Teenage dreams
This is a real-life love story. Since 1966, John Weeden has pined for a 650cc Mk.II BSA Spitfire. In the year England won football’s world cup, the object of John’s affection was out of reach but, 54 years later, he’s the owner of an example of the 654cc overhead-valve parallel twin machine. And now Weeden, a retired professional restorer and motorcycle racer, has just finished restoring his very own Spitfire.
He said: “It was 1966 when I first saw the Spitfire. I was a teenager visiting Pride and Clarke and the Spitfire was much dearer than the Lightning, so I bought the Lightning. I really wanted the Spitfire but I couldn’t afford it!”
BSA’s 1966 price list bears witness to that fact, with the Lightning listed at £355, compared to the whopping £389-10s of
