BRITISH BIKE GUIDE PART TWO

BAC

Lawrie Bond came from working as a designer in the aeronautical and steam lorry world, when after the war he created the 'Minibyke'. This unusual, almost 1930s American-looking machine (if you squint) was made from aluminium with the usual Villiers 98cc two-stroke engine. The idea was sound; the engineering less so. With no suspension and questionable front 'forks' it failed, as did the more conventional 'Lilliput' and 'Gazelle' that followed. He went on to create Berkley micro cars.

BSA

At one time BSA was the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world and there are still many of the products of its Small Heath, Birmingham factory, around today. The BSA range was huge, covering all areas of road riding and competition and was exported to just about everywhere.

Many originally exported BSAs have been repatriated over the years, which keeps prices competitive. If you are a newcomer to the old bike world, then a BSA of some description could well be your best bet. They're significantly less expensive than equivalent Triumph and Norton models, have an active owners' club and many spares suppliers with plenty of repro parts being made.

BSA offered a wide range of machines; singles, twins and triples, as well as the once-ubiquitous Bantam, probably the most famous small-stroker of them all and an inexpensive way to play with straightforward mechanicals.

The BSA way was a path of steady development, and although it built models as rapid as any Triumph, which handled as well as Nortons, Beezers were never rated so highly. BSA - a big concern that included Triumph - left the 1960s on top of the world, and entered the 1970s on a rapid slide to oblivion. The dohc 350 twin was stillborn and the radical new frame designs introduced in 1971 were largely ignored because they used the same old single and twin engines.

Be careful when buying bikes from 1971-73; thread forms changed in a strange sequence, so parts that appear perfect for a particular bike might not fit at all. For example; all the unit single engines look similar, which they are, but they are not the same; they changed constantly and sometimes radically through the years.

The failure and collapse of BSA