1965 History of the Marque - BSA motorcycle history print article

Fourteen men, gunsmiths by trade, sat around a long boardroom table in Birmingham, England and watched as Mr. E. Otto prepared to demonstrate his invention - a bicycle. In 1861, the gunsmiths had formed the Birmingham Small Arms Company and as the musket business had been poor in 1880, they were looking about for a new item to produce...

Photo top left: the first BSA venture into the two-wheled field was this Otto bicycle, of which some 200 were built in the 1880s. The unusual "bike" steered and braked with inverted stirrup handles, pedal power was transmitted to wheels via two belts. Bell on right pedal warned traffic of its approach.

1965 History of the Marque - BSA motorcycle history 2-Page Article available at www.DadsVintageAds.com