500 Twins A7 and A7SS 1955 - 1962

Sporting 500cc A7SS Shooting Star has a strong following, who believe if to be smoother and more flexible than the 650 twin

The A7 has always attracted a strong following, who believe it to be smoother and more flexible than the 650 twin. Once equipped with the swinging arm frame, the A7 offers similarly impressive handling and braking to the A10 Golden Flash.

In 1956 the A7's 6.6:1 compression engine produced 28bhp at 5800rpm - 7bhp less than the A10. Yet with a 92mph top speed, performance from the touring 500 was very respectable. First available in maroon, the A7 was also offered in black from 1956. Princess grey was the standard colour in 1959 - fuchsia red from 1960.

The A7 Shooting Star, often finished in two tone green - a dark frame with the remaining cycle parts in a light metallic shade - was a popular machine. An aluminium alloy cylinder head with a 7.25:1 compression ratio raised the sporting A7's power output to 32bhp.

MotorCycling found that a 1956 Shooting Star's top speed was 93mph, while The MotorCycle achieved 98mph from their test model a year later. Manual ignition control allows the rider to make best use of the engine's sporting performance.