IT all started in April 1998 when, approaching my 40th birthday and the corresponding crisis, I decided I had to do something. Having been told by the wife in no uncertain terms that I was not allowed to entertain a mistress, I decided that it was safer to re-enter the British bike world!
Back in the late 70s I had cut my teeth on an ancient NSU Quickly, followed by a 175 BSA Bantam (in fact two Bantams - one D7 rolling chassis and one D14/4 without a back wheel - put the two together and I was on the road!). After the Bantam came a BSA B25SS Gold Star (ha!), which I eventually swapped for a CZ 2 50...

Financial constraints kept me off bikes for a year, then starting a real job led to an MZ 150 (a new one!). In 1984 I bought a Triumph T140E Bonneville with a dismantled top end and a dodgy 2 into 1 exhaust. I changed the rings as it 'was burning a bit of oil' before it was dismantled, and found it smoked like a Bantam on 15 to 1, and wouldn't rev over 4000. Further investigation (removing the air filters) showed it to be running rich. The problem solved itself when the 2 into 1 spat out its baffle on a run down to Somerset on the A303, resulting in a much leaner mixture and proper running. So put on a standard exhaust and ... no problems.

People say that the T140E was reliable, and mine was superb, with no oil leaks, easy starting and no problems. I suspect that the electronic ignition had a major role to play, as once properly set up it was fit and forget.
Back to April 1998. Looking through all the available for?sale ads for a few months didn't uncover anything of interest. Any running bike seemed to be over £2000, and I didn't want to spend that much all at once. So this dictated a project. I decided on a Triumph twin, unit construction, post 1968.
I phoned round the classic bike dealers, asking if they had any basket cases. Motorcycle Revival in Sutton had just taken in a 1970 Bonneville in large lumps. So it was up off to Sutton one Saturday morning to inspect to goods. Hmmmm - one frame with engine, matching numbers, forks, oil and petrol tanks, side panel and battery carrier all there. Jap chromed mudguards, two wheels; front early non-flanged 8" hub with SLS brake, rear OK.

It all looked as if it had been dry stored in a barn, but at £7001 decided it was a good basis for a restoration project.
Having got the bike (well almost a bike) home, I had to reroof the garage to stop the rain getting in. Workshop manual, parts book and handbook were bought from Merlin Books and the Rare Spares `Unit 650 - Pre OIF' parts list studied. l decided to build up a rolling chassis and then tackle the engine.
First job was to strip the chassis down, and I sent off the frame, oil tank and side panel for sand blasting and powder coating in black. The fork sliders and various brackets, battery carrier, etc were stripped by hand and re-painted using Smoothrite. New fork stanchions, bushes, springs, shuttle valves and swinging arm bearings and spindle were ordered from Rare Spares and I started to assemble the rolling chassis. An old box was pressed into service as a bike stand, giving a comfortable working height.

I decided to use stainless mudguards (Rare Spares again) as I liked the look of them and did not want the inevitable decay of painted items.
With the mudguards, oil tank, forks, new stands, new wiring harness and sundry other bits and bobs installed on the frame, it was starting to look like a bike. I ordered new spokes, got a secondhand TLS hub from Rockerbox in Wrecclesham and rebuilt both wheels. I also got a replacement back plate, but while it was a 1968 plate it had the 1969/70 bell crank levers. Getting the correct 1968 operating levers was the only thing that I had a problem with.
I eventually had to order BSA parts from C&D! New handlebars, headlight and shrouds, levers, gaiters and instrument bracket were installed, the speedo (a wiggly worn NVT one) was rebuilt as a tachometer and a secondhand, correctly black faced speedo bought from Rockerbox. With the wheels in I had a rolling chassis, so I turned my attentions to the engine.

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