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Charlies WWII bike

Discussion in 'Information Requests' started by marauder125, Oct 14, 2010.

  1. marauder125

    marauder125 Member

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    Hi Guys,
    my father in law served in Burma during the war and we have a photo of him on the bike, can anyone identify the motorcycle for me please.
    many thanks
     

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  2. Spartanroller

    Spartanroller Ace

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  3. sniper1946

    sniper1946 Expert

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  4. Spartanroller

    Spartanroller Ace

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    Damn they're similar.
     
  5. sniper1946

    sniper1946 Expert

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    ain't they just..heads or tails..lol:D
     
  6. Spartanroller

    Spartanroller Ace

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    I wonder if theres a BSA or Triumph to match :)

    but seriously I think I favour Snipe's Enfield
     
  7. marauder125

    marauder125 Member

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    Hi Guys I have posted the same question on a biker forum and they have come up some others and they all look the same but the Triumph Tiger 80 / or 3hw photo below as it was known looks the closest so far, got the bulge at front of engine casing.
    But the BSA M20 is also a close match.
     

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  8. Spartanroller

    Spartanroller Ace

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    could be the Triumph, but i think the chainguard and the cylinder block cooling fins are a little off - pretty sure they could have made endless variations, especially in India. not sure if it's possible to get a definite answer.

    heres a triumph 80 from about the same angle;

    and a better one of the norton
     

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  9. sniper1946

    sniper1946 Expert

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    [​IMG]

    your norton, nigel..
     
  10. sniper1946

    sniper1946 Expert

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    I think I'll stick with this one? the ...BSA, as it was mostly used by the british army ...


    [​IMG]
     
  11. Spartanroller

    Spartanroller Ace

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    I quite like the BSA M20 for it too;

    sorry we're not actually helping much are we :)
     

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  12. sniper1946

    sniper1946 Expert

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    maybe not, nigel......but good fun trying.....
     
  13. Spartanroller

    Spartanroller Ace

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    I'm just amazed by how similar they all are - people always complain about cars etc being all the same since computer design took over - it wasn't computers that did it :)

    must have been a patents nightmare
     
  14. marauder125

    marauder125 Member

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    Hi Guys,
    this is a great photo of the old Beeza and looks like a big contender for the title, a guy on the Biker forum pointed out the brake leaver on the Triumph Tiger 80 was very different to Charlies bike so that one should be put to bed.But the BSA M20 is looking good,
    I'm glad your all enjoying the challenge,
    thanks for your help.
    Dave
     
  15. phylo_roadking

    phylo_roadking Member

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    It's NOT the Norton option; it's hard to see on both the blurry B&W pic, and the left side one is obscured by the black speedo cable on the pic of the light-coloured Norton....but the Nortons had a small "check spring" on each side of the top of the girders that I can't see on the original pic of Charlie's bike.

    It's only two small springs about five-six inches long - but they're a dead giveaway for identifying Nortons, NONE of the other girder-forked service bikes had them.

    You can see the right-hand side one clearly here - and it wasn't something they left off, they tended to flop about without them apparently.

    [​IMG]
     

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