M20 info needed.

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Viking27
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Post by Viking27 » Thu Apr 02, 2009 10:45 pm

Brennon,

For bolts see above. For bolt size / location you need to buy a repro WD parts list for the M20. You can get it here:

http://www.milweb.net/go/groucho/index.htm

Various usefull downloads:

http://members.quicknet.nl/ahum/downloads.htm

Amal 276 and all other carb type parts for sale:

http://www.amalcarburettors.co.uk/

Regarding the chain case, you can make a thinn paper gasket or buy one from Russel motors or Draganfly. Just use new style silicone gasget sealant with the paper one. Fit the cover and torque the bolts. Wiper off excess silicone. Fill up with oil (not all guys use oil in the chaincase)

regards
Hinrik Steinsson
Ford GP 9519
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rustfarm
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Post by rustfarm » Sat Apr 11, 2009 5:11 pm

Thanks so much for your help.
I want to get this cycle running. Then I will start on the tear down and do a ground up on it.

I am about to sand the paint on the gas tank in hopes to pull the original number. We will see.....
More Questions:
Where to get correct looking tires?
What to do about a correct looking batery or box for it?
Anyone make reproduction bags for it?
Any good books on war time production changes ext.

I need a correct looking cable that goes from the carb to the handle bars.
There is a modern one on it now.
I still havent figured out the model number of the carb. It is not listed in any of the books I own. I have been told tha I need to replace the cork that is in the carb as well.

Brennon

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Viking27
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Post by Viking27 » Mon Apr 13, 2009 10:38 pm

Brennon,

As for the tank sanding, dont worry about that. Just give me the serial number of your frame and I can look at my books and find the correct "C" army sensus number for you. If the bike you have was made for the RAF (Royal Air Force) then it would not of had the "C" number.

I have 2 original WD (War department) marked wheels but they are not usable anymore. I used the Dunlop K70. It is used by many military motorcycle gurus in Europe. Here is one site that sells them:

http://www.tireexpress.com/prod.cfm/cid/6701/pid/5636

There is no way for you to find an original battery. You might be able to find the original battery box lid that has a "WD" military marking. I have a NOS one that still has its paint....yes they were painted. I can help you to get a nice WD marked repro of the battery box and lid. They are only about $30-40 and you can fitt a modern dry cell battery inside it.

Finding the original pannier bags is getting very difficult. Are you sure your bike had the panniers? Some of the early models did not have them, but of course they look more cool with them. Do you have the pannier frames? Your best bet is to buy repros on Ebay, made from war time canvas.

To see the changes in the production, you really need to dig deep into it like I have. I bought as many parts lists as I could find and compared them. One of them had a list of changes included.

10 years ago when I started buying parts for my M20 I managed to find a NOS speedometer cable still with comsmoline on it. To find this today is very hard. I recommend you buy an use new teflon lined cables because they dont require lubrication. The originals had a kind of rough fiber texture to them, compared to the slick new plastics today.

The Carb for the M20 is the Amal 276 carb. Send or post a photo of it and I will tell you if its right or not. From the website I posted previously, you can buy a complete Amal 276 carb gasget kit. The only thing you need to do is to buy an adapter maybe 1 inch thick to mount between the carb and cylinder head. This will help preventing starting problems when the bike engine is hot.

Regards
Hinrik Steinsson
Ford GP 9519
Proud member of 50 Shades of Green group

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Post by Viking27 » Mon Apr 13, 2009 10:48 pm

For your interest, a Hollywood A listed has a BSA M20 :) Reqognize him?

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Sadly he paid a lot for this bike and it has many "faults" or wrong parts on it. Look at the headlight lamp, war time glass was flat, not domed. The horn is wrong, front mudguard wrong, rear mudguard very early type while rest of bike looks late war ....etc.

This is Orlando Bloom, star of Pirates of the Carribean and Lord of the Ring series. Here he is in England having starting problems :)

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Post by Viking27 » Mon Apr 13, 2009 10:53 pm

Most of the electrical parts of the British WD bikes were made by the Lucas company. Here is a NOS war time flat glass for the headlight. Note the small Lucas logo decal in center.

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Post by Viking27 » Mon Apr 13, 2009 11:01 pm

Brennon / other guys /girls interested,

I will post some good quality photos of rare M20 parts to help you out restoring your bikes to good standards. Here is a NOS headlight switch panel. Note the "LU" in the part number, that stands for "Lucas"

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Here is the light panel itself. Note that the war time switch had a "T" which was for tail light only (black out conditions) Late war bikes had a different switch.

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Post by Viking27 » Mon Apr 13, 2009 11:09 pm

This is the hard to find WD battery box lid:

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As you can see its painted in a brown color, but the paint on the M20 ranged from desert tan to this brown color.

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Hinrik Steinsson
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Post by Viking27 » Mon Apr 13, 2009 11:12 pm

Full front view:

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Rear view:

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Hinrik Steinsson
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Post by Viking27 » Mon Apr 13, 2009 11:17 pm

This is a very hard part to find. The KLG spark plug water proofing cap:

Image

I was lucky enough to find 5 of these NOS in a classic car show in Englan :) That is also the original war time high tension lead with resistor.


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Post by Viking27 » Tue Apr 14, 2009 1:06 am

When I started restoring my M20 I noticed that the frame was a little bent. If this is the case with your bike, then this will help:

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Hinrik Steinsson
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Post by Viking27 » Tue Apr 14, 2009 1:17 am

The most expensive part of a WWII British motorbike will most likely be the MagDyno which is a Lucas built magneto / dynamo in one unit. Not very reliable...and Lucas which had the moto "King of the Road" was often called "King of Darkness" haha.

There is a difference between the war time and post war type of magdyno. You can see the differences in the housing in this photo. The one on the left is original war time, before restoration:

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Hinrik Steinsson
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Viking27
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Post by Viking27 » Tue Apr 14, 2009 1:24 am

After professional restoration. Very expensive, but done with NOS parts only:

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Notice the contacts cover on the back, NOS with 95% original cadmium plating still intact:

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Viking27
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Post by Viking27 » Tue Apr 14, 2009 1:36 am

Decoding the Magdyno dataplate:

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This is a post war repro set. You can see what the plate should of looked like:

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Hinrik Steinsson
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Post by Viking27 » Tue Apr 14, 2009 1:52 am

Magdyno completed and installed. Note NOS dynamo end cap:

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Hinrik Steinsson
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Post by Viking27 » Tue Apr 14, 2009 1:54 am

Brennon, you mentioned interest in original manuals, here is an interesting post war information booklet about BSA´s production during the war:

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