Working at a motorcycle factory in the glory days of the UK industry sounds like a dream job – but what was it actually like? Bestwing a bit. He didn’t have to but he was very good to me, got me into scrambling proper and nothing was a bother to him.” In the development department Mike was involved in such things as developing the cycle parts for the Trident and Rocket 3 as well as preliminary testing of what would become the Triumph Adventurer but he is best known for the Bantam development which is the big part of this feature. “It was a combined effort between me, Brian Martin, his brother Michael and Mike Mills which caused a lot of interest in the factory and we were gutted when it was shelved in 1971.” Mike’s time at BSA ended in 1971 when the factory closed: “November 5, 1971,” he says, “no way I could forget the date, eh?” After BSA Mike opened a motorcycle shop and built a successful business in the Midlands before returning to Derbyshire home turf and the coach business.
