For many years, people have been restoring and collecting vintage bikes as a hobby. Its not only an investment that can really make you a lot of money but as a bike enthusiast, being able to restore a vintage bike can really give you a sense of fulfillment. You have to consider the fact that buying a fully restored motorcycle can cost a lot of money. This is one of the reasons why many bike enthusiasts and collectors opted for restoring aged bikes.
If you also want to restore vintage bikes as a hobby, then you will need a bit of help and you also need to be informed on what you should do and what to expect when restoring vintage bikes.
First of all, the process of restoring a vintage bike is not easy. There are many obstacles that you need to go through in order for you to get the vintage bike that you are restoring back to its former glory. So, here are some tips that will help you restore your vintage bike easily.
After you decided on what vintage bike you want to restore, the first thing that you have to do is that you have to find a good source for the parts that you may need in order for you to fully restore the motorcycle. Try checking nearby bike shops, garage sales, swap meets, and also various websites, blogs, and forums that is specifically themed for motorcycle restoration.
You should also know that junk yards or scrap yards are great sources for vintage bike parts. Here, it is very likely that you will find the same make and model of the bike that you are restoring that you can salvage for parts.
Now that you have all the parts that you need in order for you to fully restore your vintage motorcycle, the next step is to disassemble everything. While on the process of disassembling the bike down to its frame, you should take pictures of the entire process with a digital camera. This way, you will have a reference on how to put everything back together again.
Once you fully disassembled the motorcycle, the next step is to check the frame for rust and other damage. Remove the rust and get the damage repaired. Then, you may want to start painting the frame in order to prevent rust to develop and protect it from the harshness of the environment.
After this, you should start your work on the engine. This is probably the hardest part to work on as there are a lot of moving parts in it. If you dont have any experience with motorcycle engines, try to get someone who does to repair or restore it for you. If you cant find a particular part for the engine, you can consider getting the part custom-made for you in machine shops.
After working on the engine, you can now start restoring the transmission, brakes, lights, and other parts of your motorcycle.
Once you got everything restored, you can put it back together again and try it out on the road. It may seem so simple to do but its a lot harder than it sounds. You have to have plenty of time for this kind of project and you also have to expect to spend a lot of money on it. Although this is the case, you will find that as a bike enthusiast, it will be well worth your time, money, and effort once you get your fully restored vintage bike back on the road again.