Description
Author: Norman Vanhouse, Softbound, 188 Pages, ISBN: 9781909213210, 1st Edition, 2015
In 1952 BSA urgently needed to publicise their new 500cc Star Twin motorcycle. So what better way than to set the bike a nearly impossible task?
They took three standard bikes, and under Auto Cycle Union observation, rode them to Austria, entered the 1952 International Six Days Trial, the Olympics of motorcycle sport in its day, won three Golds, then rode the same bikes north through Germany, Denmark and Sweden to Oslo in Norway where they undertook a speed test - all this in just three weeks and in unrelenting rain! Then they rode the same bikes back to Birmingham!
This dramatic and compelling story is told by one of the three riders involved, and really gives a feel of what it must have been like. This feat of endurance and reliability of both man and machine is probably still unmatched in the modern era. The book also includes a history of the Maudes Trophy itself from 1923 to the last attempt to win the Trophy in1994, which provides some amazing perspective to this legendary story. A joy for all BSA owners, especially those with a BSA Star Twin, motorcycle trials riders and other enthusiasts who relish motorcycle travel and adventure.
