BSA bike and sidecar.

[Jess from VA]

I was just reading up on the history of Birmingham Small Arms (BSA) in England (since my first bike was a '70 650 Lightning).

Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited (BSA) was a major British industrial combine, a group of businesses manufacturing military and sporting firearms; bicycles; motorcycles; cars; buses and bodies; steel; iron castings; hand, power, and machine tools; coal cleaning and handling plants; sintered metals; and hard chrome process.

I did not know BSA began making bikes in 1910.

This is a wartime model I've never seen.  And the only motorcycle I've ever seen, that I would prefer the side-hack passenger position over the driver position.  (as long as we are fully loaded)

Can you imagine the attention you'd draw on it today?     But not in New Jersey.  


BSA made the Lewis Guns too.

The Lewis gun (or Lewis automatic machine gun or Lewis automatic rifle) is a First World War–era light machine gun. Designed privately in the United States though not adopted there, the design was finalised and mass-produced in the United Kingdom,[2] and widely used by troops of the British Empire during the war. It had a distinctive barrel cooling shroud (containing a finned, aluminium breech-to-muzzle heat sink to cool the gun barrel) and top-mounted pan magazine. The Lewis served to the end of the Korean War, and was widely used as an aircraft machine gun during both World Wars, almost always with the cooling shroud removed, as air flow during flight offers sufficient cooling.

I do not want the passenger (or driver) seat in this one.  Notice the gunner don't need no stinking helmet.     And nothing for the eyes.






And the officers heads are obviously bulletproof. 

[old2soon]

    Danged fair History lesson there Jess!  When I was Stationed in Japan our M/C on Atsugi had a 650 Beezer there that was sorta kinda club property. It was kitted out with full knobbies front and rear was a pure dee ass witch to start and I only rode it once. And while fairly light it was heavier than my Yamaha. An English bike in Japan and we Tried to trace the how and why But no joy. And I Never saw anyone bring it to a race while I was there in Japan. And when I finally headed back to CONUS when I left the Beezer was still there. RIDE SAFE.

[Jess from VA]

Those Triumps and BSAs were OK dirt track bikes with the right tires and exhaust, but they were not dirt bikes.

All my HS buddies had dirt bikes and I trailed my 650 with them, and it worked.... real poorly.   I actually sold it finally, to buy a DT-360 Yamaha 2 stroke, and that was a dirt bike (and still 78mph down the slab).   So I could ride with them.