Noob from Herne Bay, Kent

[dubstar69]

Hey all, heard some good things about this forum so thought I'd sign up and say hello...

I've never really been a prolific BMX'er (I think I bunny hopped off a curb once), but as a fan of all things retro (and after having to sell my car projects due to the "wife-and-kids effect") I thought it would be a prime opportunity to get my hands on an old school bmx - something I've been wanting to do for a while.

Anyway, hello to all and I will update shortly with where my project is up to.

[CustardLips]

Hello mate...  to Rad. 

[Retrodan72]

Hi mate, and  to  .

We'll look forward to seeing some pics of your build. 

[BADDH]

  to the Nut house 

[BMX1973]

  to   

Had a caravan in Herne Bay "Westbrooke Farm" for 15 years. The Herne Bay Flyers BMX track was just round corner near the tip. The Site is now a housing estate. Spent many of summers there. Had a ride this year along the Sea front from Herne Bay to Whitstable past the Skate Park in Swalecliffe. 

[dubstar69]

to   

Had a caravan in Herne Bay "Westbrooke Farm" for 15 years. The Herne Bay Flyers BMX track was just round corner near the tip. The Site is now a housing estate. Spent many of summers there. Had a ride this year along the Sea front from Herne Bay to Whitstable past the Skate Park in Swalecliffe. 

Yeah, forgot about that track... Don't think it was too long ago that they got rid of it.  Never did get to ride it though; my last bmx was back when I was 8 and living in suburban Canterbury so mainly used to just bomb about the streets with friends.  Had a Lew Ways Stinger Styler back then... Until I stupidly sold it at a boot fair along with a large collection of star wars toys    I've looked for a Stinger Styler since but never found another, or even a picture of one.  Seen Stinger Aero's but never a styler (not that I know what the difference - if any - was).  If anyone knows then let me know!

[BMX1973]

Went to Canterbury many a time, still do now and again.

Is that place still there halfway down the shopping High St where you could hire the Row boats?

[dubstar69]

Went to Canterbury many a time, still do now and again.

Is that place still there halfway down the shopping High St where you could hire the Row boats?

Yeah, next to the old weavers I think.  They do boat tours and the like; well, they do in the summer at least, not sure at the moment

[dubstar69]

Anyway, so onto my current project... By the way, apologies if I should be doing this bit in a different part of the forum but I figured it's all part of the introduction...

I had been toying with the idea of a BMX project for a while and (fuelled by memories of my 8 year old self on my Stinger Styler on orange mags) the main criteria was that it needed mag wheels and to be immediately usable so I could just restore/update bits as I went.  After much searching I had found nothing in my very minimal budget; anyway, long story short, one evening I ended up getting a little intoxicated and made a rash ebay purchase and ended up with this heap:



Yep, it's a 1984 Raleigh Black Burner

[dubstar69]

It was missing a seat and pedals but everything else seemed to be there, albeit in a pretty bad state.  I don't know what had happened to the wheels but they were bent, buckled, loose and generally fubar'd.  Still, it was all part of a learning process and part of the fun so I had a go at sorting them out...

Started with this:



And with a bit of mis-spent office work time got to this:



Which I was reasonably pleased with for a quick going over...


After much bending, tinkering and adjusting I managed to get the front wheel true enough to justify using it. but the rear was another story... Three of the spokes were seized solid, one snapped off altogether, and on a rim as trashed as that, it just wasn't worth investing any more time or money on.  So it looked like this for quite a while...

[dubstar69]

Until I did this:



Sourced some SR Custom pedals and some Simplex mag wheels and I could finally take the old girl out on the mean streets of Herne Bay!





The brakes still need sorting, as do the headset, rear bearings, bottom bracket, pedal bearings, tyres, blah, blah... And I really want a layback seatpost for it... But, it's a start!

[BMX1973]

Nice survivor 

[Retrodan72]

Tidy first build mate, a lot of us messed about with Burner's when we found the hobby again.

Rob (Pickle) loves Mk2 Burners. 

Get those bars pulled back mate. 

[dubstar69]

Kind of guessed that there wasn't much Burner love on here  !

And yes, do need to adjust the bars; guessing it should handle a little better once they're up

[Retrodan72]

Kind of guessed that there wasn't much Burner love on here  !

And yes, do need to adjust the bars; guessing it should handle a little better once they're up

Whether people like Burners, or not, they're a BMX, so  on here. 

[BMX1973]

Can you help with finding one of these? 

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn255/crabtree1969/bmxpatch.jpg

[dubstar69]

Can you help with finding one of these? 

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn255/crabtree1969/bmxpatch.jpg

That's pretty cool!  There might people a couple of places or people I could ask about that.  If it comes up with anything I'll let you know...