This is a solid bike - there is no other way to describe it!

For a mere 350, the BSA appears to be a big motorcycle – it’s no bigger than a Matchless or AJS 350 from the same period, but it does appear to be taller and a little heavier. This might be down to the BSA’s colourful paint job and the heavy use of chrome.

BSA’s B31 is unusual in the classic world, in that there wasn’t really much of a gap between it being ordinary workaday transport and it becoming a classic worthy of restoration and loving care. Many a B31 has rumbled on, refusing to break, for years. Even today you’ll see the odd B31, tired and careworn, providing day-to-day transport. In the 1940s motorcycles just had to work and be simple to fix by the average bloke when they went wrong. Most of the new models available were developed from machines of prewar origin.

BSA came out of the war with a reliable side valve single, the M-series, which had been well and truly tested in the toughest of environments. Its first new postwar bike was the B31 A 350cc OHV single, based on designer Val Page’s 1940 B29 model. It used the bottom end of the M-series side valve, mated with a cast iron barrel and an OHV head. The real innovation on the B31 was BSA’s own version of the new-fangled telescopic forks, which were transforming motorcycling. These had six inches of travel – enough to make them useful off-road.

Shiny sports bikes were all very well but a manufacturer needed cheaper, more reliable workhorses to make money, and these B31's were where that money was.

ABOUT THIS BIKE

• Frame Number: ZB31S18903
• Engine Number: ZB3122351
• The BSA B31, introduced in 1945, was the first new model introduced by the company after the WW2. Based on pre-war designs, it used a single cylinder, four stroke engine that displaced 348cc. The model continued in production until 1959.
• This bike is in very good order; beautifully restored at some point in its life.
• It is currently unregistered and being sold as is although we can assist with compliance should this be required.
• A very presentable restored motorcycle, that shows minimal signs of wear. All systems are fully operational and the machine is not in need of repairs.

BSA was one of the largest motorcycle manufacturers in the world in the 1940s and 1950s. Originally an armaments company, (BSA = Birmingham Small Arms), the company started to make motorcycles at the start of the twentieth century. They built solid, dependable machines which were fairly priced and they sold in their thousands.

The B31 was a very popular model, that was introduced after World War 2. Many examples were sold and, even today, there is a good supply of spare parts. Many of these are newly manufactured, rather than old stock, so it's not too difficult to keep these machines on the road.

If you are searching for something easy to work on, and something that’s solid and mostly reliable, the B31 is as good a choice as anything. Usable on modern roads and with more than a touch of class, the BSA won’t get too much adrenaline flowing, but it does have a large grin-making enjoyability factor.

These bikes are becoming hard to find and are worth investing in.

TRANSPORT / WORLDWIDE SHIPPING CAN BE ORGANISED ON THIS VEHICLE ON BUYER'S BEHALF AT BUYERS COST.

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