Stainless or Not?

[simon.holyfield]

So today is a new day: this morning, we hoisted my Bantam into the back of a van for it to start it's journey to a new home in Teeside:

It's been a brilliant little bike, attracting a lot of attention and getting me back into a hobby which I love and which I had missed for almost 20 years. It started me off on this writing lark, lots of blog posts, magazine articles and the Bantam Restorer's Guide, if it ever gets published.

So now it's time for the FH to come down from the loft. Right now it looks like this:

It's going to become my fast road bike, possibly replacing the Square Four. My thoughts are:

• Fully restored - it's in bits, in multiple colours, and several key items are missing. In short, it's got no patina.
• It's going to be finished in export paint colours, because I like that and because there are a lot of maroon Huntmaster's out there
• I'm going to replace the rims with stainless, with stainless spokes and plated brass nipples - I might get these built at CWC, and ask them to polish the hubs.
• It's got a new Mk1 concentric already
• It's currently got a 2 into 1, though I have two silencers - I think I will keep the 2 into 1, at least for a while
• I'll tear the engine down before I decide what to do with it, but it will be rebuilt to standard specification
• The magneto will be rebuilt by Tony Cooper
• I need to get it built, inspected and dated to retain the original registration number. I'll do a dry build first.

To get moving, I am going to start with the frame and cycle parts. There is quite a lot of welding to do before we get to sending out for painting, so perhaps I will do this:

1. Put the frame on the bench, and start welding the mudguards, chain guards and seat pan
2. Trial fit tinwear and frame components
3. Dry build, with fasteners from stock and no wiring or cables.
4. Register, photograph and develop the 'missing & broken parts' list
5. Send black items (cycle parts) out for powdercoat
6. Send the wheels out for rebuild
7. Send the levers and handlebars out for plating
8. Send the tanks, toolbox, and mudguards out for paint
9. Start the engine and gearbox rebuild
10. Reassemble when it's all back...
11. Wiring and cables
12. Shakedown!

So what do you all think of my plan? Shall I use stainless fasteners - I have virtually no fasteners at the moment, and few engine plate studs etc. so what to use? What modifications shall I think about? Alton? Needle roller mains (I think not...)? 12V from a E3HM? What tyres?

[Leejm]

I go for stainless everywhere myself if I can buy it , if not make it, I even made the wiring clips on the head stock from stinless, mainly because in the past when I built bikes a year after it still looked great apart from rust on the nuts and bolts that let the whole bike down. And it drove me mad! On 12 volt I don't think there is real need as leds have come on along way. And I don't do a lot of riding at night and the light output is good enough on the odd time I do. I had a wm20 when I was 19 I drove that around in complete darkness as the lights were next to useless. In fact most of my youth was in darkness on old brit bikes. We are much more lucky today with more options out there then then there was when I was a kid.
Powder coat well I powered coated some of my nh and to be honest I wished I painted it all. Paint looks better in my opinion Lee

[Steven.Carter]

Good questions. You could think about doing a psuedo Cyclone. It's the export colour you like. The stainless muguards are very practical and easy to clean. With stainless fasteners used as much as possible you will not be worrying about riding in the salty winter days. I like electronic ignition,I can honesty say that the problems I've had with electronic ignition has been my own fàult it makes for a smooth engine with not having to average timing between the cylinders.
I would fit an Alton with the chain drive. I've had some difficulties with belt drives I even had a snag with one today.
I use a different light switch which won't be effected by damp. It can be adapted to take the top of a standard switch so it looks the same.

[Steven.Carter]

I have had the needle rollers bearing done, this has proved trouble free.
I've also used from Morgo one of their small in line oil filter kits.

[Simon.Gardiner]

....What modifications shall I think about? Alton? Needle roller mains (I think not...)? 12V from a E3HM? What tyres?

Simes - for maximum controversy you also need to ask 'what oil'.....

SG

[simon.holyfield]

I'm ducking that one. I'm currently wedded to Penrite, though I understand that other oils are available!

[paul.jameson]

Being a tight-fisted Yorkshireman I am a big fan of stainless since it means you don't have to keep spending money on replacing nuts, bolts and wheel rims if you use the bike over winter. I see you have a BSA A10 type front mudguard which is more robust than the Ariel type so I would recommend that you keep it. The light switch issue only relates to cowled headlight Ariels, the others being protected from ingress of water by the headlamp shell. A water resisting shield - perhaps a plastic aerosol cap or similar - might solve this problem. I would use Devon stainless rims but get the spokes from Central Wheel Co as they are happy to produce spokes to Ariel pattern. Devon think they know better than Ariel as to the spokes to be used. But why send the wheels away for building? A man of your abilities should be able to build them easily enough, especially if you buy the top price Devon rims. I am of the view that the main difference between the top price Devon rims and the lower price ones is the accuracy of the joining weld. Since this determines the accuracy with which it is possible to build the wheel, spend the extra and save money by building the wheels yourself. I am a fan of the 12 volt system for electrics but that is mainly because I live in the middle of nowhere and need to be able to see my way home. I have used LEDs on Madam's 1927 car but not yet on the bikes.

One modification I would strongly recommend though. Chuck the Huntmaster engine out and replace it with a KH. You will get a much nicer machine in all respects.

[Leejm]

I like it Paul, replace the engine with a kh. I'm looking at a twin next for me it has to an ariel made twin for me.

[paul.wirdnam]

Nice Bantam!

[simon.holyfield]

Stainless it is. What you can't see in the picture at the top is the sea - on a very stormy day, with a strong northerly wind and a spring tide, the sea sometimes comes past where the Bantam is parked - only twice in the last 8 years, but enough to say that we have quite a saliferous environment here!

I'd not realised the headlamp switch would be a problem, though I quite understand why it is.

On the wheels - Paul, you are right, I am being lazy. On the last two rebuilds (Bantam & SQ4) I've had the original rims replated. I'm not sure if I want to do that again since as you say they don't last very long. The SQ4 ones are OK, covered in paint and ACF50 most of the time, but the Bantam ones were rusting from the inside if the stains on the tyres were anything to go by. Both times I built the wheels myself and I'll do that again.

So I have an A10 mudguard? I thought that was correct for 1958, but clearly not. Any have a picture of the right one? As to changing the engine... I'll buy a KH one day I'm sure, but this is a matching numbers/original registration FH - it's taken me a year to decide to change the colour!

Is it not this mudguard?