1932 BSA Sloper 600cc Solo Motorcycle

Description

One of the great marques, BSA actually began as a gun trades union in 1854, when 14 Birmingham gunsmiths grouped to sell arms for the Crimean War effort. In 1861 they decided to form a public company, signed the papers in 1862, and found a site on Small Heath for their factory, opening in 1863. BSA started building bicycles in the 1880s and bicycle components, and followed with motorized bicycles in 1903. In 1907, BSA acquired parts maker Eadie Manufacturing (created by Albert Eadie, general manager of Royal Enfield). They made their first real motorcycle in 1910, a 499cc side-valve, with the Model H and Model K becoming their pre-war singles. Production ceased during WW1 while they returned to their original gun-making trade, but 'bike production recommenced shortly after the war's completion. In the early 1920s, they acquired an engineer and designer from Daimler called Harold Briggs who designed new sporting machines for them, including their popular 493cc ohv Sloper of 1927. This was designed with a saddle tank to seat the rider lower down, improving air resistance and reducing the centre of gravity to the benefit of handling and response. The motor was known to be both powerful and quiet, Briggs utilising his automotive background to provide sump lubrication and using return springs in the valve-gear. The Sloper continued production until 1935, by which time it came with a larger, 595cc engine in either side-valve or over-head valve configurations. This era was BSA's peak; in the1930s, the company boasted that one in four motorcycles on the roads in the UK was a BSA.