HOW PROFICIENT ARE YOU MECHANICALLY?

You cannot just take a classic bike to the average bike shop for a service. They’re just not kitted up for working on old bikes with imperial fastenings and where parts have to be made and are not off-the-shelf. It’s best to use someone used to old bikes, but there lies a problem. These are becoming scarce, as many worked on old bikes when new, so they are of (and often over) retirement age. Not knowing how to fix a problem is enough for some to ruin this new pursuit, so speak to clubs and owners about the bike you’re thinking of. Is it imperial or metric fastnings? Are parts availability good, or have you got to scour the autojumbles just to keep going? Some bikes could almost be built from new parts; others are like finding a spare plug for the Mary Rose. There are often parts that are unobtainable, like Japanese side panels, rare model exhausts, or clocks.