Please help me identify this fuel tank

[PaulGreen]

Hi all, this is my first post. Firstly, please forgive me if this is in the incorrect section - I am not certain whether the part in question is pre-war or not.

I have acquired a fantastic condition fuel tank... I am just uncertain as to what bike it belongs to, so I thought I'd consult the wisdom here!

The photos will give the best idea of the tank's features, but aspects which might help are the two bicycle pump mounts under the tank, the tapped knee-pad mounts and interestingly, the teardrop badges - which I had assumed were acrylic and had been painted over - actually transpire to me made from a ferrous metal.   

My mate's first thought was that it was maybe an M20, as the shape is very similar, but that would have had painted badges, we think???

After quite a bit of web research I am absolutely stumped - please, can anyone here shed any light on this?

Cheers,

Paul G

[PaulGreen]

Two more pics -

[PaulGreen]

Last one -

[Ian C]

AFAIK this looks to be a post war M20 (Rigid or Plunger frame) tank that has been modified to take pear shaped badges, which were never fitted to these bikes. I've attached examples of badge types which would have been used by BSA.

[DAVE BRADY]

Hi,

Someone has gone to a lot of trouble to fit pear shaped badges to this tank.  The badges themselves even look bespoke and I am sure that BSA never made ferrous badges of this type.  The underneath of the tank shows some welded/brazed on patches indicating that the tank has undergone some repairs.

Dave.

[idie]

Certainly started life as an M20 tank. It has the link pipe at the front, as been said it looks as if someone went to a lot of trouble to fit the later badges.

[PaulGreen]

Remarkable, isn't it, that someone would take that trouble (it has been done to a high standard). And manufacturing the accompanying metal badges....it just seems strange.

If it was indeed modified as described, could the patches on the underside be repairs to access points, that were opened up during the modification?

I'd love to know the story behind these modifications. Could it have been done at the factory? In terms of the timeline, might the very last M20s have overlapped with a period when teardrop badges were used, and someone wanted to mock one up?

[DAVE BRADY]

Hi,

Who knows that BSA got up to but why use very carefully beaten out badges when the plastic ones were available?  Possibly this was pre plastic pear shaped badges and this was a trail and error process to get them right.  Another angle could be that stamped out metal badges may have been cheaper to make initially but finishing them to a high standard may have been more expensive compared to plastic ones.
Do you know if the plastic ones fit properly?

Dave.

[PaulGreen]

This just gets stranger...

Have a close look at these metal badges. They have greater detail on the inside, than the outside. To me, the only reason for that would be if they were actually molds, perhaps for those rubber under-badges?  If so, who would have those molds, and why would they use them in place of badges on a modified tank?? Perhaps as temporary place holders to make sure the recesses are the correct size?? 

[PaulGreen]

Oops, forgot the pic -

[PaulGreen]

Do you know if the plastic ones fit properly?

Dave.

No, I don't have any to offer up. The metal 'badges' are roughly 128mm x 81mm at the widest part.

[Ian C]

I own an M33 which is the M20 frame with the B33 OHV engine in it. It was sold to I believe Burma when new and it had modified 1968 on cast teardrop badge holes on it's original tank. So from that and seeing pictures of other bikes over there, I assume that owners wanted their bikes to look as contemporary models so tin bashed them to suit!!

[PaulGreen]

Thanks Ian, a search for M33s eventually found this image. It's a 1952 model, apparently - not sure what country it was destined for.

[TJ]

Could these metal badges actually be covers to protect the proper badges in transit? Just a thought, as the picture of the inside of the metal badge does not have the winged BSA letters on it.

[PaulGreen]

Could these metal badges actually be covers to protect the proper badges in transit? Just a thought, as the picture of the inside of the metal badge does not have the winged BSA letters on it.

That's not a bad thought - if fact they might have fitted the metal jobs over the rubber under-badges and just left them as tank protectors, only ever fitting the proper acrylic badges at the final dealer's shop??  The inside of the metal parts DOES match the shape of rubber under-badges. That would make sense, as I am learning, the acrylic badges (and the rubber knee pads) are not cheap items!!!