Good morning one and all. A returning Beeza owner (I had a B40WD some years ago, and loved it) I've recently purchased a 51 tele-rigid which is in roadworthy condition and has great promise. I prefer a bike to tell a bit of its story, and therefore it will not be 'restored' but maintained, loved, and hopefully used for getting to work now and then.
My question is this.. was the paint on the petrol tank an option? My bike has a clear chrome tank, and I had assumed that at some point someone had stripped it. Supporting evidence for that situation may be that the bike now carries an age related plate and was re registered in the 90's (I have assumed this indicates a possible restoration point). The wheel rims are also plain chrome.
I've made pre-lim history enquires with Swansea, and am currently awaiting further info from them about anything they may be able to provide, such as geographical origin, original point of sale,etc.
All answers and advice greatfully recieved.
AFAIK for the 1951 model year the B31 Petrol Tank was chrome plated with matt silver panels lined with black. Optional at £1 plus 5s 5d tax was green panels lined with gold!!. Also the wheel rims would have been painted in the centre with the corresponding colour and lining to the tank, but chromed on the outer rim. HTH
Thanks for that Ian. I rather like the idea of silver tank panels. The majority I observed have the green and gold set up. My machine's numbers begin with ZB, does that mean it's a 51 made '52' spec machine?
According to the records I have access to, the ZB frame prefix was used for 1949, 50, 51 and 52 model years.
Thanks for that, good to know!