Here in the states I sometimes see an early 1940 ish BSA m20 with a lot of chrome on it? I assume they are war bikes do to the years, but why all the chrome and paint? Did someone try to restore it in the past and not to military standards?

email (option): Jeff@infinitymedspa.com

Hi Jeff,

It's what we did in Holland too. We ditched the original mudguard and added lots of chrome and some better looking handlebars. Here my B31 many years ago, this was in 1976. What do you think of the front brake, that BSA really had a good brakes.

Henk

email (option): ahum@quicknet.nl

Looking cool Henk

email (option): horror@blueyonder.co.uk

i think that the replacemen part in the sixties and seventies were all chrome and people who are snobs wanted their bike to look posh as possible not some old ex army bike that might look scruffy i hate chrome it alway goes rusty even if you have covered in grease

Roger's take is probably right. It's just changing fashion. Another example is the time when everything was made into a chopper, with a kicked out front end, I mean everything from a 1200cc Harley to a 200 cc Suzuki. Now everyone wants originality, to the point where even a fully restored vehicle is considered less desirable than a beat up original. Just changing times and peoples' mentality. (Of course, WDM20s don't have the originality problem, since they were all or almost all re-worked in the '50s anyway, so there is no "original" in the sense of having the original paint, etc.)

email (option): jonny.rudge@verizon.net

People have always altered bikes..even magazines from the very early days list 'after market goodies'. In fact a large scale movement wanting them rebuilt to catalogue spec. is a relatively recent phenomenon, dating from around the mid 70s when the term 'classic' became popular.
Bikes used for competition in all its forms are routinely and continuously modified and with road bikes one mans 'sacred cow' is another mans bobber, cafe racer, custom bike or similar.
Personally I like the variety that stems from that..a world full of standard bikes would be a dull one. As long as some examples are preserved to maintain a link with history then what happens to the rest isn't too important...and some of them ultimately get restored back to standard anyway!!...Ian

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

Thanks for all the input. I was just wondering if there was som e huge army surplus dealer that divide a lot of them

email (option): Jeff@infinitymedspa.com

Jeff i restore manny BSA M series almost 40 years the most in a brandnew style bud my 2 latest project i let them in the same paint as i found them and it looks great never know i will do that bud it pleases me to let it in the old patina. Gr. Theo

email (option): indian@inter.nl.net

Jeff, it has been mentioned somewhere on here before (with copies of the adverts) that a US dealer did bring in a couple of container loads of ex-BAOR WM20s in the early 1970s. Arriving in full 'Easy-Rider' period, some will have fallen foul of the chromer's vat.

The other source which is significant today is that a number of returning US travellers have brought bikes back from places like Indonesia, India etc. There is still a great liking for extra chrome in the Far East and they're still doing it on bikes they tart up for sale.

I regard chromed fork side plates and brake back-plates as a 99% accurate pointer towards Eastern origins.

Theo i like oily rag patina