The Empire Star was a

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

made by BSA at their factory in

Small Heath, Birmingham Small Heath is an area in south-east Birmingham, West Midlands, England situated on and around the Coventry Road about from the city centre. History Small Heath, which has been settled and used since Roman times, sits on top of a small hill. ...

. Named to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of King

George V of the United Kingdom George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

and advertised as ''The Masterpiece of the Industry'', the Empire Star range was produced between 1936 and 1939, when it was developed into the

BSA Gold Star The BSA Gold Star is a motorcycle made by BSA from 1938 to 1963. They were 350 cc and 500 cc single-cylinder four-stroke production motorcycles known for being among the fastest bikes of the 1950s. Being hand built and with many opt ...

and World War II stopped production.

Development

Developed from the popular BSA Blue Star and designed by

Val Page Valentine Page (1891–1978) the Empire Star range had the benefit several ideas Page had been developing at his previous employers,

Ariel Ariel may refer to: Film and television *Ariel Award, a Mexican Academy of Film award * ''Ariel'' (film), a 1988 Finnish film by Aki Kaurismäki * ''ARIEL Visual'' and ''ARIEL Deluxe'', 1989 and 1991 anime video series based on the novel series ...

and

Triumph The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...

motorcycles. With a heavy frame and iron barrelled pushrod valves the Empire Star still had the legacy of the earlier BSAs however, and Page continued to lighten it and introduce engine tuning ideas throughout production. The

overhead valve An overhead valve (OHV) engine, sometimes called a ''pushrod engine'', is a piston engine whose valves are located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier flathead engines, where the valves were located be ...

Empire Star was available as the ' 'B22', the ' 'R5' and the 'Q8' models. Based on the standard Blue Star the 'Empire' featured an alloy primary chaincase with a special high compression piston and a hardened cylinder bore. It also had some modern features, including a new foot-change gearbox and dry sump lubrication. BSA launched the range of Empire Star models in 1936 with an effective demonstration of their reliability - a ' model was subjected to an endurance test of at

Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...

, averaging speeds of over round the oval track. This was followed by a endurance ride around the UK, visiting the

West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Gloucesters ...

, Wales and the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...

. The whole trip was completed successfully without the need for any spare parts - an important selling point for BSA in an increasingly competitive marketplace. The outbreak of World War II ended production of the Empire Star in 1939 as the BSA factory switched to making

munitions Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...

and producing the

BSA M20 The BSA M20 was a British motorcycle made by Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) at their factory in Small Heath, Birmingham. Although initially viewed as a near failure by the War Office in 1936, the M20 evolved into one of the longest servin ...

for the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

Racing success

It was the top of the range Empire Star, which saw most success in competition. In 1937 at

race track,

Isle of Man TT The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May/June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907. The event is often called one of the most dangerous racing events in the world ...

winner

Wal Handley Walter Leslie Handley (5 April 1902 – 15 November 1941) born in Aston, Birmingham,
Kolumbus.fi Walter Leslie Han ...

won a race with a fastest lap at on a specially modified ''500 cc'' Empire Star. The motorcycle used by Handley had a special racing carburettor, a new design of magneto and close ratio gearing. Handley had been persuaded out of 'retirement' especially for the three-lap race, which meant at top speed on the uneven and deteriorating banked oval track. It took skill and experience to win, and Handley was awarded one of the traditional Gold Star badges. This inspired BSA to develop the BSA Gold Star. Also in 1937 BSA competition team rider

Bert Perrigo Albert Perrigo (1903–1985) was a British engineer who was a successful motorcycle trials rider before becoming Competition Manager for BSA motorcycles where his ideas influenced the design of many of their best selling motorcycles. Early ...

won both the Colmore Cup and Victory Cup trials on a B25 Empire Star.

References

External links

BSA M23 Empire Star Motorcycle 1938 (Video)
(Note: This bike has an M22 engine number, not M23) {{BSA motorcycles, state=collapsed

Empire Star ''Empire Star'' is a 1966 science fiction novella by Samuel R. Delany. It is often published together with another book, most frequently (three times) with '' The Ballad of Beta-2''. Delany hoped to have it first published as part of an Ace Doub ...

Standard motorcycles Motorcycles introduced in the 1930s Single-cylinder motorcycles