I traded in a '66 BSA A65 Lightning for a brand new '71 A75 Rocket 3 because none of the Honda dealers in my area(SoCal) were interested in my Lightning as a trade-in for a new CB750 and the bike I REALLY wanted instead. Yeah, I could see the writing on the wall that the British motorcycle industry was on its last legs by that time.
And, just past the time my new bike's one year warranty expired and with as I recall no more than maybe 7,000 miles on the odometer, a valve lifter sheared off inside the Triple's engine and caused major internal damage.
The BSA dealer from whom I purchased the bike told me he was sorry but getting BSA to even reimburse him for bikes with "legitimate" warranty service claims was getting harder every day, and that he would have to charge me for the rebuild.
Being all of 21 y/o at the time and having little money for that, I ended up having to rebuild the engine with the help of a friend and a Chilton motorcycle manual, AND purchasing out of my own pocket a new set of lifters, a new cylinder barrel, all three new pistons, rings and a few other odds and ends. Luckily, none of the valves were bent, and so I was able to use the top end valve train.
(...just thought I'd relay MY experiences with the early British Triples...which btw as some here may know, the Triumph T160s were actually powered by BSA A75 Rocket 3 engines)
