Unusual bikes you've had?

[bitcrusher]

BeastieBoy73 said:

the Piatti was considered the worst scooter ever to have been built being both unreliable and unsafe.

Alright alright you made your sale Something about the fact that it was considered rubbish in all ways just makes it even cooler to me.

[bitcrusher]

gareth_r said:

Goggomobil Goggo, the Maico Mobil, and the Velocette Viceroy, with the Zundapp Bella, Maicoletta, and Heinkel Tourist close behind.

EDIT:
Nearly forgot the Moto Rumi Bol d'Or production racer (yes, really) - 90mph with the race kit.

If they are even 10% as good as those names, they are pretty special scoots. Would never get tired of telling people I rode a Velocette Viceroy.

[3DP]

I had a restored Suzuki SP370. Only made for a couple of years in the late 70s and lived in the shadow of the DR370. It was a lighter, but similarly paced competitor to the Yamaha XT500 at the time. It was an absolute pig to start when hot and there is very little parts or knowledge on them out there.

[Moulder]

gareth_r said:

quoteunquote_sir_ said:

I've been lurking on this thread and really enjoying seeing the obscure machinery various PHers have ridden or curently ride, but this is the first one I've wanted to comment on. That's got to be the coolest scooter I've ever seen. At any price, you must get this MOTed! Tyres can be had and exhausts can be welded. Just imagine turning up anywhere at all on that - what an entrance!

You should look for images of British, German, and French scooters (actually, anything that's not Lambretta or Vespa). Lots of weird and wonderful devices.

National stereotypes abound. The British ones mostly look like they were designed and built in sheds (Velocette is the exception, but the company's founders were German ) and the German ones are mostly big, fast, and properly engineered.

Edited by gareth_r on Wednesday 8th February 13:10

Whoa there Angela Merkel, I have a DKR Defiant which is well built and looks pretty cool (in the eye of the beholder).

• Library pictures as mine is at the in carrier bags stage of a ground up nut and bolt restoration.

[Pat H]

BeastieBoy73 said:

It does still have the number plate so about 10 years ago I did try and apply for a log book as It had lapsed during computerisation. The DVLA did decline but did also supply a list of owners clubs that could help. Unsurprisingly there wasn't a Piatti owners club listed. Due to the lack of available tyres (at the time) I resigned myself to the fact it wouldn't return to the road so didn't persue it.

I have generally found the DVLA pretty helpful, though you need a bit of perseverance to get through to the right person.

I once had a 1960 A7 BSA which had been wrongly allocated an "A" suffix plate for some reason. With a bit of detective work and an old tax disc, I managed to get the original plate back. (358RTD, where are you now?)

If you have the original number plate, that's a really good start. If you take a guess at where it was registered, then it's worth finding out where the local registration ledgers are archived. It was a safe bet that my Dad's TVR was registered in Lancashire, so I phoned the Lancashire Records Office and confirmed that they still had the original vehicle registration ledgers for 1971 in their archives. So I went for a mooch and came away with a certified copy of the page which covered 04.01.1971. This linked the chassis number to the registration mark and proved the date of registration.

It was a proper rigmarole, but it felt great when the V5 landed on the door mat.

Anyway, back on topic.

Hardly in the same league as the scooter, but I briefly owned this Guzzi Le Mans Tenni, which was pretty unusual. It looked fantastic, but was an unwieldy horse of a bike.




And back in the 1990s, Dad and I built this Rickman Triumph 750 from a box of bits. It was pretty quick for an old Trumpet, but was an instrument of torture to ride. It was also absurdly loud with that open megaphone exhaust.

[Spannerski]

Mr Tidy said:

I first got a bike licence in the 70s, so went through the usual Honda CB, Yamaha RD (X4), Kawasaki progression.

In about 1997 I was offered this, and couldn't resist!





Kawasaki KH500 with AllSpeed spannies, H2 forks and twin discs, alloy rims, alloy swinging arm, Marzocchi piggy-back rear shocks and best of all a 3 cylinder 2-stroke - fantastic!

Why did I sell it? - I wish I knew! Dope!

Yes. I want to know why you sold it too?

[Jarama s]

This is my friends Suzuki RG500 F1

It's a stepped square four, rotary valve two stroke ! A similar example was clocked at Hockenheim at 178mph.

He still has it.....and hopefully will soon reside in my man cave ( ooh er ! )

[IanEll]

Bimota BB1 Supermono. The most uncomfortable, badly vibrating, gutless bike I ever owned.

Looked gorgeous though.

[Spannerski]

Jarama s said:

This is my friends Suzuki RG500 F1

It's a stepped square four, rotary valve two stroke ! A similar example was clocked at Hockenheim at 178mph.

He still has it.....and hopefully will soon reside in my man cave ( ooh er ! )

I've just messed myself.

[Merch131]

Laverda RGS.... much better than a Jota, and SS900 Desmo..



[url]|http://thumbsnap.com/0idlnCtq[/url

The Desmo is the only bike I regret selling, but at least I kept its siblings

[Mr2Mike]

BeastieBoy73 said:

Awesome! Thanks so much for the link, it's hugely appreciated!

You are very welcome, glad I could help. It would be great to see it back on the road, a proper head turner

3DP said:

I had a restored Suzuki SP370. Only made for a couple of years in the late 70s and lived in the shadow of the DR370. It was a lighter, but similarly paced competitor to the Yamaha XT500 at the time. It was an absolute pig to start when hot and there is very little parts or knowledge on them out there.

Lovely machine. I have a bit of a hankering for a TS400, but they are like hens teeth

[FlashGumby]

I had a 2-stroke triple Suzuki GT550 that I tried to turn into a sportbike back in '84. There wasn't much available where I lived in those pre-internet days, but this thing was a real hoot and the ringading sound and smell of Castrol is addicting.







I'd love to have another (or perhaps the 2-pot GT500), but think I'd go back to a simple shaved-emblem look and not quite so racy this time around.

[T6 vanman]

No nothing unusual to see in my garage ...

Think about 300 big Bens & 40 MM's in the UK

[BeastieBoy73]

Pat H said:

BeastieBoy73 said:

It does still have the number plate so about 10 years ago I did try and apply for a log book as It had lapsed during computerisation. The DVLA did decline but did also supply a list of owners clubs that could help. Unsurprisingly there wasn't a Piatti owners club listed. Due to the lack of available tyres (at the time) I resigned myself to the fact it wouldn't return to the road so didn't persue it.

I have generally found the DVLA pretty helpful, though you need a bit of perseverance to get through to the right person.

I once had a 1960 A7 BSA which had been wrongly allocated an "A" suffix plate for some reason. With a bit of detective work and an old tax disc, I managed to get the original plate back. (358RTD, where are you now?)

If you have the original number plate, that's a really good start. If you take a guess at where it was registered, then it's worth finding out where the local registration ledgers are archived. It was a safe bet that my Dad's TVR was registered in Lancashire, so I phoned the Lancashire Records Office and confirmed that they still had the original vehicle registration ledgers for 1971 in their archives. So I went for a mooch and came away with a certified copy of the page which covered 04.01.1971. This linked the chassis number to the registration mark and proved the date of registration.

It was a proper rigmarole, but it felt great when the V5 landed on the door mat.

Anyway, back on topic.

Hardly in the same league as the scooter, but I briefly owned this Guzzi Le Mans Tenni, which was pretty unusual. It looked fantastic, but was an unwieldy horse of a bike.




And back in the 1990s, Dad and I built this Rickman Triumph 750 from a box of bits. It was pretty quick for an old Trumpet, but was an instrument of torture to ride. It was also absurdly loud with that open megaphone exhaust.

Many thanks for your encouragement...

[Tango13]

Jarama s said:

This is my friends Suzuki RG500 F1

It's a stepped square four, rotary valve two stroke ! A similar example was clocked at Hockenheim at 178mph.

He still has it.....and hopefully will soon reside in my man cave ( ooh er ! )

I've got a copy of Performance Bikes from April 1988 with the article on the Padgetts F1 RG500 and Ron Grants' VFR750, the Padgetts RG500 hit 171mph, also at Hockenheim. When PB tested it on a crappy day at Bruntingthorpe Matt Oxley managed 167mph.

[Jonny-angi1]

Walter Sobchak said:

I had an RVF 400 as my first big bike, they're not particularly common anymore, not sure if the RSV4 counts as unusual.

Surely an RSV4 counts if its not wearing a shell suit



I've not seen another one in the 4 years I've had it.

[bitcrusher]

Moulder said:

Whoa there Angela Merkel, I have a DKR Defiant which is well built and looks pretty cool (in the eye of the beholder).

• Library pictures as mine is at the in carrier bags stage of a ground up nut and bolt restoration.

Would really love to know what the designer was smoking when that got designed. What a stunningly mad looking thing.

[Mike600F]

Looks like a 996, goes like a 1098s.

[Benjo42]

1980 ish z250. Mostest bestest bike I've ever ridden/owned. Not fast and always had to tweak the points on it. At the time I could afford to replace with electronic ignition, but then it would have been perfect.



The worst bikes I've owned have all been Yamaha's. R6 5EB motors were chocolate. This brings me to the worst bike ever which is also relating to the thread.... Yam XZ400 with fairing(saw the xz550 earlier in this thread)



(not my bikes in the pics)

[drunkenmunkey]

Can't resist a photo whoring opportunity!

My Aprilia Tuareg 600 Wind, 562 Rotax thumper with Dellorto carb', pure dead brilliant.