Today received the last batch of the powder coating for three Pantahs. So in total I have had cleaned up, stripped of paint & rust, and powder coated black gloss: 2 frames 3 swinging arms 3 centre stands 1 side stand 3 chain guards 3 rear mudguards 3 instrument brackets 8 rear suspension springs 7 alloy wheels (gold) That phase is complete, but I still have plenty more to do - * One pair of front forks (35mm Marzocchis) cleaned up, sorted out, polished and ready to go; two more pairs awaiting attention. * 6 brake discs (260mm cast iron Brembo) cleaned up, derusted, sprayed with heat resistant paint, and fitted to wheels; 3 more discs yet to sort out. * New wheel bearings fitted to 6 wheels; 1 more to go (one to use plus one spare). * New tyres (18 inch Pirelli Sport Demons) obtained and fitted to 4 wheels; 2 more to get. * 2 new carburettors purchased (Dell'Orto PHF 36mm), 2 36mm refurbished, 2 PHM 40mm OK; so all 6 now complete. Etc etc. At this rate I'll be lucky to get everything finished and three bikes running by next Summer.
Photos of Nuttynick's very effective frame repair operation. With the internal reinforcement it must be stronger now than it was in the first place.
I'm not sure if I took any pictures of it before I cut the bent section off to replace it with the good section from the other frame? Any pictures of it powder coated? I just blew it over to keep the corrosion out. You even get a peek at my workshop boots
Here's the frame you fixed, Nick, as it is now shown relaxing on the sofa. Sometimes I think I spoil these bikes ... ... and here is a pair of wheels. Well I say a pair, rear one is FPS and front one is OSCAM.
One of the Pantah engines had no electric start fitted, just a blanking plate. So I sourced a second-hand starter (not the same as later models), cleaned it up and modified the earthing arrangements to be more effective, got a gasket, sourced a reduction gear, obtained a sprag clutch and fitted it into the back of the flywheel. And what do you know, the track the sprag clutch runs against is too worn to grip, so the bloody thing still won't work. I am now sourcing a replacement for the large gear behind the flywheel, which includes that track. Even the simplest little thing usually turns out to be complicated and expensive, doesn't it?
I'm pleased with that! Hopefully when I chop the parts off the other chassis and re-weld that, it'll come out as nice.
Hi, this project i loking geat. i saw earlier that you may be painting at least one of these bikes in theice blue.I am also rebuilding an early 80 500 and am trying to find a close colour to the original ice blue.... could anyone give me any suggestions please? I have original decals ready to go so just trying to get this colour thing sorted. Thanks
All three of my bikes will be in the original shade of metallic ice blue with red and blue decals. I have one set of tank/seat/fairing/sidepanels with excellent paint, and two more sets which need respraying. I have sourced some colour-matched paint which will give a fine result, I hope. Automotive paint suppliers can make up batches of paint to match any colour quite easily. Good luck with the rebuild.
Yes I've seen them, thank you, but I don't want them. I have all I need of these parts. Plus these advertised ones would all have to be stripped and repainted anyway, since they have been spoiled with a load of extra unwanted red paint (including on the seat upholstery!).
About that Swann box-section swinging arm @Mr.R : I have just now at last got my hands on another spare standard (round) Pantah swinging arm, so I shall have the choice of which one to fit. It would not take long to swap one swinging arm for another on a Pantah.
I managed to find a guy who wanted to swap an FPS front wheel which he had for an OSCAM which he needed. So we did the swap, and we both ended up with pairs of the correct wheels for our bikes. Then I had another wheel to powder coat, replace wheel bearings, sort out and fit brake discs, and fit new tyre. All done.
Footrests and gear/brake levers tend to get scraped and bent over the years. The Pantah ones are all chromed steel, as are the clipon handlebars, fairing brackets, etc. I have got 6 footrests, 3 gearlevers and 3 brake levers (for three bikes) welded up, machined, straightened and polished. 65 bits are now with the chromers, who should have them finished in a couple of weeks. Then I'll find out if their work is as good as they claim it is. Chrome plating by DMF based in SE London, electroplating refurbish service including, metal polishing, nickel, chrome, copper and gold. We specialise in car and motorcycle parts and can refinish onto diecast, brass, steel, copper and stainless steel.A1 Chrome plating, chroming at its best, full chrome restoration service.
Pantah ignition systems were originally two Bosch pickups and amplifiers, with ballast resistors to make them compatible with 12v Nippon Denso coils. One of mine was converted to Lucas Rita in 1981, with a single pick-up, single Lucas amplifier, and two 6 volt coils in series. Unfortunately John Carpenter of Mistral Engineering (the Rita guy) has recently retired, due to his advanced age, and Rita parts have thus become unobtainable. So I am having to convert that one back to the original specification. The original Bosch pick-ups had flimsy little wires which harden and crack with age and heat, so it would be necessary to fit new ones in any event. The relevant parts, or modern substitutes for them, are fairly readily obtainable, e.g. pick-ups and coils from Electrex: http://www.electrexworld.co.uk/ I have gathered most of the ignition bits I need, and will probably have them all by next week.
MdinaItalia advertise Bosch ignition amplifiers for £221 each. But I have just bought some from an EBay auction at £45 for the pair inc P&P.
I have been restoring six Pantah clocks (3 x speedo, 3 x revs) which are 1980 Nippon Denso items similar to MHR clocks. Now finished them, and looking pretty smart I think.
