Jase. No shame there. You can bet your boots we've all bought bikes and other vehicles that have had their faults, never noticed or pointed out at the time of purchase decision. Buying a complete bike, runner or not, costs more in one lump but with a bit of luck you don't waste time and money chasing the odd missing bits. To build from a basket case is a conundrum, collections of parts and unfinished projects fetch as much as complete bikes on good days, which is a bit weird. You may think you paid too much, but sadly it's the way of the world, the next fella may consider it a bargain. As mentioned on the Forum, some people in the trade are not exactly too good at customer service and in their world a deal's a deal, thanks, now pi55 off.
Buying from a dealer should bring some sort of paperwork ready to put the bike onto the road, saving hassle we can do without. They don't make 'em anymore so fingers crossed we are on a rising market and for now it's better than money in the bank.
Front brake adjustment. A good clean out and removal of any glaze on the shoes, plus maybe some homespun pads on the cam end of the shoes to compensate for lining wear. Some fixed pivots are actually in a slot in the backplate. If this is the case, and you loosen the pivot nut and apply the brake, the pivot will move slightly as the shoes centralise themselves. With the brake still applied, retighten the pivot nut. Your plunger rear brake has the slot and a simple adjustment like this improves matters.
Swarfy.
