We bought another cupboard. But the thing is standing, and standing well. That was a good choice of my Love. The old cupboard had to be emptied and taken apart. He leaves under the motto 'function elsewhere'. Then you're left with the contents of the old cupboard plus the question of whether you should just get rid of stuff you haven't used in years. Like a folder full of motorcycle clearance certificates.
Over the past 25+ years, Moto Guzzis and Urals (which are simpler than Dneprs) have been the mopeds of which there was always one of each in the garage. Then you gently leaf through the stack of indemnity certificates. There are quite a few. There are 63 of them.
And then there are still the disclaimers missing from when I was 18e all 26th. That's a kind of Bermuda Triangle. But I have owned quite a few motorcycles. I remember with a Norton 99 that I scored – without rear wheel – for 75 guilders. Much later there was a Ducati 750 GT that I bought in Weesp for 2.000 guilders. There was also a time when you bought a Kawasaki 500 three-cylinder with 8LS Robinson front brake and expansion pipes for 800 guilders. That was on Utrecht's Channel Island.
Over the past half century, my purchasing level has remained quite below the market price-wise. More along the lines of just 'pretty old' and not quite like 'That's a Geheide Classic'. Moreover, my engines all look a bit worn after a while. It is probably now called 'patina'. But a British acquaintance once told me: “Old motorcycles are like dogs. If you wash them too often, they become nervous.” And maybe some of my exes will soon be worth as much as a Ducati 750 GT is now. But I've never had much interest in new and/or valuable. Because I'm just not good with money. Money doesn't mean much to me either.
Of course I can enjoy perfection. The work of my comrade Theo Terwel is the standard for me. Theo mainly restores BMWs, but he is also not afraid of the rebirth of a – yes! – Ducati 750 GT (of which the owner can provide a valuation report of € 42.000 some forty years after mine). Also a fact: The BMW R68 (about 3000 were made) had a very specific key for the tool compartment. After a year of searching, Theo had found one. Also nice: the base coat and the paint for the piping are 100% in accordance with the paint recipes that BMW used between 1951 and 1954. And the paint comes from cans that were filled for BMW between 1951 and 1954.
Fantastic craftsmanship and wonderful to look at. But to grab your 750 cc Duc or your BMW R68 to do some shopping at ALDI?
Dreaming about that stack of indemnity certificates, I experience a time travel. Driving in a time when there was no GPS and no smartphones. No organized trips. Or at least not to my knowledge. You decided to go away for a weekend or a week, then you checked your engine again on Friday night. Saturday after breakfast you threw your duffel bag over the buddy. And in the evening you were just past Paris with a broken gear bearing. Fortunately, a gas station owner who was just closing knew that there was a key evening at the almost local sports airport that evening. That's where you crippled. Everyone was happy about the visit of a foreigner with problems. And with a fully equipped workshop plus a handful of professionals… It was getting late. I couldn't get back on the road until after lunch the next day. With a revised gearbox. And a hangover.
And then you will find the disclaimer of the T500 with Reimo two-in-one and a Velorex tray, the Trident T150 V with which I was stranded in the rain near Birmingham at Christmas and was lovingly taken care of by a British couple with two daughters of a highly interesting year of construction. The XT500 I drove into a ravine. I was found unconscious and transported to a local hospital. At the time I had a travel & credit letter from the ANWB and had entered the parental home as the repatriation address. Without any text or explanation, my parent received a crumpled Yamaha delivered to their home free of charge. That was a bit scary…
The latest release notes are recent. I got rid of my Chang Jiang project and adopted an MZ 250TS. And it was exchanged for a Moto Guzzi V65. Because Moto Guzzi is very much my brand.
Very nice to go through your administration every now and then. But that VX800? That was a miss.
Dolfie salfie, When you have taken apart the same denprs four times in a row and called on our dear Lord ten times to curse the man who constructed such a thing, then you suddenly get help from above, a kind of lightning strike in you brains and sees the solution and logic and you do the assembly differently and you have the engine whose name I can no longer pronounce because it gives me a lump in my throat, so quickly put together such an ural monstrosity, it cost I have my stock of beer, I sold that thing IMMEDIATELY 😂😂😂
Left or right: cheers!
I also rode the VX800, it was great, the front fork was much too weak and the brake pads were eating away.
On the other hand, it steered much better than I ever expected, as I was used to the steering behavior of my then Z1000 (with a frame that seemed to consist of boiled spaghetti in terms of stiffness).
This meant that I entered a bend and waited patiently for the frame's comment that it was now going very fast.
That comment did not come, but all the ironwork against the asphalt did.
So I didn't expect that...
Nice bike..
Agree. I found that mine actually worked best when I drove it as roughly as possible. And those front brake pads were simply overworked. Nice memory: to remove the chrome cover above the starter motor, the rear cylinder had to be released
Recently, while cleaning up, I also came across a pile like this. Both 2 and 4 wheelers.
Not as extensive as yours, but it did bring back memories. From motorized 2-wheelers since 1984 to now 7.
I rode a moped a lot and still became an old fart, I didn't do anything wrong.
kudos!
We will continue!