased it based on the magazine's claim. Hunter wrote about riding the beast around Big Sur on the PCH.
Yes...and later in his life, ol' Hunter graduated to Ducati's and wrote about cafe racers in..."The Song of the Sausage Creature"
I enjoyed the good Doctor , but he was prone to hyperbole and drug fueled flights of imagination .
The 61 BSA A10 modified I'm building right now is/was a Super Road Rocket....As Dusty says, 135 mph would be BS even if the bike was modified...The stock ones did have a nice look and arguably the best looking engine put into a bike...
A full race prepped 650 Lightning on IOM TT gearing with a full race fairing with a 125 LB rider on board was probably capable of an honest 130 MPH at some place like the Island , Ulster , or the banking at Daytona . Of course the engine was done in after 200 miles Seem to remember triples in the latest form were capable of 142 or so . A guy tried to tell me his 650 Triumph would do 150 , this while I was sitting astride a tuned T 140 that would make maybe 112 with me under the paint.
Dusty My naked frame modified production 650 Triumph did 133.1 mph in the swirling winds in the standing start 1-1/2 mile old Air Force runway in Loring Maine.It was the first stock frame 650 pushrod engine on gasoline to set a record over 130 at any land speed racing track.. In the early 70's I believe Romero was clocked at 157 mph on the oval at Daytona on a fully faired race prepped Triumph/BSA 750 triple. About the same time an iron head 883 Sportster fully faired and tuned by Harley's race dept went a bit faster...
Unfortunately that 135 figure is nonsense , a good Lightning was capable of maybe 110 MPH on a really good day at or near sea level , with a tail wind I enjoyed the good Doctor , but he was prone to hyperbole and drug fueled flights of imagination . Remember , he claimed the BSA had some magical powers , one of which was that it somehow sensed the tanker truck stopped just around a blind corner , the result being that the BSA went off the road and crashed in the dirt rather than running him straight in to the gasoline(?) tanker . More like he was riding over his head and simply crashed , probably after having ingested some psychedelic substance . Dusty
Wait! You're saying Hot Rod Magazine and Hunter S Thompson aren't the model of truth and accuracy? Really?
OK, I said "IIRC". Apparently the Beeza achieved a more credible 130MPH