Help and Advice

Hi,

I have been reading some of the messages recently regarding building a Bantam Racer from scratch - I have had really helpful advice from the site members and recommend heading their advice.

I thought it might help anyone contemplating a new build if I give my experience of the process so far !!

Firstly, if I was not able to tig and bronze weld, have access to a lathe and drilling machine, etc, I dont think I would have contemplated starting.
Goodness knows how much it would cost if I had to pay someone to do all the machining, welding and fabrication, etc.
Luckily I can do all that after work.

I have had a new set of crank wheels made for my engine and new wheels built - I think these are probably the single biggest costs next to getting a barrel and head sorted - the costs are RISING each day !!

The finished cost will still be good, ending up with a competitive road racer hopefully !

The further you get into the build, the more parts you need so that you can plan the next bit, and so it goes on....and on....

It gives me a huge amount of pleasure building bikes - but you will ALWAYS need TIME, MONEY and be prepared to listen to GOOD ADVICE.

Hope this may help ?

Jon

Mate I'm watching you with interest. Like you, I am interested in a roadbike/ clubman type thing but locating gears is almost impossible when thinking close ratio. (At least here in Australia it is, even ebay is slim pickings). Have you or anyone heard of alternative gear groups which might transfer in adequately?

Currently I am balancing between building a couple of Villiers E9 motors and my Bantam 150, procuring parts as the come along. Whichever is finished first will see the bike on the road, but ultimately a Beeza powerplant is the goal.

A thread and gallery for those purely, road/cafe/clubman orientated might be useful. What do you think?