Hitchcocks Forum

Hi Guys

Checking the bullet frame today. it is basically garden build . covering the parts in yard
going to take the frame for power coating. swing arm looks ok. top rear ear of frame is eaten by rain.


Not sure should i rebuild front forks . might need to replace all internal part. ? better to go indian bullet one may be
but i like the quality of forks legs ..


Wanted to rebuild rear shock absorber if possible ?

anyway the for trials use i will cut the cassette so damage doest matter. i have spare one for road use.







Please advise ?

Ha, I thought you were serious for a moment

You can't gild a TURD (or powder-coat one, for that matter)! Sorry, ET...

The frame looks salvageable to me but it's hard to tell from photos. I guess you'd have to fabricate and weld on new shock mounts and the seat lug. As far as powder coating goes you need a smooth surface as it shows up every irregularity. If it's not too pitted it might be ok but it could come back looking like a moonscape. Personally I'd strip it all down and sand/ wire brush the frame to see just how pitted and eaten it is.

Reminds me of being a about 14 and finding a motorbike frame dumped in the woods with the front wheel attached. Pushed it all the way home a few miles like a wheelbarrow thinking we could get an engine and all the parts and fix it up


That being said I have seen a frame like that on ebay before, actually I think it was a rusty part of a frame for a BSA sloper complete with logbook and registration

I know i am getting over ambitious. from childhood i like to look at wreck of british bikes .i travel two hours for this , swapped with bsa bantam frame with some few bobs.
i did give her protocol on back seat. .. , people say it diffcult to get rid of childhood dreams

If you want the frame professionally repaired you could try Percival Brothers and Webb in the West Midlands, an old-established frame and fork repair firm which is now part of the Autocycle Engineering group.



Phone 01384 253030



http://auto-cycle.co.uk/



http://auto-cycle.co.uk/#Percy



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The fork stanchions are toast, I suppose they could be straightened, hard chromed and ground again but it would cost far more than new ones. Is the cassquette bent? Good luck straightening that. By the look of the frame I would worry about corrosion inside where you can't see.
Anything can be re-made but is it worth it for what is not a particularly rare machine?

Thanks Adrian for reply . i am based in Southern Ireland.


@ PeterF
I wanted to swap complete forks with Indian ones. cassquette is damaged seems like some collusion/accident happened to this bike at some stage .
i have complete spare cassquette and petrol tank and saddle/wheels/mudguards .. kind of making of bike.
it is not rare bike or historical bike in any manner. you never know it might some future

Assuming the frame hasn't rotted through from the inside I'd still get a quotation for getting it repaired, but if it's going to cost silly money I would point out that our hosts have a number of used frames from the 1950s for sale in far better condition.



I wouldn't bother repairing the forks unless the alloy sliders are still good internally, you can still get complete pre 1987 type (Redditch pattern) forks new old stock.



Meanwhile, the alloy casquette is also only fit for scrap, trials use or not. You can get a proper alloy top yoke from our hosts, catalogue no. 92591, these are stronger than cut-about casquettes off a road bike and look better too. The cheaper alternative would be to get a set of top and bottom yokes from the Superstar or Lightning version of the Indian Bullet. Be careful of the later Thunderbird type as they changed the steering stop and steering lock deign, and the bottom yoke will need to be modified if used with a Redditch frame. Our hosts list these, though they're currently out of stock.



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