My neighbour had a Matchless G2CSR of 1967 vintage that was crash damaged in 1975 and has been in his greenhouse since. In a fit of madness I bought the bike and joined the owners club.
The bits are now all over my garage and despair is setting in (is this normal)? As the cost of restoring the cycle parts is close to £2000.
Another option is to repair the bike i.e. not to it's original condition for example painting and not re chroming the tank.
So decision time, but if I go ahead I hope you will put up with my inane questions periodically starting with - does anyone know where I can get a manual or even a parts list for the G2CSR as it seams to be a forgotten model?
Hedley
Restoring a G2 CSR
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Hedley Walker.
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2005 10:45 pm
- Location: UK
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Rohan B.
- Posts: 136
- Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2005 10:45 pm
- Location: AUSTRALIA
Restoring a G2 CSR
I think you have answered your own question.
No point in spending more than the value of the bike (?) on a concours restoration - as so many do, and then find they can't sell it for half that. If you just repair it to get it running, and paint over the rough bits then it can look quite presentable as a budget restoration.
I saw a budget resto ahem Royal Enfield a while back done with aerosol spray cans by a little old pensioner with no money. Looked absolutely superb, cost all of about £30 apparently, all time and no money...
And once its running, its surprising what will turn up. A chromed tank at a very fair price may be sitting waiting for you somewhere, like it was for me.
You do realise this is a dangerous disease, don't you ? Once you finish one restoration, another one becomes a necessity....
have fun,
Rohan.
No point in spending more than the value of the bike (?) on a concours restoration - as so many do, and then find they can't sell it for half that. If you just repair it to get it running, and paint over the rough bits then it can look quite presentable as a budget restoration.
I saw a budget resto ahem Royal Enfield a while back done with aerosol spray cans by a little old pensioner with no money. Looked absolutely superb, cost all of about £30 apparently, all time and no money...
And once its running, its surprising what will turn up. A chromed tank at a very fair price may be sitting waiting for you somewhere, like it was for me.
You do realise this is a dangerous disease, don't you ? Once you finish one restoration, another one becomes a necessity....
have fun,
Rohan.
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silverarrow
- Posts: 549
- Joined: Mon Jan 01, 1990 12:00 am
- Location: LEICESTERSHIRE UK
Restoring a G2 CSR
Everything Rohan says + you can get copy manuals/spares book for your bike from BMS, 132 Saffron Road, Wigston, Leics, England, LE18 4UP TEL/FAX 0116 277 7669.
Don't be afraid to ask !
Les Smith
Don't be afraid to ask !
Les Smith
Keep smiling
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Hedley Walker.
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2005 10:45 pm
- Location: UK
Restoring a G2 CSR
A repair job it is.
I did try BMS for a parts list and bought one for a G2, I hope the CSR is similar.
Over to the help forum for my first post.
Hedley
I did try BMS for a parts list and bought one for a G2, I hope the CSR is similar.
Over to the help forum for my first post.
Hedley
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Kieran Enright.
- Posts: 16
- Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2005 10:45 pm
- Location: UK
Restoring a G2 CSR
Dear Hedley,
a friend of mine rebuilt a crash-damaged Honda 750, and I remember the look on his face when he looked at the collection of bits scattered through his spare room (along the lines of "omygod...").
By implication, if the bike was off the road due to crash damage, presumably at the time of the crash the engine and transmission was in working order? If so, how about doing that bit first? And, a tip I picked up from my friend was, as he did each part of the bike, he cleaned/polished/painted each part or assembly - he found it a tremendous confidence booster to see the gradual transformation of a pile of rusty/bent bits into a sorted collection of clean shiny ones. By the time he got the engine/gearbox fully sorted and back together he was on a roll, and that got him through sorting out the damage to the front end (stuffed into the side of a car).
You can rebuild it to original quickly, but it will cost you, or you can rebuild to original fairly cheaply, but that might take you 20 years of searching, but the way I would do it would be as has already been suggested by Rohan and Les - get it on the road, even if it's not original, and enjoy it! You can always sort out the finer points later.
Good luck!
Kes Enright
a friend of mine rebuilt a crash-damaged Honda 750, and I remember the look on his face when he looked at the collection of bits scattered through his spare room (along the lines of "omygod...").
By implication, if the bike was off the road due to crash damage, presumably at the time of the crash the engine and transmission was in working order? If so, how about doing that bit first? And, a tip I picked up from my friend was, as he did each part of the bike, he cleaned/polished/painted each part or assembly - he found it a tremendous confidence booster to see the gradual transformation of a pile of rusty/bent bits into a sorted collection of clean shiny ones. By the time he got the engine/gearbox fully sorted and back together he was on a roll, and that got him through sorting out the damage to the front end (stuffed into the side of a car).
You can rebuild it to original quickly, but it will cost you, or you can rebuild to original fairly cheaply, but that might take you 20 years of searching, but the way I would do it would be as has already been suggested by Rohan and Les - get it on the road, even if it's not original, and enjoy it! You can always sort out the finer points later.
Good luck!
Kes Enright
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Neil Chamberlain.
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2005 10:45 pm
- Location: UK
Restoring a G2 CSR
I have a 1965 14CSR(AJS equivalent of the G2) and purchased the owners handbook, parts list & supplementary parts list from BMS.
You have probably worked this out already, but I found the parts list a bit confusing. If you look up a part number in the main list then cross reference to the supplementary list and see if there is any difference for the CSR.
Good luck with the project!
Regards,
Neil.
You have probably worked this out already, but I found the parts list a bit confusing. If you look up a part number in the main list then cross reference to the supplementary list and see if there is any difference for the CSR.
Good luck with the project!
Regards,
Neil.
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Lawrence Varga.
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2005 10:45 pm
- Location: UK
Restoring a G2 CSR
Can anyone give me an idea what range of prices these bikes fetch?I have just purchased a 1965 g2csr it was not registered and sold until 1985 and has had only two previous owners and done about 37000 miles both the tank and the mudguards are painted over but their is evidence of crome underneath.The handlebars seem non standard due to file marks and the levers are part of the bars.Any information and advice would be much appreciated as i know nothing about the model and have only had it two days!!