BSA, 1861, Great Britain, Birmingham Small Arms had been called this factory first, which was a loose merger of 14 master armouries at Birmingham, founded 17th July 1861. At the beginning they produced weapons, but due to the lack of enough wars they had to look for other products. And this had been bicycles first, and later, in 1910 the first BSA-motor cycle.
In the year of anniversary of King George V, 1935 - he celebrated his Silver-reign-year - BSA launched the "Empire-Star" models on the market. It was the 30th June of 1937 when the famous English motor cycle racer Wal Handley, who already had announced his retreat of racing, entered with one of this models for an unimportant club race at Brooklands. And even he had to start with a handicap of 9 seconds in comparison with the other participants, he overtook the whole starter-field within the three laps of race and won with an average speed of 102,27 mph (164,55 km/h), having the fasted lap with an average of 107,57 mph (173,08 km/h). It was the hour of birth of the "Gold Star" model, so called after the golden star, which each rider got, succeeded in having a lap on the Brooklands race course faster than 100 miles (160 km/h).
After the Second World War the “Gold Star” model was the most successful motor cycle for private racing riders at the TT: in 1950 had been 41 BSA among 93 riders at the “Clubmann TT”; 1952: 71 “Gold Stars” among 92 riders and the occupied 16 places among the first 20 riders. In 1961 the production of “Gold Star” models finished, allegedly in favour of the “Triumph Tiger 100”.
1964 and 1965 BSA was again two times successful with Jeff Smith in Motocross World Championship. 1971 even a BSA won the famous “200 Miles of Daytona”. But then it followed the financial decline ending 1973 in the sale to the Norton-Villiers-Triumph-group.
My father was a BSA-merchant in the early 50ieth in his hometown Vöcklabruck (Upper Austria) and enthusiastic rider of one.
