I have been doing the forbidden thing and looking for more projects when I already have enough lined up for the next few years. I really should be saving funds for the 106 Rallye rebuild, but I also really want another bike to work on. Finishing the BMW and being able to take it to shows and hearing all the positive feedback on the street and and bike gatherings has been really encouraging and got me wanting a similar sized project with some quick return.
It turns out I did have a little money left over after selling the Audi S3 and buying a cheap reliable 5 door 1 series BMW. And surely buying a sensible car for a daily means I deserve to treat myself in some other way right?
I really fancied something off road/enduro-y because if there's anything we have lots of here in Finland, its forest and gravel tracks. I wanted also something that I could take on longer journeys than were comfortable on the Cafe Racer.
Obvious candidates were Honda XT/Africa twin/Tenere kind of thing, preferably in late 80's vintage, even more preferably in a Paris-Dakar kind of vibe.
With the knowledge and tools i have built up on the Cafe, the ultimate enduro bike would be a R100/80 GS. It would make sense as i know the drivetrain quite well. Unfortunately these seem to be by quite some margin the most expensive bikes in this category. I did find an R80 GS in red for around 4k, which is actually quite a fair price. But in my heart i would always wish it was a Paris Dakar version which are never likely to be available for sale here, much less in my budget. And 4k would wipe me out and mean no summer holiday or savings for the unseen when I've just bought a new daily. So much could go wrong. Save your money for the 106 project lad.
Well of course inevitably the itch returns, and I'm trawling the classifieds again. When something catches my eye. Rather than the big heavy off road bikes I was looking at previously, I also have a lot of love for the old trials bikes of the 60s/70s. Lightweight, throwable, they don't have any touring ability, but sure would be a lot of fun ripping through the woods.
But the same old problem of budget comes up- old BSAs and the like aren't cheap.
Then an advertisement caught my eye.
1979 Harley SST.
It looked like an old trials bike and certainly didn't look like any Harley I'd ever seen, no vee twin, beautiful lines. The bike had obviously been through the wars and tastelessly modified, but it was clear to me a really cool bike was in there. And cheap. And just up the road.
So what exactly is a Harley SST?
Well some late night research showed the truth. And really it was a badge engineering exercise from HD.
In an effort to compete with the flood of cheaper smaller Japanese bikes, Harley simply bought a design from Italian manufacturer Aermacchi.
This is interest piquing fact number one, as I'm an aerospace engineer by trade, of course i've heard of Aermacchi, famous in my mind at least for producing jet training aircraft and light attack planes. The Argentinians flew AM during the Falklands, the Frecce Tricolori Italian display team flies AM. I had no idea they made trails bikes. Cool. So Harley bought the design and basically just rebadged them. Did it work? of course not as we never really hear about them and even hardcore Harley guys have never heard of them.
But fundamentally the design was sound, as it was bought up by Cagiva and became the basis for a whole generation of successful trials/MX bikes. Interest Pique number 2: I just love some genuine motorsport history.
I went to see the bike and had a quick go. So the original 2-stroke engine has been replaced by a modern Suzuki DR 125 four stroke, fine by me. The frame and swing arm have been lightened and drilled out. This bike has obviously had a frame up rebuild at some point, fine by me. I don't have a lot of biking experience but i was surprised at how much power this little 125 has. It cruise fine at 80kph, can do 120 at a push and lifts the front wheel if you're so inclined.
Negatives:
I do not dig the faux military theme. All the useless little kahki bags need to go. The paint job needs to go. The modern twin LED headlamp set up needs to go. But fundamentally i can see it being a really fun little sled for not much time and money.
It obviously is going to be even worse on long distances than the BMW. But...
It came home with me.
I immediately ordered a period correct single round headlight and mounts. And set about it with a grinder to remove the rack mounts.
Until the new headlamp setup arrives, I fished out an old number plate and cut a recess for the twin LEDs, not perfect, but makes the front look a lot more integrated and a bit more correct.
Then I pulled the tank and mudguards off and took them back to bare metal. I dropped them off to my paint guy and gave him an impossible deadline, because there is a cruise meet this weekend and i want to go with the wife both of us on bikes. I chose a really bright summery yellow to make the bike pop and look suitably 70's. I thought it would go well with the BMW too.
So it's Thursday today when I'm typing this, I bought the bike on Sunday so it's been a fun few days. I managed to get a couple of blasts through the woods before i started stripping it so i'm confident this is going to provide a lot of smiles! Let's see if they can get the painting done and I can get it back together in time for the weekend.
I'm really looking forward to confusing everyone on my little Harley trials bike.
It turns out I did have a little money left over after selling the Audi S3 and buying a cheap reliable 5 door 1 series BMW. And surely buying a sensible car for a daily means I deserve to treat myself in some other way right?
I really fancied something off road/enduro-y because if there's anything we have lots of here in Finland, its forest and gravel tracks. I wanted also something that I could take on longer journeys than were comfortable on the Cafe Racer.
Obvious candidates were Honda XT/Africa twin/Tenere kind of thing, preferably in late 80's vintage, even more preferably in a Paris-Dakar kind of vibe.
With the knowledge and tools i have built up on the Cafe, the ultimate enduro bike would be a R100/80 GS. It would make sense as i know the drivetrain quite well. Unfortunately these seem to be by quite some margin the most expensive bikes in this category. I did find an R80 GS in red for around 4k, which is actually quite a fair price. But in my heart i would always wish it was a Paris Dakar version which are never likely to be available for sale here, much less in my budget. And 4k would wipe me out and mean no summer holiday or savings for the unseen when I've just bought a new daily. So much could go wrong. Save your money for the 106 project lad.
Well of course inevitably the itch returns, and I'm trawling the classifieds again. When something catches my eye. Rather than the big heavy off road bikes I was looking at previously, I also have a lot of love for the old trials bikes of the 60s/70s. Lightweight, throwable, they don't have any touring ability, but sure would be a lot of fun ripping through the woods.
But the same old problem of budget comes up- old BSAs and the like aren't cheap.
Then an advertisement caught my eye.
1979 Harley SST.
It looked like an old trials bike and certainly didn't look like any Harley I'd ever seen, no vee twin, beautiful lines. The bike had obviously been through the wars and tastelessly modified, but it was clear to me a really cool bike was in there. And cheap. And just up the road.
So what exactly is a Harley SST?
Well some late night research showed the truth. And really it was a badge engineering exercise from HD.
In an effort to compete with the flood of cheaper smaller Japanese bikes, Harley simply bought a design from Italian manufacturer Aermacchi.
This is interest piquing fact number one, as I'm an aerospace engineer by trade, of course i've heard of Aermacchi, famous in my mind at least for producing jet training aircraft and light attack planes. The Argentinians flew AM during the Falklands, the Frecce Tricolori Italian display team flies AM. I had no idea they made trails bikes. Cool. So Harley bought the design and basically just rebadged them. Did it work? of course not as we never really hear about them and even hardcore Harley guys have never heard of them.
But fundamentally the design was sound, as it was bought up by Cagiva and became the basis for a whole generation of successful trials/MX bikes. Interest Pique number 2: I just love some genuine motorsport history.
I went to see the bike and had a quick go. So the original 2-stroke engine has been replaced by a modern Suzuki DR 125 four stroke, fine by me. The frame and swing arm have been lightened and drilled out. This bike has obviously had a frame up rebuild at some point, fine by me. I don't have a lot of biking experience but i was surprised at how much power this little 125 has. It cruise fine at 80kph, can do 120 at a push and lifts the front wheel if you're so inclined.
Negatives:
I do not dig the faux military theme. All the useless little kahki bags need to go. The paint job needs to go. The modern twin LED headlamp set up needs to go. But fundamentally i can see it being a really fun little sled for not much time and money.
It obviously is going to be even worse on long distances than the BMW. But...
It came home with me.
I immediately ordered a period correct single round headlight and mounts. And set about it with a grinder to remove the rack mounts.
Until the new headlamp setup arrives, I fished out an old number plate and cut a recess for the twin LEDs, not perfect, but makes the front look a lot more integrated and a bit more correct.
Then I pulled the tank and mudguards off and took them back to bare metal. I dropped them off to my paint guy and gave him an impossible deadline, because there is a cruise meet this weekend and i want to go with the wife both of us on bikes. I chose a really bright summery yellow to make the bike pop and look suitably 70's. I thought it would go well with the BMW too.
So it's Thursday today when I'm typing this, I bought the bike on Sunday so it's been a fun few days. I managed to get a couple of blasts through the woods before i started stripping it so i'm confident this is going to provide a lot of smiles! Let's see if they can get the painting done and I can get it back together in time for the weekend.
I'm really looking forward to confusing everyone on my little Harley trials bike.