gray Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 About 2.5 years I bought a frame advertised on Fleabay. Tubular steel, bit like a Harris magnum 2 (?) Am making slow progress with it. Story was that Grant Saunders was a New Zealander , came over here to learn frame building at Harris then branched out on his own with a shop in the Durham area. He then found God , went back to NZ and was involved with the Britten WSB team. He made 3 frame kits apparently - 1 was for a Jota and was tested by Bike magazine about 1983 . Mine apparently had a GSX1100 motor in it and the frame was then modified for fitting a turbocharger. Other than that I know little. Apparently it was riding about the Borders with a GSX750 engine in it latterly. I'll add more info and some photos tomorrow. Any further info gratefully received Gray 4 Quote Link to comment
DAZ Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Never cease to be amazed at what turns up ..... I sometimes wonder what treasures lay hidden in suburban garages and sheds 2 Quote Link to comment
stockcar Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 yes he had a place not far from here and know a couple of guy's who had a bit to do with them....... thought there was more than 3x but might be wrong - was never many regardless Quote Link to comment
imago Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 It's all vague memory, but I seem to recall that the Laverda was a one off commission and there were also three Suzuki frames. Quote Link to comment
gray Posted March 22 Author Share Posted March 22 (edited) came with a bespoke tank from the Tank Shop in Dumfries and it came with the Saunders side panel/ tail unit and a nose fairing Edited March 22 by Wee Man 12 Quote Link to comment
DAZ Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Looks great, that tank is a class creation ,do you have any ideas on how you'll build it ? Restomod utilizing the fairing and seat unit with more modern running gear , or a period correct style build ? Or nekid street fighter stylee ... Quote Link to comment
clivegto Posted March 23 Share Posted March 23 Nice looking thing. Very similar to the Harris Magnum 2 frame and swinging arm. Quote Link to comment
Ragerover Posted March 23 Share Posted March 23 He lived next to me clever f@ker tried to give me a lesson in frame geometry but he was too clever for me spent a bit of time with him used to go up Saturday after the Hill or call on an evening quietly spoken genius he was a bit of a bible basher when we first met but never pushed it( maybe he could see I was a lost cause) well into it later on he made quite a few frames ( more than 3 ) here’s the man himself in a Lewis leathers advert And another of his projects weirdly says designed by Jacob Saunders 4 Quote Link to comment
BillyR Posted March 23 Share Posted March 23 I rode one in my journo days, might of been a gsx11. Being some time in the 80's i cant remember too much about it other than id handled as good as any Harris/spondon/martin etc.. id ridden. 1 Quote Link to comment
Dezza Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 Weren't the frames marketed as 'Saunders and Lewis?' Who was Lewis I wonder? Quote Link to comment
Ragerover Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 Sanders and Lewis were a London based company who made stuff for Kettles Quote Link to comment
Wagola Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 19 minutes ago, Ragerover said: Sanders and Lewis were a London based company who made stuff for Kettles I thought that was De Longhi ?? 1 Quote Link to comment
Dezza Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 6 hours ago, Wagola said: I thought that was De Longhi ?? No, it was his best mate: Russell Hobbs 1 Quote Link to comment
gray Posted April 4 Author Share Posted April 4 As you can see, the fibreglass tailpiece I have is the same as the Jota's. I've been in email contact with him ( Initially he was Grant Saunders, but now goes by Jacob) and he thinks he only did 3 frames. I sent him a photo of my frame number ( which has a 7 on the end) and he said he definitely didn't do 7. Which was odd. The swingarm was damaged - looks like the chain jumped the sprocket, and got jammed between sprocket and arm and bent / dented it and cracked the braze. I had made a list of what I wanted from a donor bike, and picked one up - the Triumph Daytona 900 would give me good wheels for modern rubber, discs, 4 pot Nissans, multi adjustable forks, yokes would fit and swingarm was the right width ( so no issues making up spacers ) and the Saunders swingarm pivot bolt was the same diameter as the Triumph one. But the Saunders swingarm mounts its shock like an LC350 so I needed to get a mounting made - I chopped a GSX-R 750 K3 up to get its brace and a local fit that does race bike stuff welded it up for me. I'll try and add a photo. The Triumph engine wouldn't fit ( clutch cover sticks out too much) so I sold all the Triumph stuff I didn't need and started looking for an engine/ carbs/ loom/ electrics etc . Quote Link to comment
gray Posted April 4 Author Share Posted April 4 (edited) frame and swingarm set up on the bench with a piece of wood that I calculate will give me a clean chain run, once sag has occurred. Edited April 4 by Wee Man 2 Quote Link to comment
gray Posted April 4 Author Share Posted April 4 (edited) I had tried a Z1000M ( air-cooled ) engine in it that I had lying about but the rear edges of the cylinder head fins were hitting the frame rails so that was moved on. I knew I would need a carb'd engine as I didn't want to cut a hole in that nice tank to fit a fuel pump for fuel injection. Had to be side draft carbs not down draft, and that's how I arrived at the next part of the jigsaw - a donor Mk 1 Bandit , picked up complete and running, and ridden home 4 hrs before the MOT ran out. The engine fits but there are marks on the bores where the rings have sat a long time. The motor is stripped and a hollow shell engine bolted together so its easier to move about , ready to be taken to get brackets made up to fit it in the frame. the Triumph forks weren't slid fully up the yokes to it looks too high at the front on this photo. . Edited April 4 by Wee Man Upside doon 4 Quote Link to comment
gray Posted April 18 Author Share Posted April 18 So today's job was to remove the endurance racing dual quick fillers, and show the removed filler plate to a local engineering firm who say they can make up a plain plate to mount on the tank, so I can fit a conventional flush-fit fuel cap that locks. Should be no problem that say . I'll sell on the dual quick fillers - John at The Tank Shop said they were worth about £400. Fuel tap is going to be a Z1R one which fits onto the screw fitting on the tank base, and has a single outlet for the Bandit carbs. I had one lying about fortunately. I've sourced new filters for it from an Eblag dealer "Madmopeds" who was very helpful. 2 Quote Link to comment
Swirl Posted Friday at 09:10 AM Share Posted Friday at 09:10 AM (edited) If you search Saunders on here, I'm sure that's the same kit I tried to buy, was it from Scotland, had a deal done with the fella, never answered messages very rarely answered the phone, then he said it was gone Edited Friday at 09:10 AM by Swirl Quote Link to comment
BasilBrush Posted 5 hours ago Share Posted 5 hours ago On 3/22/2024 at 8:18 PM, gray said: came with a bespoke tank from the Tank Shop in Dumfries and it came with the Saunders side panel/ tail unit and a nose fairing Is the saunders fairing a bit like an Endurance one with one headlight. Not sen one of these frames before so build is going to be interesting to follow Quote Link to comment
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