Restoring Vintage bikes

[TLRthumper]

If this is in the wrong forum, let me know.

I have really got a craving for restoring and old bike lately, don't know why, but I'm going to go with it.

Does anyone have some useful sites that they could point me to? I really like those step-by-step before and after articles, but they seem to be few and far between.

Any help or tips would be greatly appreciated, and I am looking for a bike as we speak. (asked a guy about a DT 250 today, "no, it runs, I'm going to pull it out soon, go away")

Oh well, mossy bikes aren't fun to clean 🙂

Thanks

[Chris_from_Oz]

This page gives a quick run through on resto's, and what's involved.Motorcycle Restoration

It's mainly for road bikes though, but the basics apply.....

OK, here's a better one.Resto's, street and dirt.....

🙂 Good luck. Let us know what bike you buy.

[El Marko]

There used to be vintage bike magazines, but no more. And Walneck's isn't worth the toilet paper it's printed on.

As for web sites, not a lot out there. You can also try the forum on dirtrider.net

Not a bad idea for a web site or a biz, but I truly don't know of anyone with the combination of info you're looking for.

Most of us got to be vintage experts the hard way. We did it ourselves, screwing things up along the way and then fixing it.

[El Marko]

I should add, a lot of info depends on what bike you end up buying. Some brands, like Maico and Husky have a lot of info sources and lots of active owners. There are quite a few brand-specific web sites out there, although content is all over the place.

But some brands just don't have too many followers. Usually for good reason. Lotsa luck if you buy a Carabella, for example.

[OregonTrail]

Try Craigslist out of Seattle usually plenty of bikes there. We have a few guys who drive down from BC to race vintage MX with us. 🙂