Bsa O.H.V Sloper, 1931. The one that got away. Although documented in Maureen Bull's remarkable publication New Zealand's Motorcycle History - Book One: 1899 to 1931, the early history of Neil Skeet's Bsa Sloper is not known. However, we are told it was first noticed on a railway wagon of scrap iron passing through Masterton where its reprieve was negotiated. It passed through two owners before Neil purchased it for a modest sum. The previous owner had been using the motor in a makeshift garden tractor (a worthy task for such a strongly designed motor). Neil undertook a full restoration which resulted in this magnificent example of the Bsa Sloper standard model. Fitted with a rare after market rider's instrument panel Neil's Sloper was a well-known bike in the vintage club scene throughout the '60s and '70s. With its overhead valve cylinder angled forward, the Sloper's low, rakish looks were in tune with the times and have maintained a solid following ever since. With a wet sump, saddle tank and a 90 degree valve angle, the S29 was absolutely up to the minute; what is lacking in speed (top speed was 105kph) is made up for in style. Over 80,000 units of the Bsa Sloper were sold and it proved to be a company favourite; this suggested that the public's aesthetic eye was maturing.