[spudsdad]

any one any information on the drayton bantam ?

[Villiersprodigy]

yes its Jim pickering our local batum specialist. Jim as spent years playing around and making suptle changes
to his bike.Its a brilliant light weight bike and very competative.If your interested give him a ring on 07850836571

[spudsdad]

cheers villers for the quick reply to my question [7 mins]

[totalshell]

from dave dawsons blog

Jim Pickering, the Midlands 'Bantam' man rides the majority of the BMCA events and so far this season had been riding his Royal Enfield in the over 350cc class in the BMCA championship so I asked if I could borrow his Bantam as he was not likely to be using it himself and he kindly agreed to being my sponsor for the day!!

Well, I must say that I was a little dubious about the BSA Bantam as even though Jim's bike was always going to be one of the best ones around (he does the engines for many Bantam riders including Peter Gaunt apparently)but even bored out to 180 or 190cc I couldn't really see it pulling my slender 17.5 stone up the muddy banks that were bound to be present after all the recent rain.

A few adjustments on the controls and half a turn on the tick over screw were all that was needed and off I went...First impressions were that it felt a little flat off the bottom but was quite clean through the rev range and pulled quite well in both 1st and 2nd gear.

So I was straight into the trial after 5 minutes of practice and section 1, on the side of a fairly steep bank with a tricky set of cambered turns up a sandy/muddy bank with a tricky steep exit where throttle control and low down power was required to get to the ends cards without either the front rearing up or breaking grip. I had a slack dab at the bottom (probably getting ready for the lack of power that I expected!) then the little bike pulled and pulled all the way to the top, never feeling like it was going to lose grip or want for power.

Now confident that it would drag me round I took a different level of confidence into the rest of the first lap which included muddy drops, banks and ruts as well as rocky streams and as the lap went on I began to really enjoy the bike and the trial, never ceasing to be amazed by the grip I was able to get and the power that was available. It turned out that where I thought the engine was flat, it was actually an engine characteristic that allows you to bring the power on nicely without spinning the back wheel and once I was used to it was finding grip anywhere I needed it..

I completed the 1st lap for 4 marks which consisted of 4 single dabs on sections 1, 5,7 and 9. The second lap was similar with another 4 marks lost with 2 on section 2 which has become slippery and took me by surprise and another 2 on section 9 when I knocked my foot off the footrest on the bank of the stream and took 2 marks to sort myself out. The last 2 laps went for another 3 marks with my best lap of 1 mark coming on the last lap when the sections were at their worst.

Overall a really enjoyable trial with good sections considering the conditions and a load of fun being a sponsored rider for the 2nd time in two trials... I was really pleased with how I rode too with no real mistakes, just dabs where I needed them and some really good and consistent rides.

I must say thanks to Jim for the loan of the bike - if you need anything to transform your Bantam, he's your Man! He can sort you out with everything from engines, exhausts and even the Drayton Bantam frame which is his baby - give him a call on 07850 836571 - see the pics of Jim's bike here - I can now vouch for the fact that it goes as well as it looks!!........advert over...!

[wetfeet]

heres a picture of a drayton bantam hope this helps




drayton

[DaveD444]

Hi Totalshell and Wetfeet - nice to see i have some readers of the BLOG on here.....

The comments on the Bantam are honest and true - its a lovely little bike (Jim I hope I am on commission!!!!)

Dave

[wetfeet]

the other side of the bike


drayton 2

[wetfeet]

dave your blog is really good and very informative with some great pics and i hope you dont mind me posting them on here for people to see

[DaveD444]

wetfeet, on Feb 15 2010, 11:00 PM, said:

dave your blog is really good and very informative with some great pics and i hope you dont mind me posting them on here for people to see

Not at all mate - it was for my own records but if it's useful for others then that's great

[wetfeet]

i thought people might be interested in a few more bantam pictures these are from the south durham section of he vintage club, who hold trials every month in our area (and very good trials they are too)

bsa


wassell




wassell 2

[TrialsRfun]

I have not seen a Wassell Bantam before how many were made any idea?

[trialsrooster]

There were 50 of the Bantam powered Wassells built , I had the last one built here in the US . It was never ridden ,still had original tires and all the sheet metal . We restored it and it's now owned by the Barber museum in Alabama , Cheers

[Ducman]

And one is over here in Germany.Interesting to know that they only build 50.The guy who owns it does not know what he has.Maybe i will have a word with him.
Chrs:Mike

[Old trials fanatic]

Ducman, on Feb 24 2010, 09:32 AM, said:

And one is over here in Germany.Interesting to know that they only build 50.The guy who owns it does not know what he has.Maybe i will have a word with him.
Chrs:Mike

Tell him after youve bought it

[Ducman]

Defenetly,the trouble is iam not shur if he will sell it,but i try my best to get it
Chrs:Mike