Hello I am new and looking for a little advice.

[Zilog]

Hello,

I am new to classic / vintage bikes and just need a little help. My farther was a big bike nut and I always loved the photos of his many old bikes. I told my self I would get one my self one day but never did get round to it. That is until out of the blue the other day my best friend I have knowen almost all my life turned up at the weekend on a old 1958 bike ( sorry I forget the make and model ) with a old Villers 200cc 2 stroke engine. He had this mad idea of riding across Europe in the summer on classic bikes. I thought he was mad but said ok. Now I don't have a clue about such old bikes. So I am looking for advice on what would be a good bike to start looking at. I don't know if this makes any differences but I am a full time mechanic and my friend is a amateur car restorer so we both have a bit of mechanical knowledge to keep them running on out trip.

Many Thanks

[Revband]

Probably every person who answers this post will have a different idea.

My choice would be a BSA B31 or B33 they are bomb proof, the early swinging arm model with magneto ignition.

A full mechanical strip and check over before setting off would be in order, should take all of two/three days , Check the magneto coil has been rewound, if not get it done or it will most likely let you down.

Good luck enjoy.

Cheers
Revband

[33d6]

Congratulate your friend on a marvellous idea.

The logical thing to do would be to get another bike fitted with the same 200cc Villiers engine. That simplifies the spares and tools situation.
Several makes of bike fitted the same Villiers 200cc engine and the engine didn't change much from year to year so you don't necessarily have to have exactly the same make and model of bike as your friend.
Having bikes with a similar performance also makes riding in company much easier as you are in harmony so to speak. When there is a wide disparity in performance it can be frustrating for both parties.
I spent a glorious month tackling Alpine passes on a 250 two summers ago. It is a very popular biker activity in September after the main holiday period has passed. Just about every summit has its horde of riders enjoying a break and looking at each others bikes. Pity there were so few British riders, they don't know what they are missing.
Cheers,

 

[Zilog]

Thank you for the replies. The BSA B31 does to a especially nice bike but I think 33d6 is right if I get a similar bike it could mike life a little simple. I also know my friend restored his own bike so if anything does go wrong he should know how to fix it. I found out he has a 1958 Francis Barnett Model 81 with the 10E motor. I do not really want the same bike but are there any bikes with the same or very similar motor fitted you would recommend? Thnaks

[Goldie]

How about a 175 BSA Bantam D7/D10/D14

In my early days of biking I had a D7, and it went on, and on, and on. All I did was to keep putting the 2T petrol in.

I can't ever remember it letting me down.

Before that I had a 125 Bantam in 1966 as my first bike, and that was bullet proof.