This was going to be a feature based on fibreglassing, as the mould is made, waxed with release agent and all ready to go. The resin and cloth are also in the workshop – then, looking at the kit, I thought: ‘It’s been a while, maybe I ought to practise on a scrap bit first, to see if I can still do it…’
Top and bottom of it is, I need to do a bit more practise before I create a seat base that will do the bike justice. In the way of these things, once word got out I had some cloth and resin another job or two arrived on the doorstep… literally, as I wasn’t in and a relative dropped off a seat unit fitted to a Montesa trials bike which was cracked and broken where the rear dampers fit on the frame.
Instead of the glass fibre work, what I did was review the project bike to see how it could be advanced for not a lot of cash outlay. This was the idea from the very start, to do a reasonable looking bike for as little as possible. The reason being there are more people who have next to no disposable income to spend on a classic than there are enthusiasts with ultra-deep pockets, which given the current pandemic crisis is even more poignant, and I wondered if it was still possible to put a bike together from autojumble searches. The answer is yes, but it is frustratingly difficult especially when autojumbles and shows – the traditional way to source bits – are being called off.
As this is being written, Kempton had the plug pulled the day before it was due to open… not by Mortons but by the local council. More shows and jumbles will no doubt go the same way, which means my autojumble searching has been curtailed for 2020 and the annoying thing is all the bits holding up my build were available at Stafford last October, but I didn’t pick them up when I should have.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der November 2020-Ausgabe von The Classic MotorCycle.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der November 2020-Ausgabe von The Classic MotorCycle.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Runs should be fun
The club run is an integral part of the old motorcycle scene. During 2020, a variation on the usual theme emerged, enabling people to ride in the company of like-minded souls.
Hybrid chicken
BSA Bantams come in many forms, and the ability to interchange parts between different models permits an almost endless number of variants.
Green WITH ENVY
Life aboard a 1950s 350cc British single is perhaps as good and as uncomplicated as it can get.
Worth the wait
Captivated by sight of one as a small boy, finally our man has the chance to try an NSU Max.And a ‘Spezial’ one at that…
The Motorcycle: DESIGN, ART AND DESIRE
The concluding part of a two-part feature, in which the history of motorcycle evolution is examined and a new book’s author interviewed.
Cream rises
There were several ‘star performers’ at Bonhams’ winter sale, as the choice machines achieved huge sums.
The Giant of Provence
With so few events to report from, it’s time to look back over a spectacular French event and look forward to its hopeful resumption.
Store cupboard special
A big box of presents? Must be Christmas! More deliveries keep the project on track.
By 1929, CJP Dodson was a bona fide top level road racer, pretty much unbeatable on the sand, too.
The diminutive Charlie Dodson was the last man to win a TT, the 1928 Senior, on a ‘flat-tank’ machine, then the next year became the first (and only) winner of a TT on a saddle tank Sunbeam, as well as recording the last ever success in the Island for the Marston maker.
Cassandra the Canadian Commando
After landing a new job and with time on his hands, a young man in Vancouver decided to restore a British motorcycle considerably older than him.
