Royal Enfield hedge find.....

Some years ago, I went to visit a friend in West London. He had a bike under his front hedge, that he had bought to ride, but, as a new father, the cost in making it roadworthy put him off, and he abandoned the project. He offered it to me, and I accepted, saying I would come back an collect it. SWMBO said NO!, so I left it a while.

Last Friday, I did just that. The hedge had grown a bit, and the poor bike had no other cover. I became the proud owner of a Royal Enfield "Lightweight Sport".

I had now idea how old it was, it has the timeless 20's-60's quality of a classic design, but it has some charm, and I have always wanted a rod braked bicycle.

It has suffered the ordeal of living outside, and come off quite badly.







Frame: Royal Enfield WR Deluxe 1964? #103012

Fork: Royal Enfield

Headset:
Handlebar: OEM

Brakes : Rod Brake system
Brake Pads:


Gears: Sturmey Archer AG
Chain:
Crank: OEM
Bottom Bracket: Brampton
Pedals:

Rims: Westwood pattern
Hubs: Rear, Sturmey Archer AG 3-speed dyno hub, Front ?
Tyres:
Tubes:

Saddle:
Seatpost: Steel
Seatpost Binder:

Weight: Not at all lightweight






It suffers rust badly.....



I have the missing quadrant for the chain case.





The branding seems to be a stencil, and the seat tube one seems wrong, would look better vertical.







The joy of the Three cannons on the chain wheel. I may have to leave the cover off of the chain case, so that I can see this.





The 1960 catalogue. It is the bicycle on the left, and has the original lights (in poor condition) but no wiring.





I have already started to work on this. The BB axle is bent, and with a poorly fitting chain case, has caused a wear groove on the back of the drive side pedal arm. The chain is so stretched that it has started to contact and wear the teeth behind as it goes round. All the brake parts are very corroded, and I may just source new items from the bay. The front rim is a write off due to rust. Still undecided as to what to do with the paint, looks like British Rail Green to me. Will need some decals made.

As for age, the 3-speed is dated 62, and the serial number is 64/61. Now I don't know about Royal Enfield serial Nos. so I have emailed the National Cycle Museumhttp://www.cyclemuseum.org.uk/ in Wales, to ask for advice.

This is going to be a long haul

Re:

Nice! Good luck with build. Noticed rod brake kits cGBP30 on ebay. Lot easier that trying to restore and rechrome. Have the same challenge at the moment with a Raleigh...

Re: Re:

richardshill":2pph6rku said:

Nice! Good luck with build. Noticed rod brake kits cGBP30 on ebay. Lot easier that trying to restore and rechrome. Have the same challenge at the moment with a Raleigh...

Click to expand...

Yes, I noticed that, and also handlebar assemblies as well. Mine was fitted with Great North Road profile bars, now very rusty.......

TTFN

Dave

Re:

Have obtained a new BB axle as the one fitted was bent. This has caused a wear mark on the rear of the drive side pedal arm. Mocked it up to check clearances as the new one was slightly longer. Looks good. Thinking I will leave the central disc off to show the chain wheel.



Fully stripped down now. Now to find someone to prep and paint the frame, forks and tin ware. :?

Can you not date the bike off the SW hub? Doesn't it have the year of manufacture on the case?

edit: Sorry missed that last sentence.

Hi SantaHaul,

The SA hub is stamped 62. The number on the BB is 64/61, so it cannot be 1961 as the hub is 1962, therefore I think it is most likely to be 1964, but until definitive proof comes along, it is still a guess.

All part of the fun.

Re:

Head Badge

Cleaned with WD 40 and Solvol Autosol mixed, then with RS Solvent cleaner (trichloroethane 1.1.1.) Add paint by Humbrol......

See pic No.3 in the first post for the original condition.




Good to be starting to make good, not just strip down.

Re:

So, managed to source a rim on fleabay, and had my local bike shop ( Mikes Bikes, South Farm Road, Worthing) lace it on to the hub.

Looks a bit better now.....



Slow going at the moment as money is a bit tight.....

Re:

Nice project Dave!

Looking forward to learning about older bikes!

I got my first proper road bike from that shop, when it was John Spooners. Lovely bloke, and made a damn fine frame as well.

Mike

Piperdave said:

Some years ago, I went to visit a friend in West London. He had a bike under his front hedge, that he had bought to ride, but, as a new father, the cost in making it roadworthy put him off, and he abandoned the project. He offered it to me, and I accepted, saying I would come back an collect it. SWMBO said NO!, so I left it a while.

Last Friday, I did just that. The hedge had grown a bit, and the poor bike had no other cover. I became the proud owner of a Royal Enfield "Lightweight Sport".

I had now idea how old it was, it has the timeless 20's-60's quality of a classic design, but it has some charm, and I have always wanted a rod braked bicycle.

It has suffered the ordeal of living outside, and come off quite badly.







Frame: Royal Enfield WR Deluxe 1964? #103012

Fork: Royal Enfield

Headset:
Handlebar: OEM

Brakes : Rod Brake system
Brake Pads:


Gears: Sturmey Archer AG
Chain:
Crank: OEM
Bottom Bracket: Brampton
Pedals:

Rims: Westwood pattern
Hubs: Rear, Sturmey Archer AG 3-speed dyno hub, Front ?
Tyres:
Tubes:

Saddle:
Seatpost: Steel
Seatpost Binder:

Weight: Not at all lightweight






It suffers rust badly.....



I have the missing quadrant for the chain case.





The branding seems to be a stencil, and the seat tube one seems wrong, would look better vertical.







The joy of the Three cannons on the chain wheel. I may have to leave the cover off of the chain case, so that I can see this.





The 1960 catalogue. It is the bicycle on the left, and has the original lights (in poor condition) but no wiring.





I have already started to work on this. The BB axle is bent, and with a poorly fitting chain case, has caused a wear groove on the back of the drive side pedal arm. The chain is so stretched that it has started to contact and wear the teeth behind as it goes round. All the brake parts are very corroded, and I may just source new items from the bay. The front rim is a write off due to rust. Still undecided as to what to do with the paint, looks like British Rail Green to me. Will need some decals made.

As for age, the 3-speed is dated 62, and the serial number is 64/61. Now I don't know about Royal Enfield serial Nos. so I have emailed the National Cycle Museumhttp://www.cyclemuseum.org.uk/ in Wales, to ask for advice.

This is going to be a long haul

Click to expand...

As I own also a 1955 Royal Enfield bicycle I would like to ask you in which point you found the frame number?
Best regards
Andreas