looking for a basket case

Message

Aladinsaneuk · #1 Post by **Aladinsaneuk** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 10:59 pm

my old man, ie father is probably my best mate

he turned 69 this year and is bored out of his brains - and having my mother as a wife is enough to drive anyone mad LOL

Now, he used to ride bikes a lot - and i mean a lot - basically everything from 1950 to 1977 he rode if it was british. He is a time served engineer and is a natural with a set of spanners.

so, I did a deal with my mother where I will buy a bike that needs restoring/rebuilding, and we have a purchase price budget of £2000

ideally I am looking for british, but would consider other bikes (no flat fours!)
(I have even considered a hardley moving son....)
Preferably a basket case, but even an old rat that needs total strip and rebuild would be good

if you know of anything suitable going, please let me know by PM

falcomunky · #2 Post by **falcomunky** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 5:36 am

Doesnt Gio have a basket case needing attention?...

Samray · #3 Post by **Samray** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 5:42 am

falcomunky wrote:Isnt Gio have a basket case needing attention?...

Gio · #4 Post by **Gio** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 8:26 am

falcomunky wrote:Doesnt Gio have a basket case needing attention?...

Indeed I do, I'm waiting for the nose cone, but 1 its not a jap or british so I doubt Pete's interested (oh and with the spare parts its now got I want more than 2k.)

D-Rider · #5 Post by **D-Rider** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 8:46 am

Gio wrote:
falcomunky wrote:Doesnt Gio have a basket case needing attention?...
Indeed I do, I'm waiting for the nose cone, but 1 its not a jap or british so I doubt Pete's interested (oh and with the spare parts its now got I want more than 2k.)

.... so there you have it:

One incomplete wreck.
Add a phoney "Made In Britain" sticker (he'll never notice - he's getting on a bit)
Compromise on the price - given that it IS an Incomplete Wreck.

.... and that's Pete's dad sorted

Aladinsaneuk · #6 Post by **Aladinsaneuk** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 10:00 am

Aladinsaneuk · #7 Post by **Aladinsaneuk** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 1:34 pm

Thanks for all the pointers

Fortunatley, I have found an old Francis Barnett that Gio rode and then broke in the 60s.... just joking mate!

but I have bought a FB 200 falcon for 250 drinking vouchers, that is almost complete - but does have the original log book etc

is coming from Norwich so easy enough to get to my parents place as well

D-Rider · #8 Post by **D-Rider** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 1:55 pm

Aladinsaneuk wrote:Thanks for all the pointers

Fortunatley, I have found an old Francis Barnett that Gio rode and then broke in the 60s.... just joking mate!

but I have bought a FB 200 falcon for 250 drinking vouchers, that is almost complete - but does have the original log book etc

is coming from Norwich so easy enough to get to my parents place as well

A Fanny-B Falco !!

All the way from Norwich for £250 .... Sale Of The Century

Viking · #9 Post by **Viking** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 12:08 am

I would suggest my brother's Katana 750, as it hasn't run in years.

Damned Suzuki and their shite electrics...

Gio · #10 Post by **Gio** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 5:20 am

Aladinsaneuk wrote:Thanks for all the pointers

Fortunatley, I have found an old Francis Barnett that Gio rode and then broke in the 60s.... just joking mate!

but I have bought a FB 200 falcon for 250 drinking vouchers, that is almost complete - but does have the original log book etc

is coming from Norwich so easy enough to get to my parents place as well

Stick some pics up when you get it, see if I remember it

Aladinsaneuk · #11 Post by **Aladinsaneuk** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 8:33 pm

katana's can make serious money....

seriously serious money if complete and/or mint

Pierre · #12 Post by **Pierre** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 10:20 pm

If anyones still looking for a project for the winter my dad has a piece of shit Suzuki GS750 in bits

Lots of chroming and powercoating done, but the engine rattles. Just needs some leather in the oil

HowardQ · #13 Post by **HowardQ** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 11:10 pm

I rode a Franny Barnet Falcon 200 in the sixties, my mate's dad owned one, (Please note DR there is a difference between a Franny and a Fanny!

). It was a bit like an up market BSA Bantam 175, but the Beeza always seemed to be more reliable then.
Fortunately I never owned an FB. The price of this looks reasonable, but I regularly cringe when I see old bikes advertised, that nobody would have been seen dead on in the 60's, and fetching silly money now. Many of them were dogs then so I hate to think what they might be like now. Spares were sometimes difficult in those days, can't imagine what it could be like now. I suppose it depends what you want them for, if you want to spend an age rebuilding then use as a very occasional runner, or to show, OK.
If you want to ride them on today's roads, very different.
My recollection is of a worn out right leg trying to start them, adding two stoke oil at the petrol station and shaking the thing like mad, to try and mix it, then regular stops at the side of the road to clear oiled plugs with a well used oily rag starting 5 mins later. Then there's the seizures, blown cranks etc..
There was one good thing about 60s Brit 2-strokes, they did not leak as much oil as the 4-strokes.

If you go for one of the more popular and higher performance 4-stroke bikes, there are usually specialists making spares at a price, and the brakes and power make them reasonable to use now, then again you will pay much more for Nortons, Triumphs and Beezas.
I hope the Franny works out for you and your dad Pete, I reeeeally do, but I just don't look back on 'em with rose tinted specs.
As I noted in another thread a few days ago about my previous bikes, back in the 70's, I bought a 1959 Tiger 110 650 Twin, that I hoped I could use for work after a rebuild. Spent a fortune, made it look nice, but was never reliable enough to go very far on, certainly not the ten mile round trip to the local steel works on 3 shifts!
My fondest memory of the T110, was trying to find a "missing" rocker inspection cover at 10:30 at night, with the right leg of my jeans holding more oil than the oil tank. Using the headlight with an almost flat 6 volt battery didn't help me find it either, as the recent totally replaced charging system had reverted back to standard mode.
I would go for a 70s or 80s Jap bike that has been looked after. Even 90s CBR1000Fs like my old tank start at less than a grand for something half decent. Even later ones like mine will not fetch more than about £1500 private and are brilliantly well put together.
Sorry for being negative Pete, but been there, done that and suffered!
Still got the oily T shirts.
Good luck mate

Viking · #14 Post by **Viking** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 11:18 pm

Aladinsaneuk wrote:katana's can make serious money....
seriously serious money if complete and/or mint

It's complete, with stock exhausts and everything. He's added an oil cooler to it, and that's about the extent of the modifications. Needs a good clean and polish, but otherwise it seems complete.

Dad has a Katana 1100 that he's half thinking of selling, too.

No, I'm not telling you where they live. I'm not that stupid.