My top 10 tips for completing a restoration.

My top 10 tips for completing a restoration.

1/ Have in your mind a clear vision of what you want to do, be it a show bike or tidy run around a clear vision of what you want to achieve will impact each decision you make.

2/ Join a club or group for the model you are restoring. You will see similar machines, get tips and advice and also make some new friends!

3/ Ebay is a great place to search for parts (also try different countries ebay sites), but also look at where the bike was popular and look for shops in that country as spares will be more plentiful in countries that sold lots of bikes.

4/ If you are going for a factory style restoration, all bikes will need lots of work so a £400 nail really has the same worth as a £900 runner as they will both need similar amounts of money spending on them.

5/ Strip the bike down in groups of parts or sub assembly’s and store all the appropriate parts in storage boxes. 

6/ Do all the power coating or zinc plating in one batch. Many painters or platers will have a minimum charge or batch price, so if you forget something like a side stand you will need to make minimum charge again to get it painted.

7/ Get the frame powder coated ASAP, once this is done you are always in the re-build process and physiologically this is good!

8/ Always do a dry assembly or test assembly before mounting a component properly, there is nothing worse than fighting to fit something with greasy bolts that won’t line up or getting a cable routed the wrong side of something.

9/ Take lots of pictures, buy all the owner’s manuals, workshop manuals and parts books you can find so you can double and triple check cable routing and decal placements.

10/ If you feel a job is to big, don't be afraid to ask for help or employ an expert!

The last thing, so technically number 11 is just to have fun and enjoy doing it!