Last year I bought a project which was for sale in France and was posted here on this forum. It is now back on the road, running fine and riding well. It needs some small parts and adjustments and then awaiting its cosmetic finish.

It was a joy to rebuilt as most parts were hardly worn and touched although there was some internal damage by corrosion. It was a mix of two bikes (1940 parts in a 1943 frame) when I bought it and decided to keep it together as that is also part of its history. I will leave most of the original finish as it is but that gives a little problem as the frame has its original brown colour and lots of other parts are in original light green paint...





Thanks again to Rik who discovered some of its history and to the forummembers who supplied parts and of course everyone who posts the heaps of technical information on here, very helpful.

Any comment/thoughts very welcome.

Regards, Michiel / Holland

email (option): m.wijbenga@hotmail.com

hello Michiel,

Stunning bike!
As I am a fan of original looking motorcycles I would keep the bike just as it is now. As you stated; 'it's also part of its history...'
Good luck and perhaps we'll meet some day.
Regards,
Sven

email (option): snvosselman@hotmail.com

So why not keep it as it was when it was bought?..
Anything done to it now is a recreation of an arbitarily chosen point in time..whether that be day one of its history, day 500 or any day. Beyond the point when it was a complete 'original' motorcycle no point is any more 'original looking' than the next...So a bike restored to 'as new' does, in fact, looks just as 'original'...Just what is an 'original' look supposed to be?..I'm guessing 'unrestored looking, used, but not too bad' would be a better description of this particular interpretation.
That's OK if you want to recreate that..but it's just one version of an 'original look'..another version is to have it looking as it was when new..After all, they got less original as they got older, not more original..Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Hi michiel

Nice one, great to see as a more complete motorcycle once again rather than propping up a wall in a barn in France

Let's hope we all see it in 2014 as part of the 200 contingent

See you at netley

Job

email (option): Jonnyob1@googlemail.com

Looks great, I really love these early bikes. Are you sure it should have the narrow toolbox?

Henk

email (option): ahum@quicknet.nl

That's very nice Michiel! Congrats!

Cheers,
Jan

email (option): wd.register@gmail.com

I wish my 16H had been in original looking condition instead of brush painted, or should that be plastered in a yucky colour green paint. I would have loved to have left it like that. Well done for getting it together

email (option): horror@blueyonder.co.uk

Thanks for your nice replies and thoughts, I will post some pictures when ready.

Henk, not sure about the toolbox, think I saw some earlier bikes with the thick toolbox, so that will probably be the right one.

Regards, Michiel

email (option): m.wijbenga@hotmail.com