Very rare bike , I have never seen one before

[Audio Al]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1975-Suzuki-RE5-rotary-original-seventies-superbike-super-rare-project-now-3150-/252366361674?hash=item3ac235144a:g:OcMAAOSwVllXHOS V

only 6000 ever made

[walpurgis]

I remember seeing the odd one now and then back them. Ugly brute and no better than the alternative and much cheaper GT750 (Kettle).

[Virtual-Symmetry]

Natural progression from this then eh? :D

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RALEIGH-CHOPPER-MK2-RED-1975-TOTALLY-ORIGINAL-/351722025386?hash=item51e44431aa:g:uEgAAOSw1DtXJdd j

[walpurgis]

This is the GT750 that ran as a parallel model alternative:

http://i63.tinypic.com/91hq0z.jpg

Three cylinder two stroke. Nice enough, but a bit 'soft'.


This is much better:

http://i67.tinypic.com/2yxiys8.jpg

I had one. Fastest 500 ever made at the time.

[Arkless Electronics]

The water buffalo! Early ones had much more way out styling, especially around the instruments where a kind of psychedelic snail housing was used!

[lurcher]

Don't think I ever rode the Suzuki Wankle, I have ridden a kettle, and Mach III, both were a bit close to a death trap on wheels IMHO. I did ride one of these once.https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/DKW_Wankel_2000.JPG

[Arkless Electronics]

The Mach III wasn't known as "the widow maker" for nothing!

[walpurgis]

The Mach III wasn't known as "the widow maker" for nothing!

It was fine once you got used to it. It actually handled pretty well. The rear shocks were none to good and the way the power came in could catch you out on bends, but you acclimatise. :)

I ended up wanting more power, so I tuned it a bit, with a port job, bigger jets and a head skim, plus some Denco spannies (sounded amazing!).

I did manage to seize it at 100mph (that was 'entertaining'). Luckily it only cost me a piston.

(oh, and I always rode like a loony by the way :eek:)

[walpurgis]

I did ride one of these once.https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/DKW_Wankel_2000.JPG

I remember the DKW. Saw one or two. Used to see the Wankel Nortons now and then as well. They seem to have vanished these days.

[walpurgis]

Al. Did you ever clap eyes on the Silks or Heskeths. They are pretty rare too. (I'd love a Silk)

[Arkless Electronics]

It was fine once you got used to it. It actually handled pretty well. The rear shocks were none to good and the way the power came in could catch you out on bends, but you acclimatise. :)

I ended up wanting more power, so I tuned it a bit, with a port job, bigger jets and a head skim, plus some Denco spannies (sounded amazing!).

I did manage to seize it at 100mph (that was 'entertaining'). Luckily it only cost me a piston.

(oh, and I always rode like a loony by the way :eek:)

Nothing beats a highly tuned 2 stroke for the adrenaline rush when it comes on song!! I used to tune RD Yams...

[spendorman]

At the other end of the scale, I have (in a friends garage), a 1972 Kawasaki 90, GA2A90, I think is the model. Possibly quite rare. Bought it about 1973. Very nippy for such a small thing, could keep up with some much lager machines.

http://user.tninet.se/~okm435h/Kawasaki/D.A.S.ENgineering.html

[struth]

Nothing beats a highly tuned 2 stroke for the adrenaline rush when it comes on song!! I used to tune RD Yams...

Rocket bike?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKHz7wOjb9w

[walpurgis]

Nothing beats a highly tuned 2 stroke for the adrenaline rush when it comes on song!! I used to tune RD Yams...

I still hanker after one of these tiddlers. Yamaha SDR-200: http://rideonboard.net/onboard-the-yamaha-sdr200/

It just looks a hoot. Great styling too. Very rare though.

[struth]

Or you can have the real mccoy..


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WREyAicJXkM

[spendorman]

Looks like the rider is going a bit bald on top, no wonder, that thing would cause worry to most.

[Audio Al]

Looks like the rider is going a bit bald on top, no wonder, that thing would cause worry to most.

He has a cap on ;)

[struth]

He is thinning atad. He hits 2 g's.....The accelerator is just a button that fires the rockets at full throttle. There are two speeds: off and “sacré bleu I’m gonna die.” That makes it a one-trick machine, but holy cow what a trick.

On his record run, Gissy hit 207 mph in 4.8 seconds, over a distance of just 250 meters. For comparison’s sake, he “raced” a Ferrari F430 Scudiera, a 503-horspower beast that hits 62 mph in 3.6 seconds. The prancing horse got so thoroughly trounced, it’s not even in the frame after two seconds.

[walpurgis]

THIS is a proper rocket bike!

http://i67.tinypic.com/fd7vy9.jpg

The late Henk Vink on his wickedly fast rocket drag bike.

I saw him attempt a new quarter mile record at Long Marston. He left the line at incredible speed, but developed a steering wobble halfway down and shut the power off. Even so, the bike passed the 1/4 mile timing lights in complete silence at over 200mph in around six seconds.

The bike was reputed to be potentially capable of approaching 400mph in under five seconds. Rather like the also late Sammy Miller in his 'Vanishing Point' rocket car (which still holds the 1/4 mile record thirty years on).

[Justjon]

Nothing beats a highly tuned 2 stroke for the adrenaline rush when it comes on song!!
Yes!
I've ridden a few RG500's and would love to own one, but the prices are just bloody crazy now. May have to settle for a TZR250 or 350 YPVS.

[walpurgis]

Yes!
I've ridden a few RG500's and would love to own one, but the prices are just bloody crazy now. May have to settle for a TZR250 or 350 YPVS.

KR-1S?



(my mate used to race RG-500s successfully many years ago)

[walpurgis]

WhoooHoooo! Want quick? Take a look at this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfo1xcnLV7E

[Justjon]

KR-1S?

Quite a rare thing these days I reckon, but if I get a 2nd bike it's just got to be yam

[Justjon]

WhoooHoooo! Want quick? Take a look at this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfo1xcnLV7E

:wowzer: I've maxed my 10R and that was pant wetting, but 394mph :mental:

[Arkless Electronics]

I have never found a road long, straight and clear enough to max out my Blackbird...160 a few times but then there's always been other traffic or bends coming up... probably need autobahn.... or bigger balls/death wish! :eek:

[spendorman]

This reminds me, was about 40 years ago, my Mini had a 1098 cc engine, a 12G295 Cooper cylinder head, AEA630 Cooper cam, single 1 1/2" SU carb, was pretty nippy. My friend has a BMW R600 bike, if we accelerated flat out, he would pull away from me a bit, but when we did the same thing, this time him on his Kawasaki KH500 triple, I might have just as well been going in reverse in the Mini. That 500 triple was wicked.

[walpurgis]

This a remind me, was about 40 years ago, my Mini had a 1098 cc engine, a 12G295 Cooper cylinder head, AEA630 Cooper cam, single 1 1/2" SU carb, was pretty nippy. My friend has a BMW R600 bike, if we accelerated flat out, he would pull away from me a bit, but when we did the same thing, this time him on his Kawasaki KH500 triple, I might have just as well been going in reverse in the Mini. That 500 triple was wicked.

The KH500 was the 'sanitised' later version of the H1. Due to criticism in America the engine was retuned to be a bit more benign and consequently lost about 10% of the original power output. It was still quick enough to leave anything normal on four wheels though.

(your Mini sounds very similar in spec to one of those I modded)

[spendorman]

The KH500 was the 'sanitised' later version of the H1. Due to criticism in America the engine was retuned to be a bit more benign and consequently lost about 10% of the original power output. It was still quick enough to leave anything normal on four wheels though.

(your Mini sounds very similar in spec to one of those I modded)

I missed out that it was bored out too, so capacity was a bit more, engine was built very carefully by me, also put on duplex timing gear. I used to work for Janspeed. Later, a 1275 engine was put in, not tuned much, I think the 1098 based one was faster, but of course the 1275 had greater potential. That engine is still in the car.

I have two other Minis as well to this day, an automatic Riley Elf, and a MK2 Mini 1000, which has the Cooper cam, Cooper head single 1 1/2" SU, Hi Low's and Spax adjustable suspension.

[walpurgis]

(your Mini sounds very similar in spec to one of those I modded)

This one to be exact. Yes. It was me who tuned it, resprayed it and did the body alterations.

http://i64.tinypic.com/2unx5ic.jpg

Spot the Italian Innocenti Mini grille that I sneaked on.

[walpurgis]

The H1:

http://i63.tinypic.com/ll20h.jpg

I rebuilt this from a scruffy heap and did all the paintwork myself.

(note my choice of Norton style flat bars)

Yes. I know it had KH500 badges on the side panels :). The originals were too battered to use.

[Oddball]

I missed out that it was bored out too, so capacity was a bit more, engine was built very carefully by me, also put on duplex timing gear. I used to work for Janspeed. Later, a 1275 engine was put in, not tuned much, I think the 1098 based one was faster, but of course the 1275 had greater potential. That engine is still in the car.

I have two other Minis as well to this day, an automatic Riley Elf, and a MK2 Mini 1000, which has the Cooper cam, Cooper head single 1 1/2" SU, Hi Low's and Spax adjustable suspension.
Nice . 40 yrs ago I started off with a 998 cooper , bored out to 20 thou IIRC , and I mistakenly fitted a 649 full race camshaft , Cooper S LCB (My mate hadn't got a 731 half race at that time . He tuned 850 mini engines for racing at Oulton.)
It ticked over like a traction engine but rev !!! When it got past 4500 it was buzzing and eventually it shook all the flywheel bolts off Lol

Cowboys !!
I had a go in a 1293 Cooper S , with twin Inch and a halves on it . I wanted one , oh yes , but ended up with a 1275 GT with a ported head and a single inch and a half . It went tidy

[spendorman]

This one to be exact. Yes. It was me who tuned it, resprayed it and did the body alterations.

http://i64.tinypic.com/2unx5ic.jpg

Spot the Italian Innocenti Mini grille that I sneaked on.

Before I saw your note about the grille, I noticed something different about it. Looks like a Mk 3 too.

My Minis look standard, apart from chrome trim and badges removed.

[Arkless Electronics]

The H1:

http://i63.tinypic.com/ll20h.jpg

I rebuilt this from a scruffy heap and did all the paintwork myself.

(note my choice of Norton style flat bars)

Yes. I know it had KH500 badges on the side panels :). The originals were too battered to use.

Now that's a proper loony bike! Did you have to wear doc martins, tight jeans and a Harrington jacket while wheely-ing it away from the rozzers one handed so you could give em the vee's with the other? :D

[Justjon]

Hahaha, well did you?

This thread has got me looking all kinds of stuff i used to own, namely my first foray into biking (library pic, not mine)..

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii52/micared/image.jpg1_zpsfpa4xipu.jpg (http://s261.photobucket.com/user/micared/media/image.jpg1_zpsfpa4xipu.jpg.html)

Like an idiot i removed the front mudguard for some mad reason and wondered why it cut out when it was raining :scratch: :mental:

[walpurgis]

Now that's a proper loony bike! Did you have to wear doc martins, tight jeans and a Harrington jacket while wheely-ing it away from the rozzers one handed so you could give em the vee's with the other? :D

Got done for speeding on it on the A404 Pinner Road in Harrow. The cops were parked in a side road as I flew past, so they chased me. They clocked me at 62 mph.......so they said. Pack of lies, I know I had well over 90 mph on the clock. Silly thing is, I slowed down and waited for them. I should have kept going. Their wheezy old Rover 3.5 would never have caught up! :lol:

[karma67]

Hahaha, well did you?

This thread has got me looking all kinds of stuff i used to own, namely my first foray into biking (library pic, not mine)..

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii52/micared/image.jpg1_zpsfpa4xipu.jpg (http://s261.photobucket.com/user/micared/media/image.jpg1_zpsfpa4xipu.jpg.html)

Like an idiot i removed the front mudguard for some mad reason and wondered why it cut out when it was raining :scratch: :mental:

worth a fortune now,my era was rd350 ypvs and rd/rg500 equally all very expensive now and when ridden you very quickly find out how handling and brakes have come on since the 80's :)

[karma67]

The H1:

http://i63.tinypic.com/ll20h.jpg

I rebuilt this from a scruffy heap and did all the paintwork myself.

(note my choice of Norton style flat bars)

Yes. I know it had KH500 badges on the side panels :). The originals were too battered to use.

i bet it sounded lovely,i could sit behind that for ages just smelling the 2 stroke fumes!

[Arkless Electronics]

Hahaha, well did you?

This thread has got me looking all kinds of stuff i used to own, namely my first foray into biking (library pic, not mine)..

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii52/micared/image.jpg1_zpsfpa4xipu.jpg (http://s261.photobucket.com/user/micared/media/image.jpg1_zpsfpa4xipu.jpg.html)

Like an idiot i removed the front mudguard for some mad reason and wondered why it cut out when it was raining :scratch: :mental:

Ah the Fizzie.... my first legal bike on the road was the metallic shit colour version of the same as in the picture. Many memories! Used a BSA Bantam off road a while before that.

[spendorman]

i bet it sounded lovely,i could sit behind that for ages just smelling the 2 stroke fumes!

Two stroke fumes, I still get them, ancient two stroke Flymo hover!

[walpurgis]

Had one of these too, an S3A 400. Bought it new, it was near enough as quick as the H1.

http://i66.tinypic.com/2q36d8h.jpg

Really used to annoy the RD400 lads. They couldn't catch it.

[shane]

This a remind me, was about 40 years ago, my Mini had a 1098 cc engine, a 12G295 Cooper cylinder head, AEA630 Cooper cam, single 1 1/2" SU carb, was pretty nippy.
That sounds familiar. Many years ago I worked for a bloke by the name of Eddie Jago who had a two-bay repair shop behind a transport caff near Plymouth. He had a scruffy white minivan with a very similar setup, except it was based on a 1275 block bored out to 1298, IIRC. Eddie learned his craft with Daniel Richmond at Downton Engineering and really knew his stuff; that little van just flew! What interested me though were his fellow apprentices at Downton. Among them were Jan Odor, who went on to found Janspeed, Richard Longman, who set up a similar enterprise and was a very successful racer, and a certain Julian Vereker who went off in a very different direction...

[walpurgis]

The Longman 'Slark' cylinder heads were legendary!

(I also had a rather similar Minivan. Mine was 1014cc and would do 106mph. A 1275 was no faster in top on a 3.44/1 diff, 'cos it would be over-revving and blow up unless the crank was changed)

[shane]

This may interest you: http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/cars/mini-classic/mini-%E2%80%93-classic-downton-conversions/

[walpurgis]

Interesting (think I read it before somewhere). Not to sure about the MGC bit. It was never going to handle properly with a 500lb engine up front! :)

I relied a lot on Vizard for my tweaks. Did my own head porting, Hi-Lift (offset bush) rockers and exhaust systems etc.

[spendorman]

That sounds familiar. Many years ago I worked for a bloke by the name of Eddie Jago who had a two-bay repair shop behind a transport caff near Plymouth. He had a scruffy white minivan with a very similar setup, except it was based on a 1275 block bored out to 1298, IIRC. Eddie learned his craft with Daniel Richmond at Downton Engineering and really knew his stuff; that little van just flew! What interested me though were his fellow apprentices at Downton. Among them were Jan Odor, who went on to found Janspeed, Richard Longman, who set up a similar enterprise and was a very successful racer, and a certain Julian Vereker who went off in a very different direction...

A friend of mine had a Mini pick-up engine 1098 based broadly as described earlier. This had the standard final drive ratio, so was under-geared really, however, boy did it accelerate! The Pick-up might have been a bit lighter than the car or van.

I actually worked for an agent of Janspeed in London, but I got to go to main base at Salisbury, there I often met the late Jan Odor.

[spendorman]

The Longman 'Slark' cylinder heads were legendary!

(I also had a rather similar Minivan. Mine was 1014cc and would do 106mph. A 1275 was no faster in top on a 3.44/1 diff, 'cos it would be over-revving and blow up unless the crank was changed)

I left out that I also put a 3.44 Diff in my 1098 cc based Mini. "106 MPH" is not bad, but I reckon that it could have done more. I cruised mine at 6000 RPM in top gear, which is near enough 100 MPH, and at that speed, it would still accelerate pretty quickly if required. (witness still alive to confirm this!), however, as you suggest, the 1098 crank is not the best for high RPM. It's decades ago, but I think that I have seen around 6300 RPM in top gear, only easing off due to worry about the crankshaft.

This is all before the 70 MPH limit was imposed. I remember one trip out of London along the A1, before it was nearly all motorway, many bits of dual carriageway and plenty of roundabouts. We covered the first 100 miles in 1 1/4 hours.

[StanleyB]

Don't think I ever rode the Suzuki Wankle, I have ridden a kettle, and Mach III, both were a bit close to a death trap on wheels IMHO. I did ride one of these once.https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/DKW_Wankel_2000.JPG
Aaah, the good old DKW. There was also its country rival the Zündapp. DKW tended to have the chrome whilst Zündapp was all painted up. These bikes were hard to destroy. You could crash on one,a the you would be going to hospital or the morgue, whilst the bike just needed a minor paint job and occasionally a new glass for the headlamp. As a kid in that part of the tropics that I lived in, these bikes were status symbols for the rich kids.

[walpurgis]

however, as you suggest, the 1098 crank is not the best for high RPM. It's decades ago, but I think that I have seen around 6300 RPM in top gear, only easing off due to worry about the crankshaft.

If I recall. On the 3.44 diff, 6200 rpm was 105mph approximately. Yes, the 1098 crank was the weak point, although mine went well enough.

[spendorman]

If I recall. On the 3.44 diff, 6200 rpm was 105mph approximately. Yes, the 1098 crank was the weak point, although mine went well enough.

My 1098 based lump survived about 25 years of abuse in the car, fine when I took it out, it's in the garage, probably still fine. Some time I might try and turn it over.

[spendorman]

If I recall. On the 3.44 diff, 6200 rpm was 105mph approximately. Yes, the 1098 crank was the weak point, although mine went well enough.

My 1098 based lump survived about 25 years of abuse in the car, fine when I took it out, it's in the garage, probably still fine. Some time I might try and turn it over.

Of course my car had 10" wheels, still has, albeit some tyres are flat!