Cheers William, nice to know the film brought you some pleasure.The bacon sandwich sounds like a good idea too!

Thanks again for leaving such kind comments. We were all surprised too at how short the film seems when one watches it. We were worried that 7 mins. might have been unduly long but it seems to be the exact opposite - strange! You may also be interested in the films by the "Panther Owners Club" - similar to ours but different. kzfaq.info/love/1RTDI42nvnYuK0jAdleItw

I think that its Simon,s voice that makes the vid so nice

Thanks Josh. We pay a lot of attention to the sound quality and use windshields etc. to avoid wind roar. The microphone shielding on GoPro cameras is quite good up to about 40mph. Other microphones that we use with a separate digital sound recorder need windshields unless there is no air movement at all.

Glad you enjoyed it and many thanks for your kind comments!

Glad you liked it - many thanks!

Hi Brian, So glad you like the films. Your Panther sounds fun and it's good it takes you camping - a recipe for pleasant hols! We'll probably film a BSA A10 next and will possibly be doing a film on the 2019 Bamburgh Run, with more chats with the riders about their early machines. Cheers, Simon.

Thanks for the kind comments!

Thanks for the kind comments, Peter. It's probably way sooo much slower too - you just have to switch mindset and remember it's a slowish BSA M20 - made even slower with a sidecar sprocket!

Many thanks - this one took a bit longer than anticipated to finish off!

Slow and steady! You get quite confident in these old plodders.

Great to hear that you liked the sounds and backdrops!

Many thanks. I've just found your POC films. They're great. The "M100 in the wet" was a rollercoaster of a reminder of incidents we've all had at some time or other! Interesting to see the outfit's effect on a horse too. Many seem to become very unpredictable when they see an outfit.

I am excited by the opportunities which KZfaq offers for exploring and sharing our specialist interests (obsessions!) As a beginner at video creation I will certainly be borrowing some ideas from you and look forward to seeing more from your camera in the future.

Good to hear! Our M20 has a thick (28mm) phenolic spacer between the barrel and the carburettor which seems to help. Also, a few kicks with the valve lifter deployed, sometimes helps. Perhaps it ensures that there’s plenty of fuel vapour in the engine, when you finally let go of the valve lifter and give the bike a swinging kick. If none of this helps, check that the magneto is not beginning to fail. Poor hot starting might be a symptom of this - never a dull moment with old bikes!

@@sgch101 Hi Simon, my young friend in NZ recently bought a 1938 BSA M20 army green. And I also witnessed him struggling to start it when hot. Most commentators seem to point to Magneto. Cheers NZ.

@@johnmartin7158 Hi, Yes, that’s definitely correct! For poor hot starting, when the magneto’s condition is unknown, it would be the first thing to check. I had the same problem when I first acquired this bike. It wouldn’t start, one day, when I stopped in the middle of nowhere. After leaving it for an hour, it still wouldn’t go and I ended up pushing it (on the level) to the start of a long downhill stretch. It took about half a mile of downhill coasting before it would bump start - aargh! The magneto was overhauled after that and it’s been fine for over a decade now. Hope your pal can get his bike sorted out okay.

Thanks for the comments - glad you enjoyed the film!

Glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks for the interesting comments! That spark plug sounds handy.

Great story - thanks for sharing!

I'm sure you are correct on that!

We’ve finally started on our next film. It features is a 1960 BSA A10 and should be complete by mid-August 2020.

Glad you liked it!

It works very well with the concentric, which had been fitted before I bought the bike in 2011. I subsequently fitted a concentric to my 1947 B31 after trying to get it to run well with a new Amal 276. I just couldn’t get it running without pinking at certain revs. Maybe there was something wrong with the 276 but I couldn’t work out what it was. After fitting the concentric to the B31, it has run perfectly ever since!

Hi Henry, I thought the same when I bought it in 2011 but, on checking, it was built as an M20. I checked with the factory records and it still has its original engine, which is numbered in the M20 (rather than M21) series. Interestingly, however, at some point the original M20 engine was given a new crank, to convert it to 600cc (i.e. an M21!). So now I'm not really sure whether to call it an M20 or M21! After World War 2, you could buy a new (civilian) M20 , with or without the sidecar lugs. It was most likely a way to use up the stocks of military M20 frames (which had no sidecar lugs). After 1947, all M20 machines had the sidecar lugs apparently. By the way, mine has a "sidecar" engine sprocket with 19 teeth, so it's even slower than the standard solo with 20 teeth. Glad you liked the film and thanks for the feedback! Best Wishes, Simon

@@sgch101 Hi Simon, My 1947 M-21 also has the "XM20" serial number starter, but it's an M-21. It came out of the factory on March 14, 1947. The M-21 piston has three rings and is shorter in length than the four-ringed M-20 piston. Both are the same diameter. However, BSA made things to fit across types whenever they could get away with it, so I am using an M-20 barrel and head at present. I believe that there are only three parts that won't change straight over from M-20-M-21 (and vice-versa) between at least 1940 and 1947 (and maybe including 1939), which are the piston, con-rod, and crank. But it's possible that the crank may be the same, with just a longer or shorter con-rod and piston assembly. The M-21 has the longer stroke. I bought the top-end used, with piston that I had to sell because it would have crashed into the head and ruined my rod and crank, and maybe the cases. So next time you're in there, check for 3-rings vs 4-rings on the piston. That will tell you for certain (unless someone put a short M-21 piston into the M-20, which would work, I suppose, but would alter the compression considerably and, presumably, make it far slower). That said, I do see some 'variations' in minor add-on-type parts (ie-back rack and rear seat, most noticeably, plus handlebar fittings and levers) on other M-20s and M-21s online. I could never find a rear-seat mount, and so finally (2019) made my own mount, which is definitely not original, though the seat itself is original. I mounted it onto the back rack with modifications that would allow me to change it off and put on a tool box or whatever, said change taking not more than 20 minutes (four bolts). If you can get your hands on an original copy of Ian Fleming's James Bond novel "From a View to a Kill", the assassin is riding a BSA M-20 and doing 70 mph! According to the novel the M-20 had had work done on the valves and lifters and etc (as I recall). Try as I might, I could not crack 70 mph on mine, only reaching 69 mph at its best. That was with an original Smith's Chronometric (which later broke off one dark night back in CA). Regardless of speed, they are truly fun bikes to ride. Mine just sings at 45-50 mph, and I'm old enough to not need to go any faster anymore. Mine is the North African campaign version, with the cut-away tank and long desert side-stand, and also has the girder front-end. I can't speak about the 1948 and later versions. Maybe that assassin in James Bond had a later model that went faster? Who knows? Ian Fleming "Bonded Fleming; a James Bond Omnibus", copyright by Glidrose Productions Ltd., 1959, published by The Viking Press Inc, NY, 1965. So maybe a faster model, but only by 1 mph!!! Cheers!

Hi Henry, Thanks for the info. I’ll have to hunt out a copy of the James Bond novel as I didn’t realise it mentioned an M20. It’s worth having just for that! I can imagine that at 69 or 70 mph the ride is lively! Best regards, Simon

Yes, I think the manufacturer's were allowed to put their name on the vehicles. There seem to be plenty of old pictures of M20s all over the place with BSA clearly visible on the tank. The Matchless badge was also prominent on the British Army's G3 bikes. There are some photos showing wartime bikes with manufacturers' names displayed at: oldthumpers.wordpress.com/war-deparment-bike-pictures/

Simon Hadden, fantastic. Thanks for the information. The US was always very strict about not allowing any manufacturers to mark their vehicles in government service. Harley and Indian played by the rules, but Ford tried to get around the rule by marking all parts they manufactured for the Jeep with an "f". I've always found that humorous

It is practical and reliable but slow. Good on quieter roads but no good on motorways. Maximum speed in solo form (without sidecar) is about 50mph / 80km/h. It is easy to kickstart but needs thinner oil (SAE30 say) in winter, to make starting easy on cold winter days when temperature is less than about 5 deg C.

@@sgch101 I see, I'll go to look at a WWII era example, it would be nice if the bike is practical to use today.

Best buy a bike from a UK or Dutch classic bike dealer who will export the bike to you. e.g. www.andybuysbikes.com/bikes.htm or www.dutch-lion-motorbikes.com/en/search?q=bsa&submit=Search

Simon Hadden ok sir

Yes, it’s certainly a tortoise but has proved to be reliable even over long distances. It’s a bit like a road-going narrowboat. Once you’ve adjusted to its (very) slow speed, it’s good fun.

Simon Hadden , I had a Gardner engine in a boat it was a plodder but the hp was measured in shire horse power I love all the big singles so much grunt well done on the videos Steve.

Let me know more - when do you get the poor running?

Simon Hadden got the bike in box s. Everything is new in engine. Starts first or second kick. The problem is in top gear. And cruising it chugs. Thank for any help.

Re chugging: Forgive me if this sounds obvious, but do you set the ignition to fully advanced once the bike is travelling along? Also, do you open the choke when the engine is warm? There are two possible causes of chugging but there are many more so I need more info to help!

Simon Hadden Thank you for your help. I do run at full advance. But will try choke . 👍

If the temperature is about 20 deg C you should only need the choke for starting. On a cold day with temperature about 5 deg C, you may need to ride for 3 to 5 minutes before you can stop using the choke (I.e after 3 to 5 minutes, you can pull the choke lever towards you). Check also that the choke lever will remain in the “off” position, pulled towards you. If the lever is not correctly adjusted, the lever might move and the choke is applied again, by accident.