The spirit and history of an old motorcycle is one that can take you back in time to an era of simplicity and adventure. This BSA is a prime example, where the dinks, dents and battle scars tell a tale of a machine that has been cherished and worked.
If you have read the article on the Excelsior Twins, then this article is what is next in the series as it shares a past with the same family. First, let us have a look at the history of this iconic machine – a product from the powerhouse of BSA that defied the conventional slab tank motorcycles that dominated the market at the time.
Birmingham Small Arms (BSA) Company Limited were a major British industrial combine that had a dominant presence in the motorcycle market in the inter-war years, and in 1924 they dipped their toes into the world of smaller capacity motorcycles, which was very much a new and tentative venture for the firm.
The Model B, often referred to as the Round Tank (for obvious reasons!) was a 250cc single-cylinder, side-valve four-stroke, and was the entry level model in the BSA line up. The model was cheap – less than £40 – but was robust enough to take all that the most heavy-handed rider could throw at it. It was available with optional features on top, such as acetylene lighting that can be seen on this example. As a result, it appealed to a wide market and in particular the novice… the fact that it had only two speeds and that the rider only had to worry about one brake on the rear wheel helped provide a degree of simplicity. There will have been many a rider introduced to the world of two wheels on a BSA Round Tank.
In May 1924, the BSA team used the Model B to climb Mount Snowdon in Wales adjacent to the mountain railway track. The machine smashed the ascent in just over half an hour and the stunt was such an achievement that the little motorcycle sold in vast numbers – upward of 35000 – and was adopted by the Post Office for telegram delivery. Although a vast number of Round Tanks were produced over the years, an unbelievable number were casualties of the scrap heap, which makes them pretty rare today, and even more so when they are in such an original condition such as this one.
The budget BSA’s were used by thousands of men and women to commute and travel around the roads of Britain, and of course lighting was an important feature. Acetylene lamps were commonplace on early motorcycles up until the late 1920s when electrical systems started to take over the scene. They ran on a mix of water and carbide, to produce acetylene gas. This was ignited in the lamp to create a flame which was reflected out of the lens and into a beam to illuminate the road.
This BSA is one that has bounced down the branches of the family tree, from Grandfather, to Father (Jesse), to Daughter (Heather). The bike was used by Jesse not only as a daily commute, but also as a means of tearing up the local grass track at the weekend – despite being a budget machine, the nimble nature of the Round Tank made it a noble contender for this type of racing, and many were used over the years to compete in small-scale amateur races.
When Jesse passed, Heather took on the Round Tank which sat beside her two prized Excelsiors, and she continued to use the bike for many more years until around 1990. The motorcycle is now in the hands of Paul Wilton who continues to ride and show it to the world at events such as the Goodwood Revival. This machine stood the test of time, and is a wonderful reminder of where the “average Joe” motorcycles started out.
Thank you to Chris Perryman and Paul Wilton for the content and photos in this article.
an article by The Girder Club
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