In the years just after the Second World War, motorcycle production in Britain, and indeed most of the Commonwealth, was dominated by prominent British manufacturers who had a stranglehold on the market.
The likes of Triumph and BSA, it seemed, could do no wrong; however, there was a looming threat to their throne with the advent of the motor scooter.
When the Vespa and Lambretta had first landed on British soil the industry had viewed them as something of a joke, but the public had thought otherwise, and the Italian manufacturers soon became a huge problem for the British firms. The choice they faced was whether to ignore the craze