Description
1930 BSA sloper 493 cc OHV single frame #XH 9126 engine #XP 3819
Presented in august 1926 for the 1927 season, the sloper set the BSA company on the road to market domination and success.
It was brilliant designer Harold Briggs, brought in from the Daimler car company, who designed the machine around a sporty and reliable 493 cc ohv (80×98 ) engine which inclined forward in the frame, which was a duplex cradle construction up to 1929.
From 1930 a forged steel backbone was employed.
Some typical car practice features Briggs used in his design were sump lubrication ( the crankcase was extended to form an oil reservoir holding 3 pints) and return springs within the pushrod tubes to keep the valve gear in constant touch with the cam profiles, giving exceptionally quiet operation.
The Sloper soon got a reputation as a sporting but quiet motorcycle, a real trendsetter.
This 1930 model is an older restoration.
It has the forged steel backbone that was providing ( in BSA’s words): “perfect rigidity, greater safety and comfort and super frame strength.” The non-standard coil ignition is temporarily added; the magneto needs to be checked.