[Adrian II]

There are aftermarket frames that can be used for that sort of thing, Rickman Metisse springs to mind. I have seen a couple of superb looking Bullet engine Metisses, and given the interchangeability of the Redditch Bullet and twin engines they'd be something with a more obvious off-road potential (and choice of forks etc up to you) while keeping the original frame well out of reach of the angle grinder.

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[Mike flanagan]

The bottom stock bike is perfect.The comments from the builder or whomever that guy is has the stereo typical bs comments about historic british engineering based on bs.

[Adrian II]

I thought you'd like the unrestored one Mike.

While I'm not a fan of the 17" wheels I have to say RE (Redditch) managed to put together a machine that looked like all the bits were meant to work together. Form and function.

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[Arizoni]

IMO, if the guy wanted to build the thing he made, he should have bought a new Royal Enfield 650 twin, pulled the engine out of it and built all of the rest of the stuff.

I really hate to see people destroying old bikes and cars, trying to "improve" or "customize"  them by changing everything when there are modern things that can be used to do the same thing. 

Of course, I'm a bit odd, I guess.  I see a 1938 Buick or a 1950 Plymouth at the car show and immediately lose interest in it when I see a Corvette ls7 or a Viper engine crammed under the hood.

[Mike flanagan]

I get what the guy wants to do,not the same esthetic sensibility as me.Yes,concerning the wheels,Adrian,I would prefer 18 inch,the bike feels small with 17.Not sure yet.

[Adrian II]

Tire availabilty might make that choice for you!

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[axman88]

, if said bike were mine I'd toss everything but the engine, trans and frame, pump lots of greenbacks, time and skill into it.

And this is exactly what I see as a good reason to NOT try to go stock/restoration.  With an older bike, with parts in short supply, one can end up spending LOTs of money, chasing after parts.  If one gets a bike that is mainly complete, that's one thing, but if one gets a bike that's substantially incomplete, at a good price, the only reasonable options from an economic standpoint might be "custom" or parting out, and parting out is probably the wiser choice, financially.  The NOS exhaust system you FINALLY find, and CAN'T pass up after 3 years of searching, can easily exceed the purchase price of the bike.

Show quality restorations tend to end up as garage queens, because they become too valuable to ride. 

The one positive of "customs", is that after their conversion, they remain attainable to less well heeled enthusiasts.

[grumbern]

If it's all about the money, why not buy a running Suzuki Bandit, oder GS500E? You can get one of those for a 200$ and don't even have to do anything.
Finished and rode my Chief this year, for about 500 mIles:




Started like this:




I hate that good parts get slaughtered, just because som idiot doesn't have the guts to go the long way, or thinks he's a genius designer and doesn't even know a thing.
No excuses. Do it right or leave it!
Andreas

[Adrian II]

Your commitment to what ought to be a prize-winning restoration is increasingly rare theses days, I suspect.

som idiot doesn't have the guts to go the long way

Yeah, that's probably me. I feel under less pressure to avoid non-original features when I start with a bare frame and just find the parts I want to fit. If Not A Fury/ASBO14 had been a genuine Fury it probably would not now have alloy wheels, disk front brake or five speed box, and I would have had to get used to riding it with an Amal GP carburetor!

or thinks he's a genius designer and doesn't even know a thing

Yeah, some people should just not be allowed near any kind of metal cutting equipment, or at least not be allowed to bring it within twenty feet of any kind of classic vehicle. 

So what do you do when you're faced with something which is either missing and unobtainable, or which you think is really not one of RE's better design features? A little bit of research will often reveal parts from different years for your model or even from different RE models which will fit, function well and still look Redditch enough to be in keeping with the classic styling, while any discarded original parts can be stored safely, to go with the bike if you sell it on, or used to help someone else's restoration. At least that way nothing is butchered on a whim. My current project started as a frame with just the bottom end of the engine and the gearbox. These two will not be used but will be kept to one side as they are part of the history of the bike and could always be re-fitted at a later date.

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[Bilgemaster]

If it's all about the money, why not buy a running Suzuki Bandit, oder GS500E? You can get one of those for a 200$ and don't even have to do anything.
Finished and rode my Chief this year, for about 500 mIles:




Started like this:




I hate that good parts get slaughtered, just because som idiot doesn't have the guts to go the long way, or thinks he's a genius designer and doesn't even know a thing.
No excuses. Do it right or leave it!
Andreas

Sweet Baby Jeebus, Andreas! I'd be hard pressed to point at a prettier bike than that. And seeing now what humble beginnings it had, my hat's really off to you.

[grumbern]

Thanks! There really wasn't much more than the frame, engine and gearbox. All other parts had to be found, bought, or fabricated. And trust me, there's none of these bikes parts in Europe

@Adrian: That's exactly what I mean. Look at my "Laubfrosch" project. That frame was done for anyway. Perfect for a "custom" job. Bent, broken, one of the more common ones (Continental) and nothing more than the frame. But still I wanted to keep it's style and basic layout because, if I didn't - well, why choose aRE anyway?! If you don't like it, leave it to people who do! That's why I wouldn't lay hands on anything, that I wouldn't appreciate. It seems to me, that many of these "customizers" are bored and looking for a quick job for the weekends. Only having fun, not more. Don't get me wrong, that's ok. But you could at least have this fun with a machine, you already have some sort of connection with. most of them don't. They only see steel, castings and tubings of a certain weight and volume. They don't see the history, or the beauty in design, the thoughts that lead to it and last but not least the nice little things, that make these machines special. They just get rid of all of it and make something, that's either so unspectacular you could find it anywhere, or just spectacularly ugly, so you won't just miss it. And if one is this indifferent with what he does, why not take a bike of which there's still thousands out there?!

For exapmle these ugly headers, when there's so much you can do with standard tubing:

[Dr Mayhem]

Thanks! There really wasn't much more than the frame, engine and gearbox. All other parts had to be found, bought, or fabricated. And trust me, there's none of these bikes parts in Europe

@Adrian: That's exactly what I mean. Look at my "Laubfrosch" project. That frame was done for anyway. Perfect for a "custom" job. Bent, broken, one of the more common ones (Continental) and nothing more than the frame. But still I wanted to keep it's style and basic layout because, if I didn't - well, why choose aRE anyway?! If you don't like it, leave it to people who do! That's why I wouldn't lay hands on anything, that I wouldn't appreciate. It seems to me, that many of these "customizers" are bored and looking for a quick job for the weekends. Only having fun, not more. Don't get me wrong, that's ok. But you could at least have this fun with a machine, you already have some sort of connection with. most of them don't. They only see steel, castings and tubings of a certain weight and volume. They don't see the history, or the beauty in design, the thoughts that lead to it and last but not least the nice little things, that make these machines special. They just get rid of all of it and make something, that's either so unspectacular you could find it anywhere, or just spectacularly ugly, so you won't just miss it. And if one is this indifferent with what he does, why not take a bike of which there's still thousands out there?!

For exapmle these ugly headers, when there's so much you can do with standard tubing:

I'd hop on your little trials machine in a heartbeat, but you couldn't pay me enough to be seen on that perrty red monstrosity in public!

And even if it were black, it still wouldn't fit my needs or wants any way, shape or form!!! And that my friend is why people mostly mod (restomod) motorcycles. It's all contrary to what you seem to have come to believe about righteousness also, with you being one of only a very select few to have it. Get off your high horse, it's not a good look for an old man! It's all a matter of taste, different strokes for different folks. Merry Christmas 

[grumbern]

Well, then it's good I'm well below my 40s and not an old man, so I might still ride a big horse!

It's ok to build something to your own taste, as I said and even more did. For example this trials machine still in build, or my 650 Yamaha:



All I say is: Do it with respect! Keep the inheritant features, or if they don't fit you (for example in your case the Chief), use something that has them and leave it to someone who can appreciate it.
All I did to this bike can be reversed, no parts are lost and if someone doesn't like what I did, he can do something else. But senselessly destroying things without a bit of style or talent, is idiotic. Do what you can do and grow with your chalenges, but know, what you can do. The bike shown will never be able to be something else, but a drop in the steel forge.
On top, he build this machine out of hate to what it was, as he speaks. Nothing good ever came from hate. Same here.
That's my opinion. You don't have to share it.
Still, have a merry Christmas!
Andreas

P.S.: You couldn't pay me enough to sit on it, it's a privilege!

[heloego]

Absitively, Posilutely agree!I think I just fouled my keyboard with my drool!
One fantastic job and thanks for showing us!

[Adrian II]

In reply to Grumber's previous post, some people have a warped sense of aesthetics, as well as an over-weaning sense of self-importance. I may be one of them (!) but I think "Rupe" really wanted to drag the bike's styling into the place where he has transformed a genuine classic into a false-retro bike, that line of the exhaust may be deliberate rather than "good enough". Other classic bikes suffer too, here's a BSA A65 to er... enjoy.



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