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pre65
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#16

Post by pre65 »

floppybootstomp wrote: I haven't ridden a bike since around '79 and back in the day had a scooter, a Lambretta LI 150 Mk 2 bored out to 175 and a Mk 3 fairing fitted.
I started off with an Li 125 mk 3 (slimstyle) and that ended up with a 175 conversion bored out to 200 !
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

Edmund Burke

G-Popz THE easy listening connoisseur. (Philip)
Cressy Snr
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#17

Post by Cressy Snr »

Might as well post my biking history.

1975 I started with a Honda C90

1977-1983 graduated to a Suzuki GT380 2 stroke triple. Such a fun bike! laying down clouds of smoke on the A1M

Then had a hiatus until 1993 when, as an impoverished education student, I bought a Honda CX500 ratter with a blown head gasket. That was repaired and served me well until 1997 when somebody nicked it. The cops recovered it and I sold it for spares.
steve s
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#18

Post by steve s »

I too started with a honda c90, mine was a 65 model bouoght in 73' i ran well for about 4 years .. then a company van
in about 1991 on holiday i though i'd get a lambretta, i spent ages finding a gp200 proper inocenti one..
i had that for about 10 years whilist i got more and more into bikes

i one point i had 10 or so.. most were oddities

around 97-98 i had the following 58'ariel huntmaster, 60'ariel arrow, 63?ariel 3, honda vt500, 69'lambretta gp200, 66'lambretta cento,61' garelli engined scooter, kawasaki kr1, trx 850, an 76' italian sport moped
i restored all the older bikes, i did one every 9 months or so..

then i could not get in the garage... so i started to thin them out

the only old bike i have now is a laverda,i bought in in 2000, i've just got it back on the road after being stood for 8 years,and it doing 39 miles since its last mot in 2002, its quite something really..
i bought my first terraced house in 77 for a grand.. this bike was £2.5K in 78, a honda 750 4 was about £750 at the same time...
its a bike i'll keep..
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Mike H
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#19

Post by Mike H »

Which model is that?


 
 
"No matter how fast light travels it finds that the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it."
steve s
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#20

Post by steve s »

put the wrong picture on..

in the last few weeks its had new wheels and tyres due to a couple of slight dings in the originals, new headgasket and carb mounts along with 3x carb rebuilds/repair kits

next job( in winter) is to get the original jota exhausts rechromed.. got lots of rechroming done on the first rebuild, along with a new seat cover and a long list of other bits
it has 4c cams and original jota bars for any one who's intersted..
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laverda 2.JPG
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laverda 1.JPG
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steve s
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#21

Post by steve s »

Mike H wrote:Which model is that?


thats a hard one to answer.. to my knowlwdge its one of the first 1200's .. number 5 to be exact of the 1200's, which i belive slaters converted to mirage spec .. but not sure if it was converted before it was first sold new or just after.. the guy i bought it from said it was an original mirage..?
but i doubt that.

if it was before.. it would probably one of the fiirst mirages.. but its probably not.. either way its a nice bike, if rather a handfull,
its getting taxed tonight and i'll be out on it again, when i took it for an mot last week i did 3 miles there and 7 miles back.. it revs for an oldie
i came back grinning..
geofftl1000r
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#22

Post by geofftl1000r »

Many years ago, I used to have a picture of a Jota on my bedroom wall... Always loved the sound they made.
My first ride on 2 wheels was a Lambretta my friend had that I got started. Weird grip mounted gear change. I later found an abandoned Triumph Tigress which I had transferred into my name (12 years old at the time) managed to get it running and honed my riding skills with it!
Then it was a GT250 followed by my first 'proper bike a Z750. Did lots of miles on this! Then I bought a GPz1100 bored to 1250+ (the result of a turbo melting the original pistons)..Doh! Sold this and went back to the GT250.... License needed a rest...!
Then a GSX600FS as my run around. And finally in '99 my first TLR .... never had a test ride just bought it over the phone from the dealer for £5200 new! When I tried to ride it home I'd thought I'd made a bad move. Twins being odd after years of 4 pots! Soon learned the knack of the engine and fell in love with the thing! When I moved to the USA in 2001, the first thing I did was buy another TLR! Moved to China in 2007 and had no bike for the first time in 30 years!
All my hifi was in Tulsa too so no music! NAC62 and some big monoblock power amps just too big for the suitcases! Hence the Gainclone. The Celestion SL6's are now a friends in Tulsa so I make do with some little Diamonds...

I did think about sawing some 8x4 myself, but no tools and living in an apartment, no room either. Was hoping B&Q would do the cutting and I can glue/screw and clamp at home. Just have to wait until a saw is working...
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Mike H
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#23

Post by Mike H »

Possibly a Mirage then? :D


 
 
"No matter how fast light travels it finds that the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it."
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floppybootstomp
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#24

Post by floppybootstomp »

Seems geoff has touched on a nerve here :)

So a Lambretta is a motorcycle then eh? There was so much snobbery about at the time us scooter riders were derided, so to speak (see Daily Mirror cuttings circa '66 Mods & Rockers).

I have some pix of my noble steed, perhaps me post 'em.

Was working at a college in Hampshire mid 90's young IT guy had a Ducatti. Looked very spartan to me. Let me ride it round the college grounds. Phew. Bit nippy, innit? ;)

Vroom vroom.
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steve s
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#25

Post by steve s »

Mike H wrote:Possibly a Mirage then? :D


i had emailed richard slater at laverda last week with some photo's to try and confirm..
he has just replied this morning... he asked me to phone which a thought was strange...

he told me that it was in the first batch of 15 1200's that arrived in nov 1977, there where some standard 1200's and some where 'mirages', the factory had built them to either spec,

slaters simply stuck the mirage stickers on and fitted the open pipes ,the factory had already jetted them for the open pipes.
the rest of the world only got the standard 1200 on that first run

so its a factory built mirage, its got an open, loud exhaust, that was made for slaters in the uk,
by mid 78 the factory was producing the green ones, that are the more common mirages,

when i asked if he could put in in writing (for my records...?)
i was quoted it would cost £25.. so £25 was well spent..

its nice to know the history.. its had 4 owners and has 20k on the clock

I've enjoyed reading everyone's biking history

my tl100r was bought from doncaster new in 99 i think i paid about £5k
have the receipt somewhere, mine replaced the trx 850 as the sunday bike so it was not alot different.. i kept it 3 years and sold it with about 2.5k on the clock..

cheers
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Nick
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#26

Post by Nick »

Seems geoff has touched on a nerve here
I can't see any sign of that, I think we are all (sadly) old enough to have outgrown those tribal habits.

As its turned into a what we had thread. my list of shame is:

Yamaha FS1E, (we were all young once)
BSA B25 Starfire
Ducati 500 Pantah
Kawasaki K750 Twin
Whenever an honest man discovers that he's mistaken, he will either cease to be mistaken or he will cease to be honest.
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pre65
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#27

Post by pre65 »

Nick wrote:[Kawasaki K750 Twin
That's interesting Nick, was it one of these ?

http://www.motorcycleclassics.com/motor ... kz750.aspx
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

Edmund Burke

G-Popz THE easy listening connoisseur. (Philip)
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Nick
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#28

Post by Nick »

Yep, thats the one, mine was the LTD, but just about the same.

Similar to this:

Image

But it had wire wheels and side panels.
Whenever an honest man discovers that he's mistaken, he will either cease to be mistaken or he will cease to be honest.
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Ray P
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#29

Post by Ray P »

I've never owned a motorcycle, and never will; a view reinforced by seeing the injuries suffered by a guy in my physiotherapy group, however, welcome to Audio Talk.

Ray
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al newall
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#30

Post by al newall »

I started with a CB125, which i built from a pile of used bits obtained from the local bike shop. Cost me £40.

Image

Next i had a new Yamaha DT175 monoshock, to take advantage of the local hills.

Then i bought a low mileage purple KH250 triple, which i loved and kept for a couple of years.

Never owned anything bigger, though i've ridden a few.
Last edited by al newall on Wed Aug 04, 2010 12:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Much to learn there is.
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