Pressed into service

Mention of police motorcycles tends to conjure up images of Triumph, BMW and Velocette twins, but a surprising number of other manufacturers managed to get a toehold into this lucrative market.

Just to name a few there were Greeves Essex singles and twins, DMW Deemsters and, of course, there was the Francis-Barnett Falcon made famous by the ‘Heartbeat’ television series. The second syllable of that title is significant, because a friend who was a motorcycle copper at the time tells me those smaller bikes – obviously not much use for high speed pursuits – were generally used as ‘beat’ bikes, patrolling rural lanes and byways, and quickly getting to the seat of an emergency.

The BSA featured here was another typical example of a relatively cheap and simple motorcycle converted for the long arm of the law, and initially used as a beat