World War II BSA 500

If you click on the picture it should enlarge

I owned one of these from about 1968 until my father passed away around 1985. I kept it at my father's home in the desert because it was really great to ride down sandy washes and over dirt roads out there all over within about 20 miles of my Dad's house up on Yucca Mesa near Yucca Valley, California. If you look closely at the photo blown up to full size you can see there is absolutely no rear suspension other than the springs on the seat. The one I had was used by the Allies (likely the British Army) in North Africa during World War II. It was the single most reliable motorcycle I have ever owned. You didn't need to ever worry about your battery because it didn't have one and the ignition system only worked when the motor was turning over. So, spark was only available as the engine was being kicked over with the kick starter or being push started in 2nd gear down a road and then popping the clutch. I could leave this motorcycle up to one year or more when I lived in Northern California in Mt. Shasta and whenever I returned I could get this thing started within 5 minutes which is pretty remarkable for any motorcycle being left alone that long. Though it is much heavier than any dualsport motorcycle today it was a real tank of a vehicle and basically for all intents and purposes indestructible the way it was built. It had suspension on only the front wheel so you had to look very carefully at what you were riding over so you wouldn't injure your back or spine in too big a bump on the rear wheel because there was no suspension in the rear end at all except for the seat springs on your seat. So, if a bump was coming up you had to rise up a little on your foot pegs by pulling back on both handlebars equally to avoid spinal or back injuries. But other than that it was one of my favorite motorcycles ever for riding in the desert on sandy roads. I rode it as fast as about 60 to 65 miles per hour but it was much happier at speeds below 50 but it could run all day at 45 or 50 over any terrain you could survive riding over. It had the thickest protection plate under the engine of any off road vehicle I have ever seen so even if I hit a rock with the plate 1 foot high by accident the engine was safe always from damage. And generally speaking this thing was built for warfare and basically simply  unbreakable and had no battery only a magneto which also ran the headlight just fine for night riding. 

I really wish someone still made something like this today because it was literally the easiest starting (after leaving it for a year or more with same gas and oil unstarted or unmoved). It was the most indestructible motorcycle I have ever owned. 

Once I crashed on it because I looked back to see where my cousin was who was riding my Dad's old 1970s honda trail 90. It was a mistake to look back because I was in deep sand of about 12 inches deep and riding about 45 mph on the BSA. So, I lost control and went down like a silly. I had shorts on and no helmet because of the era and I either had my shirt off or I was in only a T-shirt because it was at least 90 to 110 degrees out then Fahrenheit in the desert. I had on tennis shoes so as the bike laid down on the deep sandy dirt desert road I pulled my left leg out from under the bike before it started to grind up on the sand moving by at 45 mph. I next grabbed a handle bar and stood on top of the now sliding motorcycle's engine on the top right side of the sliding bike. The problem came when the left handlebar dug into the sand and the bike suddenly went from about 20 mph to nothing so I had to somersault forwards into the sand at 20 mph to avoid getting peeled literally. I was bleeding in a couple of places from sand burns and laughing when my older lawyer cousin drove up on the Honda Trail 90. I was laughing because I hadn't died and had only minor injuries. This was me at about 20. My cousin was pale and said "What the f--- were you thinking?" I didn't have an answer for him right then because I was trying to get the sand out of my wounds by brushing the sand out of the gathering bloody parts. But I was still laughing because I hadn't died or lost a leg ground up beneath the bike from the sand at that speed because I only had Bermuda shorts and a t-shirt on with no helmet with tennis shoes.