BSA’s Greatest Daytona exhibit dedicated

Remembering victory on the beach

Story by Lance Oliver
Photos by Bill Andrews

Jun. 5 – On the eve of the 60th anniversary of D-Day, Allied forces, in the form of American riders on British-built BSA motorcycles, invaded the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum at AMA headquarters in Pickerington, Ohio.

They were there to observe another anniversary. It was 50 years ago that BSA swept the top five spots on the old beach course at Daytona, the first time any manufacturer had so dominated the race. A new exhibit, "BSA's Greatest Daytona," was officially dedicated Saturday, June 5, to honor that feat.

What made the event even more special was that four of the riders who were responsible for that sweep were on hand to sign autographs and cut the ribbon to open the exhibit: Bobby Hill, Dick Klamfoth, Tom McDermott and Kenny Eggers. Also joining the riders to cut the ribbon was Carol Pike Smoogen, daughter of the late Roland Pike, the BSA engineer who built the highly successful fleet of eight race bikes for the 1954 race.

The exhibit includes re-creations of bikes that ran in the 1954 race.

"After 50 years, it's hard to believe this motorcycle could average 94 mph in a 200-mile race, as tough as it was to run it," said Bobby Hill, (left) winner at Daytona 50 years ago.

McDermott said that Hill once told the others, "I want to thank you guys for letting me win that race."

"Well," said McDermott, drawing laughs from the crowd, "we just had a board meeting, and Bobby, we did not let you win that race. You beat our ass."

As often happens at Museum events, the impromptu exhibit in the parking lot was almost as interesting as the one in the Museum. About two dozen BSA owners brought their vintage machines to the Museum for the special day, many of them riding significant distances.

"It was clean when we left home," apologized Bill Stallings, as he pulled in on a 1969 BSA 650 Thunderbolt (below) that looked to be in amazingly good condition to everyone else. "We rode the first 25 miles in the rain."

Stallings rode 118 miles to get to the Museum. Others rode shorter distances but with even more challenges, such as the couple who arrived in a BSA Victor single pulling a sidecar. There were also scramblers, race bikes and all manner of customized, restored and unrestored machines from BSA.

To provide the background to the story of BSA's amazing sweep, Cycle World magazine Technical Editor Kevin Cameron told the story of Roland Pike's transition from a racer to an engineer, and the innovations he brought to the old air-cooled engines of the 1950s.

"Roland Pike was a distinguished, self-made engineer who learned to understand what engines were saying," said Cameron. His intuition and racer's knowledge led him to advancements in valve design and exhaust tuning, among other areas, that other companies would arrive at later at much greater expense.

Fifty years after a remarkable engineer and several great riders came together to record an unprecedented victory, a bunch of BSA fans got together and enjoyed it all over again.

Learn more about BSA's Greatest Daytona.

Dedication day in pictures

The park-like atmosphere at the AMA campus only enhanced the clearly British day.
Good friends and BSA Bill Moore, right, from McDonald, Pennsylvania, just picked up this 1962 Super Rocket. Moore says he came upon a guy a little low in cash, "But he happened to have this, so my little eyes just perked up." Moore's been a fan of BSAs for longer than he can remember. His last new BSA was a '64 Lightning. Here, he chats about bikes with his good friend Carl Hartz, also from McDonald.	Fans of other British classics also came to the dedication—though this fine Royal Enfield more than likely came from India.
Part of the fun during the dedication was meeting the people who made BSA such a dominating power that day on the beach.
Bobby Hill, left and Tom McDermott (above) sign autographs along with Dick Klamfoth, (right).	BSA Racer Kenny Eggers, (red hat) talks about the bike he raced with its current owner, Don Bradley.

© 2004, Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum