History of BSA Motorcycles

BSA was founded in 1861 in the Gun Quarter, Birmingham, England by fourteen gunsmiths of the Birmingham Small Arms Trade Association, who had together supplied arms to the British government during the Crimean War. The company branched out and following a visit by Mr Otto, they manufactured the Otto bicycle, and in the 1880s, began to manufacture bicycles and in 1903 they had constructed their first experimental motorcycle. This short publication gives the history of the company, which some would say is one of the most well known British motorcycles.