We are happy to present this 1956, fully restored “barn find”, BSA B33 500cc.

This was bought by the current owner from Mathewson’s in June 2021, and at the time, Mathewson’s provided the following information:

“The bike was stored for many years (believed to be decades), which resulted in it losing is registered status. It was then restored over a period of 2 years (1997-1999), and with the help of the BSA club, it was re-registered on the original registration number in 1999. The bike was used occasionally until 2003, and the owner sadly died in 2004. The late owner’s son then drained the fuel and oil and put the bike on display in his living room for 16 years (he had no bike licence so he couldn’t ride it).” 

The work during the restoration includes: wheels stripped, re-chromed and rebuilt, engine stripped and rebuilt with unleaded cylinder head conversion. The bike also comes with its tank cover, log book, service handbook, and BSA service sheets included.

This info had been provided by the currently owner:

“I know little about old British singles, but since I was a kid, I’ve always fancied one so I bought this (along with a Triton) as a “job lot” during Covid, with the idea of putting it back on the road (I think it would be a nice thing for pottering round the B-roads). Like others, I thought I’d have time on my hands due to the pandemic, but that never really materialised, and mainly due to time constraints, my enthusiasm has waned to the point where I have now decided to sell it to someone that can use it, and give it the attention it deserves.

The bike came to me drained of fuel and oil, and that’s how I’ve left it.

I haven’t worked on the bike (I’ve only looked it over) – but I will tell you what I know…

The bike has definitely been ridden since the restoration – you can see oil residue in the oil tank (it’s fairly clean oil, but it’s not new/un-used), and there is a bit of road grime on the underside of the engine and soot around the tailpipe – so it’s certainly been ridden, but the general condition suggests that it hasn’t done many miles.

Cosmetically, it’s pretty good – a very nice, clean and useable thing, and it has clearly been stored in a very dry place because the re-chromed and alloy parts are all still in superb condition with no signs of corrosion. There are some marks in the paint around the top of the RH fork leg, but apart from that, the paintwork looks pretty good.

The engine turns over fine on the kick-start and feels like it has good compression.

I bought a Haynes manual for the bike, which will be included.

The bike really just needs a bit of a very light re-commissioning – new battery and oil, check/set the ignition, put fuel in the tank, and it should go – so a few hours tinkering is all it should take.

If you are interested in viewing this bike, or wish to ask any questions, please get in touch with us. This bike is located in Maidstone, Kent.