Anyone on here got a BSA Bantam?

My neighbour wants rid of a (apparently) restored 1960s bantam I havent had a bike for years but always fancied just pootling about the lanes on something classic!

It’s pretty cheap, so could be a toy, but are they fun to ride?

Its a 175 by the way

going to pop round to see it tomorrow what should I look for?
Ta

(awaits get a proper bike you nancy comments :-))

Ring ding ding, ding ring, ding, ding ding ding crunch! 😉

Is that a engine seize crunch or a falling off one!

Great little bike that’s been around for years.
Loads of spares and loads about for pocket money 😉

Engine seize 😆

Should be epic fun riding that, see no reason not to get it and have some fun. Don’t get the mix wrong though, though saying that it’ll probably run on parafin.

I had a C15 trials, that was awesome if a bit heavy. You could hear it’s piston stroke coming up the chamber..
Duff

Duff

Duff

Duff

It seemed to have one speed dispite throttle movements. 😆

thismight help

Trials conversion maybe…..?

Cheers guys

All I have to do it persuade the family of mice living in my helmet to move out! (oooerrr Fnarr fnarr etc)

I was looking at these on eBay while drunk the other night. Wife doesn’t want me to have a motorbike but I may be able to convince her that a Bantam would be ok, it’s hardly a sports bike!

Thats kinda what my missus said!

Well, you won’t die on that!

I pointed out though that i could get knocked off…….

Was the first proper bike I had without pedals-mine was an ex-Post Office 150cc that I rebuilt as a lad
You can always tell one by the engine note–Baaaaaaaaannnn tum-tum-tum!

Helped restore (read clean everything) one when I was kid. I remember being allowed to have a ride and thought it was duller than the Honda C50 I used on the fields. The drum brakes were more a request to slow down which were often declined. Restored and polished up it did look very good

I’d be tempted to kit it out in WW2 stylee and don a combat jacket and some flying goggles.. 😀

A mate and I had a D14/4 which we converted for trials. Lol re the drum brakes…I remember that only too well.

I would love one but it isn’t going to happen.

Followed the Bantam up with a AJS 250 which I did up with another friend. His brother borrowed it and stuffed it into a wall within an hour :o( He was fine, having managed to part company with it well before impact. Road rash aside, his major injury was to his street cred.

Bought it!
Shes a looker, just got to get it running!

Oh and get a open face lid and goggles! 🙂

PICTURES I DEMAND PICTURES

Good work lovely little bikes

Nice work.
don’t be tempted to convert it to a trials bike. if you want one make one, any half decent bike jumble will have at least one frame and engine combo. Thats pretty much all of a bantam you need.
( plan B find yourself a grass track Bantam and go racing)

I’ve got a 1968 175 which i keep over in Ireland, greta bike for nipping around the lanes on and i leave it for months on end with no problems – other than compulsory oil seepage. brakes are a tad marginal. Mine was only £600 of ebay and would appear to be a bit of a bargain as they have gone up a bit in price nowadays. Lots of resources on the net and you if you got it cheap you shouldn’t loose money on it.

Photos
Oh go on then!
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photo[3][/url] by Rusty Floater[/url], on Flickr

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photo[/url] by Rusty Floater[/url], on Flickr

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photo[1][/url] by Rusty Floater[/url], on Flickr

^^ t’is coool that 😀

I think its the original paint too

I even have the original sales receipt when bought new in Hastings in 1967 £134!

That was a fair whack then.

Very nice.
My first bike was a D7.

😆 Thanks for the photos, I would struggle with the right foot gear changes.

^^ That is nice, don’t go and scratch it

I would struggle with the right foot gear changes.

Um, yes of course I noticed that! (not) 😮

Its been many years so i have to relearn anyhow!

Ah yes, right foot gear change.
I remember going from a BSA C15 to a Honda XL250.

Thinks, “Just a bit of back brake going in to this corner…”

CLUNK..lurch…whirrrrrrr….. “Whoops, wrong foot” 😳

Great looking bike, when you get your goggles and lid don’t forget a white scarf 🙂

Great looking bike, when you get your goggles and lid don’t forget a white scarf

😀 Cant wait!

Just been on the bantam club forum, odd they don’t seem to have as many arguments on there! 🙂

Nice bantams in Classic Bike Guide this month.

zippykona – Member
Nice bantams in Classic Bike Guide this month.

Yep, and the article on the Vindian is fascinating too. I’d never head of that proposed tie-up.

Nice bike, I had a D1. Always liked the Tiger Cub more. You can see why the British bike industry went down the pan though – 1967 and there would have been little reliable Hondas around.

Very nice, can I have a go.

Update
Well its running now taken it for a spin (on private land of course :P)

Its a lot of fun 40mph is quite scary!

I’d have thought after 20+ years off motorbikes i wouldn’t have much problem swapping to a bike with gearshift on the other side but i was wrong!

Now we just need an MOT……….

Very nice. A late ’50s was the first bike I rode, around my mate’s large garden. He’s been given it by the bloke next door.
My firt owned bike was also a Tiger Cub, and I want it back!

i wouldn’t have much problem swapping to a bike with gearshift on the other side

An old mate used to have a thing about British bikes. He liked Japanese and Italian bikes as well but BSA Panther and Matchless were his favourites. I used to have a go on them as you do but I could never get my head around the gearchange

Or the manual advance/retard

Mate has a triumph that is geared as 1up for first that seems really wrong to me!

I can see this coming a bit addictive bit like collecting mountain bikes! 😀

i have 3 bantams , 2 august 1970 bikes 4 spd centre plug heads and a drayton trials..

stop now and buy an electrex world ignition. 170 quid of electrickery that youll thank me for till your dieing day

Totalshell
Does than convert to 12v? and electric start? or is it just a modern 6v system?

Ta

Had a look and which one from this have you used? its a D10 by the way

http://www.electrexworld.co.uk/cgi-bin/ss000001.pl?page=search&SS=bantam&ACTION=Search&PR=-1&TB=A

UPDATE!
After a fair bit of tea drinking, head scratching oily fingered garage sessions – Nice MOT man he say yes!

Brap brap brap……… 😀

Generally no interest in motorbikes, but now that is nice! Enjoy!