After finding this old “barn conditioned” 1953 René Gillet Type VI a few years ago, I set about stripping and rebuilding it with a view to restoring it’s mechanical glory. The restoration has been glacially slow, in part because my day job meant I was out of the country a fair amount, but also because finding spare parts was almost impossible. Some components had to be fabricated from old drawings, and other parts are still outstanding.

I have been lucky enough to have been able to spend some time in France where it is more likely to find something in a box at a Vide-grenier (literally – ’empty attic’ or car boot sale to you and I), but the process of sourcing odd parts for these bikes is not simple. I look at how easy it is to get a new magneto bearing for a BSA and wonder what I have let myself in for.

For the past few years i have been scouring the internet forums, looking for information, and searching for other owners in the UK. I wanted to talk to someone else with one of these bikes to exchange thoughts and ideas about their restoration, and hopefully one day go for a ride out and a cup of tea! Then, a little while ago, I finally made contact with another René Gillet owner and I thought it only fitting to start a UK owners club!

So here we are, I have created the René Gillet UK owners club. There is no cost of admission, just sign up and help us help each other. I am collating any documentation I can get hold of, slowly translating this from vintage engineering French and will be posting it here in the library. There will also be a discussion forum although if there are, as i suspect, only a few of us it may be the smallest bike forum on the internet.

I am also going to create a shop because i really want a René Gillet t-shirt, and i figure that someone else out there might too.

Welcome to the René Gillet UK owners club, please do get in touch if you are out there. 

Andy