BARN-FIND REBORN

This story started in 2014, as told in part back in RC159. Mossy, a local character with an eerie ability to unearth old motorcycles, told me and my friend Donald about a stash of barn-find motorcycles that were for sale. The 10 hour drive was well worth it. I bought a 1946 Velocette MAC, a 1924 L24 BSA and a 1915 Douglas; Donald bought a 1918 BSA and a 1924 Douglas CW.

After sorting out the Velo MAC, I turned my attention to what had been sold as a 1926 L26 3½ hp 350cc sidevalve BSA. The machine was a genuine barn-find and I decided to try to keep as much of the patina of its age as possible. By far the biggest problem was that the back wheel was missing, as were the exhaust pipe and magneto. The rear mudguard was also so damaged and twisted that it could have been used as a very large corkscrew! The engine and gearbox looked like they needed some attention, but fortunately it came with a load of secondhand parts; three engines, a refurbished barrel with a new piston, four gearboxes, a couple of clutches