Who rides cycles around here?

[cal]

mesa, after i found out my RC30 is actually one of the original six painted in rothmans for the italian market, i admit, it sits on display, unobtanium.

not sure how far back you go, but used to crash up at westwood in vancouver back in the day. still looking for a walter wolf RG500 Gama, would look great next to the 30

as for helicopters, the new east bay regional ship (fairly close to you) was delivered last friday, couple shots taken during flight testing. keep a keen eye as this beast makes apaches envious

 

[Eric Johnson]

This is a nice thread. I've had a few great bikes over the years including 72 Honda Trail 70 (my first bike), 75 Honda CB400F which I loved, 1997 Harley Heritage Softail which looked great, but was not fun to ride. The one I bonded with stangely enough was a 1985 BMW K100rt which had 70,000 miles on it when I bought it and was just the best. I put another 50,000 miles on that fantastic bike.

Currently I have a 1975 Kawasaki H1 ( KH500) triple 2 stroke which rips and a 1997 Moto Guzzi 1100i Sport in yellow that Paoli would love . Che Bella!:thumbsup:

 

[Mark]

I have a Ducati 916 with a suzuki tl1000r engine swap, I bought it as a nearly finished project...

that rc30 is sweet!

mesa, do you have an r7 with an r1 engine in it?

I'm also a pedal pusher, 5" travel full suspension mtb, and a fixed gear roadie.

 

[Doug Clark]

I have a Ducati 916 with a suzuki tl1000r engine swap...

I love it! :thumbsup: I bet that makes the purist puke! What are you going to call it? A Sucati or Duzuki?

 

[TimB]

I bought a BMW 1150GS this year for some long distance exploring....great bike ..crap seat.

Also have an MV Brutale, tricked out S4R Duc. Royal Star with Vax engine, Bultaco Sherco and vintage Honda Racer....oh and a Norton.

Crap ...no wonder the Missus gives me grief because she cant park in the garage....

Agree. I have invested in a Corbin saddle for every BMW I have ever owned. My favorite bike so far was a K100RS

 

[Ron Earp]

My first and last ever traffic infraction, naturally on a motorcycle. Circa 1994. Me and some buddies were headed down to the beach on Spring Break, I was on my 1973 CB750. The other three riders were on a BMW R100/7 (pictured), a Nighthawk 650S, and a KZ750 parallel twin (yes, they were made for one or two years, a bigger paint shaker than the 650 twin).

We passed through a check point on a two lane highway that was manned by a couple of Highway Patrol Officers in a 5L Mustang. After the check point we figured the county would be empty so we decided to pour on some steam to make time.

Well, the HP figured we'd do just that and closed up their check point to follow us. About 25 miles later they caught us, pulled all four of us over and wrote us up. Pictured is Graham and I with our award. The graciously put down an "average" speed figure on the infraction instead of an instantaneous speed, which would have had our bikes impounded here in NC since it was over 15mph over the posted limit. Five miles later we needed food so we stopped at the only place in the county and ate dinner with our captors. Nice fellows, just doing their job.

The other pictures are of my TDM850 when I first got it, and my own 5L Mustang that I owned from about 87 to 94 or so. Last factory Ford 5L carbbed motor in a Mustang, a notchback, factory GT suspension with quad shocks, 5 speed, roller cam, etc.

 

[Jack]

Around 1973 I purchased a CB750F2 in upstate New York, used the bike for some adventures into Canada, Nova Scotia, etc. camping along the route. Sold the bike when I was posted out of the country. Now, more than 30 years later my next door neighbor calls and say's "Jack, come and look at the bike I just bought. It's not running but it looks cool". Guess what, it was my old bike. Recognized by the unusual pin striping I had done. I returned home and remembered that I made a repair to the left side cover, called neighbor, he looked and it was identical to my description of the repair. It's still on the road! My last ride was a RCD 1100, last of the inline fours. Bought the frame in Germany, the engine from a team in Belgium and
the tank, fairing & misc parts from Japan. Put it all together and found a wrecking yard that just got in a totalled 900. Bought the wreck & took the VIN plate & rivited to my frame. No problem registering as I had the 900's title. Florida got too crazy with blue hairs, no turn signals, or wrong direction, inattentive, etc. so I sold the bike. I did care for my friends 996 DUC for a bit recently as he was in Iran. AWSOME machine.

 

[Bill Hara]

Love the CB750's, infact I've still got one.. It's a K2 and I've had it for over a decade although I am planning a major rebuild on it in the next 12 months. It'll be getting a bigbore kit, F2 head, new transmission, stainless valves, meatier cam, twin disk upgrade, modifying the swing arm for bigger rear rubber, new shocks all round....you get the drift.

Cheers

Bill

 

[Mesa]

Jack, thats pretty wild that your old bike ended up next door after 30 YEARS!

Ron, my first bike was a Honda CL100 enduro when I was like 12 years old. I used it to deliver papers on my route. Part of the inspiration for that purchase was this guy who would fire up a CB500four with a pipe on it in the wee hours of the morning. Man! I thought that thing sounded just like a FERRARI. I wanted one big time.

I also had an H2 later....what a missle....a pretty much uncontrollable missle

 

[Wilby]

Well, i started in 1967 on a Bridgstone 175 dual twin,then a Honda 305 Superhawk,1968 Harley XLCH Sportster,69 BSA Lightning,1971 CB750-4,1973 Kawasaki 900Z1,Back to a 1963 H-D Duo-Glide pan,then a couple of Honda CB900's, Kawasaki 750 turbo,Ducati 900ss,Suzuki 750,Honda CB 1100F,1991 H-D Sturgis Dyna Lowrider,2000 Buell x-1 lightning and currently and my favorite, 1996 H-D Softail Springer.The only other bike i owned and wished i'd kept was a 1983 CB 1000 RR /water cooled v4 (World Championship Race Replica) Neat bike and ahead of its time although a bit heavy.Each of the machines i owned had its merits for me in some ways,i loved and enjoyed most of them then decided to move on to the next.Each had a place for me at a certain point in my life.Looking back,i realized the Brit bike was never for me even though the Lightning was a beauty with the chrome and red tank and chrome fenders.The CB 750 was a rider,i put 30,000 miles on that bike in 3 years,not a minutes trouble.The Kaw 900 was pretty much the same only much faster.The early H-D's were cool but constantly needing something.The Duc was a handling marvel but the gearing seemed way off,either you were screaming around in second or third gear or chugging and bucking from being in too high of a gear.By the time i got to the Sturgis the H-D's had turned the corner and were nice bikes and really enjoyed this bike and a rare one too #196 of 1600 made.Then i got the Buell X-1,neatest bike i'd had,the handling i loved with the grunt of the H-D V-Twin,only draw back by then was the riding position,(guess i'm getting old) Now i got the Softail Springer and at 56 y/o, i love it,i rides great (2up) plenty of power,absolutely no problems and looks great too.You asked if we also rode, yes i do,every chance i get and have since 1967.Sorry if i got carried away, i just love to remember my first passion and share it with others.
Bill

 

[Doug Clark]

If we’re doing histories...

1. Yamaha FS1E “Fizzy” This bike is a classic in the true meaning of the phrase. I went through countless hedges on that.
2. Yamaha RD125LC. 21bhp, 100mph downhill with a tail wind.
3. Yamaha RD350LC. My first real cash pit. Would do 12.5 quarters at 115mph by the time I was done with it, good for ~135mph with no fairing.
4. Moto Morini 3 ½ Strada. Handled brilliantly, worst electrics in history.
5. Honda CBX550. Nice bike, wrecked in Le Mans on the way to the Bol d’or.
6. Maico 490 with a Suzuki DR400 motor in it. Crap, loud dirt bike.
7. Yamaha YZ250 built Yamaha UK for ISDE. I then stuck WP suspension on it from a KTM125. That was a really good Enduro bike.
8. Yamaha FZ1000R EXUP. 170mph+ at the rev limiter, 75mph in 1st gear. Would wheel spin and wheelie at the same time, I could pull a wheelie until the front wheel stopped. Man I loved that bike.
9. Honda XL600. I moved to Australia and rode this one across the country (the hard way).
10. 1991 Yamaha TZ250 road racer. Crack cocaine on wheels.
11. 1993 Suzuki GSXR1100WP. Move to Texas, had to have a bike, this one went like stink and steered like poo. Riding in Houston is scary.
12. 1999 Honda CBR919RR Fireblade. Moved back to Australia, this one goes well and steers well too. All is right with the world.

 

[Al Jones]

by Mesa:"I also had an H2 later....what a missle....a pretty much uncontrollable missle"[/quote]
Mesa - that's an understatement.I raced (drag)one for a friend who just didn't have the xxxxx to get it out of the hole properly.Even on a good day you never knew where it was going to go in 1st and 2nd.And on the street - never,ever get on it in a corner.
Wilby,et al - does anyone know where I could locate an original exhaust system for my 1973 Kaw Z-1 (four> four pipes)? A.J.

 

[Ian Anderson]

I once rode a mate's Scott
From Memory about 1918 vintage
I say rode well more like managed to get it rolling without pushing (too far)
Once moving the next problem was trying so slow it down with abysmal brakes! How things have improve over the years!

See Scott Motorcycles for a photo of similar motorcycles! No idea where the one I rode ended up when his dad emigrated.

My mate's dad had 15 vintages in the garden, about 5 Model T, a Daimler with moving sleeve engine, Austin 7, Rugby Camper, Morgan 3 wheeler, Scott, 2 Indian Scout Cycles (OK in a straight line but don't try to steer them), and my favourite a 4.5l Bentley wioth LM pedigree.

Other than that I ran a couple of pototo peelers (50cc things that peeled the skin of your leg when you fell off)
A 125 Trail Yamaha
A 550 Suzuki.
Yamaha 350cc ( Ex Rhodesian pilice bike)

I found I hurt a lot when falling off so gave up and went to 4 wheels

Ian

 

[John W]

Ian, so don't fall off !! lol

Al, there is a guy who posts KZ parts on ebay every now and then, and seems to have the occasional Z1 part. Those exhausts will be like rocking horse sh!t, but this guy must have some source based on the other stuff he sells, so look out for him.
Thats ebay.co.uk by the way.

Only other suggestion is to give these guys a try:
Kawasaki Z1 900
Big money...

 

[Jean-Paul Reckinger]

what about my ride I have a KTM 950 SMR street enduro

 

[Ron Earp]

Hmmm KTMs, I like those. Always wanted one. Being vertically challenged I have always liked tall street bikes. I enjoy driving them, the upright position, good visuals, and despite their height I can hustle one of them faster than I can a "sport bike". Just never got used to clip on bars, I like the wide flat tracking bars.

Other bikes we've had around the house, two of them Julie's ride (wife). You guys have to put pictures up, a thread like this is useless without pictures!!

And I need to move this thread to the proper place too.

 

[Al Jones]

John W - thanks for the Z-1 info.I knew in advance this would be big bucks.I ran into a guy a few years ago who had a NIB exhaust set w/factory #'s but he wanted way too much.I believe I have an H1 ign box b unit (free) if anyone's interested but I'll have to hunt it down first. A.J.

 

[roaldin]

I listed some of my bikes on a "sports bike" thread here a while back. I can't find it now.
I think The Iron Sheik started it with an R1.

My current bike is a final production VTR1000.

Tim.

 

[Jason Lindsey]

This is my sort of bike.............. I'm the passenger. 3 wheels are lots of fun on the race track.

I've also got a Suzuki Hayabusa that i use on the road. Trouble is that its so easy to lose your license on one of these, so i might take up sprinting?

Jas

 

[Pat Buckley]

My new ride.

Relaxing is the idea.....