A100 Restoration: A New Project

Welcome to the first post in what should be an excellent and most triumphant motorcycle restoration series. I've fancied doing a restoration for a while after seeing these guys at the Calgary Motorcycle Show a couple years ago and now I have my chance.

The Vision:

I saw the bike come up on Kijiji. It was in Saskatchewan and the chap said in an email that it had never been registered anywhere. From my research online, it appeared to me that this would mean it would not need an out of provice inspection to register in AB (more on that later). So a road trip was planned to Shaunavon Saskatchewan which is 5 hours away from Calgary and in the middle of nowhere. After many miles and a couple Tim Horton's coffees we arrived to find a treasure trove of old bikes in a workshop. Turns out that the guy was a retired oil guy who loves restoring bikes. The A100 was going to be his "going to coffee" bike but he had picked up a new bike which he liked better. I do not know how he decides which bike to work on each day as he seems to have about 10 on the go!

The Workshop

The Bike:

The bike was in decent shape cosmetically and mechanically. Obviously it needed a good painting and some dent filling and probably a bit of mechanical work. The chrome was in great shape and their was very little rust on the frame. Overall, everything was there. He fired it up on the first kick - a good sign. Blue smoke poured out of the exhaust pipe and into the chilly winter air. Satisfied, I paid the man and headed home with my prize. Total purchase price: $1000.