Here at Spa Motorcycles we are addicted to Classic restorations. Our technicians Rob Pemberton and Mick Potter have completed over 80 partial restorations in the last few years, including Engine rebuilds, wheel building , carburettor modifications and exhaust upgrades. Full restorations can take six months and we’ve done over 20 of them now. We’ve got a real passion for keeping old bikes on the road. For a job to be successful, in our eyes the finished bike doesn’t just need to look good, it needs to ride well too. Below you will find a few examples of our recent restorations. We also recently featured in ‘Bike Magazine’, click the button below for the full article.
This silver RD350B was collected from a barn in October 2015 after sitting forgotten for 25 years, and completely restored over a period of 6 months. With a very specific brief from the customer ( a local GP who owned one back in the Late 70’s )… he had inherited the bike from a Relative, so there was a sentimental attachment.
He wanted a Cafe Racer inspired minimalistic resto’ that he could ride normally, carry a pillion or Spank around @ speed. Black rims, Race engine & expansion exhaust pipes, but with some original Patina on the panels (ie keep original paint).
We undertook a complete strip to bare frame and wheels , before modifying the frame to carry rearsets & then powder-coating frame, wheels, yokes & swingarm. The engine was completely rebuilt using refurbished crank & new conrods, pistons etc, before undergoing a moderate race tune, followed by carburettor & airbox modifications to suit the race exhausts & revised state of tune.
We managed to find a matching Silver side panel to replace an odd orange panel which came on the bike & the rest of the paintwork ,fuel tank & oil tank were treated to a good clean with a cutting compound , which did the trick & delivered the required result .. Shiny but original ( incl. a little rusty patina).
The overall result was very well received by the Customer Matt… who was absolutely blown away with the results