The BSA C11 is a British

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

manufactured by

Birmingham Small Arms Company The Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited (BSA) was a major British industrial combine, a group of businesses manufacturing military and sporting firearms; bicycles; motorcycles; cars; buses and bodies; steel; iron castings; hand tool, hand, po ...

(BSA) at their factory in Armoury Road,

Small Heath Small Heath is an inner-city area in south-east Birmingham, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England situated on and around the Coventry Road about from the city centre. History Small Heath, which has been settled and used since Roman t ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, between 1939 and 1956. Actor

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of counterculture of the 1960s, 1960s counterculture, made him a top box office draw for his films of the late ...

owned a 1951 BSA C11.

Development

The BSA C11 was a pre-unit single-cylinder developed before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

from the sidevalve C10. Fitted with overhead valves and displacing 249cc, the C11 was launched in 1939 and continued to be developed into the 1950s. The C11 frame was improved in 1951 when BSA added plunger rear suspension.

Military W-C11

Although British armed forces only used a few BSA C11s as lightweight transport (having selected instead the

BSA M20 The BSA M20 is a British motorcycle formerly made by Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) at their factory in Small Heath, Birmingham, Small Heath, Birmingham. Although initially viewed as a near failure by the War Office in 1936, the M20 evolve ...

) in 1940 530 C11s were ordered in military specification by the Office of the High Commission of India. Modifications for war use included a rear carrier over the mudguard, an additional air filter on the fuel tank and a mag dyno in place of the coil.

BSA C11G

Problems with the gearboxes were addressed by the model C11G, which was available either with a three speed gearbox and a rigid frame or with a four speed gearbox in the plunger frame. The C11G also had improved front brakes and became popular as a post war commuter motorcycle.

Steve McQueen's C11

Actor

owned a 1951 BSA C11. Painted in British racing green, McQueen's C11 had a chrome tank with green and gold accents and chrome wheels with green spokes. After McQueen's death the C11 was kept by his wife Barbara for many years before being sold by auction.

BSA C12

From 1956 the C11 was replaced with the BSA C12 which had the same 249cc overhead valve engine in a modern frame with good suspension, more efficient brakes and a more comfortable seat. A number of engine modifications also made it more reliable than the C11. The BSA C12 was in turn replaced by the

BSA C15 The BSA C15 was a 250 cc single-cylinder Overhead valve engine, ohv motorcycle manufactured by the British company Birmingham Small Arms Company, BSA from September 1958 until 1967, and was BSA's first four stroke, four-stroke unit constru ...

in 1958.

References

{{BSA motorcycles, state=collapsed C11 Motorcycles introduced in the 1930s Single-cylinder motorcyclesbr>BSA C10 C11 C12 Forum