Hello from the extreme East of Kent.

New to the club and, sort of, new to Bantams. About 16 years ago I bought a “thing” from Ebay. For some reason back then I was in a daft hurry to buy a Bantam but then had to disappear for work reasons and a big project. So the bike went to the back of the garage until now when surprise, surprise, like so many people I have time on my hands to deal with it.

I thought I’d bought a 1968 D14, I only got the chance to ride it very locally a couple of times. While the engine ran quite well, the clutch slipped like the clappers and the forks leaked a lot. After recently having a good look at it and stripping it, it seems I have a D14B frame with a D10 engine and four speed box. The clutch is indeed shot and because I found the gear change spring broken, I've done a complete strip. Maybe just as well because whilst most seems fine, the main seals are like wood and I think it was last apart a long time ago judging by the copious amount of red Hermatite everywhere.

I’ve now got lots of parts on order for the engine section and hope to have it running before long, and then to tackle the forks. I can’t tell how much it is a “bitsa” or not but perhaps more will become clear soon. 

Regards

Paul.