While cleaning up one of my WM21 frames, I found the original colour below the later black.

Wanted to find out the correct code for this shade. Not able to purchase from Europe due to Hazmat rating.

email (option): unpob@yahoo.com

Hi Henri
My first response to this webside.For about a week I'm the proud owner of a M 20 and getting my feet wet on that one, in the past I restored serveral vintage B.M.W. and one of them [ a 1942 R 75] showed the same colour blue, it came out of the Ukraine twenty years ago and the colour at the time was called Khrushchev blue, since during that time it was about the only paint colour availeble,is it posible that this frame spend part of its life behind the iron curtain?

Regards, Cor !!

email (option): cengelen@pa.net

That is a good lead Cor, there is a website that sells the BMW R75 parts & paint schemes for WWII vintage.Enjoy the BSA! I wonder why they used Khrushchev's name for that blue.

email (option): unpob@yahoo.com

Henri, is that one of the Egypt-supplied frames ? I've seen no evidence of the RAF using or needing M21s. Could it be an Egyptian Police colour ?

If you're sure that the colour hasn't degraded then the best thing is to spend some time with a friendly paint supplier and try to match it.

Unfortunately, the BSA ledgers of the 1930s, unlike Norton, never include any information about colours.

Yep, you guys gave me the details once before, this is the WM21 engine 296 matched to the WM20 296 frame. I have the sidecar frame, wheel, mudguard, but no sidecar yet. Working on it. Read the article in the Norton forum RAF Blue/Grey is mentionned. Great resources these forums. So far, I have an opinion for green and one for blue. Honestly, as much as I would like to make it original, the blue is a bit tough to get used to, if I have to do it. BTW, both front and rear frame section allow sidecar to be connected to the left side only. The police possibility is a new one on me as the WM I thought, was for armed forces.

email (option): unpob@yahoo.com

Hi Henri.

That colour blue was never used by the Wehrmacht or Luftwaffe but later on by the people of the Soviet Union during the time that Nikita Khrushchev was First Secretary [late fifties and early sixties]and there was so little goods available and this colour paint was one of them.
When I was in the process of restoring I asked around why this strange colour was used and the above was the answer.

Regards: Cor !!

email (option): cengelen@pa.net

Didn't Egypt drive on the left prior to 1939 ? Most of the British area of influence did. It's interesting though as there have been a number of photos of impressed sidecar outfits with German forces for sale lately with left hand chairs. Did BSA always / only supply those frames ?

The 'W' prefix rather oddly doesn't seem to indicate 'War Department' (It did with Norton). It was the year code for the 1940 model year (September 1939 production onwards) and applied to civilian sales and all the models, including Gold Stars.

Quite why they jumped from 'K' to 'W' is a puzzle to me (unless the War Department said 'We want a 'W' prefix' and some bright spark used it on all the bikes instead of just the military ones.

Judging by the Norton books which I know better, many overseas government agencies such as police and even the railways were supplied through official colonial channels. All that the records show about WM20 296 is that it was supplied to JWM Forsyth, Cairo with no details of end customers. I'd suspect that there were too many for them just to have been for civilian customers which rather leaves the Egyptian authorities.

If it were mine and I wasn't looking for a khaki finish, I think that I'd choose a standard civilian finish.

Standard civilian sounds good Rik,

Thanks for the info on the W. J 38 K 39 W 40 ???

email (option): unpob@yahoo.com

Henri, I've sent you an e-mail but after further research, it seems that these late 1939 deliveries to Cairo had fuel tanks finished in 'Desert Colours' but I'm no nearer to finding out who the end-customer was. It wouldn't have been the British War Office though as the bikes were via a commercial agent.

The BSA group sold heavily to government organisations and fleet users around the world throughout their history, so that scenario is highly likely taking into account the supply destination. Some of the last 'new' BSAs and Triumphs sold were A65s and Triumph T160 'Cardinals'(Police models) that were 'repatriated' from Libya and Saudi Arabia respectively after BSA had gone out of business...and I believe the last batch of T140s went to the Nigerian Police.
It is highly likely that many repatriated M20s from around the world didn't actually have any connection with the British Armed Forces...Ian

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