I -still- want one of these.

I feel exactly that way every time I think about my KH400: the one I
bought in 1993. Paid £450 for it, ran it for a season, flogged it for
£775 and thought I'd done well.... and haven't been able to find one as
good since, well, not for under £2k.

Oh, and it was a candy green one, too.

Not fast - definitely not fast - but *such* fun.

 

Ah, well, ain't that always the way.

I always smile when people tell me how fast Kawasaki H1s were, because I
owned one, and I know they weren't that quick, really.

They *felt* quick because of the power band.

 

To be fair, they were about the fastest thing you could buy, over a
standing quarter, when they came out. And they were dirt cheap
compared to the competition.

 

In reality(tm) it has around the same number of horses as a GS500 even
when well fettled. Then we get to the SOB handling and brakes ......

SOBritbikes can be fun but 50 year old technology has its limits.

 

These and an R90S.

 

Ok. Cool.

I don't get this though... whilst Dad is starting to smell of stale wee,
he's still reasonably with it and would have mentioned issues with these.

Thinking back, ISTR him muttering it was going to fail its MOT on an
indicator not working, and that the tester did a tweak or something to get
it to work.

Aye, well I nearly had to resort to the weld method to get a snapped exhaust
stud in a real PITA location to get at with grips on the VFR recently, and
the smallest stud extractor socket I had access to was just a tiny bit too
big to get a bite on it.

Managed to borrow a set of 'the smallest mole gripes in the world' to get
just enough bite on it to free it up.

Excellent - I'll forward the link to them on to Dad, as he'll be interested
to see how nice its come up.

--
JackH

98 Honda VFR800FiW
05 Sachs Madass
03 VW Passat TDI Sport
89 Vauxhall Nova 1.3 Pearl

 

Yes, that's true enough. They accelerated like stink. The top end was
just not as high as people seem to think.

 

Ah! He waggled the loose wire, then.

http://www.chateau.murray.dsl.pipex.com/Ebay/CB250N.1.jpg

and .2.jpg through to .4.jpg

Not high res but good enough.

 

yeah, indeed. there really weren't that many genuine ones and it's not that
hard to produce a fake.

 

Velo Thruxton

 

In communiqué <>, Austin

I very nearly include that on my list. Then I remembered following an
old mate that had one years ago on a pootle round the Manifold valley.
A first gear as tall as a very tall thing and much farting about trying
to start the beats finally cured him of his Velo affliction, which had
led him via a clubman's Viper to this silver gleam bracer.

--
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| Pete Fisher at Home: |
| Voxan Roadster Gilera Nordwest * 2 Yamaha WR250Z |
| Gilera GFR * 2 Moto Morini 2C/375 Morini 350 "Forgotten Error" |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+

 

Looks spot on - I'd probably lose the top box if you can't get rid of the
marks on that, mind.

--
JackH

98 Honda VFR800FiW
05 Sachs Madass
03 VW Passat TDI Sport
89 Vauxhall Nova 1.3 Pearl

 

I'm more of a pervert for shite old cars than bikes, it has to be said.

I don't have much of a list really, most of the bikes on it are ones I've
owned in the past I'm looking back at through rose tinted specs and aren't
really old enough to be considered classics as of yet, and some of the list
is questionable at best:

Yamaha TZR125LF: My first true biking love, I've had something like six
TZR125s in the past. Wish I'd kept the very last one I rebuilt that had a
chrome plated frame etc. I *will* have another one of these at some stage;
for one thing the boy turns 17 in a years time, so there's the perfect
excuse to get one. ;-)

However... sad as it seems, I want one to get right back to totally original
condition, standard paint / exhaust, the lot, and then not really use it
much.

Suzuki RGV250: The later one in black with the banana swingarm. I think as
a two smoke afficiendo, it would be rude not to have one of these in the
collection.

Yamaha TZR250: The original 2MA model. Unlike the TZR125, I'd actually use
one of these on a regular basis if I had one. Well, so long as it actually
ran. Quite a reliable bike as two strokes of that era go.

Aprillia RS250: Another bike it would be rude for any two stroke nut not to
have in their collection.

Yamaha Tenere XTZ660: (Beats TOG off with a big stick) I hired one of
these a while back whilst on holiday. Not too sure whether or not I'd make
much use of one of these, but every collection needs a trailie, right?

Honda VFR750F: A late S to V model... although having now had 800s for a
few months, not sure I'd go back to one as I personally get on better with
the 800.

Replicar Cursor: A three wheeler, but Suzuki CS50 moped oily bits power
these. Rare as rocking horse shit and likely to be the hardest on the list
to source. Being seen out in one of these is likely to end up with any
shred of credibility you did have before you got in, disappearing rapidly.

A brace of Vespas... in particular a phase one T5 (the one with the
rectangular headlight), and maybe a Gilera Runner 180 or two.

Humm, and that's it really - shite old cars on the other hand... let's just
say, come the day I win the lottery, I'll be buying up and renovating an old
barn or two.

I think the above selection sort of reflects I'm a bit younger than some of
you in here. ;-)

--
JackH

98 Honda VFR800FiW
05 Sachs Madass
03 VW Passat TDI Sport
89 Vauxhall Nova 1.3 Pearl

 

The message <1iqhvr5.1ein3q7qv27cwN%>
from (The Older Gentleman) contains these
words:

Ditto my first 'proper' bike - 1941 G3 Matchless DR bike in khaki drab.
Took it twice round the clock. Bought for £5 - how much would it be now,
I wonder - (Webb girders and rigid rear)

Hmmm - khaki candy?

Not fast? I'll say! But yes, such fun. Scutted along like a jackrabbit.

 

Best handling bike I ever rode was a bitza compilation of Dragonfly
frame, Mk series sll Radiadraulic forks, Douglas Mk 4 engine and
gearbox.

One of my friends used to enter his (Featherbed) Dommie in Classic Bike
races, and after a scuttle through some skinny Essex lanes, he commented
that he'd never sneer at Douggies again - though it only went 75
flat-out, and took its time getting there, I could practically lick the
road when ear-'oling - friend reckoned I was laying it over a good 5º
further than he could.

His comment was "I could still see daylight under your pots while I was
grounding my silencers."

I reckon Vincent Comets handled pretty well, too - unlike their big brothers.

 

The message <>

Ah - I had one of they - well, it was of the same year that the
Clubman's Venom did the 100 mph average, so mine was a C. Venom - but
apart from the décor, essentially the same. Most temperamental bugger
I've ever had.

It might start first poke, or I could spend all day trying. (And yes, I
do know the Velo drill!)

 

The message <>
from "JackH" <> contains these words:

/trash selection/

No! Really?

Now what I'd really like (yes, REALLY!) is a steam-powered bike.

There's a Stanley Steam Car in the village, and it sort-of pfluffles
along with its attendant cloud fanning-out behind it.

Sigh!

 

Heh. I'm really looking forward to blatting around on mine.

 

The one I rode was great... bit dicey on wet Turkish roads, but that might
have been in part due to the knackered back tyre.

I rode one again after I passed my test a few years later and had become
accustomed to revvy CBR600 power delivery, and found it, if I am honest, a
bit lacking.

However, I'm that bit older now and less obsessed with having something that
has to be nailed constantly, so one of these for green laning would be
great.

How are you finding the vibration so far? ;-)

--
JackH

98 Honda VFR800FiW
05 Sachs Madass
03 VW Passat TDI Sport
89 Vauxhall Nova 1.3 Pearl

 

It's with my local dealer having a new manifold gasket and front tyre
fitted. I can't say it was any worse than the XT600E: fine at
low-to-medium speeds, and just slightly harsh at higher revs.