A friend of mine bought this outfit from a certain man who lives in a railway station!!! I could quite well be offering it on the for sale page, but can anyone clarify what the hell it is? The frame number is YM20 2027 and has side-car lugs. Is this in fact a tele fork model with girders fitted? The engine number is purported to be XM20 2027 (I haven't seen this yet though). So matching numbers but different years.....Weird! lots of odd bits (oil tank tool box etc) Ron
OH! BTW the V5C states year of manufacture 1938!!??

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

I rode that outfit around Pendennis castle some years ago and I remember being told it was a "1939" model, but it obviously wasn't.

Am I right in saying it can't be a telefork frame because their front down tube is shorter, only to the top of the front engine plates?

Rob

email (option): robmiller11@yahoo.co.uk

I thought you might know the outfit Rob. But as I have very little knowledge of post war bikes, I need clarification. Ian will know I'm sure. I think you can fit girders in a tele frame but not the other way round or is it the opposite I'm sure they wern't still fitting girders in 48?
Of course this might be a frame that has been through a number plate dealers hands. But I've never been near enough to scrutize the stamping. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

Hi Ron,
The M group kept the girders until mid 1948
When they changed to teles some of the frame numbers were fitted with a T. ie
YM20T ????. In '49 they went to ZM20 only with teles.
Cheers, Mick

email (option): mick@motorbikemike.org.uk

OK thanks for that Mick. I wonder why BSA kept on with girders for so long? Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

Hi Ron..As Rob says it's a girder fork frame as it doesn't have the shortened front down tube. It does have sidecar lugs though, so assuming it is not a WD frame from a sidecar contract it will probably be a post war one from between 1946 and June 1948 which was when M Series girder fork models changed to Teles (they made the change on these models 'mid season')
A 'Y' frame prefix denotes 1948 and commenced at YM20 101 with matching frames and engines...The 48 model year would have commenced in August 1947 as was normal BSA practice.
From August 1948 the 1949 model year commenced with matching frame and engine numbers ZM20-101...
During that year M20 engines ran to ZM20-4000 and frames to ZM20-7000 (the balance between the two being made up of frames used for M21's and M33's.)
So, ZM20-2027 would be be a 1949 engine. However, the chances of that being matched to a 1948 YM20 frame with the same number are minute I would have thought.
In conclusion I would guess some 'fancy footwork' has taken place at some time in the past, perhaps to suit registration requirements.....Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Looking at the picture of the frame number I would say the number is YM2027 and not YM20 2027, or am I wrong?

Begad...I think your right Peter!. Well spotted. If that is the case it's definitely a 'made up' one!..It might have been a YM20 frame that had the number removed and replaced with '27' to make the number (not prefix) match the engine..Like this YM20 1234....YM2027...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Bloody hell I never spotted that either. Sometimes you can't see the wood for the trees! The whole thing has been messed around with.
The present owner is a friend from the Indian Riders Club. He wants to move it on (with or without chair) and will no doubt have to take a loss. If anyone fancies it for fun, I can put you in touch.

Cheers Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

According to the despatch records engine XM20.2027 was fitted into frame XM20.2748 and was despatched on 25 September 1946 to Cope & Sons Ltd Wolverhampton.

Regards,
Leon

email (option): leonhop3@planet.nl

Hi, Maybe there are some more numbers behind the seven that had been filled up for some reason ?? Regards, Michiel

email (option): m.wijbenga@hotmail.com