Hi All. I have a 1959 C15 which I purchased 38 years ago and have finally got around to getting restored (I've been a bit busy!). The bike was red when I purchased it in 1986, but the original log book does not state what its original factory colour was. BSA literature for the 1959 C15 gives two colour options; fuchsia red and turquoise (green). I can find many bikes in the various shades of red that BSA used back in the day but I would like to see what the turquoise option was. According to RS Paints this colour was only used on the C15 for one year in 1959 and they do not have any details for it. Does anyone have a bike in this original colour or any information / images / paint codes etc that could help me? Many thanks, Mark
Two different shades of green were used, firstly Zircon Green (same as the Sunbeam Scooter) which was replaced by metallic Almond Green.
Modern paint matches for both are listed in Rupert Ratio Vol2.
Hi Rupert, many thanks for the advice. When I Googled Turquoise Green it came up with RAL 6016, colour image below plus I've found the green 1959 C15 pictured below also. Does anyone know what shade this bike is? It was sold at auction in Nov 2022, Reg. no SBK398.
Bike photo hopefully attached now.
Hi Rupert, in the 1959 BSA brochure the colour options were Turquoise or Fuchsia Red, no mention of Zircon? As an aside the Zircon and Almond Greens both appear to be metallic colours. Does anyone know what shade of green the bike in the picture above? Is it Turquoise Green (RAL 6016)?
The Bike in the pic is Metallic Almond Green, BSA number 100, modern paint match Volkeswagen Zendergren Metallic K6Y.
The brighter shade of green used for the first part of the 1959 season was Polychromatic Green, BSA 133, superceeded by (I.e. same as) Polychromatic Zircon Green BSA 141, modern match Mitsubishi G53.
Many thanks for the helpful advice