The History of BSA Motorcycles
BSA was founded in 1861, originally in the gun trade. They produced their first motorcycle in 1903 and their first motor car in 1907. They purchased Daimler in 1910.
World War 1 saw the company return to manufacturing arms and it greatly expanded its operations. They produced rifles, guns, shells, motorcycles and other vehicles for the war effort. After the war, BSA bought assets in Airco, however, they did not go into aviation.
By World War II, BSA had 67 factories. BSA operations were also dispersed to other companies under licence. During the war it produced over a million Lee-Enfield rifles, Sten sub machine guns and half a million Browning machine guns. Wartime demands included motorcycle production. 126,000 BSA M20 motorcycles were supplied to the armed forces.
BSA continued to expand the range of metal goods it produced. The BSA Group bought Triumph Motorcycles in 1951, making them the largest producer of motorcycles in the world. The cycle and motor cycle interests of Ariel, Sunbeam and New Hudson were also acquired.
The Group continued to expand throughout the 1950s but by 1965 competition from Japan and Europe was eroding BSA’s market share.
Reorganisation in 1971 concentrated motorcycle production at Meriden, with production of components and engines at BSA’s Small Heath. At the same time there were redundancies and the selling of assets and Barclays Bank arranged financial backing to the tune of 10 million.
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Research update
Good morning everyone.
I thought I would keep you informed of the research that I am currently looking at and hoping to publish soon as some are in the final stages.
For the truck enthusiasts, we have Albion and Thornycroft nearing completion.
For the motorcycle enthusiasts, we have BSA, Indian, Moto Guzzi, Ariel, Brough Superior, Velocette, and Vincent HRD.
For the car enthusiasts, we have Singer Cars, Jaguar and the infamous AC Cobra.
I am trying to get these completed as quickly as possible for you all to read. If you have any suggestions on what motor you would like to see researched next, drop me an email, and I’ll add it to the top of the list.
I would also like to thank the many people around the world, who have been viewing and publishing the articles that I have written, it’s good to know that there are so many of you out there that have an interest in classic motors.
Thanks very much and I’ll be back soon with the next publication.
Dawn
