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Re: Rare BSA M20 frame on ebay.

Based on my experience with Nortons, I have the feeling that we shouldn't always be talking about 'fake'. The later 1940s / 1950s 'National Service' era gave rise to a lot of oddities and although we can sometimes find New Old Stock wartime spares, the pre-computerisation British Army often couldn't.

If a REME or civilian workshop in the UK needed a new frame (at a time when most rebuilds seem to have gained one) then they didn't check with BAOR, Cyprus or Aden...they ordered a new frame from the factory and BSA / Norton / Matchless supplied an equivalent with the latest supersessions. These were then stamped using 'period' punches with the number taken from the frame that was being replaced.

Caveat Emptor. Someone down in the used chariot bazaar is selling secondhand WD parts ! :grinning:

Re: Rare BSA M20 frame on ebay.

Its an odd one, the frame number doesn't seem to have the serifs you would expect.

However WM20 4248 was delivered to the Ministry of Supply on 9/3/41 with engine WM20 505, quite a bit later than you would expect and it does remind me of my GPO frame also delivered through the MOS in 1942 which also had an early sounding frame number and the two piece saddle/tank lugs.

So I'm not completely sure?

Rob

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

Re: Rare BSA M20 frame on ebay.

This frame seems odd in that it has black paint that looks like it's been on there for a long time, if someone stamped a fake number on fairly recently and tried to fake a WM20 surely there would be green paint not the scruffy state it in now, the welded on extra bracket also would surely have been taken off if they were rebuilding an army type bike, it seems by the photos that this frame has been out of use for many years, could it be the original number???

Re: Rare BSA M20 frame on ebay.

Not always framenumbers are being changed to build a WD M20, sometimes people have f.e. already old papers laying around and find it cheaper to change a framenumber to match it with the papers. The frame is indeed in a scruffy state, but why is the exact location of the framenumber painted in a more recent yellow?

I have had this frame in my hands last weekend, took all the time to inspect it closely I came to the conclusion that this is very likely a later post war frame with a 'WM' frame number. It is well possible that this is a replacement frame, with a later added number, like Rick mentioned.

Bastiaan

email (option): wdmotorcycles@gmail.com

Re: Rare BSA M20 frame on ebay.

I concurr with Bastians assessment...I also examined this frame closely for a friend who was interested in buying it...We ended up walking away...Irrespective of whether it was 'right' or not (and I thought it wasn't) it would never fit in with peoples expectations of 'normal practice' so would always have its provenance questioned...From the dimensions I'd say the extra bracket was probably added for the head steady of an OHV engine that came from a swinging arm frame...Ian

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

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