rewdco

You've done a fantastic job Steve!

Very nice repair, very clever! 👍

(Duplicated) frame number 4818 was despatched from the Redditch factory on 18/09/1943 to the War Office in Crystal Palace (which was obviously a depot). Jan

166 is by far the earliest "true engine number" in the Register. They certainly didn't use the "first in first out" principle at the Royal Enfield factory, otherwise it would have been fitted to an earlier frame. Maybe the very first batch of engines didn't have the typical V prefix? Unfortunately I don't have enough of these early numbers in the Register in order to see a pattern... Jan

Yes, you surely collected the Morris in style! Love it!

Tourist Trophy? 😊

De coloribus et de gustibus non est disputandum! 😁

I've just re-read your post which explains the origin of the engine, ah, yes! Got it now! No BEF connection, that was only wishful thinking on my behalf... 😐 😁

I've seen that picture before Ron! Wonder when it was published... Does anybody know? Anyway, I've dug a bit deeper in my archives. Found this RAOC Receipt Card for contract C/8331: It looks as if census numbers C4461718 - C4461741 had been allotted. But these numbers have been crossed out... because the Triumph factory was destroyed during the Coventry Blitz before anything had been delivered...? It must have taken some time to set up a new factory in Meriden. And there must have been a plan to build these bikes from the remaining parts. A new batch of 50 census numbers was created: C4854130 - C4854179. According to the front of this card, Chilwell received 12 bikes, at the back they mention 10 deliveries, on 1/12/42 (on "day 322", which was a weird day counting system that Chilwell was using). Ten or twelve bikes instead of fifty... Maybe that's all they could rescue from the bombed factory? And by late 1942 all WD motorcycles had "universal" pannier frames, metal frame pillion seats, 6" headlight with blackout mask, convoy tail lamp... This would explain the setup of the bike in the first picture of this thread, and also the picture from Ron's previous post... but that bike seems to have a pair of modified pannier frames and no pillion seat. I bet the bike in the first picture has also got these modified pannier frames, but we can't see them through the pannier bags... More research is needed here... Also about the fact that this engine was discovered in France. It definitely can't have been one of the two test bikes that had been sent to the BEF, that's for sure. But it's a fascinating project nevertheless!

I know that O&M is considered as "the Bible", but here they have it wrong Ron. No doubt this assumption was based on the picture above, which was definitely not taken back in 1940. Sometimes the Gods have it wrong... 😁

I'm afraid that I can't follow you Ron... According to O&M probably only 10 of the 50 bikes from contract C/8331 were produced before the Coventry Blitz that destroyed the factory. These "production" bikes were definitely too late to have been sent to France with the BEF... The two bikes that were sent to France with the BEF came from contract C/8020. O&M give frame number F1965 and engine number E1742 for the first bike, numbers of the second bike are unknown. It would be interesting to know the engine number of this French find!

Well, the second prototype was sent back and forth several times to the factory, the last time was in August 1942. Looks like the pannier frame picture dates from then. Definitely no pannier frames, pillion seat and blackout mask in 1940!

But that's a 1942 picture Ron! Pannier frames, metal frame pillion seat, blackout mask... The bike surely didn't look like that in 1940.

You mean the timing cover as in the picture below Ron?

I'm in awe! Fantastic project! As you may know, I have done a lot of research on the military lightweights. In early 1940, Enfield and Triumph both delivered two experimental lightweights to the B.E.F. in France, for trial. The Triumph contract number was C/6523 (demand date 8/3/40), the Royal Enfield contract number was C/6718 (demand date 1/4/1940). The exact delivery date and the exact frame numbers and census numbers are unfortunately unknown. But I wonder if these parts that have been found in France may have been the remains of one of these Triumphs...?

I'm sitting on the tip of my chair Ron! 😃

I'm afraid that I can't help you with the forks Ron, but this looks like an interesting project! I'd love to read more about it!

This is an engine from October 1939. Jan

Thanks Jiri! First time that I see a genuine military French rear numberplate on a WD/CO. Here are a few more, with close numbers... The numbers on your engine are these: - RL 386 is a French rebuild marking. Not sure what it means though... - C/S1546 is the "contract number" - M426 is the military "acceptance marking" - 24675 is the "true engine number" (the number below the cylinder base is the "duplicated frame number". Jan

It seems to be a French thing Chris... These two also come from France:

Hi Jiri, Ah, France! I have a theory that the Free French Forces, under the command of General De Gaulle, received a batch of a few hundred WD/CO motorcycles from contract C/12425 prior to the invasion of France on 6 June 1944. After the war, the remaining motorcycles from this batch were transferred to the post war French Army. A second batch was soon added. This second batch were all contract S/1546 bikes. My “educated guess” is that first and second batch together counted approximately 2.000 motorcycles. They were in use until the late 1950’s, making them the last WD Enfields in active service. Your two bikes come from the second batch.I've also added two pictures of these French bikes. In the first picture the letters “TOA” can be seen, stencilled on the front mudguard. This is the abbreviation of “Troupes d’occupation en Allemagne”, the French equivalent of the BAOR (British Army of the Rhine).Different sources have also confirmed that the French Army motorcycle engines were rebuilt by CEMEC (Centre d’Etudes de Moteurs à Explosion et à Combustion). This “company” was established in 1948, to rebuild the ex-German-army BMWs for the French police forces. Some French motorcycles were rebuilt by the “Etablissement general du materiel du Mans”, a French Army workshop close to the Le Mans circuit. Another “company”, called SNECMA (Société Nationale d’Etude et de Construction de Moteurs d’Aviation), was specialised in the rebuild of aircraft engines, but it appears that they too have done a lot of WD/CO engine and gearbox rebuilds for the French Army. On the French Army bikes there are usually several "rebuild markings". Please feel free to add some pictures of the markings / stampings on your engine Jiri! 😃 Regards, Jan

Hello Jiri, Thanks for the details of these bikes, I will add this to the Register. In which country do you live? I can also give you this information: your engines and your frames all come from contract S/1546 bikes. This was a contract for 5000 WD/CO motorcycles, frame numbers for this contract were 19827 - 24826. The production of contract S/1546 started in June 1944 and lasted until May 1945. - Your engine with "duplicated frame number" 21672 was despatched from the Redditch factory on 29/9/44, destination "War Office - Handsworth". The military census number (on the petrol tank) was C5164012. - Your frame with frame number 22169 was despatched from the Redditch factory on 25/10/44, destination "War Office - Batley". The military census number (on the petrol tank) was C5164509. - Your engine with "duplicated frame number" 23604 was despatched from the Redditch factory on 20/1/45, destination "War Office - Todmorden". The military census number (on the petrol tank) was C5165944. - Your frame with frame number 22331 (***) was despatched from the Redditch factory on 2/11/44, destination "War Office - Batley". The military census number (on the petrol tank) was C5164671. (***) Note on frame number 22331: this frame number has obviously been tampered with. An "M" prefix is not unusual for WD/CO frame numbers (see also frame number 22169), but here the M is preceded by an "I" and a strange symbol. And the M has been stamped over. The complete frame number (223310) is also too long, it should only have 5 characters. My guess is that the last "0" has been added later. There is also a second number (36564) added, this is not a Royal Enfield WD/CO frame number... As for your original question: this is the transfer you need (but please cut off the lines in front of and at the end of the Royal Enfield text): https://classictransfers.co.uk/product/royal-enfield-6920-129x9mm/ Royal Enfield also used transfers for the census numbers, unfortunately the correct transfers for these Royal Enfield census numbers are not commercially available. But I have made up the complete set of numbers for Axholme Signs to make low tack stencils, so that you can apply the correct style to your Royal Enfield. You can find these low tack stencils here: https://www.axholmesigns.co.uk/product-page/pair-of-royal-enfield-census-numebers Regards, Jan

Hi Jiri, I'm keeping a Register for the WD Enfields. Please send me a PM with some pictures of the frame and engine numbers, then this will enable me to tell you the despatch date of your bike. I can also calculate the census number for the petrol tank, the one that you're using now is not for a Royal Enfield. Regards, Jan

You're doing a fantastic job Steve! 👍

This is a Royal Enfield (works photograph).