All,

A friend of mine has his 1939 BSA M20 for sale.
It's an original civilian KM20 who has spent the last decades in Italy.
Engine runs fine, easy starter and shifts through all gears smoothly.
Clutch works how it should and the magneto has been revised.
The bike can be ridden and is located in Holland
There has been a repair on the front frame tube.
There is no paperwork with this bike.
Asking price €4250,-
If you have any questions please contact Bas directly on basfietsen@hotmail.com or on +31630258131










Regards,
Sven

email (option): snvosselman@hotmail.com

Hi Sven,

According the the BSA factory ledgers it went to the War Office on 10-11-1938 and it had matching engine and frame numbers.

Henk

email (option): ahum@quicknet.nl

Sven, are you sure that it's a civvy bike ? Is the frame number KM20 478 or is there an extra digit at the end ?

KM20 478 was delivered to the War Office, London on 10/11/1938 with matching engine number.

If there is an extra digit then it was originally an M22 (with the exception of KM20 4783 and 4789 which were M21s supplied to the Dutch Government).

Great minds read alike, Henk. However, I was interrupted by a voice in the WC calling for more paper !

Hi Rik, tell us more about these dutch M22's please? Any ideas about WM20 192 frame and KM22 190 engine?

Thanks for your replies!
I will pass this on to my friend.
Henk, does this engine number comes close to the original engine or should it have exactly the same numbers as on the frame?

Regards,
Sven

email (option): snvosselman@hotmail.com

Kalle, it's not the M22s which were Dutch Government (Staatsbedrijf der Artillerie, the normal Dutch Army purchaser), simply two KM21s using frames with the same first three 478* digits. The M22s were sent to various civilian customers.

In answer to your specific query, frame number WM20 192 was supplied to the War Office and was fitted with engine number WM20 1799.

Engine no. KM22 190 was delivered fitted to frame KM20 4787 and supplied to "The Red Star Society, London EC1" - I have no idea what the significance of that is. It doesn't sound like a dealer and may have been an organisation that intended to export it.

I should stress that I'm not a BSA historian and whilst I have some copy records, any interpretation that I give is very much that of a casual bystander. It looks to me as if all (many) M series engines were fitted in frames stamped "M20"

The engine and frame numbers were exactly the same for this bike both being KM20 478.

Henk

email (option): ahum@quicknet.nl

Could that be a German rear seat and rear light?

An M20 captured from the BEF could have ended up with the German forces in Italy or any other part of Europe.

Rob

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

And we all know how much the Germans liked riding around on a BSA.

email (option): ahum@quicknet.nl

Here's a short movie of the bike.
It seems that this BSA has been found in a shed in Austria 25 years ago, so it could indeed be a former captured bike.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxaMZ5DgHoQ&feature=share
&list=UUdq-nkPYB63yn7C4AixAMSQ

Regards,
Sven

email (option): snvosselman@hotmail.com