1980 BSA (Raleigh) Premier 12 - Vintage Bicycle Restoration

This bike has been a long time in the making. I actually started making this video towards the end of last year but for one reason or another it got pushed to the back of the queue. After a long and complicated build, here's the finished bike.
It's a long video so bear with it. (It could have been so much longer!) Hope you like the build! I've not added any backing track this time, is it better without one?
1980 BSA (Raleigh) Premier 12.
Stripped and powder coated.
Every part polished.
Cracked rear dropout repaired.
Comfort saddle replaced with Brooks.
Safety (or suicide) brake levers replaced with standard.
Front wheel replaced.
Rear wheel rebuilt with new hub.
Changed back to 12 speed.
Bottom bracket axle and chainset replaced.
Shorty mudguards added.
Simplex derailleur replaced with period Huret.

[@BikeItUK]

Great work, and another bike saved! Good to see the detail on the problems you had with the wheel axels. Turned out nice. All the best Andy

[@MonkeyShred]

Cheers Andy. Appreciate the kind words.

[@stephenhodgkins2814]

MonkeyShred 9

[@artlustig126]

У меня такой же под реставрацией))))

[@olias2716]

Another piece of Great British engineering saved for future generations...!!!......You did a great job ( as usual)....you are an inspiration to us all....keep up the good work..

[@MonkeyShred]

Thank you! Inspiration. That really is nice to hear!

[@WestcliffGoPro]

Mate I absolutely love the colour. I think that's one of the nicest restorations you've done. It's looks so sweet 😍

[@MonkeyShred]

Thanks bud!

[@jonnylongland4628]

I'm so happy i brought this beastie. So happy i found this video too! You're a skilled sir indeed.

[@MonkeyShred]

Oh hey! How's it riding still?

[@j.h.holliday5748]

NICE WORK!

[@johnseabrook1703]

Great job

[@batay-anamadojr.a3813]

nice WORK man!

[@dermotmaguire607]

Great job well done

[@kennethwilliams9924]

OMG I have one of these! Had it since I was a kid. All original and In better shape than yours started out. Now I’m very tempted to see how well I can restore it! 🙂

[@MonkeyShred]

Awesome! Go for it!

[@malcolmmacmillanmacmillan2050]

It was quite a journey but it came out Beautiful. Really sweet classic bike with a touch of modern paint job and stickers, still classic but kind of cool. I like this channel very much. It's very relaxing to watch you working and the commentary is good because it's life and not recorded after so it gives a viewer this feeling of the action happening now. Congratulations. Keep on keeping on

[@MonkeyShred]

Thank you. That's a good way to look at the recordings too.

[@johnelliott5923]

Awesome you did more than most would have !love your work! I love the shortys !

[@MonkeyShred]

Thank you so much!

[@Armin_27]

great art work literally! Well done, she´s a beauty!

[@MonkeyShred]

Thank you. Very happy with how she turned out.

[@thijskoops6262]

Beautyfull!!!

[@lifelong5425]

Nice job...think the new colour and the shorty mud guards really looks well on this bike...

[@MonkeyShred]

Thank you. Very pleased with the end result.

[@alanprice7584]

Good job, shame about that back wheel though, might be like riding on a permanently bumpy road 😄

[@garethgoldsmith9605]

Awesome channel, great restoration. Would love to see a Raleigh mustang mk1 . But very rare to find. Brilliant talented work.

[@MonkeyShred]

Rare finds indeed! I'd love to find myself a good Chopper project to work on. So expensive though!

[@themarinman8339]

Nice work mate. I recently had frame done in a similar colour. Turned out to be quite the marmite effect. The guy who bought it was super psyched with it.

[@MonkeyShred]

Same with this one. He loved the colour. I've got another one in this colour to do too... I just need to clear some space to build it/store it. Bike hoarder problems...

[@chriswilby7679]

Great job I had an old bsa tour de France in orange as a kid. Love center pull callipers.

[@MonkeyShred]

I have one of those, it's not staying as designed though...

[@desmondnutley6064]

great job nice decals , crank n shorties , most don't bother anything less n 531 or least 501 quality , so hat off to yer , loooove vintage bikes . personally would use cloth tape n sum gum hoods , but fantastic job , I woulda salvaged everything bar back wheel b crank , converted safety lever to normal added hoods , polished everything up n hoped for £30 lol ! you tho have nice £150 / maybe £180 bike well done dude

[@dazzasp3]

Just got one in really good condition

[@nickf.2871]

Acs is a good hub brand well taken care of they last decades they also made mags for bmx bikes in the 80s and a popular composite rim called a z rim that bent very easily but you could true back even a partial taco as long as it didnt crack or stress

[@jameslee-pevenhull5087]

ACS. American Cycle Systems. Made skateboard trucks in late 70s, early 80s.

[@SCMOTORTREND]

That is a bmx hub 👌🏻👍🏻

[@bullwhipjohnson8247]

The 12 may have been the weight as in 12 Kilos. I restored a Schwinn Le Tour 12.2. It was also a ten speed. The 12.2 I was told was the UCI weight limit at the time.

[@MonkeyShred]

Ah ha. That's interesting to know! I'll try and look more in to that.

[@peteryouds5634]

£12 for the BSA 12 , just a coincidence ...?

[@bradleypauley6036]

Awesome restoration. I am too restoring one of these bicycles. I was just wondering if you could give a rough idea of how much you spent and sold it for.

[@thijskoops6262]

The old front derailleur has been a hurret.

[@robertmacleod1580]

Nice job, came out nice. Did you use a machine polisher for the chrome bits? Could you not get rid of the surface rust on the Brookes sabble bars?

[@cybereye2]

What a gorgeous bike, now standing on her toes after another brilliant restoration. I love the colour scheme. What did she sell for? At a guess I’d say £250-275. That’s what I’d be prepared to pay.

[@MonkeyShred]

I think it was £200. It's tough selling these bikes after because you have to find the right owner.

[@MegaSparkyScraper]

your videos are class man, I've been binge watching them, keep at it, and where do you find these bikes for so cheap?????

[@MonkeyShred]

Thank you! eBay! They're getting harder and harder to find but I search the entire category of "bicycles" rather than search for something in particular. There's always something that pops up. I'm going to try and get hold of the local scrap man to see if he finds anything decent too.

[@bullwhipjohnson8247]

The Dropout can definitely be welded.

[@daves4954]

Can I ask what spindle length you used on the bottom bracket? What chainline do you aim for? I ask because I am restoring a mid 70s Falcon (which I assume has similar frame geometry to this). Mine is 5 speed freewheel with two-chainring crankset to make 10 speeds in total. Thanks so much and I love your videos, I have learned so much!

[@DavidUKesb]

Hi. Just watched a previous restoration and now watching this one, all good stuff, but could you please let me know how much they charge you for the powder coating paint job and do you have to send away to a specialist firm or are such firms easy to find in most areas? Many thanks.

[@MonkeyShred]

Hi David. There are a few locally to me and they're not usually hard to find. I generally pay somewhere around £40 for blasting and coating of frame and forks. If I throw in some steel mudguards and a chain guard it will go up to somewhere around £60.

[@DavidUKesb]

Thanks for reply. Just a couple more questions.........how did you deal with the bad rust on chainstay and when you varnished the decals did you do the whole frame or just the decals and what type of varnish do you use? Cheers

[@j.friedrischak8000]

very nice work, but that rusty nut on the saddle is pretty annoying ;)

[@themarinman8339]

Hey man! Another great video. How much do you pay for your powder coat? I was quoted 110 plus VAT... decent price? Also...do you use any special compounds when cleaning the metal parts... stems etc? 🤘🏼

[@MonkeyShred]

I feel lucky then! I only pay £40 for frame and forks and the guys treat it super well. Cleaning alloy parts, not really. Either some Autosol metal polish or I'll stick it on the buffing wheel on the bench grinder with some blue compound polish.

[@themarinman8339]

MonkeyShred £40!!! Shit!..I need to re-evaluate the powder coat scene round my way. Cheers for the help mate.

[@drumandbassking12345]

I pay around 60-70 quid for an old school bmx frame with forks seat post and bars.. they will colour match to my requirements too!

[@Koofumhead]

My respects for your perseverance, you must've been gutted when you discovered the extent of paintwork rot on the frame. An excellent build, as usual, but if only you had the original decals huh? Which brings me to this query for you or anyone else; Is there some way to recreate old decals? Ilike to watch your videos, they inspire my own projects, I now have a Lambert Aerospace frame that I have almost given up on (lots of disappoints).

[@MonkeyShred]

Thanks for your kind words! I'm actually quite happy with the decals. They look cleaner and more "professional" than the original ones. To answer your question, yes it is possible! I still have the original decals off this bike. I managed to peel them off and stick them to some paper for safe keeping. I could quite easily send them to someone like H Lloyd Cycles and I'm sure they could replicate them. It gets a bit more "interesting" when you have a very early bike and the decals can't just be peeled off. I'm currently trying to redesign, that is to say, trace, the original transfers on a 1946 Norman Rapide. If I can get a good design, by sketch or a computer program then I should be able to get them replicated from that. Lambert Aerospace... now that rings a bell. I remember reading about problems with a certain model of Lambert and the forks failing. It may be worth reading in to that if you haven't already!

[@Koofumhead]

Good shout, and you're right! the forks are an issue. Along with the press fit bottom bracket. I'm leaning towards modern parts replacement as a result, rather than a faithful resto. Btw, really appreciated the oxalic acid feature, it helped me loads.

[@MonkeyShred]

Press fit bottom bracket? Now I didn't know that! I'd probably go for a modern replacement there too. Do you know the year? VCC has a few catalogues listed: www.veterancycleclublibrary.org.uk/library/?action=search&items=16&searchtext=viscount&action.x=0&action.y=0&action=search

[@Koofumhead]

Pretty sure its is a 70s model, the Viscount badge appears after the Lambert front fork began to cause injuries. I have the complete fork (that I will consider getting re-engineered), and I have the same crankset as the Aerospace pro (big circles) so I'm inclined to go with that.

[@errcoche]

The 12 in premier 12 is now officially the 12 quid you paid for it.

[@MonkeyShred]

Um, ok. Thanks?

[@aboassamAno]

هذه ملكه هذه الاولى وشكرالك

[@aboassamAno]

هيى السباقه في عالم الدراجات

[@mlecko85]

How much you spend for paint works?

[@MonkeyShred]

£40

[@emmettroche313]

Where did you get that retro style freewheel, i don’t really like the look of the modern tourney ones

[@MonkeyShred]

Oh this was years ago. My memory doesn't go that far back for those things I'm afraid

[@emmettroche313]

@@MonkeyShred thats ok. I’m sure ill find it somewhere

[@adeh503]

Where do you get your decals from bro

[@MonkeyShred]

Where ever I can find them really! This set came from H Lloyd Cycles but I have used eBay for the more modern ones.

[@chistopherjames2894]

Great Video, I have the very same bike, or should i say the frame only, can anyone help me read the code behind the seat, HP 9313480, it also has the letter S stamped underneath the chain crank.

[@oftankoftan]

that rear wheel :O Throw that rim/spoke combo away. Otherwise great job

[@georgebamber6871]

i have the Raleigh europa version of this bike

[@MonkeyShred]

Was the Europa not Red/Black? Similar era but I think slightly different models with components and braze on fittings.

[@georgebamber6871]

MonkeyShred yep it's strange it has the same components as this. I think it's quite rare.

[@CalvinMiralles]

Please do something about getting a better focus and less shaking.

[@MonkeyShred]

If you’re donating camera gear I’d be happy to accept 😏

[@CalvinMiralles]

@@MonkeyShred I think your tripod will do the job

[@aboassamAno]

انت استاز والدراجه استازه

[@michael61985]

Brooks seats look so uncomfortable

[@aboassamAno]

اريد واحده

[@geezerbigfoot]

the chain stays an seat stays rust inside the tubes too the way to tell if its ok is to put all your weight on them it should be springy if it goes crunch and gives its knackerd i ve done that to bikes from council skips and some failed the test better to fail here than when u ride it hit a pot hole crunch fall off injured ! some have a small pin hole at the lowest point of the stays use an air line to blow it through lots of wd40 then pour oil in that should prevent rust did you say bsa bloody sore arse ? thats what most people say hope its ok looks like th rear drop out has been bent with a adjustable spanner to fit a wheel if u need to open the rear dont do it that way put the frame on the floor and do it a foot on a stay and a hand puling the other cold bending an inch open wont harm it

[@jasperedwards2713]

its not worth money if you put new paint on it its worth less if you go on past bikes you see old bikes that are rusty and are costing 1000 eur

[@MonkeyShred]

Hey salad fingers. I thought you preferred rusty spoons but glad you’re getting in to bikes.

[@jasperedwards2713]

i been into bikes befdore u born@@MonkeyShred

[@MonkeyShred]

@@jasperedwards2713 uh huh. And yet it appears you know so little.

[@jasperedwards2713]

i no a lot i ride my bike every day ive had allsorts of bikes in the 80s i was at refuse tips collecting bikes@@MonkeyShred

[@rick007363]

learn to make video wothout shaking Im seasick just watching your vidéo