‘Unrestored’ means exactly that – what you are paying for is largely cosmetic’

‘when the Sunbeam went on the bench, I honestly believed I was doing a pre-sale spruce up’

‘I couldn’t operate without a lathe, yet I meet people who have one but almost never use it’

‘The engineer said the piston was scrap, a rebore was needed’

‘That’s why the cylinder was on a shelf, not a bike’

‘You cannot work out carb tuning simply by plug colour’

‘Technology should be our servant, not our god’

‘each screw took six mins 44 secs to make; i’m working for a miserable £9 an hour’

'I got a shock – I was struck by the incredibly vivid colour of the terminal corrosion'

‘join an owners’ club... you’ll get help and advice and almost certainly a fair deal’

‘Nothing seemed right... the seat looked too high... to be frank, it looked a mess’

‘Keeping bikes on the road with a limited budget taught me what i can get away with’

‘Time may appear to be free, but it’s harder to get than money when you need it...’

‘However nice that bike in the advert looks, all classics are flawed to some degree’

‘rather than de-rusting his tank with nuts and volts, my friend went for electrolysis’

‘the more tools you have, the more options you give yourself when you face a new problem’

‘The bike reared like a bronco and cavorted off toward the opposite kerb’