and was first registered on 22nd April 1977. It had changed hands two or three times before I bought it in December 1985 but was still registered with the first owner and had not been ridden for many years.
When I bought it there were many parts missing but what was left seemed to be in reasonably good condition apart from heavy oxidisation of the aluminium parts and rust on the chrome. Missing parts included most of the gearbox internals, outer and inner gearbox cases, exhaust system, mudguard stays and battery. Recorded mileage was 01912 and there was a letter from a local dealer, Cromwell Motorcycles (who had been one of the previous owners), stating that this was true to the best of their knowledge. This letter also contained the story of the "Spot the Ball" competition.
The rebuilding started within days, the aim being to restore it for use rather than for looking at or "showing" purposes. I was looking forward to the challenge of rebuilding the bike but I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it once completed, as I had not owned a bike for eight years.
It was at this point that I made my first mistake. I should have started taking photographs straight away, then I would have had a better record of the work carried out. Unfortunately I was too eager to get started and the opportunity was lost and I only have pictures of the completed work.
With so much corrosion I decided to strip the whole bike and rebuild it from the ground up, cleaning, painting, plating and replacing parts as needed. The frame was still in good condition and only needed cleaning. Other painted parts that required treatment were swinging arm, engine plates, centre/side stands and fork yokes. All these parts were painted with Hammerite (either Smooth Black or Hammered Silver).
The engine was stripped and rebuilt with some interesting findings along the way. The cylinder head and barrel had not been removed from new but when I took it apart I found that the inner valve springs and a piston ring were missing (I wonder how many other bikes left the factory in this state!)
Both the engine and gearbox were rebuilt to completely standard specification with the only exception being the extensive use of stainless steel nuts, bolts and fixings.
The original wheel rims were discarded and new chrome rims were built onto the original hubs. The Dunlop TT100 tyres that were fitted had perished walls and were replaced with an Avon Roadrunner at the rear and an Avon F2 on the front.
All the corroded chrome was stripped and replated and a new exhaust system purchased. This was the second mistake. I should have bought the reverse cone silencers (as fitted to the MK1 Roadster) and the exhaust system without the balance pipe at the front. The former because they sound and look better and the latter so that the system can be aligned properly.
The project took about a year and a half to complete and the bike has now covered about 3500 miles. The bike has been stored for the last 2/3 years but will return to the road soon when commitments allow.
16th April 2000