Oz BSA Bantams in Sale, Victoria | Business service

Oz BSA Bantams

Locality: Sale, Victoria

Phone: +61 401 291 313

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25.01.2022 Merry xmas everyone

25.01.2022 Thought I would start the "renovation" of the D1 Rigid I purchased a few months ago. This bike being the 2nd oldest Bantam in the world deserves somes special attention. The intention is to disassemble, clean and check everything. This is not a restoration. I will pull the engine down as it has obviously had a bad oil leak that needs fixing. Todays job was the fuel tank and headlight. Tank had a leak from the fuel tap, so the residual oil and dirt had caked onto the underside... of the tank. Very delicate job to soak and remove these residues without damaging paint. Once done, a good wash followed by delicately scraping some old grey primer that was on the tank, then a cut and polish to the tank. Fuel tap removed, cleaned and re-installed with teflon tape and new fibre washers. Headlight next.....The headlight had been hit on the nearside which had damaged the mount point. Managed to fix this as well the clip and rim. Being the early wipac healight there is no screw to retain the rim. It is hinged with a clip that wasn't initially working due to the damage. Headlight given a cut and polish and rim repaired. Next was give the reflector a polish too. Interestingly I have always seen the "Patent Application" water slide transfers on the top of the forks, on this bike there is evidence of it on the top triple clamp. Also look at the quality of the welding on the frame.......In all fairness these were probably done by semi-skilled workers who had only been welding these frames up for a week when this bike was made. Tomorrows job.............I might tackle the wheels. See more

25.01.2022 A bit more progress today with the loctiting of the bushes working a treat. Grub screw holes were drilled and tapped and a new brass grub screw made. The frame was then cut and polished and it's now time to start putting things back together. Headstem cup,cones and balls were all in excellent condition. Top headstem cup was not in square so that was rectified. The cable ties on the triple clamp hold everything in place for when I turn it over to install the bearings in the to...p cup. I can't put the lower fork legs in yet as I have to pick up some fork seals. Centre stand, and footrest rod fitted, however issues with the centre stand being bent meant it was very tight on the footrest rod. I've had to fit new footrest rod spacers as some were missing. The spacers were given a skim in the lathe and all is well after fit up. An old rigid frame we have luckily has the correct centre stand clip which was missing on this bike. Swapped over and works well. Handle bars on and headlight lens and reflector fitted up to headlight shell. Nice to be going back together..... See more

23.01.2022 New fuel tank arrived from India for a customers D7 restoration. The build quality is pretty good, however the rear mounts were welded too close together and wouldn't have fitted. I have cut them off and manufactured 2 new mount tabs. A frame was used as a jig and the new mounts were tacked on then fully welded. This tank is now off to have some chrome plating on the tank.

22.01.2022 With all this isolation I've been able to get into some of the backlog of Bantam tasks. Customer D7 that is in for a total resto was pulled down today with some rectification work carried out. Bent handlebars had to be straightened, but the end result is not too bad. Large hole drilled in sidecover had to be filled in prep for blasting and painting. The centre stand was worn down, so I've extended it by an inch (25.4mm for you youngsters) so it will be stable on an uneven sur...face. Battery tray is not original and the top was held in by a cable tie. Have relocated the top bracket to align with the frame bolt holes. Spacers for the centre section panels were just hacked odd and weren't square, so this distorted some of the panel work when the bolt was tightened up. New spacers machined square done to replace these. Engine out and bike pulled apart. Couple of jobs tomorrow and it should be ready for the blasters. See more

21.01.2022 Another BSA Bantam engine completed and ready for the crew at OZ BSA Bantams to rebuild.

21.01.2022 A good reason to blast back to bare metal when restoring. The rear section of this bike had a surface finish that looked like it had severe corrosion underneath. In fact once the multiple layers of crap paint were blasted off, it's in really good condition. Some of the tinware had pinholes, the top fork shrouds had cracks and the headlight bucket had holes drilled in it that were bogged up. I have done weld repairs to all in preparation for painting. Having bare metal allowed a detailed inspection of the frame, swingarm etc for cracks. This has turned out OK for this customer. Thanks Dave at Vapour Blast Restoration Solutions and Matt at Madd Blasting for the great job.

21.01.2022 Just to give everyone fair warning, the escalating COVID situation in Europe is making it difficult for us to source parts, especially from the UK. You will note a few more "out of stock" notices on our website, but we ask for your understanding and patience as we try to procure new parts. Thanks, David and Bones

20.01.2022 Ok todays efforts went like this......looked at the wheels.......but the engine looked more interesting! So chain guard off and out came the engine. This bike was dated by the Bantam dating officer however i think there may be an anomaly? This bike is pictured in Hans Kruezens fabulous web page dedicated to 1948 Bantams. It's listed as YD1470, but the frame number is actually YD1413. So I'll have to chat with Hans K and Rick who I purchased the bike from and do some additiona...l research. Anyway carby was taken off, inspected and ultrasonically cleaned. Needle was honed with an oil stone to take the groove out of it. All internals looked rather good so carby was assemmbled and set aside. Engine was then dismantled and I was pleasantly surprised. I've pulled apart some god awful Bantam engines before, but this one wasn't too bad. Piston had broken ring, it's had a refurbished crank put in it and all gear surfaces are some of the best i've seen. Barrel only needs a hone. I did notice that there was cork from the clutch blocking up the lubrication holes in the mainshaft and gearbox output gear. The oil leak and original red dust has set rock hard on everything. I had to literally chisel out the crud from inside the clutch cover. No degreaser, kero or pressure washer would move it! I am actually concerned about how I get this crud off the painted parts without damaging the paintwork. All internal components were cleaned and oiled ready for assembly. The barrel had to have all this crud gouged out with a screwdriver from between the fins. The casing screw heads were all pretty chewed up, so I gave them a touch up in the lathe and wire buffed to take the sheen back of it. I still have the centre cases to tackle yet as the above took me all day! Anway forward progress is good progress...... See more

20.01.2022 Do you have problems with clutch slip or have an engine that has a bit more HP than standard? Then this 8 spring clutch upgrade may be for you. The kit includes all components to upgrade including new heavy duty Australian made clutch springs and 2 x additional clutch spring cups. This kit retails for $295.00

20.01.2022 seems there were more patient people out there than we thought - this morning's post office run

19.01.2022 Due to multiple requests we have developed a bolt kit for the D1/D3 Plunger Bantams. This kit contains all the fateners to attach guards, rack, number plate holder, plungers, chainguard, headlight and engine. The kit contains mainly UNF bolts, however the correct BSW & BSF bolts are also supplied for those locations that require these bolts. The BSF/BSW bolts are in separate bags for ease of identification. Where they are required we have supplied grade 8.8 high tensile bolts.... All fasteners are zinc plated. We have also supplied nylon washers to fit between painted surfaces to protect the paintwork. The kit comes with detailed instruction to determine the correct location for each bolt. We have put a fair bit of work into compiling this kit, so we hope it eases the burden of determining which fasteners to use on the bike. I have done a short video tutorial to give you a rundown on how the kit works..........Sorry about the video, it was done on my Go-Pro!!! See more

19.01.2022 While we're still shut down, Bones and I are catching up on some of our own projects - this one is my 1957 D3 swing-arm coming along nicely. We hope to re-open for business next week so watch this space for confirmation.

18.01.2022 Had to repair this clutch cover today that had damage from a thrown chain and one of the front mount tabs broken off. Cover was cleaned and prepped for welding. Missing areas were then built up and ground or machined back. Final thing was to re-drill and counterbore the front mounting tab. All ready now for vapour blasting with the rest of the engine.

17.01.2022 Just finishing off this tuned engine for a customer who is going to install it in his bike to race at Sellicks beach. A lot of modifications done to this engine. The head was a solid casting we inherited with the business that I have machined up as a centre fire with squish band etc.......so it better go OK! We'll see after we get it mounted up and tuned. Next job is to build the tuned exhaust for it so we can get this engine running.

17.01.2022 BSA Bantam replica Wipac Headlight

17.01.2022 Had sleep in this morning then started back into the D1. First cab of the rank was to take the barrel studs out and soak the engine cases to assist getting all this encrusted dirt/oil off. Whilst the cases were fermenting I took to the toolbox and cleaned it. Still has the orange Broken Hill dust inside along with a bill of sale fron 2005. Once all the oil/dirt crud was cleaned off then a delicate process to polish the toolbox without damaging the very fragile water slide tra...nsfers. Hans Kruezen I'm still not convinced this bike wasn't originally painted black. The black underneath is that glossy I don't think it's an undercoat......But that's just me speculating that this bike was originally painted black by the factory then changed to green. I then took to the chain guard which was badly encrusted with crud underneath. A fair bit of work to get all that crap off, with a finish off cut and polish. All painted parts then on the shelf waiting for assembly time. Engine cases then out of bath and mud and crap scraped off. The dipstick is also an alloy one different to the normal steel model. Bearings were punched out and interestingly an Australian made bearing manufactured in Echuca was fitted at some stage, just had to keep it. The seals actually broke they were that hard when i took them out. Then cases into the hot wash cabinet for final clean in prep for assembly. Threads were then cleaned out and cases ready for assembly. The quality of the machining on the inside of these cases is crap! Just have a look at the surface finish.......looks like it has been done on a wood lathe!! Just as well they improved things. Crank needed some attention on the journals. Just a quick polish to bearing and seal surfaces required as the crank is in excellent condition. Barrel and head mating surfaces required some attention. Head was lapped to clean up the mating surface. The barrel was also lapped as these early engines didn't have a head or base gasket. If you look closely at the barrel near where the stud holes are, you will see there is a different colour. This is from machining with either a blunt tool or a lathe that is rigid enough. What has happend is that the tool is deflecting as it comes under cutting load. So the depth of cut starts off deep then as the tool loads up it gets shallower........Anyway off to the parts stash for a couple of essentials and tomorrow is engine assembly day........ See more

17.01.2022 Still just a bit euphoric after Geelong's demolition of Collingwood, I decided to take the D7 for a run - can this weekend get any better!!

16.01.2022 Oz BSA Bantams is open. The website is turned on again and ready for your order.

16.01.2022 In light of further restrictions, effective today Oz BSA Bantams will temporarily close for business. We will let everyone know on this and other Bantam forums when we are back on deck. Stay safe everyone and thanks for your understanding. David

15.01.2022 A new item is now in stock, reproduction 'Pineapple' heads to suit YD engines fitted to early D1's. Machined combustion chamber with same volume as standard head, so there is no difference in compression ratio. There will be slight casting variations which do not effect performance or fit but you might want to consider if you're going for a concourse restoration. On the website now.

15.01.2022 We are very happy to continue our sposorship of the Faraldo Race Team in this years Irish Road Racing series. If you would like to follow the team or even join the supporters club, please check out Faraldo Racing on facebook. This is a privateer team who need every sponsorship dollar they can get, run by a young man who has dedicated everything to preparing the bike. Any small amount helps!!

15.01.2022 Have just finished this engine for a customer for his Sellicks Beach racer. A power of work involved to modify this pineapple head 125cc. The design was to get bottom end in this engine so generate HP at lower revs. I've doubled the HP and if the engine was wound out we estimate around 12HP. This engine is conservative as far as modifications go to ensure some integrity. Engine design was by me with the help of information supplied by others (Thanks John Sendall). Pipe was designed and fabricated by me. The terminal speed was impressive too but I won't divulge that. Please don't ask how much this cost or what I did in detail.......I'm not up for writing an essay!

14.01.2022 If you've got a leaking flat slide fuel tap, we've got replacement corks to fix that. These retail for $8.00pr.

13.01.2022 In order to keep our costs down we are happliy utilising child labour. Grandson Levi helping out today packing engine bearing sets. With home schooling I asked him today to write a story..........It was about riding his motorbike in the paddock and smelling fumes!

13.01.2022 We've just finished restoring David's '56 D3 swing-arm. Looks the part we think.

12.01.2022 Closing down announcement. All our customers please note we will be closing down from 30 Nov to mid-Jan 2021. The website will be switched off on 25 Nov allowing final orders to be processed prior to the 30 Nov cut-off. No email orders will be accepted post 25 Nov. Thanks in advance.

10.01.2022 Have been working on this very nice D5 that looked like it was well repainted some time ago. The bike has a lovelly patina. I rebuilt the engine on this bike however it also needed a complete front end rebuild and some sorting out of a few other issues. This bike has been layed up for a while so we also fitted new tyres. There's a couple of small issues to resolve and this bike will be back with the customer. Rides really well..................................Also we have new handlebars back in stock after being unable to source them for a while. CDI's to suit D1's will be back in stock in a few weeks time after critical parts arrived today after ordering them 7 months ago!

09.01.2022 Our new D1/D3 Plunger Bolt kit.

09.01.2022 We are very happy to make available our reproduction Wipac Headlight. These are made from spun aluminium and will be supplied with switch, attaching hardware, wiring diagram and your choice of either 6v or 12v globe. Please feel free to scroll down and check out the video for a full description. The kit will retail for $245.00.

09.01.2022 We sold all of these reproduction headlights quickly when we introduced them as a stock item. We now have some more in stock. Make sure you select the correct item - one is 6v, the other 12v.

07.01.2022 Customer engine arrived here in poor state. Engine had a hole in the crancase that required a weld repair and gearbox had been full of water at some stage. Those components that couldn't be salvaged were replaced with new or 2nd hand components and others were refurbished. New conrod fitted and trued up. These engine cases have also suffered damage from peole trying to seperate the cases without taking the 13th crank case screw out from the opposite side and jamming a screw ...driver in. The head had suffered damage from a priviously failed bottom end, so was remachined to clean up the barrel mating surface. I also machined a squish band into it as it looks like it may have been machined before so don't want too high compression ratio. Have laced the wheels so we are ready for tyres as well. Just waiting on some chrome work to arrive and we'll start the reassembly process. See more

06.01.2022 Just to let everyone know, we'll be closing down for a well-earned break over Xmas and New Year's. Last orders processed will be this Friday. Back on deck 13 Jan. Hope everyone has a great festive season; thanks for your continued support this year and we'll see you out there in 2020. Bones and David Farmer

06.01.2022 More progress today.....I noticed that the lower triple clamp studs for this bike are different to the later models. Later models are a straight 5/16" stud with a seperate shouldered nut, however on this bike it is a one piece item. Wonder how long they had these for before they changed. Forks were pulled apart, however one of the grub screws that hold the fork bushes in had the slot filed out of it on fitment. I've had to drill this out and discovered the tapped hole is tapp...ed into the bush itself. I initially thought they clamped up against the bush. grub screw was drilled out and re-tapped. 0 BA is the thread for future reference. The original bushes were then machined out and new bushes loctited in. I'll drill and tap new threads in the fork legs tomorrow. Had a bit of help from my grandson today as well. Front wheel had new bearings fitted and is now all ready to go. See more

05.01.2022 Well I got another day in on the D1. It's nice to have a clean run at things sometimes and all this has come about due to holdups in delivery of other items due to C-19. Today it was time to get the engine back together. So bearings and seals in and check crank for correct endfloat. A couple of shims needed to obtain the correct clearance then on to the installation of the gearbox. I noticed the gear selector arm was contacting the gear selector arm spring socket. There was a...lso tell tale evidence that something was out of alignment when i looked at the "Flag" on the gear selector arm, and the wear from it being misaligned in the layshaft sliding gear groove. A "tweak" of the gear selector arm bracket and all looks good. I linished the wear on the gear selector arm flag to clean it up too. Next was to get the sealant on the case and get the cases together. I always like seeing an even bead of sealant oozing out after all the screws are done up, just confirms all surfaces have a good coverage. Next its time for fitment of some of the clutch components and checking the alignment of the primary drive and clutch basket sprockets. I use a spring loaded set of circlip pliers to hold the primary chain together when fitting, to help get the joining link in. Then time to fit up barrel and head. I mask the head off and give the mating surface of the head a coat of Copper Kote gasket by Permatex. I don't run any head gasket in any Bantam I own. I put the base gasket on and run my thumbnail around the edge and get an impression on the gasket, then trim off the excess gasket.....especially overhang in the transfer ports as this disrupts flow into the combustion chamber. A bit of thread lubricant on the barrel studs, piston in the barrel and it's time for sealant on all required surfaces. Barrel on, gudgeon pin and clip in, barrel all the way home, head on and torqued up and lastly the 2 x screws done up on the skirt. Back to the clutch and plates & springs in. Something to note on these early engines is they don't have the clutch cover. This is the plate that goes over the clutch basket to stop it spreading and is retained by 3 screws. Time to fit up the mainshaft oil seal housing. I always put the distance sleeve in first to centralise the oil seal housing before I do up the 5 x retaining screws. Next was to get the stator sorted and cleaned. I was lucky to have spare HT lead contact that screws into stator plate so I could ditch the cork! All components cleaned and the coils re wrapped. Then onto the engine......gap set on points.......and we have spark! Final job for the day was to clean up the exhaust, which looks really good for its age. See more

04.01.2022 Todays effort was the front wheel and some work on the forks. Headlight bracket was removed and polished to allow the fork tubes to be removed. Wheel was pulled apart and discoverd a collapsed wheel bearing. Clean, cut, polish of the wheel hub and rim. The brake backing plate was pulled apart and this had the small spring clip that covers the oil hole in the brake cam pivot to keep dirt out. I haven't seen one before so I don't know how long these were fitted for. It has a sm...all detent that locates into the oil hole on the brake cam pivot bush in the backing plate. I've had the rear tyre changed from the incorrect size knobby to an old period Olympic Patrol tyre that we had on another rim. I then decided to see how the forks polish up before I machine out the old bush and work out if I risk soldering a new one in or just locate and clamp with the grub screw. I think I'll end up just loctiting the new bush in as I can't bring myself to putting that much heat into the fork and running the risk of damaging the paintwork. See more

04.01.2022 Lovely morning for a run to the Beach on the '51 D1.

03.01.2022 Todays focus was front end......So took the handle bars and harware off to get the rust off these components. The original registration label is in good condition and shows the rego number. The label holder was cleaned up along with all handle bar and mounting hardware. The front wheel was taken out and front guard removed. The stays are bent and required straightening and the guard had a really bad dent/crease in it that was rubbing on the tyre. A little bit of a challenge t...o get this out so came up with the idea to use my press to massage this crease out of the guard so as not to destroy or damage paintwork. Am happy with the outcome so then tackled the bend toward the front of the guard. The guard wash then washed, cut and polished. Came up alright too. I started to tackle the forks. Fork bushes are badly worn........2mm of play! These early fork bushes are soldered in. All the literature says they are silver soldered however these bushes are lead/tin soldered in. I also thought it was only the top bushes that were soldered. It would appear the grub screw holds the bush in place whilst they are soldered in. Problem now is I can't apply heat to them to get them out as this will destroy the paint....So I'll have to take the fork legs out of the bottom yoke and set them up in the lathe and machine them out.......carefully! A job for another day..... See more

03.01.2022 Spent all morning scrubbing the frame and lower components of all this caked on crud......It's a right royal pain in the arse to clean as the only way to get rid of it is to chisel it away with a sharpened toothbrush handle, then delicately scrub with a bit of degreaser with the toothbrush so the paint isn't damaged......By lunchtime I'd had enough so decided to clean up the seat springs and attach the seat cover. I do have the original seat cover, but it's on the verge of di...ssolving! I then took the rear wheel out to access the rear mudguard. I noticed on the RH mudguard stay that it has tiny bars welded to it. I think this was there to reatin the tail light wire. Hans Kruezen does your '48 have this? Anyway the stays are badly bent to the point they affect the position of the guard, so I had to straighten them as best i could without damaging them. I generally do this in the hydraulic press so the profile of the stay isn't damaged and I can bend in any direction. Both stays were given a tweak. The pillion seat, tail light and carry rack were removed from the rear guard. The tail light has to be replaced to the correct '48 tail light which I have spare. The dent in the guard and the bend in the carry rack won't be repaired.........It's all part of this bikes story. Some fat bastard was obviously on the back when they hit a pothole. I will also refit the pillion pegs and pillion seat (I'll get the seat recovered). The rear guard was given a clean and a cut and polish which came up well.......and that will be all on the D1 for awhile...........Good progress for the week!..........If anyone has an early sliding switch for sale (yes I know I have more chance of fitting a whale up my arse) or could lend me one for a week or 2 as I may look into the possibility of 3D printing a workable alternative.........If I didn't already have enough to do! See more

03.01.2022 Back into the D1 today. So todays effort started with the brake pedal. First thing was to scrub the crud of it and assess how badly bent it is. The footrest rod spacer was siezed inside the pedal and this is supposed to be a sliding fit. Into the press and push out the spacer and straighten the pedal out. Next job was the centre stand. This was badly bent, so it too went into the press and was straightened. I was pretty happy with how both of them came out. Next job was to ge...t stuck into the back wheel. I always approach old wheels with the highest levels of caution due to asbestos exposure. I wear a P2 mask and carefully remove the brake backing plate and wash everything down thoroughly with soapy water........wipe it dry ensuring there are no residues left. NEVER USE COMPRESSED AIR as this could potentially send airbourne asbestos particles everywhere. If you can't positively discount the brake shoes aren't asbestos.....then they ARE!! This wheel still had the original bearings and felt seals. You will see the problem with pumping grease into these bearings as this wheel had grease impregnating the brake shoes.........so there's a safety issue there. A good reason to change to sealed wheel bearings if you intend to ride the bike continuously. All components were removed and cleaned and reassembled. You will notice that this bike has the steel "cup" on the offside of the wheel. This goes in place of the speedo drive when no speedo is fitted to the bike. The hub grease nipple was replace back to the Tecalamit type grease nipple. I've had to admit defeat with some of the crud when cleaning the wheel as it started to damage the paintwork. So wheel was cut and polished including all individual spokes. The wheel is now at the bike shop where the tyre is being swapped from the knobby fitted to a very old "Olympic Patrol" period tyre. I just hope the old tyre will come of the other rim without the bead breaking as it is pretty hard..............I'll know tomorrow! See more

01.01.2022 Congratulations Derek Mc Gee!! Thank you: Bones Farmer, John McCann, Angelo Gabbiadini, Giordano Baroli, Denis Pian, Cristina Galiotto, Marta Covioli, Mart...y Luca, Franco Brunetti, Stefano Donghi, Cesare Smilari, Helena Baldi, Marco Schiavon, Marco Cervini, Manu Dal Molin, Davide Baldini Ballascary, Jasont Mcgee, Michael Anderson, Wendy Malcomson, Suzann Hayes, and many more that unfortunately I cant tag!! See more