I have a pre war front frame section JM19 2914, which is for 1938? it has the sidecar lugs and the remains of where the early right side type oil tank mount has been reduced for the later type oil tank to be fitted,
it has the black civilian paint on, which has been overpainted with a cheese mould green and a beige/sand colour, which both look like raf building camouflage colours, so could it have been impressed at the start of the war? no wd marks so couldnt say for sure. looking at condition it has spent a long time out of circulation. thoughts?

Hi Jon
Lots of prewar bikes were impressed but no records appear to have survived.
I would be very interested in seeing some pictures though.
Regards Rob.

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

The BSA factory records at the Vintage Motorcycle Club should be able to confirm the original destination of the machine and date of sale. This may or may not point you in the direction of Government agencies, or indeed whether it was a home market sale. Some overseas authorities (such as the Government of Egypt) ordered models other than M20s.

Did the M19 have its own frame number prefix or share the frame with other models ?

I have a copy of the JM19 engine despatch book and 2914 doesn't appear as a frame number there.

Only a couple of hundred JM19s seem to have been built. It would seem that the market for a sporty 350 capable of pulling a sports chair was not as great as BSA had hoped.

Hi Rik..Early M20s used the M19 prefix on the frame...Ian

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