vintage motorcycles Archives

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Coming out this month is the fourth season of the hit BBC show Peaky Blinders. The show takes place in Birmingham, England after the First World War and follows a gang through all their debaucherous endeavors. One of which, featured in the first season, was the accidental stealing of arms from a BSA factory. Not many know of the military sector of the Birmingham Small Arms Company, but many do know the name through their history in manufacturing British Motorcycles.

Many of BSA’s factories were situated in Birmingham, also known as the workshop of the world. The company manufactured just about everything from military and sporting firearms, to bicycles, to cars, to tools, and of course to motorcycles. The first motorcycle officially manufactured by BSA was the 3 ½ H.P. Built in 1910, this bike was first displayed to the public at the 1910 Olympia Show in London, with the bike being made available for the 1911 season. Needless to say, this unique bike led to entire production being sold out.

As the brands motorcycle division grew, the company began to market their bikes as affordable and easily handled by beginners. Additionally, reliability, availability of spares, and dealer support were emphasized. A majority of BSA motorcycles were used for commuting; the models having a mixture of side valve and OHV engines. However, BSA made a push to have their motorcycles recognized in the racing realm as well. In 1954, in an attempt to improve U.S. sales, BSA entered a team of riders in the 200-mile Daytona beach race. In the end, they won 1^st, 2^nd, 4^th, and 5^th.

At its peak, BSA’s motorcycle division was the largest motorcycle producer in the world, owning smaller motorcycle companies such as Triumph, Ariel, and Sunbeam & New Hudson. Unfortunately, the company did not take seriously oncoming competition from the Japanese motorcycle companies. With Honda overtaking the company in 1959, BSA saw a dramatic decline in the 1950’s and 1960’s in sales. Inability to foresee Japanese competition and poor management led to the downfall of the company’s motorcycle division in the 1970’s. In 1972 there was a last-ditch effort to save the company by combining it with Norton-Villiers and Triumph, but that plan failed, with the last official BSA motorcycle being produced in 1973.

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Many know Trev Deeley through his connection to Harley Davidson and the legacy he brought to the company by being the first distributor of the Milwaukee company in Canada, but not many know that he was also the first distributor of Honda motorcycles in the English-speaking world. In 1957, four years after being appointed general manager of Fred Deeley Motorcycles, Trev came upon an article about a U.S. soldier who had fought in Japan who brought back with him a 250 cc motorcycle made by the Honda Motor Company in Tokyo.

Intrigued, Trev sent a letter to the president of the Honda Motor Company indicating that British Columbia and Japan shared some similarities which could make for a profitable market for the company. This led to a correspondence with the company that resulted in Honda sending Trev a free 250 cc Honda Dream. Regardless of struggling to convince Fred Sr. and Jr., Trev was impressed with the craftsmanship and performance of the bike and became the first distributor of Hondas in the English-speaking world, primarily ordering 50 cc Honda Cubs.

With the Deeley Motorcycle Exhibition’s new exhibit “100 Years of Motorcycling”, we hoped to highlight motorcycles that have made some sort of mark over time, and both the 1960 Honda Dream and the 1963 Honda Super Cub are glowing examples, being the first two models of a Honda Motorcycle tested and distributed by Trev Deeley to an English-speaking market.

Although the 1960 Honda Dream holds significance for being one of the first models of Honda motorcycles to come to the Western world, the Honda Super Cub, which Trev first began distributing, has made great strides, becoming the most produced motor vehicle in history with production passing 100 million units in 2017.

Come check out these incredible bikes and learn a deeper history at the Deeley Motorcycle Exhibition’s newly installed display, “100 Years of Motorcycling”!