1977 550 K3 Tale of woe.

[Laverda Dave]

Just read this story and amazed at how anyone could be so callous.
I remember 'Pete mate' as Henry Cole used to call him restoring the Honda Britain. I'm sure Henry had to get the silencer remanufactured and had a few made to recover the cost. To be fair the finished bike really did look nice. I don't understand how he went from undertaking restorations like that to what he did to the CB550. Maybe the magic of TV made the Britain look better than it actually was but I know when HC first saw it in someone's garden it was a wreck. I think he has since sold it, one of the few restored bikes from the series he has sold.
Alan Millyard and Sam Lovegrove are his sidekicks now and they really are proper engineers.

[Bryanj]

Is it the same Pete? as Henry's mate showed uo in the recent series

[SumpMagnet]

It aboslutely 100% IS the same guy.

I did some searching, and found The Motorcycle Show....Episopde 8 2017...

Henry and his mate Pete 'the restorer' Thorne....restoring the Classic Bonneville. 41 minutes in, and Cole is walking up to see his mate Pete ...and you can clearly see the sign 'Aspire Classic Restorations Inc' on the workshop where Henry 'restores' stuff by handing it over to other people to do the work.

In this case.....to a man who ChrisR noted as living at 86 The Slade, Daventry....and unless their are multiple Pete Thornes, restoring motorcycles and living at the Saldes, Daventry..... it's him. ChrisR's tale begins in 2016...and went on until 2020, so the episode I found is in the right timeline for Cole and Pete the Restorer to be the same folks.

[andy120t]

That's a really nasty person. Can't believe anyone would have the hall to act like that - both the bike and the relative. I hope you are enjoying a great 550 now!