I bought the Yamaha in 2007 and rode it for about 6 months before beginning the restoration. Sourcing parts to turn it into something resembling an old British cafe racer is not hard - once you know where to look and are prepared to wait for the right part at the right price.
The most important parts for me were the tank, seat, wheels and brakes. I really wanted a polished alloy tank and scored one second hand from Thailand. The drum brakes on the front are from an SFC Laverda and came from Germany while the rear brake is from an SR500 and came from the UK in very poor condition. The front rim came from the USA and the rear from Germany. The beautiful Ceriani GP forks came from the USA and required only minor work to fit the Laverda hub. The seat came from Japan and the lovely alloy swingarm came from Thailand. Numerous other parts came from around the world while items such as the headlight were sourced from bike wreckers and refurbished.
All up, painting, chroming and getting fiddly stuff right, such as wheel construction, rewiring, motor modifications and manufacture of special parts, took 4 years. The result however, is really a one-off and I know I won't see another exactly the same. It also has the added bonus of being great fun to ride.
Cost, without any charges for my labour, was around $11000. It's for sale for $14000.
