A
Very Rare BSA
I
have been talking about the Triumph TRW and the Douglas DV60 and that
there was a BSA that was not identified at the Farnborough trials
1947. The trials were to decide which manufacturer was going to
supply the motorcycle for military needs after World War Two. I have
reported on the out come of the trial and it was the TRW performing
best. This model continued into production until 1964. Of the three
the BSA was the most mysterious. Very little was known about it so
the best route was to contact the BSA owners club. I received a very
nice letter back with information from Chris Orchards and Steve
Maddens book, “British Forces Motorcycles1925 to 1945 with
reference to the REME (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers)
museum. Along with the letter were two other bits of information. One
was a line drawing of a 500cc OHV twin with style akin to an A7. I'm not sure if this ever went into production.
The
other bit of information was a photo of the BSA side-valve twin as
supplied at the end of the war. I contacted the REME museum at the
Borden Army base where the bike is stored and arranged a visit on the
Friday morning just before heading off to Kempton Park to set up the
LE club stand.
Not that things have gone smoothly for this as the
Valiant had burned out an exhaust valve and it took hours to salvage
it taking up most of a day. The next time I came to use it the
battery was flat so it would not start and then I managed to knock
off the little peg that allows me to depress the centre stand without
fighting to get my foot around the exhaust system. It didn't take
long to get the battery charged and weld the peg back on to the
centre stand but it added to the jobs I didn't want to do.
After a
short run out and the engine warm I changed the oil in preparation
for Saturday. On Friday I headed off to Borden near Hazelmere on the
Buell. A pleasant run of a bit over an hour. I met up with Roger
Jones to look at the BSA. For all the effort it was only and M20. I
still took some photos. I was given a promise by Roger that he would
e-mail me some photos of the “missing bike” as it must be at the
other site at the Arborfield garrison when he next visits. They do
move them around according to which display they are required. So it
was not a very successful visit but I still left some fliers for the
Museum. Home in time for a bite to eat then to collect George with a
car full of bits to set up the display for the Southern Classic Bike
Show at Kempton Park. Bill arrived soon after we started with his bike and to lend a helping hand. It took a couple of hours to set the backdrop
and the stand could only get completed after all the other display
bikes had arrived. That would be about 08:00 am Saturday morning.
That still didn't give us very long to be ready at 09:30 for opening
time and this is what we looked like with 4 LE's on display, my
Valiant and Georges' '47 KSS.
From left to right, Chris, Me, Ron and Paul. George took the photo and Bill was yet to arrive.
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