LOT 735

1925 BSA 349cc Model L Sidevalve Project Registration no. EL 1379 Frame no. 2515 Engine no. F2390

Sold for £4,025 inc. premium

Lot 735

1925 BSA 349cc Model L Sidevalve Project
Registration no. EL 1379 Frame no. 2515 Engine no. F2390

The Summer Sale - The International Classic MotorCycle Show (Three-Day Auction)|4 July 2021, 10:00 BST|Stafford, Staffordshire County Showground

1925 BSA 349cc Model L Sidevalve Project
Registration no. EL 1379
Frame no. 2515
Engine no. F2390

Introduced for 1923, the Model L, as it would come to be known, is noteworthy as BSA's first production motorcycle to have overhead valves. Inspired by the 1.1-litre Hotchkiss v-twin that powered the BSA-Daimler light car, the new engine displaced 349cc. Complementing this new OHV sports model was an otherwise similar sidevalve Model L sharing essentially the same cycle parts. "To the sporting solo rider who asks for a 'go anywhere' mount, its records in the Scottish Six Days' Trial and the International Trials in Sweden in 1923 stand as recommendation," stated Pitman's Book of the BSA, reviewing the Model L in its sidevalve incarnation.

This incomplete Model L 'barn find' was first registered on 25th March 1925 and comes with an old-style logbook issued in 1963 recording the owner at that time as a Mr A F Evans of Littlehempston, Devon. The lady vendor's late husband acquired the BSA in 2009 from a Mr Leach of Exeter. The machine appears to have resided in the West Country for its entire life and is believed to have been stored for some considerable time. It was acquired as a restoration project, but other commitments and the owner's failing health meant that the rebuild was never started. Accompanying documentation includes two old-style V5Cs and the aforementioned logbook.

Saleroom notices

The full frame number is F2515. Please click the link to view the walkaround video of Lot 735: click here

Additional information

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