See the same story in Finnish (containing more photos!)
The text below was modified from an article published in Panther Owner's Club (UK) monthly magazine Sloper in 1991
My acquaintance with the 2-wheel motorcycles started at the age of thirteen, when a few chaps in our countryside village started to repair and drive off-road with a few old 50 cc mopeds.
The
first real motor-cycle
in my youth was an Ariel VB 600cc year
model 1952 (like myself), which I bought from a man living in
the same village in late sixties. The price I paid for the bike was about 20
pounds. He did have a sidecar as well, but that one he had sold earlier.
The Ariel VB was too slow for faster cruising, so it was sold about two years later (the price was increasing being about 70 pounds; the deal that I have, though, regretted later for a long time).
The next bike for about two years was a Yamaha 250 cc, which was of course much faster than the Ariel VB (equipped with the sidecar gearing).
Getting married in the early seventies meant that the family needed a car. And there was no spare money any more available for the bikes.
My new era with the bikes started in year 1990, when a good fiend of mine brought his old Jawa 250 cc, yearmodel 1960 from the countryside to our hometown Porvoo and started the restoration. So I was also feeling the internal flame again.
I was searching for some time for an Ariel VB600, but could not find one at that time. So I decided to start my new coming hobby with another favorite of mine from the past.
That was a Honda CB 350 K4, the two cylinder version, which was my first rebuild to the original condition in 1990. This bike was approved to the Finnish Vintage Bike Registration fleet two years ago in 1999, when the required 25 years of age and originality was approved.
My relationship with the Panthers started in year 1991, when I stayed with my family in the UK in Portshmouth district (living in Emsworth) for a year or so. I was still looking after the VB Ariels, but Velocettes were also in the list of my favourites at that time.
But then while visiting quite a few times in Reg Beachers shop in Fishbourne, quite near from our village Emsworth, I started to have growing interest on the Panther M100’s.
Reg had for sale a robust one fitted with a sidecar, and the price seemed to suit my wallet as well, so the deal was obvious.
We wish to send our Best Regards to Reg and his famíly from all of us in Finland. He has helped me a lot with my spare shortages for the M100, as well as for the P&M.
The M100 and the sidecar was restored and registered year 1994, after spending a couple years abroad in UK and Saudi-Arabia.
In the year 1996, I found an interesting “For sale”-advertisement in our local Finnish Vintage Motorcycle Club Magazine, “Huimapyörä”: P&M motorcycle year model 1924 was for sale.
I called the seller, who lived some 500 kilometers away from us. A couple of phone calls was made the next weeks, and then we decided with a good friend of mine, Mikko, to go and have a look at the bike autumn 1996 (taking a trailer with us just in case).
My disappointment was rather big, when I immediately discovered that the bike was not a 1924 model ohv, which I was told it to be, but it was a 1923 model side valve machine, which type I was not at all familiar with. About two hours I was evaluating the situation with my friend, and after some bargaining we agreed on the price, and the motorcycle was put on the trailer.
The purchased bike seemed to have more or less all the parts there, but the closer investigations later on at home revealed some major lacks. The oil pump internals were totally missing. The front end had been smashed. There was a different size of front rim and tyre installed. And the front brake was missing, too as I was being adviced by my British friends. The petrol tank bottom was leaking like a sieve. The dynamo was also missing. Despite of all this I felt that I had a reasonaly good project in my hands.
The whole restoration project took about five years, but there was a full stop for 2,5 years, when I was more concentrated in building a new summer house at the lake district. The final push for finishing the P&M started late 2000, and the job was more or less finished in August 2001.
The P&M was now re-registered 1.10.2001.
I want to thank all of you, who have helped me during the past years in this re-build.
Special thanks I want to give to Sid Wilkinson, who has helped me greatly with his technical advice, lending me his spare oil pump for me to make a copy of it
and also providing me a suitable dynamo for free, which Vesa kindly fixed for me.
Barry M. Jones as well was of great help being patient replying to all my detailed queries. Vesa Vuorela (FIN) was helping me in the electrical works, and Ralf Stromberg (FIN) was also helping me greatly in the machining works, the new oil pump internals being probably the most challenging job to for him.
The new era in the 2001’s for the P&M started in our hometown Porvoo 8.10.2001 when a local British Bike Show was set up (very local), where about 25 to 30 old motorcycles (all British) were present at the show. And the public was delightfully also there despite of the foggy and misty (very British alike) weather. The old P&M 1923 was there as well, collecting lots of interest among the audience.
Old photographs of my bike:
The
daughter of the second owner of the bike, Mrs Salme Kaarlas had some
photographs left about the bike dated 1927 - 1936, which she kindly
sent to me ( the front plate T 43 was the original
Finnish
registration number
from the twenties.
From the thirties
If you wish to know more about my bikes, don't hesitate to contact:
Ari
Lehtimäki
tel +358-(0)400-234301