1930's BSA

My father made mention recently of a bike made by BSA in the '30's with a pre-selector gearbox. He has posters and advertisements
from the time for this bike, but did any actually make it into production?

 

It's a bit vague but I think my brother's '60s Jawa 350 had a pre-selector
gearbox.

 

No, it was advertised in the 1930,s, possibly 1936 I think but I can't be
sure, but was never produced, and possibly shown at the Earls court show of
that year and I think it had a Wilson pre selector box.
There does not seem to be much info on the net about this.I remember reading
something about this a few years ago in Classic Bike. I am sure there is a
bit of info about this in the motorcycle history books, but as they never
went past the test stage, not a great deal is known. It came about from the
merger of Daimler and B.S.A.

pre-selector gearbox. He has posters and advertisements

 

That would certainly make sense as my father has collected and owned Daimlers since I was a toddler, and has been heavily involved
in the Daimler & Lanchester club of Vic (which also incorporates BSA cars as well). He has 2 Daimlers currently with Wilson
pre-selector gearboxes.

 

It was probably more like the old Triumph "Slickshift" box, where the clutch
was also operated by the gear selector mechanism, as you lifted or pressed
the gearlever, it would disengage the clutch. A good friend of mine is a
Jawa enthusiast and his "68 Californian has the same set-up. Useful if you
break a clutch cable, albeit a bit awkward.

 

Yeah I do remember a Jawa with that set-up. (what we called
"semi-automatic")
I just cant quite dredge it up from the slurry that is my mind but I'm sure
I've met or ridden a genuine pre-selector though.
Arrgh...

 

Having driven cars with pre-selectors, riding a bike with one would be interesting.