News from the shed

A busy Southern Hemisphere winter in the shed is almost over. The weekends are bringing good spring riding weather. There have been a few changes. Mick's 1949 is slowly coming along but I suspect his attention has been on the new resident in his shed - an M100 Panther (see below). Les, a shed regular, has forsaken stationary motors and has his '49 D1 on the road. A few photos and word about his project here. Michael's CZ is just about ready for the road (she runs!) and his C11 is finished and running (did I mention his C11?). Jim's M20 is just about finished - electrical wiring going on as I write. Read a bit about his M20 here. Peter's 1961 D1 plunger is finished and a 1930s Ajay has taken its place. Jim (our resident consultant) has even bought a 1970s Jawa two speed. Well, it should have a full complement of gears but at the moment only two! Me? Lots to report. A big 600cc side valve 1954 BSA M21 caught my eye. Read all about it here. After all that it sounds like we've forgotten the Bantams. Not at all. The Bantams are getting out regularly and at least once a weekend we hear those magic words "I used to have one of them".

News on Mick's rigid is here. Click here for the link to the C11 projects and follow Michael's CZ project here . Les' Bantam here. Finally, someone in the shed has gone over to the Dark Side. Read about it and wonder how it got on this website! More to come soon.

Machine Dating? What bike do you have? When was it made?

Under the "Resources" section of the website you can find a comprehensive, printable, engine and frame number list. Click here to see the list. The BSA Owners Club of Great Britain site also has an excellent year-by-year listing of all BSA models and their engine and frame numbers.

Bantams by the Beach!

Bantams are excellent machines for weekend rides. Pictured here is my 1949 (foreground) and Peter's 1949. We rode about 60 kilometres on this day and stopped for this photo at Aldinga Beach in South Australia. One warning. Bantams attract crowds. Wherever you stop there will ALWAYS be an admirer with a their own Bantam story!

Our Restoration Code

We restore our bikes to ride. The guys in the shed crew reflect any typical group of restorers and have varying abilities, interests and resources. If you've spotted that my D7 has the wrong shocks or that the colour shade isn't quite right then you are probably correct. We're in this for the fun and none of our machines pretend to be concours class.

A brace of Bantams!

 

One of the most enjoyable Bantam activities is riding with friends. Synthetic two stroke oils have eliminated "fouled-plug syndrome" and well restored and maintained Bantams will reliably (but slowly) cover reasonably long distances on ride days. The four bike below are pictured in the town of Willunga in South Australia. The bikes are: 1954 D1 plunger, 1949 D1 rigid, 1956 D3 pivoting frame and 1960 D7 swing-arm.
While you don't need to stop to fix the fouled plugs you'll note that coffee and cake is a standard requirement!

 

There's been a cat in the shed!

Mick's new distraction is a lovely barn-fresh M100 Panther. It might not be a Bantam but it is sure a nice bike! We will follow the restoration on this site.