Saving Old Seagulls

Nice.

My first dabble with 2 stroke motors was with a friends Bantam when I was about 12.

He was given a couple of bikes in bits, and boxes of engines and parts, we spent a summer holiday trying to get one running.

we never did but a couple of years later he got a Francis Barnettt 200cc, We spent many happy hours charging round his field on that, never had enough petrol though.

There is a club that go to the classic bike shows that show ex GPO Bantams, I usually have a chat whenever I go to a show, talk usually gets around to Seagulls

Seagulls and Bantams seem to go hand in hand. Same tools and techniques required by both. Only sad bit is that the crankshaft needs to be split to change big end roller bearings. Mine feels ok so fingers crossed. Going to be underpowered like a seagull...

Edit: Just noticed Raya said same thing.

Hello All

My Bantam can be seen on the page about Maddy the minor. http://www.saving-old-seagulls.co.uk/ma ... _minor.htm

She is a 1958 D5, rebuilt over a couple of years and every now and again I go to local Bantam Club meetings to show her!

But she is really just for me to go out for long summer evening putters over the desolate marsh roads, at 25mph, with the dead flies accumulating on the smiling teeth! A good way to unwind! So much like a putter up a creek with a Seagull!

Same blue haze!

Regards,
John
SOS

John@sos wrote:Did the post office use them there too!
John
SOS

I think they did - or if not, then New Zealand.
A guy who ran a Suzuki then Yamaha dealership in Aberdeenshire once told me that before arriving in Scotland he cut his motorcycle teeth servicing postal Bantams in either Aus or NZ, I just can't remember which.

Hi Pinger,

I will have to ask my Bantam friends next time I see them! wonder if they were all red versions?

So akin to Seagulls, like Morris Minors and Landrovers, same sort of simple tech!

Regards,
john
SOS

Found out today the Australian Army had them. Lots of the parts surfacing here are ex army stores. I need some riders foot pegs!

Let's not forget the Mk1 transit van. Big enough to put the Bantam in after a bank robbery!

Gosh that takes me back to 1967.

Every time we paraded for duty we were given the details of all the Transit vans stolen in the last 24hours! And yes the Robbers favourites!

John
SOS

Hugz wrote: Let's not forget the Mk1 transit van. Big enough to put the Bantam in after a bank robbery!

You guys do things differently. Brits use buses and Minis....