Description
Genuine survivor bike, original, unrestored and in beautiful aged condition. A very rare bike, this was one of only a small number of Rudge 250's fitted with JAP engines when Rudge had non of their own 250 engines available. It has all its original headlight, wiring, horn and battery holder although these arent currently fitted to the bike. All the controls are original, as is the lycetts seat and it even has its original tyre pump. Some of the original factory decals are still present on the mudguards and the tank has all original chrome, with one very small hole discreetly repaired. The enamel and decals to the tank are not original, unfortunately those were lost to time and numerous coats of paint.
I bought this bike in 2018 as a barn find. It was extremely dirty and very hard to tell what condition it was in, there was so much built up dirt that you couldn't distinguish engine, gearbox and frame! The bike was completely stripped and thoroughly cleaned, which revealed a fantastic all original bike and a true survivor. Every part was checked and the bike rebuilt with some new parts where necessary to make it rideable, mainly to the front forks. A full list of whats was done-
New cables to some controls
New brake linings front and back
New wheel bearings front and back
New shackle bolts to front suspension, new washers etc.
New tyres and inner tubes
Re-sprung seat elastic
New clupet rings made to suit the piston and bore.
New spark plug and lead.
New petrol and balance pipes
Lined and restored tank, with enamel paint, buffed the chrome. This is the only part of the bike that's had any restoration work beyond cleaning and fixing mechanical problems, but it was well worth it as the tank looks superb and it has protected it.
Restored oil pump and custom made banjo bolt as it was missing
New old stock valve springs, valves lapped in, and bore lightly honed for the new rings.
All parts were sourced from the Rudge owners club are are identical to the originals. Everything else was just thoroughly cleaned and checked and the bike rebuilt. The bike was missing parts of the exhaust, headers are original the silencers are later items and its missing its fishtails.
The lights and wiring aren't currently fitted to the bike. The original maglita is missing and has been replaced by a magneto. This bike originally had the optional speedo, evidenced by the gear ring on the front wheel although the actual speedo itself is missing unfortunately. The bike starts easily and is great to ride. A very usable, lightweight pre-war classic bike. This is a rare bike being a JAP engined Rudge which were only made for a very short period of time, and with all its original patina as a true survivor bike its possibly one of a kind.
