1967 V7
HOME	September 2009 by Al

Frame # 1482 After some forty years the bike somehow ended up in “the shed” as a box of bits in 2007. A box of bits would suggest it wasn’t a going concern, and if your imagination is able to stretch that far you would be right. Many an hour was spent stripping the motor and some of the not so boxed up bits before rebuilding. Not all the bits to rebuild were on hand so quite a number of dollars was spent sourcing bits and pieces from overseas. In Australia, if you can get them, parts are horrendously expensive. And, then there are the bits that you just can’t get anymore and need to be manufactured locally. Fortunately most of the bits on hand were re-usable even if repairs were required. The rebuild is almost 100% complete. Two pieces are still missing - leg shields and original steel box panniers. These parts I’m probably not going to worry about unless I just happen to accidentally stumble on them or get around to manufacturing myself. A missing fuel tap has recently been found but needs to be rebuilt, a project for the lathe when I get a bit of time and a lump of brass. The total time to rebuild was just over 12 months. Fortunately the only expensive stuff up was the tank chroming which was aborted after the third attempt. The rebuild included a complete motor overhaul with balanced crank. The diff is completely rebuilt with only the casing original. The gear box is an original 4 speed straight cut (crash) box. The front end was rebuilt with only the fork boots original. The paint job and panel work was performed by Mark at QMPP. Machining was provided by a mob just the other side of the bridge. Machining of the motor components was carried out just around the corner. General parts were sourced from overseas and the trusty eBay. Bearings and seals for the dif, front end, swing arm, gear box, motor, and wheels were all sourced locally from a bearing shop. And, some hand made SS mufflers were manufactured by Peter H. In Queensland after a successful rebuild there are two events a new bike must go to. Firstly, a trip to the Ruptured Budgie Rally where the bike won the Oldest Bike N Rider and then the Laverda Concourse under the Story Bridge where the bike won third place in the Under 750 European category. As far as I’m concerned no more shows and no more rebuilds (too bloody expensive). So, there you go a real V7, the 482’nd V-Twin off the production line, back on the road. The bike has completed just over 3,000kms in a couple of months and hasn’t gone pop and hopefully won’t for some time. Is the bike for sale? No! PS: Regurgitated V7’s really do rule.

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