Maintenance & Restoration

6. Starting The Work – Vintage Series

The most daunting moment of any project is the transition from “looking at the bike” to “taking it apart.” It’s the moment the bike stops being a vehicle and starts being a collection of components. To ensure your project doesn’t end up as a pile of mystery bolts in a cardboard box, you need a […]

Read More

5. Finding the Right Tools – Vintage Series

You don’t need a five-figure tool chest to build a vintage bike, but you do need more than a rusty pair of pliers and a butter knife. Vintage bikes have been sitting for decades; their bolts are seized, their screws are soft, and their clearances are tight. If you’re starting from scratch, here is the […]

Read More

4. Researching Your Project – Vintage Series

You’ve got the bike. It’s sitting in your garage, and you’re itching to tear it down. Wait. Before you remove a single bolt, you need to become a student of your machine. Vintage bikes weren’t built like modern ones; they have quirks, “mid-year” production changes, and specific engineering “isms” that can catch you off guard. […]

Read More

2. How Much Detail – Vintage Series

In the world of vintage bikes, “finished” is a relative term. Before you dive into your project, you need to ask yourself a hard question: What do I want the bike to look like when I’m done? The level of detail you choose will dictate how much time you spend in the garage versus how […]

Read More

1. How Much to Spend – Vintage Series

It’s easy to look at a $500 bike on Craigslist and think, “For a few hundred more, I’ll have a classic.”

Read More