Hi. I’m new to this forum. I have a 1982 Darmah SD that I’ve had from new but not used for the last 30 years. The engine was rebuilt by Whitty Ducati and everything reassembled but then work and life intervened and it was stored in the garage. I would like to get the bike back up and running. Could anyone recommend somewhere that I could get the bike checked over refurbished and tuned up? I’m in the south east, about to move to Sussex I’m sure the carbs will need work and the engine clearances checked, plus brakes etc. It would be fun to get it back on the road so I’d appreciate any recommendations.
Give Geoff at Baines Racing a buzz. He is at Silverstone and this kind of job is his bread and butter. Highly recommend.
You can't post about a beautiful Darmah, without any pics! Plus any resto needs a before pic so do the honors ol' chap!
Many thanks for the recommendation I’ll give them a call. I will post pics once I’ve freed the bike from the garage. It’s hidden by the contents of my daughter’s flat!
There are a few of us on here with good experience of bevels, I also have a Darmah SD ('81), so don't hesitate to ask any questions you may have. Post them in the vintage forum.
I had CFO 182V, I think it was. I bought it used from George White's in Swindon (now, long gone. It was a Kawasaki dealer and George White use to be a speedway rider and I had a Saturday job there for a bit) that I bought used in around 1983. Brilliant bike that took me to Paul Ricard circuit in the South of France for the Bol D'or at least once. One time. the sprag clutch failed at the circuit, so the only way of starting was to bump it. As the compression was so mad, it was impossible top start it with the poxy kick starter (and that may of been junked, anyway) and I had to be sat on it in order for it to turn over as the compression was so high. My mate in a Suzi CS750 had to push, He hated Ducatis! I think that we did the whole journey in one go and got some cargo ferry from Dunkirk I think) in the middle of the night. It was a brilliant bike though! My first Ducati. Oxford Motorcycle Engineers was my nearest Ducati dealer and that is where I went for spares. I discovered a guy (Tony Brancato. I think it was) who rebuilt the cylinder heads for me, after I removed them amd took them to him. I sold it privately about ten years later coz I needed money to buy a house.
Yeah, they were (are) fine bikes on which you could do many comfortable miles. And surprisingly reliable if you kept up on maintenance - apart from the aforementioned sprag. That was an all too common failure point. An ST2/3/4 of it's day. I remember George Whites, just down the road from the county ground. My mother lived in Lechlade so on the weekends I was down there I often popped in to mooch at the bikes. And I definitely remember Tony Brancato, worked out of Chalgrove (?) I seemed to remember. I got him to completely strip & rebuild the engine when the sprag went (again) and it was getting a little clattery & tired. Took him an age but he was a perfectionist and really knew his stuff.
According to Googly, it's now a tyre shop, but there is still "GW" on the pavement bit out front! Looks like the site has been split up as I think that the Vape Shop and supermarket were all in the original site.
OK, I have nothing better to do! The three motorbike shops - ArtDeans Honda, Swindon Motor Co Suzuki and George Whites Kawasaki have all gone, after I worked there, years ago. he place in Bristol where I bought my Kawasakis is no more, or just a car dealer. Riders, where I bought my Ducatis and Fowlers where I have bought my KTMs, are still going. If I get a Royal Enfield, it will be from Frasers of Gloucester. Maybe buying bikes from places is not the kiss of death - just working for them!
On the opposite corner of Corporation Street there is a dealers called Budget Bikes where the clue is in the name e.g. Triumph Sprint GT 1050, 2012, 30K miles - £2,980, Yamaha MT-03, 2008, 11K - £2990 etc. All sorts of bikes competitively priced on a sold as seen basis and as long as you realise that, I suspect there are possible bargains to be had. They've been going for quite a few years so they must have some semblance of a decent business plan. https://www.budgetbikesuk.co.uk/
It may well be just me, but I would never buy old second-hand shit from a dealer. I would always buy privately, where you can meet the previous owner as their personality gives you a good clue about the bike and its care. I have bought very nearly new Ducatis and Kawasakis from dealers that I know and trust and those places, like Riders and Fowlers, don't deal in shit. They will take older rougher stuff in px, but just pass that down through the trade, If I could not afford to buy new, or nearly new, then I would always buy from private sellers who I can make a judgement on.
