Original or not? Nice and important

In the classic world, the pursuit of originality is a thing. And what is 'original'? 1) Different 2) Separate 3) Argument value 4) Authentic 5) Special 6) Genuine 7) Peculiar 8) Fresh 9) No others following 10) Model 11) Mother sheet 12) New 13) Unadulterated 14) Original 15) Original piece 16) Realistic 17) Creator 18) Innovative 19) Resourceful 20) Self-conceived 21) Without imitating others 22) As designed.

Original…

So you can get away with that. But we often think in terms of 'factory original' or the more flexible 'time original'. Factory originality usually becomes more important the older or rarer a classic. During the restoration of his BMW R68, Theo Terwel went so far as to search until he even had the correct valve caps. And finding just the right key for the lid of the tank compartment took him more time than many a parent has put into raising the kids.

Factory or time original

Time originality is a somewhat broader phenomenon. Think of the seventies and petrol tanks with unimaginative fantasy paintwork, 'hanging ears steering wheels', rearsets and four-in-one blister pipes. After a period in which those motorcycles were old and became classic, these kinds of time icons have now also gained appreciation and value. However ugly the result of all work is in our current view.

Heart transplants

What gave originality a whole new meaning was the once fairly common way in which motorcycles were equipped with other engine blocks. A BMW frame only had to be extended slightly to hang a VW block in it and that kind of action ended in the once famous phenomenon 'King Self-build', where motorcycles were fitted with NSU blocks, 2 CV engines or GS four-cylinders, Renault power sources , Alfa Romeo Boxers and the dynamic Honda S800 hp warehouses and so on. That was in the days before professionals in the Netherlands were put on the list of protected animal species.

From custom to ready-to-wear

Nowadays, 'building it yourself' has degenerated into ordering and assembling gadgets from thick catalogs. But of all those 'not original' motorcycles, many must still lead a dormant existence - or 'suffer'. Very occasionally, a survivor from the Koning Zelfbouwtijd turns up. But we are very curious what beautiful things are in the memories or sheds of the AMK readers.

With all those deviations from factory originality, we are then left with the early work of Frans de Weerdt, now completely unacceptable exhaust systems. (Das Motorrad once tested four-in-one sets for the Kawa Z900. The lowest performing one just turned 14 horsepower into net noise pollution.) And more optical and acoustic violence. But what is more interesting are the motorcycles that were once rebuilt to such an extent that completely different engines came in than the factory had ever dreamed of.

Looking for originality

As a kind of tribute to those times, we ask you to look in old photo books and in the back of the shed. With seriously converted motorcycles, it is, of course, about the structural safety. Moreover, before 1975 there were no crystal-clear type approvals. That gave quite a bit of design freedom. In addition, our RDW is still not the most difficult when it comes to block modifications / replacements. If the number of cylinders and the displacement is approximately correct on the license plate, if the wheelbase has grown less than 11 cm, if the power is no more than 40% higher than the original once was, then you are even just on the road legally.

On registration an XS1 ...

Soichiro Honda never thought of that!

The Yamahalf

That is of course also possible