The National Motor Museum Trust

Introduced in 1948, the BSA Bantam was the most popular small British motorcycle in the 1950s. The engine-gear unit owed much to the DKW design of the late pre-war years when the German engineers were clearly ahead in the development of two-stroke engines, especially in relation to gas flow, porting and exhaust systems.

Later embellished versions, with 150cc and 175cc engines, were marketed and Bantam models appeared in the BSA lists over the next 20 years.