1971 Benotto (January update)

Posted: January 24, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Before and After, Restorations and Refurbishments | Tags: , | Leave a comment

Things have been undeniably chaotic around here so both work and posts have been few and far between. Sick spouses take precedence over pretty much everything so until we get her restored, bike restoring has slowed to a crawl.

The Benotto has made some progress, in that the frame has been repaired and a new shift lever stop has been installed. It took a bunch of brass to fill the dents but Jake got the bad areas looking really nice again. The frame is now off to paint (finally) so hopefully the bike can be back on the road by spring.

The seat stay dent.
Blasted and prepped for repair.
Jake’s handmade shift lever stop.
The stop, installed.
The bike has definitely seen some wear.
Original chrome, all polished up.
The repaired seat stay.

1971 Benotto- Before

Posted: September 10, 2022 | Author: | Filed under: Before and After | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

This one-owner Benotto is set for a full restoration, in that it’ll get a repaint and all the original parts will get overhauled. The plan, at least right now, is to keep the original chrome which I’m hoping will shine up ok.

I obviously don’t share every bike that passes through the shop (not enough time) but since I’m going to be trying to save the original plating this one seemed a worthy and interesting candidate.

First on the list: Repairing the ding on the seat stay and installing a shift lever stop. God knows why the bike never had a stop to begin with, but as you can see, without one the levers have gradually crept down the tube a couple inches.