Hi all

I am looking to have BSA WD M20 for quite some time. I had many sleepless nights trying to imagine M20.. To be honest I don’t have too much money in hand to buy from market. BSA M20 usually cost 3000 – 5000 Euros in Ireland.

I am looking for cheapest way possible to get my hands on M20. I want to have bike ready by next summer.

Option 1. Buy frame or Engine first and then start collecting parts.
Option 2. Buy a complete bike and restore it , I think which usually cost 1200 – 1800 euro.

Which option is good and where should I start with ? look on ebay or locally first, or here ? or all

Your guidance and experience will be very helpful. Or maybe I have to retire to get my dream which might be too late...:(

please guys share your experiences with M20 project.

Regards
JH

building one from parts will not only be expensive, more than buying a wreck, but I doubt you'll get one built by next summer.
There'll always be a couple bits that you can't get,just read through the want ads here.
be patient and save up.

Hello JH,

I can't tell you if it would be best to look locally
Or to import, as I do not know if it would be worth to buy
The bike cheaper, and then pay for transporting it, customs, taxes,
Register it and so on,
But I can suggest that you start with a complete bike,
Or close to complete, if currently you do not have any parts in hand.

Every one of guys here can tell you how much time, money and frustration
It takes to get one part sometimes...

If you have a complete bike, even a wreck, you can start and restore,
But if you will start to look for every nut, bolt and plate,
Not only it would take ages, it would also be VERY expensive..

Good luck !

Noam.

**ken,
I see we must have answered at the same time, and more or less the same..

email (option): noam10@gmail.com

Hi @ the moment i am restoring an WD m20 i think that is better to buy a complate bike i have spent more on parts nearly from allover the globe and some of them are repro and if you buy a complate bike allready registerd it will be cheaper.

email (option): peterpcam@yahoo.com

Hi JH

By choice I'm building an m20 from bits, I want the challenge & enjoy looking for parts

I'm in no rush either & am allowing 3 years to complete, I have another m20 on the go

If you are based in Ireland, keep your eyes open, there are still quite a number of complete bikes lurking about, best if you are there to buy as complete a bike if possible

Like many UK based enthusiasts - we sometimes forget how lucky we are to have such a choice of good autojumbles to go to - not the case in most other countries

Complete a bike as possible is best bet

Best regards

John

email (option): Jonnyob1@googlemail.com

Hi JH,

I agree with the other chaps who say you should start with a complete bike that rolls on its own wheels. Ask anyone who has an WM20 if they know of one for sale. Quite often they may.

If you can find a complete bike with a blown or missing engine, or one that had been in a wreck, you are far better off. Having a damaged part in hand makes searching the auto jumbles much easier. I started with a pair of crankcases and a 1947 XM21 basket case and do no recommend that plan.

Jeff in USA

email (option): jjbandoo@aol.com

"
**ken,
I see we must have answered at the same time, and more or less the same.."

great minds etc eh?

you still keeping safe out there?

Yes Ken.. I agree..

Noam.

email (option): noam10@gmail.com

Thank you all for you guys..

I feel much better now. I think i was browsing too much about M20 and got crazy and excited ..

what you guys are saying making sense. complete bike or partial complete is best bet. secondly M20 is usually long time project & cannot be completed as quickly as you imagine.

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

Kind Regards

JH

Got one here,1943 WM20,original and unrestored,if your interested email me.
regards

email (option): glesgaman@tiscali.co.uk

Restoring motorcycles is never a cheap thing to do. Overall, its far better to buy a complete, running and restored (or mostly restored)item. Trust me on this. Put the money you have to start into a jar, and add whatever you think you might be spending on parts each month into the same jar (get a large jar). In a few months you may have enough to buy a going concern that you can ride around and improve as finances allow.

However, you will lose out on the joy that most of us get from taking a jumble of parts and slowly turning it into a running motorcycle, built just the way we want. This joy costs money which I have never been reluctant to spend. So, the best thing you can do is forget about the cost - its the price you pay for that special feeling that only us fanatics will ever experience when we find that elusive part, solve that insurmountable problem and go beetling down the road safe in the knowledge that if anything falls off, its our fault...

... And all the special friends you meet along the way.

email (option): cas.vanderwoude@gmail.com

Join your local BSA, Classic Vintage motorcycle clubs and invest some time by going to meetings and events.
There are two distance markets, the inter club market and the evilbay market.
Usually you will find several members with more stuff in their sheds than they know what to do with.
None of them want any to go to the "traders' and most would like them to go to some one who will appreciate them and possibly be around them when it is finished.
No one with a shed full of unfinished bikes trolls through the classified activily looking for some one to sell their surplus bikes to.
OTOH very few will give you the time of day if you rock up to a meeting and announce that you want one of them to sell you an M20 on the cheap. However ask for help in finding one or for evaluating one you have found and things become different.
However when you make yourself know to them & they feel comfortable with you then usually you will get offers

email (option): wariron@tpg,com,au