I grouped these three separate ads together for one simple reason. They are all from the same collection in Apache Junction, AZ., the Hamilton Triumph Motorcycle Museum. I have seen this collection and all the bikes in it show really well.
Listed in order of ad ending soonest:
1941 Norton WD 16H
Norton produced about 100,000 WD 16H models for the British army. A 490 CC side valve motor made this an incredibly popular dispatch bike which could be a wide variety of colors depending on when it was ordered by the War Department. Production of the WD 16H lasted from 1936 to 1945.
This particular bike is listed as ‘accurately restored but has an issue with the motor number’. The backstory and much more history is available in the listing. Current price is $3,900 with reserve not met in an auction that ends Monday, January 16th
1944 Triumph 3 HW
Triumph came mostly late to the war effort because their Coventry plant was bombed out completely in 1940. Not only were all the motorcycles, tooling and parts lost, but all engineering data and blueprints were gone as well. It was several years until Triumph resumed production at Meriden with a 350 CC overhead valve single.
I have a single source (which I never fully trust) that says Triumph made a 350 CC twin, the 3TW for the War Department which was utterly destroyed in the air raid and that Triumph came back with the well known single towards the end of the war.
This Triumph 3 HW was one of a great many sent to occupied/friendly zones for service. This one went to India and was transferred to the Indian Army in 1947. It was sold into private hands and consequently is not completely correct. It is also not running. The listing has a very complete backstory. Current price is $2,275 with reserve not met in an auction that ends Tuesday, January 17th
1942 BSA WM20
The BSA WM20 was initially criticized for unreliability issues but evolved into a machine that was considered extremely reliable. So much so that it continued in service in the British Army into the 1960’s. Over 125,000 of the 496 CC side valve units were sold to the British Armed Forces.
This BSA is listed as restored 6 years ago, and not started since. Current price is $3,047 with reserve not met in an auction that ends Wednesday, January 18th
If any of our readers are really interested in any of these bikes I would be happy to ‘jump on the grenade’ and go to AJ and take a look for you. Just leave a comment.
Sources:
Wikipedia Norton WD
Classic Motorcycle Triumph 3HW
Wikipedia BSA M20