Motorcycles

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

As we have a specific forum for vehicle restorations I thought I would share a couple of mine.  First up is the Royal Enfield GL30, a 1930 single cylinder 350, twin port model.  I bought it as restored from a dealer in Denmark but a couple of short local runs, the last of which ended in a dead engine forced me to investigate.  I discovered that basically the bike had undergone an all over shot blasting followed by a paint job and new exhaust to give it some bling.  The carb was wrong and many other components were looking very suspect.  I sent it to Robin James for a full strip down and evaluation.  Internally it was a total disaster.  The fabricated crankshaft was loose, the bore and piston was scored, the oil pump barely worked and many parts were simply badly worn.  The valves were almost seized in the scored guides and the head was broken in way of the valve guides.  One valve had no tappet fitted to it and both valves had a makeshift and loose adjusting screw fitted to the bottom of the pushrods.

The restoration was very expensive as many parts had to be hand made but the dealer was very supportive and gave me a brand new unused piston and barrel that he just happened to have in stock.  I commissioned Amal to make me a new original pattern carb, which they did for me.  When I got the bike back I changed the twist grip back to the original lever throttle after fitting an original type throttle and choke combined lever, found a chap in Australia to make me a leather tool bag, fitted new copper fuel pipes that I made in the ship’s workshop, and a few other bits and pieces.  It now works fine and has attended a few 40’s weekends.  Of course my wife’s comment after spending far more than I paid for the bike on the remedial work was “So is it now worth more than it was?”.  “Erm, no dear”

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

A beautiful machine,well done for getting it back to it’s standard form. I have one of the last of the old style (2007) Royal Enfield 500cc Bullets. Plugs, points and a carb, nothing electronic ! With my legs no longer what they were and it being kick start I have had to go for an electric start meteor to continue riding, not the way I would have chosen to go but, ah well, Noel.

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

A good friend of mine in his 70’s has now decided he has had enough of jumping up and down on a BSA B31 kick start lever and has bought himself a Royal Enfield Continental GT 535.  Best thing he ever did!

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