Meet Derek......

[bimsb6]

yonex said:

What a great bike, always loved the AR since, aged 16 when my Simpson was outgunned by a kitted 50. Way cooler than the RD of the time...only the MBX80 with twin discs (oooh) was higher up the ladder

I keep looking at eBay but the prices are just mental.

I had a simpson 50 ! Brand new £199 on the road in 1979 , cut down the exhaust downpipe to derestrict it ! My mates fs1dx could never catch it despite dropped bars and an expansion chamber .

[RemyMartin]

Must be good for filtering, its so skinny!

[graham22]

Aren't the wheels on these worth a fortune as they fit a locally made bike (possibly still Kawasaki) in somewhere like Indonesia??

[podman]

graham22 said:

Aren't the wheels on these worth a fortune as they fit a locally made bike (possibly still Kawasaki) in somewhere like Indonesia??

I THINK its Malaysia, so I read, their ARs come fitted with wire wheels and the cast wheels are a highly desirable, ive seen some of the pics of the 2 stroke meetings over there on the RD forum and they are just massive in scale.

Sorry to ramble on again but another event I remember on my AR was thinking after an MTX50 the power so immense(which it was...) and racing every car possible around town, until one day I overtook an unmarked police and realised its performance limitations....they sure didnt appreciate the Micron as well..

[Fleegle]

RemyMartin said:

Must be good for filtering, its so skinny!

It would be until, as BN pointed out earlier, I get my fat arse on it

[hebegb]

Fleegle said:

RemyMartin said:

Must be good for filtering, its so skinny!

It would be until, as BN pointed out earlier, I get my fat arse on it

Faltering.

[Fleegle]

podman said:

I love Derek...smashing project, good to see your well under way with the registration.

Never seen that type of fitting before, I know if you flip an AR80 into a concrete support pillar in a multi storey car park, the cockpit fairing as a whole pops off rather easily..

These boys are the AR geeks and having been in a few magazines with their ARs so im sure they will know.

http://www.holmetech.co.uk/

Thanks for the link Bryan. I got in touch with them, and as Graham22 had suggested, they are single use rivets

[anonymous-user]

bimsb6 said:

I had a simpson 50 ! Brand new £199 on the road in 1979 , cut down the exhaust downpipe to derestrict it ! My mates fs1dx could never catch it despite dropped bars and an expansion chamber .

Ah those were the days. £19.50 a week, getting pissed on Saturday hiding in the back of the pub and part of a group of teenage terrorists....hanging at the bus stop, our bus stop I crafted a Fresco (very exotic) onto mine and it was ear splitting, until it fell off. Obviously I just carried on riding it until the local copper popped round to speak to my parents.

Must be awful being a teen now with all these horrible lawnmower engined things.

[Dog Star]

Those pics bring back memories - my very first bike when I was 16 was an AR50; dentical to that 80; same colour, same coloured wheels. Reg was AJA 601Y.

It would have been July 1984 when I got it. Happy days.

[podman]

Was chatting to the owner of this wee beastie last night, 93cc autisa big bore kit, 80 carb, modified Micron exhaust, 6 speed box from the 80..Apparently the clutch is now giving out, the owner was telling me BDK offer an uprated clutch or clutch to cope with the power once they go past 16BHP

I had a sit on the bike, it felt comically light and as springy as a biro but comfy!

None of my friends could remember the last time we had seen an AR on the road.

Official AR interest has now risen from "would like" to "want"...if it goes to "need" , there could be trouble...PS, Geek mode on: I checked the screen rivets and exactly the same set up as yours..







Hows Derek at the mo?!

[Fleegle]

podman said:

Hows Derek at the mo?!

Haven't done anything to it since I stripped it. I need to make contact with the painter as my next move

I had thought about putting a big bore kit on it, but to be honest the 9 or 10 horsepower it has is more than enough for me

These things are really light, probably 80kg's or thereabouts. Not sure I'd want to be on it on a windy day

[mckeann]

Fleegle said:

....... but to be honest the 9 or 10 horsepower it has is more than enough for me

Just quoting this for future reference

[Yoda400]

Fleegle said:

I've been a 2 stroke man most of my life

So has Mr Nemesis. Two strokes and it's all over. So rumour has it.

[podman]

Seeing these on eBay made me wonder how Derek is coming along?!

This red one is the exact same as mine was back in the day, complete with Micron.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kawasaki-ARO-80-C2-AR80-...

Bit saucy asking price but shows you the way things are going..

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/An-Early-Production-UK-K...

[Fleegle]

Won't be long now

[scunnylad]

Fleegle said:

Won't be long now

Looking good

[Fleegle]

Getting a bit giddy now.

Edited by Fleegle on Saturday 20th May 16:57

Edited by Fleegle on Saturday 20th May 16:58

[Jazzy Jag]

Wow! That takes me back.

I had a red one, brand new in 1982
PHR 99Y.

It was a Pos, really, rusted very quickly, seized up. Every nut and bolt vibrated loose in a week.

With my rose coloured specs, I'd love another one. 😁

[Fleegle]

I found a bit of time on Sunday....

Edited by Fleegle on Monday 17th July 16:38

[Fleegle]

Why do my photos display on their side?