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1940 BSA M20 military motorcycle

Contributed by Art Sirota


Wednesday, June 1, 2011
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Stephen Finerty

Art Sirota is a songwriter who lives in Redwood City with his wife Lynda, their six-year-old daughter Amanda and his guitar and harmonica.
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Art Sirota is a songwriter who lives in Redwood City with his wife Lynda, their six-year-old daughter Amanda and his guitar and harmonica.



Back in 1988 I stumbled upon a 1940 BSA M20 military motorcycle in Porterville, in Tulare County. It turns out that when World War II ended, the British government employed a branch of the military called the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers to cannibalize many of the twisted, broken motorcycle wrecks left over from the conflict and get them running again. This particular bike had then been crated and shipped to Germany for use by the British forces occupying the part of Berlin that had been cut off from the rest of the world by the Soviets.

However, nobody ever uncrated this particular motorcycle. Instead, it was sold to a collector in New York, and then traded to a guy in Porterville for two German Luger pistols. He unpacked it and then parked it in his barn for several years. The tires still had new tread on them and were stamped "WD," which stood for War Department, but they were too cracked and rotted for road use.

I carried out a complete restoration, which included locating the original blackout mask for the headlight, correct canvas panniers, and canvas grips for the handlebars. This may seem unusual, but there was a rubber shortage due to the war effort, so rubber grips were not available. After rebuilding the engine, I gave her a coat of Olive Drab, mixing the paint myself to match the original color and sheen I discovered on the underside of the gas tank. When I looked inside the toolbox, I found the original rider's handbook!

The guys who rode these bikes at the front were called Dispatch Riders, or "DRs" for short. I won the limerick contest sponsored by the BSA Owners Club by entering the following original poem:

Two DR's were having discussions

Over how best to conquer the Prussians

Give them all BSAs

In a matter of days

The suspension will give them concussions!

Several years ago, the club held a weekend rally in Mariposa, and I rode the old M20. A barbeque dinner at a member's house about 20 miles outside of town ran late, so a group of us started riding back in the dark. Now the six-volt electrical system of the M20 doesn't put out that strong a beam in the best of circumstances, and with the blackout mask having merely a small slit on the cover, riding at night can be a bit risky. But that night the bulb burned out completely. Two local police officers in a squad car pulled me over, and I thought for sure that I was going to get a ticket. However, they thought the bike was cool, so instead they gave me a police escort all the way to town. Luckily, we were not strafed by the Luftwaffe.

The side stand is 24 inches long and was designed to support the machine even in deep sand in the event it was sent to North Africa to fight against General Rommel, known as the Desert Fox. Alternatively, it could be detached from the frame and used as a primitive weapon in case you ran out of ammunition.

I discovered on page eight of the rider's handbook that there is an early form of anti-theft device located midway along the spark plug wire. It's made of Bakelite, is about the size of a cigarette and when unscrewed it denies a spark to the plug. (Shh! Don't tell the Germans.)

This motorcycle attracts a curious crowd wherever I go. The 500cc side-valve engine is smooth and reliable, so I ride her whenever I'm not in a hurry. She never won any races, but she did help win the war.

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Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/06/01/MTOF1JOBSI.DTL#ixzz1O6OdxRSg

email (option): richardholt@rocketmail.com

Art Sirota- mopre famous for "Norton Songs".
My BSA came from Missouri- seems there was a cache of them in the midwest after the war, purchased fromm surplus and sold off as-is. Mine still has a lot of original markings and paint.
Vince

email (option): bsa3man@rocketmail.com

hi,vincent thanks for your reply what is the spare parts situation like in the u.s for these old timers? i have just bought a brand spanking new set of bsa a65 barrels from u.s they are rare as hens teeth here. they are for my thunderbolt i also have a71 lightning i bought that has been brought home from arizona.i dont think anybody has even had a spanner to this one ,keep in touch cheers rick

email (option): richardholt@rocketmail.com