I thought at first this was a pure travelogue about Birmingham , as the original title was misleading , I was surprised to see it was actually about the AA choosing BSA Motorcycles, an interesting film.
I was born down the road from the B.S.A, i used to watch them going round the test track, i witnessed the factory being demolished, the curve in Golden Hillock Rd where the entrance was is still there & there are some remaining buildings in Armoury Rd
every time I tour Europe on my Motorcycle, I keep coming across BSA M20s, many with the origional paint, lots of them still in regular use , and some just cherished as a memory of liberation, fantastic well engineered motorcycles
The loss of BSA was a bad omen for Britain industry here started to die off at an alarming rate from then on. Many reasons have been given as to why. But real culprit was London centric politics that turned Britain into a very expensive place for manufacturing
I would like to know the date of this film - especially as I am right now getting one of these combinations into working order. This machine was made in 1961, not long before the AA began to phase out sidecars altogether [I believe between 1963 and 1968]. The bike part of the outfit, the M21 [600cc single cylinder Side Valve] had not been on sale to the public for some years, as it was a very old design, begun in 1937; however, they kept building them just for the AA. For all I know mine might be in this film, somewhere! Incidentally, if anyone has any information on the sidecar chassis design, especially the springing, or knows where I could find drawings or accounts, I'd be very grateful. Thanks for putting up the video. Very interesting.
Funny you know the first thought that'd popped into my head was 1961, however the style of the film looks older, and I can't see any 60s cars in the film. I'm not sure of the source but suspect it might be off a dvd possibly from the glimpses collection, If I find any information I will let you know
Thanks. I've discovered that the new style of sidecar body - the streamlined fibreglass with the built-in wheel arch - replaced the old style [with the separate black mudguard] in 1961. The film shows the patrolmen 'trading in' the old type and coming out and onto the parade ground with the new. Therefore the film must be 1961 or later; but probably not much later, as not many more [if any] were bought before the start of the phase-out two years later. That would explain all the 50s vehicles seen. [I first posted this comment yesterday but it seems to have disappeared, at least for me. If it appears to others, that's why. I'm not senile - well, not yet...] Cheers.@@jackflashvintagemotoring7586
The only thing I can find is the initial question about the date of the film , I'm trying to trace where I got this from as I would like to upload a better quality copy ,it's not a BFI film that's certain, re missing comments, I sometimes find comments mysteriously go missing, the only time i would remove a comment is If its offensive , thankfully that's rare👍
The bike was discontinued in 1956, but lingered on in AA trim until 1963 so I'm guessing this film was early 1960s. It appears to have been made by BSA rather than the AA, so it's odd the film celebrates a side-valve model that had been obsolete for 6 or 7 years. Perhaps the company were keen to promote fleet sales outside the UK, which would explain a travelogue intro most Brits would already be familiar with.
Ironically it was shown on talking pictures TV yesterday on their glimpses spot, I did record it in 720 but it didn't look any sharper than this copy that was on VHS , the glimpses dvd sets are available now , I think this one is on set 2 or 3.
ahoy Captain Jack permission to board midmann ship Cole at your service I hope you and you're wife are doing well this was a interesting video it was a different time and place I take it this was late 50's or early mid 60's well captain Jack my friend the world sure changed good night Captain Jack :-)
