During the Second World War BSA was hit badly by German forces and bomb attacks made production difficult. Nevertheless, BSA kept producing huge amounts of bikes and guns. After the Second World War BSA was the largest manufacturer of motorcycles world wide. Although the BSA M20 was in many respects the least suitable candidate for military service being heavy with poor ground clearance and uninspiring performance it did have certain virtues of value to the military user. Mechanically tough with a capacity for hard work under the most adverse conditions and simple to maintain it served its country well. The M20 failed on its first submission to the War Office in 1936 (due to 'unacceptable engine wear') and only just passed the 10,000 mile suitability tests at Farnborough in 1938 when a small batch was commissioned. Criticized for being heavy and slow, with poor ground clearance it was saved by its reliability and ease of maintenance. As the need for transport quickly gained pace orders were placed for larger quantities. Most BSA M20 motorcycles were used by the British Army but the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force also commissioned M20's from BSA. Designed as a general-purpose motorcycle for convoy escort and dispatch use, the M20 saw action in almost every theatre of the war. This example offered is a very complete machine in full military garb. New old stock saddlebags and mounting brackets from England. Original black out headlamp. A very interesting piece of history. Offered with no Reserve