In 1965, the newly formed Royal Corps of Transport, who took over the responsibility from army transportation, issued a requirement for a motorcycle to replace its ageing fleet of mainly BSA M20 and Matchless G3/L machines.
BSA submitted four B40s built to army specifications for evaluation by the Fighting Vehicles Research and Development Establishment near Chertsey, Surrey.
Triumph also submitted four 500 cc machines.
Both types had major defects and modified versions were submitted for further evaluation.
After an 10,00 mile reliability test, an order was placed for 2,000 B40s, 880 of these being destined for the BAOR.
The initial order was delivered in 1967 and further machines supplied until 1970.

Part of the army specification was that the machine should have a butterfly carburettor as they were concerned that a carb with a slide throttle may stick open in adverse conditions.
Although a Solex carburettor was fitted to the machine displayed at the 1966 Earls Court motorcycle show, production models used an Amal 398 butterfly carb, which was usually fitted to stationary engines.
This carb restricted engine performance.

Air and oil filtration was upgraded for the WD machines, a large paper air filter was fitted behind the left-hand side panel.
This necessitated the battery to be moved to a new carrier between oil tank and engine.
A fibre glass cover protected the battery.
An external Vokes oil filter was fitted on a bracket above the primary chaincase.

The machine was built around an all-welded frame derived from the C15 competition machines.
Heavy duty front forks and quickly-detachable wheels were fitted with 7" brakes front and rear.
Frames were fitted to both sides of the rear wheel to accommodate panniers.
The rear chain was fully enclosed and a 3.5 gallon tank fitted.
Chrome parts were dull-chromed to reduce reflectability and paintwork was "deep bronze green".

In total, around 3,000 machines were supplied to the British Military including 141 to the RAF and 34 to the Royal Navy.

Denmark
The Royal Danish Army ordered an initial batch of 400 machines in 1967 to replace their fleet of Nimbus Model C machines.
Further machines were ordered in 1969 and 1970, bringing the total number purchased to 1,100.
The machines had rear mudguard stays fitted, which distinguish them from the UK model.
Used for escort and messenger duties they were replaced in 1980 with Yamaha DT250MX machines.
In 1965, the newly formed Royal Corps of Transport, who took over the responsibility from army transportation, issued a requirement for a motorcycle to replace its ageing fleet of mainly BSA M20 and Matchless G3/L machines. BSA submitted four B40s built to army specifications for evaluation by the Fighting Vehicles Research and Development Establishment near Chertsey, Surrey. Triumph also submitted four 500 cc machines. Both types had major defects and modified versions were submitted for further evaluation. After an 10,00 mile reliability test, an order was placed for 2,000 B40s, 880 of these being destined for the BAOR. The initial order was delivered in 1967 and further machines supplied until 1970.
Part of the army specification was that the machine should have a butterfly carburettor as they were concerned that a carb with a slide throttle may stick open in adverse conditions. Although a Solex carburettor was fitted to the machine displayed at the 1966 Earls Court motorcycle show, production models used an Amal 398 butterfly carb, which was usually fitted to stationary engines. This carb restricted engine performance.
Air and oil filtration was upgraded for the WD machines, a large paper air filter was fitted behind the left-hand side panel. This necessitated the battery to be moved to a new carrier between oil tank and engine. A fibre glass cover protected the battery. An external Vokes oil filter was fitted on a bracket above the primary chaincase.
The machine was built around an all-welded frame derived from the C15 competition machines. Heavy duty front forks and quickly-detachable wheels were fitted with 7" brakes front and rear. Frames were fitted to both sides of the rear wheel to accommodate panniers. The rear chain was fully enclosed and a 3.5 gallon tank fitted. Chrome parts were dull-chromed to reduce reflectability and paintwork was "deep bronze green".
In total, around 3,000 machines were supplied to the British Military including 141 to the RAF and 34 to the Royal Navy.
Denmark
The Royal Danish Army ordered an initial batch of 400 machines in 1967 to replace their fleet of Nimbus Model C machines. Further machines were ordered in 1969 and 1970, bringing the total number purchased to 1,100. The machines had rear mudguard stays fitted, which distinguish them from the UK model. Used for escort and messenger duties they were replaced in 1980 with Yamaha DT250MX machines.
BSA B40