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

Mike Tottey’s first bike was a BSA C11 rather like the one he’s just restored, but this is no tale of an epic mission to recreate a long-lost first love.
“No,” he admits, “I didn’t really want a C11 in the first place. I’d set my sights on a Bantam, but in 1950 they weren’t to be had for love nor money, so, with my dad’s help, I settled on a secondhand one of these.”
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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 BSA’s inability to keep up with demand did him a favour.
Words: Roy Poynting Photograph: Terry Joslin
Read more in September’s issue of TCM
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