| British Small Arms Company
BSA was founded in 1861 in Birmingham, England by fourteen gunsmiths of the Birmingham Small Arms Trade Association, who had supplied arms to the British government. The company branched out as the gun trade declined, and in the 1880s the company began to manufacture bicycles. In 1903 the company's first experimental motorcycle was constructed. Their first prototype automobile was produced in 1907 and the next year the company sold 150 automobiles. By 1909 they were offering a number of motorcycles for sale and in 1910 BSA purchased the British Daimler Company for its automobile engines. At its peak, BSA was the largest motorcycle producer in the world. Loss of sales and poor investments in new products in the motorcycle division, which included Triumph Motorcycles, led to problems for the whole group. BSA still exists as an airgun sport manufacturer and distributor.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham_Small_Arms_Company
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