BSA Bantam D1 Restoration

The frame and headstock came back from the painters looking good.
I did replace the front mudguard struts with new ones, the originals being too rusted to be worth saving.

Replacing the perished tyres was a problem. The originals would have been Avon but Avon no longer make the correct profile. However, Asian produced tyres were made in the correct profile. I reluctantly went for the Asian tyres so that the appearence of the bike was correct, if a little unpatriotic. Lord Montagu, at his Beaulieu National Motor Museum, has on the edge of his estate a tyre company, I suppose to service his magnificent collection of vintage cars and bikes. This was the only place I could find the corret Bantam size tyres.
They did look good when fitted.

The original speedo was dismantled, cleaned and reassembled with a new cable. The original rubber bulb horn was amazingly in good condition and worked well although I wouldn't like to have to use it in anger and expect a motorist to hear it.

One item which was missing on the bike was the central toolbox. The very early Bantams had a two screw toolbox for which a replacement was very difficult to find. Plenty of one screw boxes, but eventually, after visiting many auto-jumbles I found an early two hole version.