The BSA Model E was a British

V-twin A V-twin engine, also called a V2 engine, is a two-cylinder piston engine where the cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. Although widely associated with motorcycles (installed either transversely or longit ...

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

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 area in south-east Birmingham, 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 times, sits on top of a small hill. Th ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

from 1919. It was often used with the matching BSA sidecar.

Development

After having been turned over to weapons production for World War I, BSA returned to producing motorcycles again which were sold as affordable with reasonable performance for the average user. BSA stressed the reliability of their machines, the availability of spares and dealer support. The BSA Model E was the first of a series of successful V-twins based around the reliable 770cc side valve engine with cylinders at an angle of 50 degrees. The modest 6hp produced by the engine was able to provide a top speed of 55mph and it had BSA's own design of three speed gearbox with the drive chain enclosed in an aluminium casing. There was an increased demand for affordable transport after the end of the war and the Model E became popular with BSA's matching green and cream painted sidecar option. Designed for easy servicing the valves were interchangeable and had quickly adjustable tappets. The constant-loss oil pump was supplemented by a hand-operated pump, and the wheels were also quickly detachable and the same size so that they were interchangeable. Although the BSA Model E was produced until 1924, it had been largely replaced by the more powerful 986cc Model F in 1922, which continued in production as the BSA Model G, with continual modifications, until just after the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Three-wheeled taxi

Between 1920 and 1925 BSA produced a 100 small three-wheeled taxi cabs using the Model E 770cc V twin engine.

Media appearances

A 1919 BSA Model E complete with matching sidecar featured in a car chase in the 1965 movie ''

Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines ''Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines; Or, How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours and 11 Minutes'' is a 1965 British period comedy film that satirizes the early years of aviation. Directed and co-written by Ken Annakin, the film ...

'', where it was ridden by lead actor

Stuart Whitman Stuart Maxwell Whitman (February 1, 1928 – March 16, 2020) was an American actor, known for his lengthy career in film and television. Whitman was born in San Francisco and raised in New York until the age of 12, when his family relocated to ...

who played American cowboy Orvil Newton.

References

External links

Picture of Model E with sidecar
{{BSA motorcycles, state=collapsed Model E