[joe c]

my first bike was a 68 bonneville. it had been piston seized. there was an inch of water in one cyl. and it was horribly undercarbed. it needed everything. didnt even have a seat. i bought it for 650 bucks. it had the manual. i made alot of mistakes. but i had mike o to help me and a great british shop that had everything i needed. it took about 2-3 years of saving and working on it to get it going. i rebuilt the top end. first time it ran, seized a big end bearing an a rod. pulled it all apart again. (i got pretty good at ripping that thing down) anyway, i kept at it cuz it was the bike i wanted. and it was great to get it revived and running again. it wasnt in too much worse condition than what you have there. it would have definitely been easier to buy something running and ride it. but i learned alot. good luck whatever you do. dont get discouraged. and find someone who knows what youre doing. it will make a huge difference.

jc

"tex, if your bikes a cheater, its not a very good one"

 

[joe c]

hey, when i got my triumph, i didnt even know it had whitworth on it! i just got it cause it looked simple and i figured i could make the engine run. budget in my opinion is nothing to consider as long as you have time. if it cost 3k over a year or 2, who cares. pull the motor down, work on that. get the head done. bore it the next month. buy carbs the following. you can make plenty of progress if youre not in a hurry. youll have plenty to take apart, learn about, and find. like i said, finding a good shop or mentor will help you avoid alot of problems. especially one that specializes in what youre working on. places dont like to work on old bikes. but british, italian, and bmws are easy shops to find. the japanese shops not so easy. if i had known to look for certain things, i could have saved the trouble of tearing down the bottom end of my motor to do big end bearings. but i just didnt know. but, i learned how to do it. if you like that bike for some reason, stick with it. if you buy one already running, how wil you know what to fix when it stops running on the way home one night?

on the other hand, if youre not willing to take 2 years to build the thing, and dont have 5k to dump into it, you have options.



jc

"tex, if your bikes a cheater, its not a very good one"

 

[joe c]

dude, this weekend, go to the vintage motorcycle show and swap. duh, i didnt realize you were in maryland. there should be a ton of shit there to look at and maybe buy. i might even be there.


http://www.classicmotorcycleday.org/


if i hear of anything around town, ill pass it along. i come across stuff on occasion.



jc

"tex, if your bikes a cheater, its not a very good one"

 

[joe c]

because i despise going to where he lives. its a miserable drive. i have a friend there whos house ive only been to once. i mean, if im headed that way at some point, i would. besides, i already know! anything can be fixed, like was said before. with enough time money and determination. hes really only about an hour away, but im lazy. besides, i have to work to pay off that crap i just picked up.



jc

"tex, if your bikes a cheater, its not a very good one"

 

[joe c]

gee, i thought i was being optimistic! you'll have more fun with something that runs already. if i had a chance to get down there anytime soon, i would. ive actually only been down ther 2x.



jc

"tex, if your bikes a cheater, its not a very good one"

 

[joe c]

wow, thats some good info!



jc

"tex, if your bikes a cheater, its not a very good one"