It's turned out nice again, hasn't it?  I jest!  Wet, wet... wet, yet again.  So, to keep myself amused, I began perusing some old motorbike magazines and came across this early copy of The Motor Cycle which I thought I would share with you.
The Bantam pictured on the left is a 1949 model - a D1 Plunger with Lucas ignition to be precise and 'now available with a spring frame for extra comfort'!
Would you like one?  You would?  Well there's one for sale at Whitby's of Acton,W3, for the princely sum of £80/4s/8d - and it includes a speedo!  World-famous Pride & Clarke of Stockwell Road, E8, also have them for the same price, and offer easy terms: an initial deposit of £33/4s/8d and the rest on the Never-Never!
Fancy something bigger?  A Velocette MAC 350, perhaps?  Comerford's of Thames Ditton, Surrey, have one - a '37 model - for only £69/10s!  How times have changed!
Now before you go hot-footed to any of these dealerships, I must warn you the bikes listed above may be sold already - as the details all come from the 1948 magazine!  And, anyhow, the motorcycle dealers may be long gone of course, unless anyone knows different - if so, please let me know!

I don't know about you, but I often search the pages of Ebay for a bargain - a part for my Bantam, perhaps, or, for my other 'passion' old picture postcards of Sheringham, Norfolk, where I come from.  But it seems a great many Ebayers are out there with the same thought in mind. Take Bantams, for instance. There are usually 8 or 9 pages full of parts and bikes (in various states of repair it has to be said!) up for grabs (or bids!).
And the prices they are asking! Or the prices bidders are prepared to pay for a 'barn find' or 'just dragged out of a lake' (my words for the latter!), just defies belief.
It seems, because of Ebay, the humble Bantam has been well and truly elevated in value. But has it been over-valued, I ask myself? A few years back parts were a fraction of the price they are today if you knew where to look. For instance, I once bought a D1 petrol tank in reasonable order for £10. Try getting one for that price on Ebay now! 
I have seen some dreadful examples of rusty bikes online going for in excess of £500, fit - in my opinion - only for the scrapheap.  Let's face it, spending another £400 getting them at least roadworthy wouldn't be out of the question, would it? (New wheel rims and spokes at £120 per wheel, and goodness knows what's lurking deep within the engine!)  Yet people are prepared to pay good money, bidding against each other, and forcing up the prices.  
It's not just Bantams, however, as I've looked at other bikes of makes I used to own and ride as well - Hondas, Suzukis, Yamahas, Lambrettas (Wow, a mortgage required for the latter) - and it's a similar picture. 
It seems to me an old bike for restoration is a 'must have' at any cost these days.  What is happening out there?  Do people have more money than sense? And having spent a suitcase of hard-earned cash, would they be prepared to ride their 'pride and joy' every day, like Little Willie? Weather permitting, of course.
"Come on Little Willie, it's stopped raining now, fancy a ride?"
"Putt, p-putt, putt, putt..."
"That's a 'yes' then?"

There's another Bantam in town, folks!  And here we see it and its new owner, my friend Hughie, who is just about to tighten the set-screws on the clutch cover plate.
His Bantam, one of the last D14/4s, seems to be in very good condition for the year and has only done 12,000 miles, but there are a few jobs to be done yet before it can take to the road.
This morning, being very wet (which continued for the rest of the day), I went to help Hughie replace the kick-starter spring, which involved removing the clutch to get to the quadrant.
When I arrived, just before 10.30am, Hughie had already drained the gearbox oil, and removed the silencer, right-hand foot-peg, and clutch-side cover.  Luckily, I had the tools with me to compress the clutch springs and lock up the clutch pinion, so that made it much easier. Eddie came as well to assist (by holding the inspection lamp) and regaling us with stories of how many kick-starter springs he'd worn out over the years!

Well, here we are in the middle of April and it is so-ooo cold with the return of winds from the north-east!  But, hey!  You can't keep Little Willie down, can you?  So off we went again into the countryside - and there's plenty of that around here!  I gave Little Willie the reins - or at least the handlebars - and off she went heading down a country lane.  Eventually we ended up down a cart-track heading for a field of yellow rape-seed. Little Willie seems to have a rapacious (excuse the pun) appetite for taking me along bumpy roads - and doesn't my posterior know it!   It wasn't for nothing - according to some - BSA stood for B****y Sore A**e as I often discover to my cost - bust that's the