156 pages, 96 black & white illustrations, size 5.5 x 8.5 inches. Originally published under the title The Book of the BSA, by F.J. Camm this book is one of The Motorcyclist’s Library series published in the USA by Floyd Clymer by arrangement with the original publishers, Pitman Ltd. of London, England.
This re-print of the 1935 seventh edition of the Motorcyclist Library ‘Book of the BSA’ was selected as being a significant edition as it includes repair, maintenance and overhaul information for the 1927 through 1935 ‘Sloper’ engined models in addition to many of the BSA motorcycles that were in production as far back as 1914.
Motorcycles that are specifically covered are the 1.49HP OHV X35-0, 2.49HP SV B35-1, 2.49HP OHV B35-2, 2.49HP OHV De Luxe B35-3, 3.48HP OHV De Luxe R35-4, 3.48HP OHV Blue Star R35-5, 4.99HP SV W35-6, 4.99HP OHV W35-7, 4.99HP OHV Blue Star W35-8, 4.99HP OHV Special W35-9, 5.95HP SV M35-10, 5.95HP OHV M35-11, 4.98HP OHV V- Twin J35-12, 9.86HP SV V-Twin G35-14. Also included are the following sidecar models: Special Sports 21-44, Medium Tourer 21-20, Large Tourer 21-40, Launch 21-42 & Heavy Tourer 6B-6 & 6C-6 plus the 6 different models of the BSA Three Wheeler. Specifications for the 1936 models are included in a separate supplement, however, there were major changes made to the line up in 1936 and these models are covered in much greater detail in the later editions of this same publication.
Unfortunately, service and repair information for BSA motorcycles manufactured prior to 1936 is extremely limited and difficult to find. This is probably due to the fact that BSA never published anything that could be called a workshop manual for these early machines and only began to publish ‘service sheets’ coincident with the introduction of the B, C & M Series in 1933. However, these ‘service sheets’ only focused on singular tasks and they were never published for any of the pre 1933 models.
The first edition of the Motorcyclists Library ‘Book of the BSA’ by the author ‘Waysider’ (F.J. Camm) was published in 1924 and subsequently revised and published through numerous editions. The first seven editions included data that was applicable to both the current year’s models and the earlier machines. In addition, most of them also included supplements for the following year’s models. Unfortunately, concurrent with the publication of the 1937 eighth edition (and the 1938 re-print of that same edition) a change of format eliminated information that was applicable to the earlier machines. Consequently, the 1st through 7th (1924 through 1935) editions of the ‘Book of the BSA’ are the editions that will be of the most use and interest to owners of the pre-1936 machines.
