1969 BSA Bantam D14, 175cc. Registration number VDJ 27G. Fra...

Hammer

£1,600

1969 BSA Bantam D14, 175cc. Registration number VDJ 27G. Frame number D14B 13320. Engine number D14B 1836.
The Bantam was based on the German DKW RT 125, a design that was received as war reparations, with the Bantam as a mirror image so the gear change was on the right side as with other British motorcycles of the period. Over the years the model evolved through the D1 of 1948 to the D3, D5, D7, D10, D14/4 and finally in 1969 the D175. Production ceased in 1971.
BSA introduced the D14 range in 1968, a one year only model. Production began late in 1967, and early engine prefixes were listed as D13, though this was never a model. The Supreme was now fitted with the 4-speed box, ending the Bantam's relationship with 3 speeds. The old exhaust pipe bore was found too restrictive for the new tune up, so a larger one was fitted. On the ever diminishing market for British motorcycles, BSA sought to make the Bantam yet more powerful. They increased the compression ratio to 10:1, resulting in a power increase to 13 hp. The bike would now shift along at the best part of 70 mph; the market had changed from wanting the fuel-efficient three speeds D1, to the speedy D14/4.
VDJ was owned by Ian Philcock of Runcorn in 2007 when the MOT history records 959 miles, by the time our vendor bought it in 2012 it had risen 2,657 miles. He then set about a restoration, with Mann Technical Services of Milton Keynes in February 2013. This included replacing the clutch and painting the tank, later in the November MTS Classics of Dunstable stripped the carb and set the engine up. It was last MOT'd in 2015 at 2,695 miles, today it is the same.
Sold with the V5C, MOT history and various receipts, it will need recommissioning before road use and maybe a new wiring loom.