Submitted by Antonio Dicoste for the excellent reparto corse numero 6 blog
“Hi here’s my V2 before indicators mirrors light removing and front fair racing shift .
ciao Anthony.”
What a fantastic ride!
Reader Ride! Bimota V Due!
Reader Submittal
Fantastic Reader Submittal!
Hector Catre sends in these great BMW ressurection pictures.
He Writes:
Hi Superduckz,
I thought I’d show you my bike: a 1972 BMW R75/5 Cafe Racer I spent 700 hours building. I had an article published about it in a Canadian magazine called “Motorcycle Mojo”.
http://www.motorcyclemojo.com/articles/article.html?article=more-motorcycle-maintenance-than-zen
Cheers,
H
My response to Hector:
Hello Hector! You know one of these days I’m going to build myself on old BMW. What a fantastic bike! That’s one of the things that I enjoy most about this hobby/lifestyle. The satisfying resurrection of a sad and forgotten bike back to a source of pride. It’s hard to explain to people how good it feels to actually take that first ride down the road on a bike like this. You look at all those brand new bike owners a little differently somehow. Sure it’s great to have a brand new store bough bike but it’s something far more satisfying to have built it with your own hands. Thank you very much for sharing this. I’d be honored to post this up!
Great Stuff! And go check out the story at the link and spend some time over at Motorcycle Mojo. First time I’ve read them. Seems to be a really nice site and magazine!.
Here’s the before picture!!
And here’s the after!
Another Sam Simons Find. A motorcycle built with a 2-stroke car engine!
Maybe this is what Gave Boss Hoss their idea! LOL. Interesting how one is transverse and one is inline.
Sam Writes:
Hello Steve,
I’m also a fan of the early SAAB model 93 & 96 cars,having owned several some 30 years back. I’m
presently looking to buy another one.
So,in my Internet travels,I happened across these SAAB powered two wheeled hybrids. One is powering
either a Ural or Dneper ;the other a BSA chassis.
These little cars are loads of fun to drive.There are several great videos on YouTube about them…..
Thanks as always! Sam. Much appreciated!
Triumph High Pipe! Reader Ride!
Eric from BC Canada sends in a some kind words (much appreciated) along with his beautiful Classic Triumph.
Eric writes:
Just to let you know….I’ve been a fan of your blog for a while now and check it daily to see what fantastic new photos you have posted. I can’t understand why anyone interested in bikes, vintage or otherwise, could or would be at all critical. You seem to capture what these machines are…..rolling art museums and objects of mechanical passion. From one vintage biker to another…please keep up the good work…..and thanks!
Attached is my 1971 Tiger TR6R. There’s a group of a dozen or so of us that meet up on Wednesday nights and go for a burn and a pint. All vintage! No electric start allowed!
Cheers, Eric
Victoria BC Canada
Very much appreciated! Sounds like a hell of a nice group there Eric “No electric start allowed” I love that!
Reader Submission. RZ350/500 Brochure scan.
Reader Bill Thomas sends in the fantastic scans.
A Zephyr pic from Reader Ted Guthrie
Ted Guthrie send in the following:
Really enjoyed the just-out-of-the-crate ZR1100 posting. Attached is a photo of mine. While I didn’t buy the bike new, it was only a couple of years old when I got, was in perfect condition, and only had about 5K on it. I’ve racked up about 30,000 since then, and consider it to be a pretty nice bike. I left it stock, other than the Corbin seat, which you see in the photo, plus have a Plexiscreen type of windshield. Oh, and heated grips, too.
The bike could basically be best described as a “GT”. It is very smooth, wonderfully comfortable, tremendous power and torque, and GREAT brakes. However, it is also very heavy, puts out engine heat like a blast furnace, and is a real handful at speed on twisty roads.
However, at the speeds I ride (slow), the big ZR behaves quite well. It has been dead-ass reliable, and is not even that hard on tires and chains (course once again that’s taking into consideration how pokey I ride it).
Kinda funny what happens when you DO try to ride it fast: The chassis flexes quite easily, and since I’ve never upgraded the suspension, bottoming the forks is (too) easily accomplished by just grabbing a big handful of front brake. Also, it is easy to tell when the tires needs replaced because the bike starts handling really wierd. It gets all squirrelly and won’t hold a line, and the front end resists coming around. Kinda spooky when you’re all hung off and committed to a hard turn, yet the bike keeps going straight.
But, all in all I love the styling, love the “big block” power, and find it a very comfortable and friendly bike indeed. Say, also attached is a little story, which takes into account bikes like “Zeke”. Cheers.
Ted
A pair of great pictures from reader Don Miller.
Don picked up on the MX250 pics I’ve posted and chips in with a couple of really great shots.
Don Writes:
Steve;
Not only did the motors appear stock in Moto Crossers. A lot of flat track racers used them in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Here’s a couple of my Harley MX 250 in a Boss frame. On is of Jay Springsteen on it and the other is me being chased by 2 very big 4 strokes.
Later,Don
Thanks Much Don. As always, very much appreciated!
A 3/4 scale Ridley and a Nimbus for Reader Ted Guthrie
I love the Nimbus design (see link here). It’s like rolling industrial art. I’ve never heard of the Ridley. Really interesting bike. Kind of like a Cushman on steroids.
Ted Writes:
Hi, Steve. I enjoyed seeing the unique and rare Harley-Davidson motocrosser, featured on your site. Speaking of unique bikes, one of the more interesting I’ve ever come across is the Ridley. Produced right here in the USA, these 3/4 scale cruisers feature a 500cc v-twin engine, and fully automatic transmission.
I spotted this one at an Ohio Valley BSA Owners Club meet. Check out the old Yamaha IT200 parked behind it for a reference to its diminuitive size. 
Also included is a photo taken at the same event, of a Nimbus. I’ve not done any research on the brand, but I believe it was produced in Sweden. A very interesting mix of engineering. Note the perimeter frame, yet exposed valvetrain. 
Ted
As always, Much Appreciated!
Way cool reader Ride! RZ500!
Great Reader submission form Bill Thomas!
Bill Writes:
Found an old photo – start of WERA race, Grattan, Michigan May 5, 1985 – Paul Hurdy, No. 838 and myself No, 420. Look at those old leathers and boots.
Great Stuff! Thanks Bill!
A Hodaka Wombat From Ted Guthrie!
Ted keeps the great bikes coming in with this lates submission and story! He Writes:
Here’s a nice, original bike. It’s a 1974 Hodaka 125 Wombat. I picked the bike up a few years ago, complete with title and toolkit. Note also the original, unmolested turn signals. I got the original key, too. Only thing missing was the owners manual, which the former owner had unfortunately thrown away – just because it was a little moldy. Rats. Oh, well. The bike fires right up and runs perfectly.
The first picture (with the cows) was taken the day I brought the bike home. That’s exactly as I bought it. Since then, I’ve cleaned it up a bit more, shot some correct-paint on the engine’s sidecovers, and did same for the pegs and rear brake pedal. I also resprayed the air cleaner cover and installed a repop “Wombat” sticker on it, plus blasted the pipe and shot it with high-temp, correct-satin paint. Also installed new petcocks and repop grips. Plenty of parts of available for these little Hodads, and the rider following is cult-level.
The second picture shows none other than racing great, David Aldana, taking a spin on the bike at Vintage Days 2008. I was hanging out with some friends who were doing the vintage roadracing thing. Thier garage space was right next to David’s, and at one point I saw him checking out the Wombat, which I had parked right outside.
I struck up a conversation with Aldana, whom I had interviewed the year before. He began telling stories about the old days, and the fun of riding bikes like Hodakas. I offered for David to ride the bike, which he initially declined. However, after a bit more prodding, and with a great big grin on his face, he soon gave in and off he went.
Aldana returned (quite) a bit later, having had a great time. He was all pumped up, and kept saying how much fun the bike was. He also reported having received a lot of attention during his ride. I said, why of course – you’re David Aldana! He said no, that everyone was interested only in the Hodaka. Haha.
All in all, the little Wombat is GREAT fun. It runs like a champ, is great for putting around at events like Vintage Days, or for putzing on the trails, or even for running errands around town. In fact, despite just 123cc of displacement, the Hodaka really buzzes on the street. There is no doubt as to why these bikes were so popular. What a cryin’ shame Hodaka is no more.
Ted Guthrie
A damm shame indeed.. Thanks again Ted!
Motorcycle Photo Of The Day 