The BSA Lightning Clubman was a British

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 motorcycle

Motorcycle

A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...

 made by BSA

Birmingham Small Arms Company

This article is not about Gamo subsidiary BSA Guns Limited of Armoury Road, Small Heath, Birmingham B11 2PP or BSA Company or its successors....

 at their factory in Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

 between 1964 and 1965. Finished in gold and black the Lightning Clubman is now a highly sought after classic motorcycle. Due to the very limited production numbers 'replicas' are created by enthusiasts from the BSA Lightning

BSA Lightning

The Lightning was a BSA motorcycle made in Birmingham between 1965 and 1972.-Development:The BSA Lightning was designed as the all-round sportbike of the 1960s, planned largely for export to the US market to complement the touring Thunderbolt and the supersports Spitfire...

.

Development

The BSA Lightning Clubman was developed from the BSA Lightning and designed as a Production racing motorcycle, with a special gold and black paint scheme, 'drop handlebars', rearset footrests, a cranked kick-start, twin carburettors, 'siamese' two into one exhaust system (with a less restrictive silencer), a single seat and close-ratio gears fitted as standard. With a top speed (in the right conditions) of 120 mph, it competed against the Triumph Bonneville

Triumph Bonneville

The Bonneville is a range of British motorcycles, made in three different production runs from 1959 to 1983, and 1985 to 1988, by the now-defunct Triumph Engineering in Meriden; and since 2001, by Triumph Motorcycles in Hinckley. It is named after the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, where Triumph and...

 as the top café racer

Café racer

A café racer is a type of motorcycle as well as a type of motorcyclist. Both meanings have their roots in the 1960s British counterculture group the Rockers, or the Ton-up boys, although they were also common in Italy, Germany, and other European countries...

 of the 1960s.

Launched in September 1964, the Lightning Clubman was only in production until October 1965, resulting in a limited production run of 200 machines, so original Clubman models are highly sought after. The BSA Spitfire

BSA Spitfire

The BSA Spitfire is a Birmingham Small Arms Company motorcycle made from 1963 to 1968. One of the first BSAs to have 12-volt electrics, the Spitfire was also one of the first "street racers" with two large-bore Amal GP carburettors, complete with velocity stacks.-Development:In 1966 BSA were...

 replaced the Lightning Clubman as BSA’s highest-performance machine in 1966.

Racing success

World motorcycle champion Mike Hailwood

Mike Hailwood

Stanley Michael Bailey Hailwood, MBE, GM was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racer regarded by many as one of the greatest racers of all time. He was known as "Mike The Bike" because of his natural riding ability...

 won the 1965 Hutchinson 100 Production race at the Silverstone

Silverstone Circuit

Silverstone Circuit is an English motor racing circuit next to the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, with the current main circuit entry on the Buckinghamshire side...

 racecourse on a BSA Lightning Clubman in heavy rain, beating the Triumph Racing Team's Bonnevilles. The 'Hutch' was the main production race of the season, so it was very important to manufacturers to establish the racing credentials of their latest range. Triumph Bonnevilles were ridden by World Champion Phil Read

Phil Read

Phillip William Read is an English former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer nicknamed "The Prince of Speed." Although he would often be overshadowed by his contemporary, Mike Hailwood, he would become the first man to win world championships in the 125cc, 250cc and 500cc classes.-Biography:In 1964,...

 and ex works rider Percy Tait

Percy Tait

Percy Tait is a former professional motorcycle road racer and senior road tester for Triumph motorcycles, where he was estimated to have clocked over a million miles of road testing...

. BSA Lightning Clubmans were ridden by Grand Prix

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix is the premier championship of motorcycle road racing currently divided into three distinct classes: 125cc, Moto2 and MotoGP. The 125cc class uses a two-stroke engine while Moto2 and MotoGP use four-stroke engines. In 2010 the 250cc two-stroke was replaced...

champion Hailwood (with a large number 1 on the fairing) and factory rider Tony Smith. Conditions were poor and Smith was out of the race at slippery Stowe Corner. With little regard for the rain Hailwood was achieving laps of 83 mph to establish his winning lead.