I got the bike as part payment for doing some work (damp proofing) on a guys house. It had been sitting in a shed for 23 years. By the time i finished the job it worked out i paid £260 for it.
i started on the build as soon as i got it home, stripping the seat, tank and headlight off (which i sold for £130 on Ebay). I like the look of Honda cafe racers but wanted to build something different and something low (as am only 5ft 7″). I made struts out of stainless bar that i found in a metal skip around the corner from me, but due to how low the back was …..the front was up in the air. So i push the forks up into the yokes to level the bike out , but lost the travel on the forks, so out come the saw. I cut roughly 28mm from the back of the headstock and it took a couples cuts to get the forks to sit back down right.
The petrol tank BSA C15 (which i had hanging up in the garage as wall art) was placed on the frame, to me it looked right straight away and with a few cuts, it sat on the frame.
The oil tank is 2 stainless fire extinguishers that i cut in half and welded the 2 bottoms together, but before i did this i used 1 extinguisher to make the rear seat unit. Putting some flat sheet metal on the floor and placing the extinguisher on top, then I took another piece of flat metal sheet and i wrapped it around the extinguisher ….holding the sheet with my feet and knees and spot welded the 2 sheets together. The petrol tank has 2 ribs running down the tank, so i took time to build up welds and use a grinder to shape them on the rear unit. The seat was covered by a good mate (Custom coach trimming) and the payment was …£40 and to mention him if it got into a magazine.
The wheels are Kawasaki Z750 wheels which i paid £30 for and also pick up the foot pegs at the same scrap yard for £20 (due to the rough paint). I filed off all the writing from the spokes to give it a clean look. The tyres were given to me from a neighbour who was cleaning out his dads shed after he went into a home.
I painted the bike in my garage using some old VW golf 2k paint that i had and added a black striped down the middle of the 2 ribs in the tank and seat unit.
The number plate, I chain drilled the numbers and letters out and used a file to make good, I mounted this on a stainless plate holder that i made, again stainless from the scrap bin.
The carbs, it had original PD carbs…but was playing up (couldn’t get the float needle to shut the fuel off). I was telling a mate about this in his MOT station, when a guy (who’s bike was being MOTed ) said he had some carbs for a Honda, but couldn’t get them to work on his bike. So after a chat , I followed him home and looked for the carbs. Once he found them, he said “Take them and try them to see if they work” to which i said “Look you don’t know me, have £100 as a deposit and we can take about them after”. He then said “give me £150, as am not sure they any good” ….well that was me straight out of there before he could have second thoughts. I got new needles and jets, she fire up first kick.
All the bolts are stainless which i got when i did the Triumph.
This is just a hobby for me, but if a offer turned up to do bike building full time ……..i may think about.
Thank you for looking.
James Rogers