5 Classic British Military Dr Motorcycles

[@jfu5222]

My grandfather was a motorcycle messenger for the American Expeditionary Force in WWI, he rode a Harley-Davidson solo. I have a friend who's grandfather was also motorcycle messenger in the Great War, but for the Kaiser!

[@bikerdood1100]

My Grandfather was a despatch rider for the British army in North Africa

[@Adibarum]

HI Love your Video's bikerdood... i was a dispatch rider in the British Army during the 1980s I remember our training bikes were the frankly ancient at the time BSA B40 WD however i learned so much on those bikes about daily maintainance checks which were very thorough and explains why they were able to remain in service for so long, they were also brush painted khaki green and the paint was so thick on them and if you were not careful they would give you an evil Kick back if you didnt use the correct starting proceedure. I was reponisble for testing the Can AM bomberdier which at the end of 82 the Army was considering bringing into service, i had the pleasure of doing literally thousands of miles on a test bike riding across A & B roads, motorways and rough terrain and presenting, thorough written reports as to the effectivness or the bike regarding reliability and ability, of course the Can am Lacked the "Charachter" of the B40 but was far easier to live with easier to start ands considerably quicker.

[@bikerdood1100]

Interesting comment Good to hear from some one who ride them in their day job so to speak Military style bikes are quite trendy at the moment but my interest is really from my grandfather, a dr in the second world war

[@syrupusurper3774]

I was thinking the other week, that I'd love to see another good video on military bikes. Bikerdood, as usual was reading my mind and put out another great video. Short, well edited, narrated, and well written. The Triumph 3SW despite be a war vehicle, is quite attractive. Thank you as always Mr. Dood, you never fail to bring a few minutes of enjoyment to our days.

[@bikerdood1100]

Just glad people enjoy them really

[@Paul.C300]

These low powered bikes served the army well, very interesting indeed, thanks for posting.

[@bikerdood1100]

They generally like side valve engines because they were simple to maintain and reliable but also they ran quieter which was seen as an advantage. With military convoys moved quite slowly back then their performance was deemed adequate

[@andrewpeacock4695]

BSA Singles were also used by the US military in WWII. I spotted one in US army trim in the Texas Military Forces Museum in Austin, Texas.

[@bikerdood1100]

Well they mad 126,000 compared to 70,000 WLAs It was the most numerous military bike of the war

[@andrewpeacock4695]

@@bikerdood1100I looked back at my photo of the bike. It appears to be an M20. One curious feature was the spare spark plug screwed into a hole in the fork bracket, just below the headlamp.

[@bikerdood1100]

A spare, common practice in the old days, especially in racing for when you flood starting it or it oils up

[@cliverussell5344]

Thanks for a walk down memory lane, very interesting video

[@bikerdood1100]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@Mike40M]

I was a dispatch rider for a year in the sixties. In Sweden we had 2-strokes. Fitted with skis in winter. What is most important is an easy starting machine. Had a Norton WD16H for a couple of years. Surprisingly comfortable on bad roads. Now has a 1967 BSA B40WD, ex. Danish military. I like the length of your videos, so naturally impossible to cover all. But WW1 Triumphs could definitely been mentioned. And the Norton big four, usually fitted with sidecars. Oddities as the Norton Inters supplied in small numbers to the RAF. Sometimes in the future, maybe a bit on sidecar motorcycles.

[@bikerdood1100]

BSAs B40 was very widely used and I know was used by the British and Dutch militaries and army surplus B40s were a common site at one time

[@bikerdood1100]

I have previously made a video on side cars Definitely worth a revisit now though

[@Mike40M]

@@bikerdood1100 Also in Australia, fitted with a Concentric.

[@jfu5222]

I have always been interested in the ski attachments, I remember seeing an exploded diagram for a Jawa military motorcycle. It looked like it would be quite simple to replicate, if I only had the time or money.

[@bikerdood1100]

And snow of course Not much use here in the uk with about 2 days of snow a year Fascinating contraptions though. Would be interesting to try them

[@stewartentwiistle952]

As always, another top video. Excellent content

[@bikerdood1100]

Thanks

[@simonmarsden66]

Glad you did my request 😀 another great video

[@bikerdood1100]

Well had to cover them at some point really

[@oldbikedavey]

Douglas fore-and aft flat twins were highly regarded on the Western Front in WW.1, but that was a seriously challenging environment for just about anything....

[@bikerdood1100]

Definitely will do something focused on WW1 at some point

[@xt225]

Very enjoyable and informative.

[@bikerdood1100]

Thanks Like to mention Dr bikes occasionally, my grandfather was a Dr during WW11

[@rickh8380]

Great collection of old military bikes. Here in the States they probably used Harley Davidson's and Indians mostly? Thanks for sharing. Ride safe all. Cheers

[@bikerdood1100]

Yes around 70,000 Harley WLAs were produced not bad but BSA made 126,000 WM20s even some Made their way to American soil later via Canada

[@rickh8380]

@@bikerdood1100 Thank you so much for the information. Cheers

[@johnwood4448]

Thanks for yet another great and informative video.For those interested the book "An Illustrated Directory of Military Motorcycles" is a great resource,brilliantly illustrated with colour photos throughout and all for £10! Highly recommended 😉

[@bikerdood1100]

Thanks for that 👍🏻

[@Texmotodad]

Apart from the BSA, I think all the others here do not seem to have air filters. One would hope they had them in the field!

[@bikerdood1100]

Well it depends where they were deployed Really Certainly all desert machines were fitted with sand filters but I suppose many have been simply binned over the years.

[@mervynprice7009]

An interesting Choice. I think you missed a number of important machines from both Wars. The Triumph & Douglas from the Great War & the side valve 350 Royal Enfield used by many in the forces in the UK in the Second War, along with the small Excelsior & Wellbike. I am also not including the American motorcycles.

[@bikerdood1100]

Didn’t miss Saved Big difference

[@alvinplummer9308]

Great video can you video on the Ducati panther 600 tl

[@bikerdood1100]

Covered them previously but I think the belt drive Dukes need a stand alone video however

[@davidrochow9382]

I was hoping to see the R.E. Flying Flea on here. Oh well maybe next time.

[@bikerdood1100]

Oh there’s plenty of room for another video

[@bbunting799]

I used to own a 1941 Matchless 3GL

[@bikerdood1100]

Nice 👌

[@phillee9651]

bikes used by the post office would be nice , what happened to all those red bantams ..

[@bikerdood1100]

Ohh 🤔

[@tomtaylor6163]

I always figured the USA would have had the most bikes in the militaries? Especially with all the Harley 45s

[@bikerdood1100]

Well as I said that’s per head, so it’s a percentage of overall size. Even then they made 70,000 WL HDs BSA made 126,000 M20s A massive figure back then

[@Mike40M]

@@bikerdood1100 Norton 16H, slightly less at around 100,000.

[@richardandrews6754]

shame the bullet did not make your list. but nice vidio all the same

[@bikerdood1100]

Not a dr bike in numbers Except for in India of course

[@Suzukibandit444]

@@bikerdood1100 With 29,037 WDCO's (not named bullet) made, representing over half of the more than 55,000 varied World War Two twowheelers supplied by Redditch, i think it is rather a nice subtsantial number of motorcycles made. The other ones are ofcourse the WDC and RE. There are a lot of pictures withe the WDCO in use. On most pictures you will see the BSA and Matchless as they are in far greater numbers produced. I own a WDCO from 1944 and it is a great bike like all the one's in this vid. Another one that didn't make the list is the Ariel WNG. Very nice video on these great military motorcycles.