1987 Saracen Kili-Flyer

[drcarlos]

Acquired this for my dad back in the early 90's and it was ridden maybe once or twice as it was too big. The rattle can purple paint was rubbish but we got it fairly cheap. It was stored in the garage and then in a lean to for the last 20 years and when I built a new bike for him for xmas (which is also retro but has front bounce) he decided I could take it away.
First thing was to find out what it actually is so I could decide whether a resto was worth it and looking though the Saracen material it quickly became apparent it was older than the normal but had some features that were interesting so I started this what is it thread (secretly hoping for a Kili)

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=180213

And it turns out it is a 1987 Kili flyer, the frame details give it away as everything else that year below it was fitted with a U brake and above the conquest had very different rear stays.

So was it stands it's now been stripped and the stuck seatpost removed (2 days in plusgas and a vice did the trick) and this years project is go.







Will be a full resto to original spec, with new paint (probably a powdercoat) and decals, with replacement Deore MT-60 parts where required.
I think replacement seat and tyres will be the hardest parts to find as MT-60 stuff does appear from time to time.

Carl.

 

[drcarlos]

Reserved for updates

 

[coomber]

Nicely reclaimed. Lot of work to go in but should be a fun build. Did you ride it much when your dad had it in a rideable state?

Looking forward to updates.

 

[drcarlos]

Nicely reclaimed. Lot of work to go in but should be a fun build. Did you ride it much when your dad had it in a rideable state?

Looking forward to updates.

Only test rides to set up the gears all those years ago. I was at the time riding my Holdsworth (Cro-mo/Deore MT60) when we got it which was pretty similar really.

Carl.

 

[legrandefromage]

Sorry guys - thats just a heavily disguised Apollo Cheesewafter 6

I'll take it off your hands....

 

[drcarlos]

Sourced replacement MT-60 Cantis, MT-60 front mech, a 1987 (these were produced from '87-'92) MT-60 chainset with Biopace rings and my original MT-60 rear mech from my old Holdsworth which hasn't seen much action.
Going to keep the 600 headset and BB and replace the bearings in both and replace the nutted axle for a bolted one.
Once the bits I have on ebay sell the frame will be off to the powder coaters for a blast and a nice fresh coat of Electric Blue. I think I will attempt to strip the frame myself first so I can check on the condition.
Also got a set of Amberwall Michelin tyres coming too.
I think I may have trouble sourcing the correct seat though, so thinking a Rolls might suit this well, any opinions?

Carl.

 

[sinnerman]

What a find this is......... :shock:

Mate im lost for words,....THE KILIFLYER.

A Rolls would do it proud mate..

I really hope it comes out asin the advert mate, its retro steel like this we need to save.

 

[drcarlos]

Got nearly everything now, including a nice Rolls saddle and some Bontrager Cruiser foam grips.
Still need a set of Q/R Axles for the wheels which I'll get from the LBS.
Not sure whether I should change the BB to a sealed cartridge unit or stick with the Shimano open one.
Also stuck on a seatpost, it looks like a fairly generic one so was thinking just a Kalloy or SR micro adjustable (I guess 87 was a bit early for fancy posts), what do people think?

Carl.

 

[drcarlos]

Small update on this.

Got most of the paint removed with the use of old style Nitromors, even then it's still a bitch as there were 3 layers of resprays, the crappy purple with the decals over the top, a silver and then the original light blue powder coat.
It has revealed a brazed repair to the drive side dropout at the rear which would probably explain the lack of original Deore rear mech. This appears solid and well executed so I wont tamper with it.
I will be going to see the powder coaters this week sometime to see if they can strip the rest of the paint and also if the stem can be coated in it's current very scratched state or whether it needs a bit of smoothing first.
I have ordered the new axles and a cartridge BB for it as the open bearing stuff was always more hassle than it was worth and I ride all my bikes.
Need to order up some machine polishing wheels for my bench grinder as the bars have the same very scratched finish as the stem and they need serious work with first wet and dry paper (have started this) and then a decent machine polish.
Still have to get a seatpost and pedals and sort some decals.
Going to finish it in the catalogue 'Electric Blue' rather than the lighter powder blue it was originally finished in. This is odd in itself as the colour was never offered even as an option but is in the sub pic in the catalogue here: http://www.rideandrepair.co.uk/Retrobike/Saracen_1987.pdf
So a few or maybe just one of the prototypes were obviously made in that colour as it was on the steerer tube of the forks and under the layer of other paint but it never made it into production, but it is quite nasty.

Carl.

 

[DeletedUser006]

I can't wait to see this one emmerge

Electric blue sounds the way forward IMO if you are using a powdercoaters then they should be able to get it chemically dipped to remove old Powdercoat, the stem will need to be as smooth as you can get it / want it (with out filler) as the powder is a layer that will essentially sit on top of any imperfections.

Don't take too long please