BSA Firebird Scrambler

By Robert Smith
Published on July 28, 2009
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Conceived in 1968 as a dual-sport scrambler, the Firebird had morphed into a standard road bike by 1970. It was dropped from BSA's lineup in 1972.
Conceived in 1968 as a dual-sport scrambler, the Firebird had morphed into a standard road bike by 1970. It was dropped from BSA's lineup in 1972.
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Lurid blue and white paint contrasts oddly with the Firebird's chrome tank, but there's still no denying the bike's good looks.
Lurid blue and white paint contrasts oddly with the Firebird's chrome tank, but there's still no denying the bike's good looks.
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Light and agile, it 's a willing performer, with a top speed just over 100mph.
Light and agile, it 's a willing performer, with a top speed just over 100mph.

BSA Firebird Scrambler
Years produced:
 1968-71
Total production: Unknown
Claimed power: 52hp @ 7,000rpm
Top speed: 105mph (est.)
Engine type:  654cc air-cooled parallel twin
Weight (dry): 185kg (408lb)
Price Then: $1,440
Price Now: $3,500-$5,500
MPG: 35-45

Dual-sport bikes are hardly new. By some accounts, BSA launched the category in 1965 with its offroad-styled 500cc A50 BSA Wasp and 650cc A65 BSA Hornet. Three years later, the company introduced the BSA Firebird Scrambler, its latest — and arguably best — variation on the theme. Trouble is, they forgot to market it, and the Firebird stalled.

Every old motorcycle has some history: sometimes it’s benign, and sometimes it’s not. Sometimes the story is written in service notes, title documents and repair bills. Sometimes it’s oral, passed on from owner to owner — although many sellers seem to prefer saying as little as possible!

Then there are the stories told in the metal: the patina of worn paint from leathers rubbing on a gas tank; rounded-off nuts attacked by mis-sized wrenches; telltale boogers of silicone oozing from a hastily fitted primary cover. All these speak to the past indignities suffered by our old iron.

Humble beginnings
Take Gary Carpenter’s 1970 BSA Firebird Scrambler, for example. (I should confess up front that I’m part of its history, because I sold it to him.) I first saw the bike advertised in the local newspaper as a 1969 BSA Lightning “basket case.” Checking the bike’s serial numbers, I could tell it was a 1970 model but with a 1972 engine in place.

The original engine was also part of the package, and a quick look at the pieces told the story. Punched in the back of the crankcase and primary was a three-finger-sized hole, certainly the result of a snapped drive chain. Likely, then, the old Beezer hadn’t enjoyed the most fastidious maintenance program. A good sprinkling of rust told of lengthy outside storage, and the paint told another tale: The original white headlight ears had been brushed black to tie in with the hand-painted Lightning gas tank.

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