“The Sun Never Sets on the British Empire” was a popular truism of the 18th-mid 20th centuries. The vast island nation’s colonial “properties” around the world, extended from the “Raj” of the teeming Indian subcontinent to the rubber and oil riches of Southeast Asia. There was another saying, “Only Mad Dogs and Englishmen Go Out in the Noon Day Sun.” The English in other words took chances, the kinds of chances that made them the planet’s super power while the U.S. was still fighting the Civil War.
England’s #1 status was maintained by its efficient, bureaucratic institutions and its vast naval forces that controlled the seas and international commerce. By the early 1930s they also held top dog motorcycle status, a legacy that would lead to world dominance in that category during the 1950s and into the 1960s, before the Japanese would eclipse them. England also relinquished its control of many far flung colonies, the sun finally setting on both.
And it’s BSA to which this feature and attendant memorabilia speak. We’ll first address BSA with the sound of gunfire, for it was hot lead in the form of bullets that laid the foundation for the rise of BSA motorcycles some three centuries ago.
In the last years of the 17th Century, England’s King William III realized his country’s soldiers needed an upgrade of their standard firearm, if they were to safeguard the growing wealth and might of Great Britain. He was also unhappy with the longstanding outsourcing of the lucrative weapons contract to a Dutch company, so in 1692 he struck a deal between the Majesties Board Of Ordnance and five gunsmiths from the city of Birmingham. England’s rifles would be Made in England at long last. This arrangement lasted 150 years during which tens of thousands of high standard weapons were manufactured for both the British government and sold abroad to other countries.
During the “Charge of the Light Brigade” Crimean War, BSA took its first official form when a band of fourteen gunsmiths joined forces to establish the Birmingham Small Arms Trade Association. It was in 1863 that the first Birmingham Small Arms factory went into production, but a scant 17 years down the road the gun market fell into a slump as Europe took a break from its tradition of warfare. Flexible in their thinking and production, BSA switched to bicycle and tricycle design and production, while retaining the now-famous “crossed three rifles” logo made world famous thanks to their straight shooting weapons. Sales picked up as bicycle popularity took off, the “boom” fueled by the invention of the pneumatic tire.
In 1903, both the first Harley-Davidson and the first BSA motorcycles were produced, the latter a 233cc “concept” motorcycle. However, by 1909 BSA was selling a robust 3½ HP belt-driven motorcycle with a price tag equivalent to about 250 US dollars. Various improvements and models followed including the chain driven 'H' model.
Motorcycle development took a hiatus when war returned to fashion in a big way thanks to the outbreak of WWI in 1914. BSA went back to fashioning the latest tools of carnage including a production run of 145,000 of the new Lewis machine guns, as well as 10,000 rifles on a weekly basis.
The War Department also needed motorcycles for courier work so BSA produced those along with the first folding bicycles (for easy transport), airplane parts as well as artillery shells. BSA also built staff cars, ambulances and trucks thanks to its purchase of Daimler back in 1910. Another wartime contribution was BSA’s development of the gearbox and engine for the world's first tank, the weapon that would gain prominence in the German sequel to WWI with its mechanized mayhem of the “blitzkrieg” (by the way a term coined by the British).
Despite the German bombs raining down on them, they nonetheless were able to pump out a massive amount of munitions, and significantly more than 125,000 of their 500cc single cylinder M20 motorcycles described as “strong, durable and stubborn,” not unlike its riders. (Thousands of surplus post-WWII M20s went into civilian hands as dependable transportation. Because of its good torque it also worked well with a sidecar as a family vehicle. BSA, surprised by its post-war popularity kept the 70-mph bike in production until 1955. Examples of the M20 are still prevalent and relatively inexpensive.)
After hostilities ended the global market couldn’t get enough motorcycles. It was literally the Golden Era of British bikes. The BSA group now had the manufacturing depth to produce a wide range of products and to focus on high performance motorcycles as well as steel works, drop forgings and press shops, machine tools, central heating equipment and cars.
The BSA Group also was able to ingest Triumph motorcycles in 1951 at which point they became the largest producer of motorcycles in the world. It continued to grow in diversity and product as it acquired company after company including the Sunbeam Company. By the 1950s the BSA Group was producing more than 75,000 bikes annually, a formidable amount a half century ago.
It all began to come apart in the middle ‘60s when Japanese and German industry began their power movies. An effort to save the combined Norton, BSA and Triumph motorcycle in the face of mounting competition and losses had little success. Various business interests and government plans went awry. In the early 1970s BSA, Triumph and Norton became history although by the mid-1990s Triumph was back in the picture and today is a major success story.
The BSA legend rests on a number of exemplary motorcycles, still highly valued today and still quite capable of exhilarating performance. By 1923 BSA was the largest British manufacturer of motorcycles offering a 13-model range with 250-1000cc engines. Its reputation for reliable bikes grew with the 1926 introduction of the S27 ohv 500 cc “Sloper” model so-named because of the canted layout of the cylinder. It was also the first to adopt a modern saddle style gas tank. The tried and true engine was in production for some 10 years in displacements of 350cc, 500cc and later a 595cc engine.
Notable milestones in BSA history include the attainment of a record 100+ mph in 1937 by a BSA “Empire Star.” The event earned the rider a gold star award which later became synonymous with BSA’s series of famous Gold Star single cylinder 350cc and 500cc models in both street and race trim. The model remained in production until 1965. Today Gold Stars fetch goodly amounts of gold.
BSA’s line of popular vertical twin cylinder bikes appeared toward the end of the 1950s including the 500cc A7 and 650cc A10 introduced into market and race track battle against Triumphs vaunted twins. The handsome BSA’s bore names like Super Flash and Road Rocket. Somewhat sedate in appearance they however had a reputation for reliability, oil tightness and a relatively modest price. While the A7s became associated as the archetypal BSA design. It was superceded in 1962 by the updated 500cc A50 and the 650cc A65 models. The A65, in both Thunderbolt and Lightning models, became BSA’s best sellers up to the company’s demise in 1972. The Lightning, designed for the important US market, was raced to success by none other than Mike “the bike” Hailwood in 1965 at the same time the street version was launched, a timely event for the company. A more tuned version, the 650cc twin Spitfire, was a response to US demand for a “Street Scrambler.” It was voted “fasted under-750cc machine” by the US bike mags, the very handsome bike producing 53 HP and capable of 120 mph.
One of the most radical machines of the era was the 1968 750cc BSA Rocket Three Triple, a three-cylinder bike designed to fend off the Japanese onslaught. Dick Man would race a Rocket Three to victory at the 1971 Daytona 200. The bike survived the years and continues to be raced to greatness by Dave Roper of Rob Iannuci’s “Team Obsolete.” As for the production versions, they unfortunately had some central cylinder overheating problems and were introduced during difficult financial times during which BSA was bought out in 1973 by the conglomeration of Norton Villiers Triumph company resulting in the demise of BSA as a solo entity.
The BSA motorcycle lives on in the hands of owners who have formed active organizations for the preservation and enjoyment of their motorcycles including the BSA Owners Club of Southern California. For info contact Mavis Mushaney (760) 241-8282 or by email: DesertTiger@peoplepc.com. Information on joining the parent club, BSAOC in England can be obtained at www.bsaoc.demon.co.uk.
