restoration

1968 Aermacchi M68. Another Outstanding bike from Ted Guthrie!

Nice to see long time contributor Ted Guthrie still at it!   I checked and sure enough, he’s sent in so much stuff over the years that he has his own tag,   Thanks Again Ted!  Beautiful!

Just finishing up this 1968 Aermacchi M68.  All original except for recovered seat and aftermarket grips (which don’t fit right).  Even wearing the original tires.  Those with sharp eyes however will note the intermediate chain guard (between main guard and engine case) is missing.  Original lost.  eBay replacement on the way.Aermacchi 4 M65 1 M65 2 Aermacchi 1 Aermacchi 2 Aermacchi 3

What a save! A reader ride Norton restoration.

With apologies to Damon Wells.  I received this on March 23’rd and had the post all written up it somehow got placed in the “draft” category and never got posted.   Shame on me and sorry about that sir.   Here she is at last.

 

Damon Wells writes in:
Hi, thought I’d send in a couple of pics of my bike I took today, and one I took 15 years ago. When I got it in ’96 it was a wrecked chopper with a seized engine. The guy I bought it from had started collecting new parts to fix it up, so I already had a head start. The forks were bent in far enough that despite being 4 inches longer, the wheelbase was shorter than stock! Once I got it home and freed the engine (seized rings), I cleaned up the single Mikuni carb, and got it started before disassembling it down to the frame. I borrowed a camera from a co-worker after pulling the bent front end and the Dunstall rear sets, which I still have. Why a chopper had rear sets is beyond me, but considering the state it was in, not much would have surprised me.

Since then, I’ve replaced just about everything but the frame, tank, crankcase, crank, rods, pistons, cylinder head, gearbox case and the hubs. It’s got a Megacycle cam, oversized valves, Boyer ignition, Magura master cylinder, alloy rims, Bosch halogen headlight and lots of other little mods and tweaks. I stopped counting how much money I have in it a long time ago, I’m probably better off not knowing!
Keep up the good work, love the site.
Damon Wells
Houston, TX

Damon that is outstanding! It’s got a great line to it. I think you found the perfect handlebars for it. It’s just plain right. I know you never “really” get the dollars back but the satisfaction of a save like this is a feeling that’s well worth it. Congratulations on a great build.

The before pic. Damm…

Georgous 1948 Royal Enfield G350 from Portugal.

What a stunner!

Carlos Fragoso writes in about this beautiful restoration:
I was browsing around and saw yr blog. As I understand the purpose of it I decided to send you some pics of my own. It’s a Royal Enfield G 350 from 1948 that I fully restored. As original as they were back in the 40’s. Hope you like it.
Regards
Carlos Fragoso
Porto, Portugal

 

 

 

 

Reader Ride. Beautiful Bultaco Restoration.

Jesus Buisan of Spain writes in:

After many months standing in the garage, today I started my Bultaco Sherpa T, and I felt like Steve McQueen in “On Any Sunday”, it was fun again feel the pull of the small two-stroke.
Greetings from Zaragoza, Spain.
Jesus

That is an excellent build! Thank you for the photo’s. I’d love to own a nice Bultaco someday. They are growing on me a lot!

Phew! Home From Holiday Travels! Here’s AN Excellent Reader Ride, Kawasaki H2 – 2 Stroke Restoration Till I Get Things Caught Up!

Philip Rochette writes in:

Hello
Here are some shots of my 1972 Kawasaki 750 H2 that I have recently restored.
It was a long term and very interresting project .
I enjoy my bike and I have a lot of fun riding it in the beautifull french Alps.
Here is the link to my site about that restoration and more;
http://kawasaki750h2.free.fr/
Best regards

Fantastic Restoration!  Thanks for the excellent pictures Philip!

1973 900 Z1. An Astounding Restoration!

I’m lifting this post straight out of The ADV rider thread I saw it in.  Too good to let it pass.  Thanks 1upand4down.

In 1973 my dad bought this 900 Z1 new. I was 16 years old and he would let
me ride it. He had other Kaw’s he would let me ride like a 69 and 71 500 H1’s.
But there was nothing like the Super four 900. He sold the Z1 in 1975 to a friend of mine brother-in-law and he sold to his son’s friend a few years later.
I bought the Z1 back in 2005 and did a complete restro. Took about 3 years to
complete but was worth every minute and dollar. My dad got to ride it some that year and he really enjoyed it. He’s 79 now and I’m not sure if he
will get to ride it any more but maybe. It’s suppose to be in the next issue of Moto Retro Illustrated magazine.