BSA Golden Flash

The BSA Golden Flash, often misnamed the Gold Flash, was the 646 cc air cooled parallel twin designed by Bert Hopwood and built at Small Heath, Birmingham, as the first model of the A10 series. Launched in October 1949, it drew heavily on the earlier A7 and took its name from a distinctive golden paint scheme, though British buyers were offered it in black because most production went to the United States. It exceeded 100 mph in 1950 tests and outsold Triumph's Speed Twin and Thunderbird. A swinging arm frame replaced plunger suspension in 1954, and the model ended in 1963 when the unit construction A65 Star superseded it.