Your advice and wisdom, please!

[KiwiGF]

On the rims, I have half a dozen rims that I have discarded due to corrosion on the “inside” as opposed to the part you can see when the tyre is fitted. I did not use these rims as rust had obviously eaten away some of the strength in the rim (mainly the part “folded over”)…. although I guess they would pass a WOF aka MOT in UK (with rusty spokes replaced) but they would not be anywhere as strong and safe as when they were new.

One could treat and paint the inside of the rim, but there is not a lot one can do about the inaccessible areas under the ”fold”.

A chrome flake causing a puncture had not occurred to me but that is another factor to be considered.

If you have to pay for a wheel re spoke it might be hard “financially” to ask for the old rim to be used when you could pay a little more for a new rim and with some hub designs it can tricky if not impossible to replace just the spokes that are too rusty, also nipples get rusted onto spokes making trueing the wheel after a spoke is replaced “escalate” into a full re-spoke.

I have heard of people re-chroming rims but they would have to be in very good condition to make that viable.

When going along at 60 mph and pitching into a bend the last thing you want is to start worrying about any sort of mechanical failure.

I guess what I am saying is that more likely than not the wheels will be an expensive part of any restoration.

[Rex]

As long as the rims are structurally sound you could get them blasted and powder-coated to save the costs of buying new, and galvanised spoke sets aren't expensive, so the wheels needn't be that costly especially if you teach yourself how to lace them up.

[Swarfcut]

 I reckon at some stage that bike has had a sidecar. Siamese exhaust, flat profile to the rear tyre, and I would expect to find the rear sprocket is the dinner plate 49 teeth version. Solo A10 is 42 teeth.

 To proceed, even at a slow pace is a good decision. Remember these bikes were made at a time when the engineering was simple and the parts relatively robust. All the help is here, all that is is short supply is the motivation.

  What can be done with your neglected machine is Roy's bike pictured above. Inside its all fine and dandy, outside it wears the years with pride, functions as it should, and I'd hazard it has been of more interest than one that has had ££££'s spent and only comes out on fine days. It really is the perfect cosmetics that eat up the cash and make you very wary of risking it out on the road. Not for me, I'm a cheapskate.

 I could say half the work has been done already, the motor is out, in bits. For now I'd dig a little deeper into the engine failure. Some more detailed pictures of the damage. Meantime take steps to prevent more deterioration. Get that WD sprayed on, give it a rub and make a start. Just giving it a good clean and a rub over will transform it, and is good enough for now. Keep a logbook of what you find, what you did, what it cost. Some would remark to keep this in a very safe place.

  I said safety critical parts have to be A1. Brakes, Wheels, Frame. I won't say wheels are critical during a restoration, as long as they turn you have a rolling chassis. But they can be left 'til last and there's  a good chance that over time a better pair will come along. Even as they are, the hubs are the part they no longer make so should be kept. These days they can do powder coat that looks like chrome, this looks OK even on sound but pitted surfaces. Chrome shows every blemish, so Rex's suggestion is another excellent and cheaper option when the time comes.  Same for that scarred barrel, it can be repaired, cost being the only barrier, so hang on to that for now, it will be worth something to someone, sometime. I would never scrap original factory parts if I could help it.

 Swarfy.

 

[bikerbob]

Thanks for that update what you need now is confidence and determination the fact that you have not ridden a bike for 25 years or done much work on them should not stop you. I first gave up bikes in my mid 20's I came back to them when I was approaching 60 am now 80 over the years I have done a few restorations below is some photos of my first 2 so you can see what you can do if you are determined enough there is nothing complicated about BSA bikes of the 50's and 60's. Both bikes took about 12 months from start to finish.