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Drayton Bantam


prelit
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If you want a winning bike then say goodbye to £10,000 and that’s without a sponsor. Nice as they are they are really brand new bikes and not in the true spirit of an original Bantam. The Bantam I had was a 125 D2 bought for £4.00 and a lovely little machine it was too! In fact it was the first motorcycle that I rode. It was the first one that I fell off too! As brilliant as the latest manifestation is it ain’t anywhere near a real Bantam. I’m a purist and BSA never made a bike anything like the machine mentioned here, so it’s a bit smoke and mirrors. I tend to ignore the achievements of machines like this when in reality it’s just the cylinder head, crankcases and some gears that were from the original Bantam. I can feel some crushing comments coming my way now?

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6 hours ago, section swept said:

 I tend to ignore the achievements of machines like this when in reality it’s just the cylinder head, crankcases and some gears that were from the original Bantam. I can feel some crushing comments coming my way now?

Some are using machined Fantic heads !

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16 hours ago, feetupfun said:

Poor bloke just wants to know what they weigh. I haven't weighed one yet but would put money on it being substantially lighter than a TY175

David, he is bound to be mocked really - Here in the UK riders of Drayton Bantams and similar machines get teased at trials. We joke that they are cheating,the bikes are so light they are more bicycle than motorbike. I'm sure someone mentioned that a rigid framed one was down to about 160 lb. But the £10,000 comment can also be seen as a joke, you don't need to spend that much.(Unless you pay someone an hourly rate to build it for you)

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The Drayton frames aren't actually that light (they aren't sold as such either) The frame for my C15 is a fair bit heavier than the Faber frame I had before. But standard Bantam frames aren't that heavy either, I've ridden a Bantam with original frame (I don't mean a standard bike, still modified) and the Drayton and there's little in it,

Alan Whitton's Cub that I tried a few years ago was around 160/170lbs I think, so a Bantam is going to be very near that taking into account the Cub frame is probably lighter but the engine heavier than the Bantam

A sad subject at the moment though as Drayton builder Jim Pickering passed away last night after his battle with cancer. A lovely bloke who will be very much missed in these parts

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RIP mr Pickering. Very sad news, indeed.

I have been collecting parts and advice for a planned Bantam build over the last year or so and Jim was a goldmine of tips and tricks. As an expert always willing to share his thoughts, he was one of the very few real authorities.

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4 hours ago, trialsrfun said:

In your case the total cost would be the price of a Drayton frame plus the £4 you paid for the rest of it so no 10k or sponsor required.

That would have been great except it was in 1963..ish that the little green Bantam figured in my formative motorcycle obsession?? Dont think Drayton would have been around then. That Bantam even if by some miracle I had it now, it would not be offered up as a conversion, as I remember the bike had no rust except on the front of the barrel next to the exhaust.?

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21 hours ago, jon v8 said:

David, he is bound to be mocked really - Here in the UK riders of Drayton Bantams and similar machines get teased at trials. We joke that they are cheating,the bikes are so light they are more bicycle than motorbike. I'm sure someone mentioned that a rigid framed one was down to about 160 lb. But the £10,000 comment can also be seen as a joke, you don't need to spend that much.(Unless you pay someone an hourly rate to build it for you)

Or count your own time as a cost into building it yourself?At the end of the day any Bantam or British Trials bike kept in the sporting publics eye is a good thing.?

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20 hours ago, woody said:

The Drayton frames aren't actually that light (they aren't sold as such either) The frame for my C15 is a fair bit heavier than the Faber frame I had before. But standard Bantam frames aren't that heavy either, I've ridden a Bantam with original frame (I don't mean a standard bike, still modified) and the Drayton and there's little in it,

Alan Whitton's Cub that I tried a few years ago was around 160/170lbs I think, so a Bantam is going to be very near that taking into account the Cub frame is probably lighter but the engine heavier than the Bantam

A sad subject at the moment though as Drayton builder Jim Pickering passed away last night after his battle with cancer. A lovely bloke who will be very much missed in these parts

His bikes and engineering prowess will go on and his name will be remembered, a lasting tribute to a clever engineer.

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11 minutes ago, section swept said:

That would have been great except it was in 1963..ish that the little green Bantam figured in my formative motorcycle obsession?? Dont think Drayton would have been around then. That Bantam even if by some miracle I had it now, it would not be offered up as a conversion, as I remember the bike had no rust except on the front of the barrel next to the exhaust.?

If only we could buy them now, how I wish I had kept both the Velocette and Triumph Twin that came went got sold or swapped for what seemed the next better thing. That little Bantam would be worth quite a lot next weekend at Stafford.

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4 minutes ago, trialsrfun said:

If only we could buy them now, how I wish I had kept both the Velocette and Triumph Twin that came went got sold or swapped for what seemed the next better thing. That little Bantam would be worth quite a lot next weekend at Stafford.

It would have been if I hadn’t swapped in 1963.☹️

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On ‎04‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 10:32 AM, prelit said:

Hi Guys,

Does anyone know the weight of a Drayton Bantam ready to ride with fuel etc.

Thanks,

Prelit.

Our Drayton Bantam is 184lbs ready to ride. It is still on standard Iron hubs and steel shocks at present. Am sure they can be around 170lbs dry.

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