LOT 239

c.1924 BSA 349cc Side Valve Model Registration no. not registered Frame no. unable to locate Engine no. F10306

Sold for £5,175 inc. premium

Lot 239

c.1924 BSA 349cc Side Valve Model

The Autumn Stafford Sale – The Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show|14 October 2023, 10:30 BST|Stafford, Staffordshire County Showground

c.1924 BSA 349cc Side Valve Model
Registration no. not registered
Frame no. unable to locate
Engine no. F10306

The Birmingham Small Arms Company first experimented with powered two-wheelers in the latter years of the 19th Century and then again in 1905. These first motorcycles made by BSA used proprietary engines such as the Belgian Minerva, and it was not until 1910 that the firm introduced a BSA designed and built machine. Introduced in November 1922, the Model L, as it would come to be known, is noteworthy as BSA's first production motorcycle to have overhead valves. Complementing this new 349cc sports model was an otherwise similar sidevalve version 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," declared Pitman's Book of the BSA, reviewing the sidevalve version of the Model L.

The vendor's late father, the noted collector Ken Senior, purchased this BSA at Bonhams' Harrogate Sale in November 2008 (Lot 442). Apparently complete, the machine appears to be an older restoration; however, its mechanical condition is not known and thus it is sold strictly as viewed. In the absence of a frame number, it has not proved possible precisely to determine the year of manufacture. There are no documents with this Lot.

Footnotes

All lots are sold 'as is/where is' and Bidders must satisfy themselves as to the provenance, condition, age, completeness and originality prior to bidding.

Saleroom notices

The frame number is 10941.

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