1966 BSA Spitfire MK II - 4-Page Vintage Motorcycle Road Test Article

Description

1966 BSA Spitfire MK II - 4-Page Vintage Motorcycle Road Test Article
Original, vintage magazine article
Page Size: Approx: 8" x 11" (21 cm x 28 cm)
Condition: Good
BSA’S SPITFIRE MK II is the offspring of a well-
defined trend that is seen both here and in its native
England. More and more, motorcyclists are turning from
what might be described as “basic transportation” in a
2-wheeler, and toward the high-performance, sporting
models. In England, interest is currently centered on the
big-displacement “road-burner,” of which this super-sports
BSA is a prime example. Such motorcycles are not made
for economy, in either purchase price or daily operation;
they are made to go, and to look and sound sporty (and
the latter pair of attributes may even have more sales
impact than the first). The Spitfire Mk II, which carries
the catalogue designation, “model A65 2GP” is a prime
example of the type.
In its basics, the Spitfire Mk II is like other series —
A65 BSAs, but carries a lot of specialized accessories,
like light-alloy wheel-rims. These probably do not make
much difference in purely functional terms, for the weight
saving per wheel cannot have much significance on a
motorcycle having a curb weight of 416 pounds. It can,
of course, be argued that this is a saving in unsprung
weight, and therefore important with regard to handling.
However, most of the improvement is in appearance.
Laced into the front wheel is a brake assembly de-
scribed in BSA’s sales literature as a “racing 190mm front
brake with full-width lining.” Sounds impressive, until
one converts that 190mm into inches and realizes that
they are talking about a drum slightly less than 7 ¥2" in
diameter. That is smaller than the standard Lightning
front brake, although the Mk II front brake has a 2"
shoe width (compared to the standard I%") and that
gives it the same total swept drum area as the other big
BSAs.
The Mk II brake is an impressive-looking thing, with
fins around the drum and radial extractor vanes (to help
move air through the brake) between the mouth of the
drum and the backing plate. Unfortunately, the perfor-
mance does not live up to the appearance. At least, the
example on our test bike showed deficiencies. Not only
was it not very powerful, but it squeaked badly at low
speeds and set up a ferocious shuddering, if used at all
hard at anything above 45 mph. Quite possibly, ours
was a particularly bad example, but it was so bad that
at least traces of this unhappy behavior seem certain to be
present in most of the Mk II front brakes.
These same brakes, fitted with racing linings, were used
on BSA’s “Daytona” racing bikes, and we understand
that they did a respectable job after the drums were
skimmed “true” and had the leading ends of their linings
beveled back. Considering the speed potential of the Spit-
fire Mk II, it seems no more than reasonable and prudent
that the same measures be applied to this high-perfor-
mance touring motorcycle.
Another item on the Mk II that needs attention is the
bike’s fuel tank. Now this is a good-looking tank, made
of fiberglass, and it does its job of containing fuel very
well. Where it goes astray is in the quantity of fuel it
contains: a skimpy 2-gallons. That gives a vigorous-ridden
Spitfire Mk II a cruising range of less than 100 miles,
and there are plenty of places in this country where service
stations are more than a hundred miles apart. We suspect
that a larger tank may be forthcoming. The short, fat
tank used on the BSA Daytona bikes appears to have been
made for use with a long, touring-type seat. “Eye-ball”
estimates indicate that the big “racing” tank would drop
right into place on the Spitfire. That would more than
double the Spitfire’s cruising range and cut the number of
fuel stops one must make in a day’s riding to more accept-
able level.
The Spitfire Mk II engine is, with the exception of the...