RIP Ralph Gatenby

[SixPackBack]

Died June 4th 1957

My Grandfathers untimely death under the wheels of a double decker bus stopped me from riding until 27 years old, at which point I ignored my mother and bought a SR500.
Fast forward 49 years and for whatever ghoulish reason I feel a need to obtain the same model bike he rode.
BSA owners, anyone? I am now looking for a 125 BSA Bantam circa 1950?
Anyone that can shed any light on this model would also help.

[Two Smoker]

I think my grandma used to ride one of those (im not kidding)...

Good luck on finding one

[Colapop]

It's a form of cultural ownership - being in touch with your past. Very cool. Good luck with that. You may have to import one?

[T.W.R]

Got one just the same stashed in the shed, its a D1 bantam.
Got manuals, BSA factory hot-up docos ( yes they raced the wee sods)
plus got a few other bits n pieces as well.

[Edbear]

I learned to ride on my Mothers' Bantam. I loved it! She sold it to my eldest sister and asked that if she ever wanted to sell it that Mum be able to have first option. Unfortunately my sister sold it to another woman who has it stored under her house going to waste! She won't part with it though!

[Ixion]

Shed light on the wondeful Beeza Bantam ! Too right, I owned about 6 or 8 of them (lost count, and the all ended up with bits being swapped ); raced em, toured all through the North Island, trail rode 'm, hotted them up . Wonderful bikes. Between Mr Motu and I and some of the others on this site I doubt there'd be much that isn't known about Bantams. I keep my eyes out for one, trouble is anything decent is a stupid price. Damned if I know how you'd get a WoF for one nowadays , but. Nowadays they expect you to have brakes and shit like that

[Ixion]

Incidentally, the model you show is the very early one, abou (as you say, 1950). The mudguard is different, the silencer is funny, and they had a different barrel piston and head. The later model (post '54 I think) was much better. The D3 is better still.

[pritch]

Once upon a time there'd a been hundreds of the little buggers about. The Post Office Telegram boys rode them.
These days there ain't no Post Office, no telegrams, no telegram boys and probably not a lot of Bantams.

Did see a Velocette LE out and about a week or two back. Had to do a double take... Definitely long time no see.

[Ixion]

I had one of them too. Very strange it was .

[Rhino]

A few mates and I used to grass track one in his paddocks in my late-teens (1970-72.) We had lots of fun on it.

I can remember getting one of our none-motorcycling mates on it once. He managed the first corner ok, but panicked in the second and pulled the clutch in at the apex (didn't bother with brakes) and sailed into the fence. We picked him up again and got him on his way. He lasted anothe couple of laps before flagging it. The BSA did about 3 years of weekend thrashings before it finally expired. They were great bikes.

Another mate had a James, fitted with a Villiers 197cc two stroke engine. The magneto was a taper fit on the crankshaft, but was not keyed. We used a flywheel puller and removed it, lined it up to fire the spark plug after TDC instead of before and pushed it back on. You could start it by pushing the bike backwards (being a two stroke the motor will run backwards) and had multiple reverse gears. It was almost impossible to ride in reverse though.

[Ixion]

.. lined it up to fire the spark plug after TDC instead of before and pushed it back on. You could start it by pushing the bike backwards (being a two stroke the motor will run backwards) and had multiple reverse gears. It was almost impossible to ride in reverse though.

Bantams you could do that too, if you moved the stator plate and the cam round and put the cam on backwards. We marked out a circle, about 100 yds round, and tried to ride it backwards. Best I got was a slow and wobbly circle and a half, one guy got really good though, trick was not to try to look behind you. I'll swear the Bantam was the funnest bike ever made, and absolutely indestructable.

[Motu]

I had a D3 Bantam Major,150cc,it was a swingarm model,so 1956 I think.Bantam's either hooked you onto bikes for life....or you never touched one again.

My wife had a D7,the 175 model.Um...ah...I remember breaking into the basement of her house one day,I climbed through the window onto the workbench - which was covered in a D7 motor completly stripped down.I stole her number plate and let myself out again.He best friend (who I haven't seen for 25 yrs,and she stayed with us last week) had a D14 - this was a 175,but 4 speed (all other Bantams were 3 speed) and had the Triumph Tiger Cub frame.A couple of hard case girls riding around on Bantams in the 70s.

I'd like a D3 swing arm like I had for my first bike,it was the first step up from the plunger 125.

[Ixion]

I had a D3 Bantam Major,150cc,...

Skite .

[Motu]

It fueled my thirst for power.....and revenge!

[SixPackBack]

Thanx for the comments so far folks sounds like grandad had a hard case bike.
Does anyone know if a pillion could ride on one, my mother assures me she rode from Middlesbrough to Great Ayton many times.