The cheapo pre '65 concept has once again got under my skin after last week checking out my mates under construction mega dollar pre 65 Lito/Monark 500 replica. As much as I love that kind of thing, it's beyond the financial scope of most of us (
and it's owner as he's quickly discovering! 
). I've been doing a bit of a stocktake out in the shed this morning and reckon I could put a passably cool pre 65 bike together for under 2k using shit I've got laying around. The usual suspects will most probably poo poo the idea but I reckon the bike I've mapped out a reasonable entry level pre 65 bike that would be quite competitive in the right hands. Of course, being the consummate pack rat, I've accumulated a lot of bits and bobs over the last 20 years, most of it left over shit from other folks projects or eBay or Swapmeet bargain basement parts as many of us have as well. .....
Engine: Triumph T100 unit 500 bought for $300US. If the seller is telling the truth, the engine is fresh and unused since being rebuilt in 1989 so the rebuild costs should be minimal.
Frame: American Eagle/Sprite frame picked up for nothing ($0) on the Swapmeet. MoMs rule 18.7.2 states : Sprite:"All Villiers or Triumph engines" which puts the identical 'American Eagle' pre fastback frame squarely in the legal ball park.
Forks/wheels: I have OSSA Betor, Ceriani and CZ forks to pick from but will probably go with CZ units. For a front wheel I can choose between CZ, Rickman, Antig or REH but to be a bit different and to save the good stuff for other projects, I'd consider using my MX125 Yamaha full width front hub and mud catcher rim. I believe the little Yamaha hub to be pre '65 legal as their history dates back to Yamahas early sixties tiddler road bikes. An added bonus is that they stop really well. It'd be simpler to use a CZ mag hub/ Akront rim I have but I'm a tad wary of using 40 year old magnesium hubs for safety sake.
The rear wheel is not clear in my head right now but I like either REH, Rickman or the Greeves hub Frank had left over from his NSU/Greeves. It'll depend on whatever lines up easiest with the Trumpy engine.
Tank/mudguards: A fibreglass replica B44 tank I paid $20 for or the original orange American Eagle tank. They both look kosher im my mind. Mudguards would be the usual Indian made alloy items available from Jim Eade. Ditto my new favourite Royal Enfield handlebars. Shocks (Koni), levers(Amal steel) and throttle (Magura trap door) come from the bottomless stash.
The Triumph engine fits where the Villiers/Maico/Husky/Sprite engines once sat quite nicely, much neater than the awful OSSA conversion used by Alron. The 500 Triumph/Sprite conversion was quite popular in the UK during the 60s and looks as if it was made to be there, as shown on the bike below.
At the moment this 'project' is purely a hypothetical idea as I have three other projects on the go taking up my time and money. I'm merely "thinking out aloud" about ways of using my parts stash in a positive and productive way. A side benefit is that the purists would absolutely hate this bike which in itself is enough reason to build it
. As a fan of the 'special' and a strong advocate for making the pre 65 class more accessible to the average racer, I reckon it'd be a cool project. The nucleus of the 'project' are the engine and frame and even though I got them for ridiculously low prices, anyone can do the same by looking loutside of your usual circle of interest and see what is available. A good 'ol boy mate recently bought a Norton 650 engine and gearbox off Craiglist for $400. It's destined to go into a BSA A50 frame he found for free in a blackberry bush on a friends neighbours farm. This bike will eventually be a low budget pre 65 racer, being built using the same philosophy as our hypothetic Sprite. It's all about learning what components you can use in the class and using lateral thinking when searching eBay or other sources for components. The revelation that the Yamaha hub is pre 65 legal is a result of that lateral thinking. As I've written so many times, Pre 65 doesn't have to be an exclusive posh chaps club where the members worship their mobile shrines to Derek and Don Rickman. In the beginning Metisse and Cheneys evolved from specials just like the one I propose here. Their place in history is important and the free spirit that inspired the many specials to be built should be encouraged. On top of their place in our sports history, the hot rod specials are a heap of fun to build and add a bit of colour and variety into our sport.
