Brad The Bike Boy: A new photo from the benches

Monday, May 3, 2010

A new photo from the benches

I had this pair up on the benches a couple of weeks ago and thought they were worth a photo. The Lemans has 30,000 miles on it and looks like a 30,000 mile old Lemans - black paint rubbing through, cracked side cover mount tabs, the usual sort of thing. The MHR has 30,000 km on it and looks like it was new yesterday. I have no idea how he keeps it so clean.

Not sure which one I enjoyed riding the most though. Both typically old bikes - bad brakes, not so nice suspension, all that kind of stuff. But both still very cool in their own way. I think I like the Lemans more, but maybe that's just because it's more like a modern Guzzi. Which may be a back hander for your modern Guzzi now that I think about it. Plus it's lower and more manageable maybe. Or gives you the impression thereof, regardless of whether or not it's true. Certainly the low, long look of the Lemans has classic cafe racer written all over it. The MHR is missing it's belly fairing, but I quite like it how it is.

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The 851

The 400SS

I bought this 400SS (genuine 93 model Australian delivery! Woo hoo huh.) after seeing it in Ebay for what was possibly an good price. As ever, good was too good to be true. Badly repaired and rusted out fuel tank, badly repainted side panels, lots of km (83,000 of the bastards), etc. You know, the usual. Purchased in October 2012, as of now (Jan 2014) I've nearly finished a major service. The cam timing is done with some of the Madasl adjustable pullies that have been drilled in 4 different settings for easy dyno testing. And I have some 900 headers to try a 40mm dual exhaust set up on it (ala M400). Not a great deal of progress for 15 months, so it's taking on a long term feel. There's an F1 endurance style seat base (more taper at the rear) and front fairing sitting around, which will require frame mods to fit. It's a bit of a mental sticking point as this time. But hey, it's not like I can devalue it much more.

The Mighty KR1S 250

How it looked the rainy night someone came to take it away. Painted all black when I bought it, at some point later I realised i could rub the black off and have much of the original colour scheme underneath. Although the main fairing was originally from a red KR1 I think, and definitely badly repaired more than once, so it stayed black. And the tail panel shown was bought to replace the one I smashed the only time I crashed it and the last time I rode it at a Sandown track day. A sensational little bike, holed pistons and frequently failing stator windings aside. The first bike I rode on a race track and the first bike I had my knee down on. And a great commuter too I found. It's sometimes nice to have a bike that won't wheelie past the city speed limit in first gear.