Discussion
nutskie.. said:
Anyone remember these beasts ? I have a 1979 180 deg crank sat at home under a dust sheet and am looking for stories/memories to enthuse me to get it back on the road for 2005.
Anyone brave enough to travel at speeds over 120 on one ?
N.
I was looking for a decent one to restore recently. This, along with the original Ducati 900ss, the Mk1 Guzzi Le Mans (and then the Honda CB1100R
) was what got me interested as an impressionable 10 year old, way back then. I'd love either/all of them, for pure nostalgia. Unfortunately I gave up after discovering that all available Jotas are either wildly over-priced or utter basket cases. But if you get bored with yours you know where to send it...
Wacky Racer said:
Superb 70's italian muscle bikes, imported by Slater brothers in Collingbourne IIRC.....
Mostly Orange in colour.....
Are they still manufactured?.....
No,unfortunatly!
They kinda petered out in the mid eighties with the SFC1000.Which was a diluted Jota with 120degree crank & big fairing.Still a nice bike though.The last of the proper blokes bikes!
Twas the noise & emissions regs that killed them off!
The handling on the Jota has to be tried just to give yourself a reality check on how anyone ever won races on them or went fast thru the twisties. The one I rode just didn't want to go round corners, you had to man handle it down and fight it. I found out fitting a different swinging arm cured this problem but never got a chance to confirm if it worked or not.
I currently have a tuned 850 MkIII Commando road bike, a 750 Commando Special...Jota front end, twin brembo discs, oil in frame, suzuki GS750 petrol tank, GS 400 tailpiece, full race engine etc etc and 1 of only 2 ever made Cyril Chell framed racers with a 750 Commando engine in, the other had a 750 honda engine in. This raced from 1972 onwards.
Plus a lot of boxes with spares to build another commando if required. I actually have a set of genuine Dunstall 810 barrels and followers to fit at some stage...hens teeth and rocking horse mess spring to mind here.
My current runaround is a Buell S1 Lightning, slightly modded as usual
I currently have a tuned 850 MkIII Commando road bike, a 750 Commando Special...Jota front end, twin brembo discs, oil in frame, suzuki GS750 petrol tank, GS 400 tailpiece, full race engine etc etc and 1 of only 2 ever made Cyril Chell framed racers with a 750 Commando engine in, the other had a 750 honda engine in. This raced from 1972 onwards.
Plus a lot of boxes with spares to build another commando if required. I actually have a set of genuine Dunstall 810 barrels and followers to fit at some stage...hens teeth and rocking horse mess spring to mind here.
My current runaround is a Buell S1 Lightning, slightly modded as usual
Are there many classic bike owners on the site ?
Norton/Triumph/Tritons ?
Yep...BSA A7 1960,alloy rims,8 inch TLS front brake,12 volt conversion halogen,twin damped fork conversion,ally head 8.5:1 comp,oil filter conversion.All this so I can use it to ride daily to work(yes even today bit parky and icy)
Andy
Norton/Triumph/Tritons ?
Yep...BSA A7 1960,alloy rims,8 inch TLS front brake,12 volt conversion halogen,twin damped fork conversion,ally head 8.5:1 comp,oil filter conversion.All this so I can use it to ride daily to work(yes even today bit parky and icy)
Andy
Mark,
You are right about having to manhandle the Jota through the twisties. The thing is just so high and there is little or no flex in it. The chap I bought it off had been the owner for 18 years and was an engineer (he had machined his own anti-dive; which works amazingly well I must say)
The brembos up front stop the thing pretty well to say they are now 25 years old! I guess they were state of the art back in the 70's. Engine braking is something to behold.
The riding position is brutal for town work but once the old girl starts to move, things become a hell of a lot more acceptable.
The noise from the triple appears to be what everyone remembers from their youth. If I recall the Jota was produced prior to emission regulations. And if not then the chief examiner must have owned a Jota !
You are right about having to manhandle the Jota through the twisties. The thing is just so high and there is little or no flex in it. The chap I bought it off had been the owner for 18 years and was an engineer (he had machined his own anti-dive; which works amazingly well I must say)
The brembos up front stop the thing pretty well to say they are now 25 years old! I guess they were state of the art back in the 70's. Engine braking is something to behold.
The riding position is brutal for town work but once the old girl starts to move, things become a hell of a lot more acceptable.
The noise from the triple appears to be what everyone remembers from their youth. If I recall the Jota was produced prior to emission regulations. And if not then the chief examiner must have owned a Jota !
BSA500,
Do you ever get up to the ACE Cafe ?
I run a Paul Dunstall prepared Norton 500SS Dominator in the summer: 1966 model.
I'm afraid cold weather means it goes back under the dust sheet.
I'm sure I read on a previous thread that there is a PH'er with a Vincent Black Shadow.... now there was a bike way ahead of it's time. Truely a classic.
Do you ever get up to the ACE Cafe ?
I run a Paul Dunstall prepared Norton 500SS Dominator in the summer: 1966 model.
I'm afraid cold weather means it goes back under the dust sheet.
I'm sure I read on a previous thread that there is a PH'er with a Vincent Black Shadow.... now there was a bike way ahead of it's time. Truely a classic.
NUTSKIE.. said:
BSA500,
I run a Paul Dunstall prepared Norton 500SS Dominator in the summer: 1966 model.
Mmmm,
Paul Dunstall, I was only thinking about him the other day as I was reading some of my old "Motorcycle Mechanics" from 1968......
Is he still around, cos' he would be around 65/70 now.........
Not heard anything about him for many years........
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