Impressive version of an early big bike with a fascinating history

During the 1930s, BSA focused on the production of affordable, reliable and high-quality motorcycles. BSA survived the turbulences of the Great Depression, thanks in part to its large network of dealerships. The company’s flagship was the G-Series, a side-valve 1,000 ccm V-twin with a manually operated 3-speed gearbox. This model was developed primarily to carry a heavy sidecar. The G-Series remained in the programme until 1940, experiencing just minor modifications. It proved equally adept at managing world trips or the hard life in police service.

This G-32 was registered in Czechoslovakia in 1932. The original registration document lists the owner as a resident of Friedland/Bohemia – in German and Czech. A more recent registration document states two other owners in the 1940s, both of them from the region of Bohemia. A final stamp from 1954 confirms technical/legal conformity, suggesting that the BSA remained in faithful service. But its history stops there, at least for a while. The next time it reappears is in customs documents when it is imported to Vienna in 1982. The new owner soon sets about restoring the BSA. Extensive postal correspondence, looking for spare parts, indicates that the BSA suffered the all too common fate that other decommissioned and seemingly obsolete vehicles experienced as well. But once restored, the BSA was good enough to become an exhibition piece, and was purchased by the consignor and included in his collection not all that long ago.

VIN: Z10-233 Displacement: 986 ccm/V2 Power: 9.86 hp Gearbox: 4-speed Papers: original Czech papers