Motorcycle Repair: John, I have-I believe-the..., ebay auction site, cleveland ohio area

Question
John,
I have-I believe-the last model built BSA 650 Firebird.Ibought it new in London in 1973.My problem is it has been left alone for 30 years and is in sad shape.  Do you or could you recommend someone who could restore my bike in the Cleveland, Ohio area?  I'd really like to get it back to good shape again.  Thanks and best to your son.  We appreciate his service.

Answer
Doug

A little research using the serial # of your bike will tell you for sure about your bike's status in the order of production. You can check it here:

http://www.britishonly.com/pdf/framenumbers/BSAengineandframenumbers.pdf

Your bike is a rare bird, indeed, simply because the later models were not very popular and didn't sell well. That's why BSA folded up the business.
I don't know anyone in the Cleveland area, but these folks are in western PA and can help if you have lots of money.

http://www.raskcycle.com

All I can say is be prepared for a shock. The price for having the restoration done by a professional could be an astronomical figure.

If limited funds are a consideration, and doing the work yourself is not part of the equation, your best course of action would be to sell your bike, as is, to a collector and then purchase a complete and running example of the same machine. The Ebay auction site would be a good place to begin the process.

The choice is yours, of course. I am only sharing my thoughts.

John