We just finished a ground-up restoration of a 1955 Vincent Black Shadow Series D. This model is the last of the legendary Black Shadows before the company ceased manufacturing a week before Christmas Day 1955. When the Vincent was introduced in 1946 (the Rapide) it was the first true 110 MPH super bike. However, when the Black Shadow was introduced in 1948, it went 125 MPH and made the Vincent the legend that it is today. As far as owner Philip Vincent was concerned, the Series D was his finest design. Only 460 Series D twins were built, and only 142 of those were Black Shadows.
Below are photos of how the bike looked before restoration (rough, and with a few incorrect parts that had to be sourced), progress photos during the restoration, and how it looks now. On order is a Watsonian sidecar, which will be fitted to the Vincent when it arrives.
Parts that were missing had to be sourced or fabricated, new wheels had to be laced and trued, crankshaft rebuilt and trued, new pistons installed, every nut and bolt cad plated, paint work, re-upholstery, chrome, electrics, and the whole motorcycle reassembled as new, with each part very carefully fitted. A big thanks to Blake Conway for his fabulous paint work on the tank.
From start to finish the restoration took 4 months. Many new parts were ordered through Coventry Spares and Classic British Spares, and hard-to-find items sourced with help from the VOC. In the end the Vincent Black Shadow Series D is a stunning machine. Check out the video on YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/klassicmachines