My intention was to start this toward the end of the year as a winter project, but I decided to at least get it stripped down earlier to see just how much work will be needed to rebuild.
It's a 1956 OSSA 125B, - or as my wife refers to it 'that bloody heap of rust'.
Clickable images (if you're keen to see the gory details):
During the strip-down I discovered that, in the main, it's not as bad overall as I first thought. Under the rust there's some good metal left to work with and so therefore less to replace or fabricate.
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Strip-down complete.
I think there's too probably too much work involved in restoring the wheels so I'm investigating getting new rims/spokes and probably having the latter re-laced by a professional.
Brake drums have been dismantled and cleaned up.
Front & rear fenders being prepared.
Chain guard preparation.
A bit of a spruce up of the engine casing.
Working on a bike that's this old is way out of my experience, so any advice/suggestions from those who've done it before will be most welcome.
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
Take your time, don't bodge anything (or it will bite you on the bum!), think safety first and keep everything as original as possible. Take plenty of photographs as you proceed, as before and after pics are an absolute must. Do the work in sections and complete each section before starting another, or you will end up with several boxes of bits. Enjoy!
Will send you a messenger Ralphy.
Looking forward to seeing this progress Ralph, I do like good restoration!
F.T.F.A.
^^^ this ^^^ Keep posting updates!Originally Posted by magirus
Looking forward to seeing this progress Ralph, I do like good restoration!
That looks like an interesting challenge Ralph.
I think that interesting lightweights can be fun but professional outsourcing costs (such as chroming/painting/wheel building etc) are much the same for a Bantam as they are for a Gold Star (well, almost!).
Look for an owners forum group or British two stroke club etc as manufacturer spares are probably a little thin on the ground. I always fancied an Impala back in the day but went for a Ducati.
Best thing I ever bought was a hydraulic work bench as nothing is worse than crawling around on the floor!
That looks a lot of fun.
Looking forward to watching this progress
Yes, looking forward to this.
Just one question if I may, why this one? Did you just happen on it and fancy the challenge, is there a connection, or something else?
Similar thoughts. Much of the added value is from the time you spend stripping, cleaning, sourcing, reassembling, fettling and tuning the bike. Great as a challenge and something to cut your teeth on but there are other more mainstream bikes that may find a market when you finally decide to move it on. I have had a few vintage bikes from 1940’S to 80’s but I would really like something much older, possibly a 100 year old flat tanker.
My current favourite - 80 years old next year
Last edited by Gurmot; 28th October 2020 at 23:46.
Birth year bike.
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
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