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Small but strong

by

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The BSA C11 was a solid, workmanlike motorcycle, possessing many of the attributes of its bigger brethren, presented in a pint-sized package.

The C11 is happy to โ€˜trundle alongโ€™ at 45mph for mile, after mile, after mileโ€ฆ
The C11 is happy to โ€˜trundle alongโ€™ at 45mph for mile, after mile, after mileโ€ฆ

Mike Totteyโ€™s first bike was a BSA C11 rather like the one heโ€™s just restored, but this is no tale of an epic mission to recreate a long-lost first love.

โ€œNo,โ€ he admits, โ€œI didnโ€™t really want a C11 in the first place. Iโ€™d set my sights on a Bantam, but in 1950 they werenโ€™t to be had for love nor money, so, with my dadโ€™s help, I settled on a secondhand one of these.โ€

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I suppose I can understand 17-year old Mike wanting the new and fashionable tiddler, but with the benefit of hindsight I reckon BSAโ€™s inability to keep up with demand did him a favour.

Words: Roy Poynting Photograph: Terry Joslin

Read more in Septemberโ€™s issue of TCM

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