Walneck's Classic Cycle Trader - May 2009 - (Page 25) SPECIAL FEATURE STORIES ONCE UPON A BSA Once upon a BSA. . . By Buzz Walneck A long, long time ago, when ex-war 1940’s BSA M20’s were plentiful, and could be bought in running condition for as little as $ 225.00 ( not a typo ), one came to find it’s home in our garage. Huge numbers of these delightful bikes came in boatloads from England and some from Europe, where they were used by NATO. Importers found people who would buy large numbers of them, and in the Chicago area, we knew a guy who rented an open lot and just lined them up to sell. No store, no license, no guarantee. . “Cash and Carry”, although, he would start the bike for you. $ 250.00 each, take your pick, or 3 - for $ 225.00 each. Today a nice one is near $ 4,000. Now as it often happens in the Walneck’s household. . there comes a time when I need to sell a bike to buy another one. We placed an ad in our magazine, and a call from a local person came in, asking about the $ 800.00 M20 that was listed. I described the bike and the customer said that he just wanted something, old and reliable to putter around on. The low powered side-valve of 500cc, was just that (there were a significant number of M21’s imported too, and they were 600cc intended for sidecar use ). The customer let me know that he would be able to stop back after 1:00 to look at it, and probably buy it. I asked him if he could come earlier, but he said that he could not, as he would be “in confession” from 9AM till noon. WALNECKS.COM I WALNECK’S CLASSIC CYCLE TRADER® | May 2009 25 http://www.WALNECKS.COM
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