1940 (?) BSA or Matchless identification

[yebbut]

That lever is a valve lifter, the correct use of which is an art in itself.
normally the levers fitted above clutch and brake are magneto advance and choke.

Just had another look at the frame which does not have a sidecar lug as far as I can see so that make the front bit of the frame from a 1941 -on G3L with teles not girders.
Can you see how deep the hole you are digging is yet?

As for the idea of rebuilding an M20 from one shagged engine?? seen the price of M20 tinware?
Matchless G3L stuff is Just as scarce; I have a WD G3L and am glad I hav ehad it for so long; my neighour has an immaculate and genuine WD M20, asking price £45OO, they  are becoming scarce, there is not even one on Milweb.

If you really want a wreck to play with for 2k theres loads of crap on ebay to play with.
yes you can get repro parts, then you find there is a lot more you cant get.

As for building bikes out the back door of the Matchless factory, as another ex Matchless  factory worker, I reckon someone is having his leg pulled.

and lastly.I repeat that frame is from two different bikes, whats the point of renovating it?
Pulling the covers off a Jap bike to polish them is childs play to this boat anchor you are lumbered with.

[Scooter]

"Pulling the covers off a Jap bike to polish them is childs play to this boat anchor you are lumbered with."

Boat anchor indeed.  I just dismantled what was once mantled, it is now broken down into major components.  I picked up the motor to move it and the motor feels like it is solid iron.  I'll start looking for frames I guess, and see what those are running.  I had no idea that the main frame and the rear "sub frame" were not of the same year or same bike.  Any idea how much a frame in good working condition might run?

-Scott

[yebbut]

well, ....IF....  I had one and I thought I had a right mug in front of me with wads of cash, very expensive indeed....

so what do you want to rebuild it as? A BSA or a Matchless?

I suggest you spend some time studing the listings on Ebay.

for instance, if you wanted a tank for a G3 as opposed to a G3L, thats the early ones with a tank instrument panel, and instruments, which is  never likeley to come up as one piece, that would easily on past form the ones I have bid on and lost, add up to almost a £1000......


I cold flog you an appropriate gearbox for a £100 if you are that keen to part with your cash.... no warrenty of course.

You seem to be under some delusion as to the availiabity of old british parts?

Have you never heard the story of George Washingtons axe?

[RichP]

This bike rather makes me think of Ogri's mate Malcolm's 'Norumph' built out of the bits left over from everybody else's Tritons. Didn't Ogri say "God's teeth, Malcolm - What's that ?" and the small bird on the fence said "Don't forget the dexion bits".

It is possible to build a reasonable WD bike around an engine or indeed a rolling chassis but I'd hesitate to try it without access to UK jumbles and a sufficiently large network of friends and acquaintances who merely have to be convinced that they're sitting on parts that they don't really need.

Are you in the US, Scott ? I can imagine that rigid, girder forked British bikes are fairly unusual there and the lack of alternative sources might make a project more tempting but against that, you'll find local parts supply almost non-existent and you'll need to be very wary of internet purchases.

It's a matter of historical fact that a good number of WD bikes ended up on the Indian sub-continent and there is therefore a small industry devoted to keeping those bikes running. Unfortunately, the quality of those parts is often abysmal and they are now expecting western prices for them.

I have to say that I really don't see this one as a first project unless you have access to a machine shop and intend to make the missing parts yourself.

If you didn't pay too much and the import costs weren't too high then I too would be tempted to recommend identifying the parts properly and putting them on eBay. You should find that the profit goes a good way towards finding a more feasible first-time project.

There are quite a few WDM20s in the US. It seems that several containers full of ex-BAOR machines were imorted by a dealer in the 1970s and many of them have seen little use. If you really want an M20 then keeping your ear to the ground when one of those comes up is probably a better option.

[Rex]

Sounds like the decompressor lever.

Treat yourself to a copy of the genuine WW2 workshop manual too. You'll be amazed how good they were, and how helpful you'll find it.

[yebbut]

But whats the point of a manual for a WDM20 when he hasn't got one?

[Scooter]

Yebbut- I'll keep that in mind when it comes time to buy parts

RichP- Yeah, I'm in the U.S.  I'm sure there's some owners/fan clubs in the states that I might be able to tap into for resources.  There's a European bike only dealership/repair shop in my city even.  So I might be able to go to them for stuff.  Funny thing about girder/Springer-style forks here in the U.S., they're all the rage on choppers and bobbers.  Take a look at some U.S. chopper rag sometime and try not to find them on every other bike coming out of custom shops.

Thanks all for your help thusfar.  I'll be sitting on the sidelines for a bit, looking at parts on ebay, and trying to formulate an attack plan.  This could go one of many ways, either I'll decide on what bike to make it, depending on availability and cost of parts.  Or, I'll sell of the bits, as some suggest.  If that happens, maybe I'll stick with the WWII Brit bike theme or I might go back to looking at late 50's-60's Brit cafe racers.  We shall see....

Cheers!
Scott

[yebbut]

 A friend of mine  nr Boston just turned down  a complete but kit of parts 1948 rigid frame matchless for $800 as too dear, it would have been snapped up in UK for that price these days.

I reckon you should go bck to Iraq and dig aboout in the sand to find the rest.

There must still be dozens's out there somewhere, some of which are not such deep water anchors.

Actually I know where there is a boatload of unused ones for the taking.
Just Google Thistlegorm


and I see you have had not much luck on that other forum    either, ye of little faith