OLD BIKES WE HAVE

I know a lot of you must have old bikes, let's say 2000 and earlier, and you still have it.   Post a picture and maybe a little something about it.

1971 BMW R75/5   Bought in early 80s as a back up for my Guzzi, never needed it.  Started throwing money at it and never stopped.
All the 'good stuff' from the early 70s on it and it runs fine.
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1974 CB125S    Bought in 2005.  Actually found in a barn when I was buying another bike, paid $30 it had 300 miles on it.
Didn't look like this. Ran in 21 Moto Giros and put some gold on my trophy shelf.
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1999 Honda Valkyrie    Bought new, was supposed to be a BMW R1100RT but the dealers wouldn't come even $10 off list - so screw them I bought the Honda that I had test ridden at Daytona a year earlier.   Not my style of machine (heavy cruiser) but I've come to love it, just a nice bike to take a relaxing ride on.  OK - it's also fun to blow off any Harley Davidson that challenges.
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My two old bikes are the '85 LeMans MK4 and '81 Yamaha SR500.

The LeMans was a Facebook Marketplace find posted by the owner's friend. Turns out the owner was Steve Meshefsky in Andover, NJ who knew some of the folks in Skylands and possibly a couple folks here. The bike is in very good if neglected condition. The plan is to refurbish it go good running order then decide if I'm going to hold or flip it.

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The SR500 was a trade I made with Eric Siegel from PA. We met at this year's Gathering of the Nortons. He walked up to me as I was dismounting the V65 SP and said, "I always wanted one of these!' He was riding the SR500 I now own and said he had a couple. The V65 ran great but was a bit too cramped with the fairings in place.
I proposed a trade and it all worked out pretty evenly. The SR has cleaned up nicely and runs well provided you have the leg to start it.

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1997 Sport 1100i
1988 Ducati 900 SS FE
1988 Honda NT 650 Hawk GT (My daughters bike)

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Eric R - didn't know you had a Hawk GT. It's a great bike and one of the few I regret selling. Mine was blue with a corbin saddle and Supertrapp exhaust.

Older Eric, was that you on the v11 stopped on the side of rt32 taking a picture of the water cascading down the cliff face near pt pleasant? If so that was me who stopped and asked if you were ok (on my white tiger 800). Brian

royaloilfield wrote:Older Eric, was that you on the v11 stopped on the side of rt32 taking a picture of the water cascading down the cliff face near pt pleasant?  If so that was me who stopped and asked if you were ok (on my white tiger 800). Brian

Nope. The LeMans isn't roadworthy. Still have to replace tires and other rotted rubber.

I have 2 74's, a 75, an 85 and an 86, but they are all trials bikes, so not sure anyone wants to see them. All Honda's and a Yamaha.

I keep two older two strokes around.
Yellow is a 1971 Yamaha R5 hot rod, I’ve owned and built over nearly twenty years.
Blue is an unmolested 1976 RD200, quite rare with only 2000 produced and a one-year-only front disc brake.  

Both are a hoot to ride.

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This is my older and actually my only motorbike: A 1977 850 LeMans.
I bought it 1992 from Bruno Orlandi - he had a small repair shop in Mezzegra at the Lago di Como, Italy.
I was on a trip with my first Guzzi, a 1000 LeMans IV and he asked whether I would like to check out the 850. A few weeks later I went down from Germany and rode it home. I obtained the importing papers on the ride home at customs at the Swiss-German border. Technical inspection required for German registration was no problem after mounting a set of original exhaust pipes.

I rode quite a bit until moving to Munich, when I obtained my brother’s R80GS as a "sidewalk" bike, since I was lacking a decent garage to maintain the LeMans. Forwarding to 2015, when moving to the US, I brought the Guzzi along. Obtaining New Jersey registration was merely paperwork (proof of ownership, translation of German papers, etc) – no technical inspection needed this time.

The bike is maintained to working order, but unrestored, so it looks quite used with rubbed-off paint and some rost in certain places.
I feel there are not too many unrestored ones around.

Greetings
Ralf
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LeMans77 wrote:
The bike is maintained to working order, but unrestored, so it looks quite used with rubbed-off paint and some rost in certain places.
I feel there are not too many unrestored ones around.

Actually in the world of vehicle collectors this would be considered a survivor vehicle and at the auctions, many times, a bike with some wear but all there (body work) will bring a higher price than a restored bike.

My LeMans 1000 is all original except for the perished rubber bits. Even have the chin spoiler which most owners bin. If/when I sell maybe I should try BAT or similar auction house vs Craigslist or Marketplace.

My 1972 Moto Guzzi Eldorado, civilian. 20K miles. Purchased it in 2016 from John Wells in PA. Had Charlie Mullendore keep it for a couple of months and do his magic on it.

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I also have a 1995 Honda Magna V4 750, currently not road worthy.
And a  1982 Kawasaki LTD 440, also not road worthy.

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1975 Eldorado- Cam helped me find this. The seller had an identical sister bike that recently changed hands. New owner states he's going to restore it.
I kept mine unrestored and clear coated the patina.


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1976 R75/6 Own this one for thirty years. Stickers state its a 750 but it identifies as a 1000 with its oversized cylinders made by Gilardoni.



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My second job out of college was working for a Japanese investment bank in World Trade 2, 49th floor. In the late nineties, there was a small area of land across Battery Park where motorcycle parking was permitted. I used to ride in from Matawan, NJ and leave the bike there. Always had a thread hanging loose with a ruffled suit and some motor oil stains on my slacks. I left and relocated back to South Jersey in 2000. The rest is history.

I thought about 1,000 cylinders on my /5 but figured that i would be out riding the drum brakes.  I only put a few hundred miles a year on it lately, so it likely would be a bad financial move.  Says the guy that just spent $175 on a velocity stack that can't be seen or provide any great improvement in performance.