The Ceefer

Imagine the furore if a manufacturer turned up at a trial today with a completely new model and proceeded to win the event. Yet when Brian Martin did that with a 250cc BSA trials prototype in 1957, it went nearly un-noticed and the factory was allowed to develop the machine until it was fit for public consumption. The subsequent model, introduced in 1959 and in the catalogue until 1962, was actually made in one batch in 1959 and released in smaller batches as needed. The C15T owed much more to the roadster than the trials market, as apart from a few lugs here and there, the frame was identical. Sadly, for the public the production bike wouldn’t accept a 21in front wheel without restricting damper travel, so BSA fitted a 20in wheel and claimed it floated over rocks more easily.

When Arthur Lampkin won the 1963 SSDT on his works C15, BSA felt they ought to produce a new batch of the model but using the all-welded Victor-style frame and the resulting bike was a nice looking machine that, as Don Morley points out in his Classic British Trials book, could well have been a winner for privateers, as it was not too far away from what Arthur and Alan Lampkin were riding. Sadly though, it was the Bultaco era and the British industry was all but gone and BSA disbanded its works team.