hi is there anyone who can give me any info about my bike, it has a brass plate on the rear mud guard,
chassis contract no, c7287 and catalogue ref no, 24 could anyone tell me what the numbers could mean?
will they reveal its history, i do have the frame number and engine number but there are a few few numbers stamped where the wm20 number is. if theres anyone who can help id be grateful

The contract plate that you're looking at was intended to assist with the ordering of spare parts. Contract C7287 was simply a Ministry of Supply reference and Catalogue Reference 24 show that it was the 24th contract held by BSA (this included pre-war V-twins).

If it belongs with the bike then your frame number (which originally matched the engine) would have been within the range WM20 25001 - WM20 42000 - This was the large post-Dunkirk contract when huge numbers were ordered to replenish the losses.

I'd suggest posting clear photos of engine and frame numbers so that the BSA experts can give their views on which numbers are relevant - it's not unusual to find extra stampings on military engines.

hi rik thanks for the info, the frame number WM20 30636.
engine number i can work it out to be b119ms whitch is where the relief valve is, and where the pipe is its stamped wm20 and a couple of inches under that it has 95 stamped. above wm20 theres a bunch of numbers, a main number that looks like 1hm10058 and stamped over that iot looks like 2.0.45 or it could be 2.J.45
i hope some of this helps
thanks barry

WM20 30636 would originally have carried census number C4347228 on the fuel tank. This is the closest bike that I can find a picture of - (one of Henk's images I think )



As a 1940 bike it differs substantially from the later and rebuilt machines.

The stampings that you refer to relate to military rebuilds.

B119 will be a Base Workshop Code and MS is Ministry of Supply. The other markings will normally be a date

There should be a number after the WM20 that was the original engine number.

Some of the chaps on here have access to the post-war 'Key Cards' and may be able to tell you more about the bike if it was listed.

hi thanks again for the info, census number C4347228 which was on wm20 30636, would you know if its being used on another bike or if i could put it back on mine when ive restored her. as for the engine number ill double check but i can definitely see wm20, ill try to get a couple of pics on but im not sure how to do it,
thanks

you can view them here:- http://s444.photobucket.com/albums/qq167/Bazza147/WM20/

Rik and Barry,

Framenumber 30636 is not on the Key cards, 30637 is, but that doesn't help at all.

The only thing we can assume is that it was never used by the army postwar, and could have been sold off early postwar, at the big M.O.D sales, like Eggington, etc. further investigation in the sales catalogs could be possible, but they are sometimes full of errors, as framenumberes were not so important, only the Cencus numbers mattered in those days.

Hope this helps somewhat,

Lex

email (option): welbike@welbike.net

I've had a look at your pictures Barry but they're not enlarging very clearly. If you want to post them, you need to click on the HTML link on photobucket.

I don't know if it will ever be possible to work out what the engine number was prior to the overstamping.

The frame number is of course the important one for registration purposes.

The 'Key cards' being referred to document the transfer to the post-war registration numbers during 1948 or so and by that time, large numbers of machines had been disposed of or were in service with non-British army units.

Where are you located Barry ? Is the registration number current ?

hi rik, im located in slough in berkshire (near heathrow) as the bike is sat in one side of my shed it was is hard to get a good pic, il try to get it out in the light, to be honest its hard to work out the numbers on the pic cos you can tell whats what with em.

Hi Barry, welcome to the forum.

I believe that your bike does appear in the keycards, but a digit from the frame number has been left off, there are a lot of similar errors in these cards.

If so your bike was with the 4/5 TA Battalion of the Cameron Highlanders prior to being sold off from storage at Bowhouse on the 16th September 1963, and wore the post 1948ish military registration 20YD19.



Rob

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

Well spotted Rob. I'm glad to see that I was bang on with the census number too.

Barry, I only asked about location because there wasn't much point searching UK records if you were in Australia or something.

Now you have to decide whether to research the post-war unit and display as such or choose a wartime identity.

Hi Rob,

Many thanks for all your research. It's really great to be able to find out the bikes history. To be honest I really don't know what to do with all this information though. I have restored BSA's in the past but most of them have had its history with the bike but I'm completely new to 'Army' bikes and don't know how to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. I know that this bike had a census # C4347228 and now know its Army registration was 20 YD 19, but Rik has suggested I research the post-war unit and display as such or choose a wartime identity. I would like to restore her as a wartime bike but don't know if I can use the above census number on the bike and gain some more information about the bike like its year of registration. I was told its a 1941. Many thanks for your help, Barry

Hi Barry

That census number (C 4347228) was on your bike originally and you should put it back....unless you choose the postwar markings route, but only you can decide that

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

Contract C7287 commenced delivery to Royal Ordnance on 24/8/1940 and by 14/11/40, they had delivered a total of 4800 machines so had reached roughly W29800 - I'd suspect that yours was probably produced before the year end making it a late 1940 machine.

There is no doubt about the wartime census number of your bike but what we don't know is which unit it was allocated to. In contrast with most owners, you do know where it served after 1948 (and what its army registration was after that date).

The choice is entirely yours but with the information that you have about the Camerons TA battalion, there is a good chance that with research, you could contact men who had served at the time and perhaps find photographic evidence of the markings that were applied.

I wouldn't presume to tell anyone how they should finish their bike but I thought it helpful to set out the options as I saw them.

In order to build as factory spec, you'll need the early fuel tank, brake rod, rear mudguard, large headlamp, inspection cap mag drive cover and probably the oil pressure tell-tale. You may find it easier to arrive at a later war specification.

Most of us restore our machines back past the post-war spec. It's the same decision as faced by owners of old houses. Do you remove the victorian fireplace to expose the mediaeval structure ?

It's your decision alone.

Hi barry
My friend & i are both m20 riders & work near you in slough
If we can help, we'd be glad to do so
You've come to the right forum, theres no one on here who hasnt benefitted at some time from free & friendly advice
Best regards
Jo'b

email (option): Jonnyob1@googlemail.com

hi i would gladly appreciate your knowledge and input. it would be nice for some one to come round and have a chat and tell me whats what with the bike, to be honest im new to this sort of thing and i dont really know much about classic bikes.
many thanks barry

mrsbfuller@hotmail.co.uk

email (option): fullerbarry@hotmail.co.uk