Best bike for everyday road riding 1969-1984 ;o)

chrisk said:
Thanks Phil, I was feeling a little lonely out there by myself (and questioning my memory)

For the naysayers, I purchased the bike in question off Phil, Ausbean. Ex Stanco (Victorian Laverda Dealer) backed race bike, back in road form.

Where the fuck is the booty shake imoji when you want it?
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Stanco backed Jota race-bike? In 81-82 Stanco wanted nothing to do with racing Laverdas from what I recall. Someone must have been very lucky. Had that ex Honda bloke running the show and with his clear focus.
 
Tippie said:
Stanco backed Jota race-bike? In 81-82 Stanco wanted nothing to do with racing Laverdas from what I recall. Someone must have been very lucky. Had that ex Honda bloke running the show and with his clear focus.
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Stanco " assisted"
A couple of years in Thunderbikes.
I think I came out even $.
Put it back on the road.
More fun!
 
Tippie said:
Stanco backed Jota race-bike? In 81-82 Stanco wanted nothing to do with racing Laverdas from what I recall. Someone must have been very lucky. Had that ex Honda bloke running the show and with his clear focus.
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I was as close as last nights Collingwood vs Freeo game. Draw, same thing…. 😉
 
Considering my age and my life long love Vs fear of Motorcycles and why I saddled them for the thrill for over 57 years and survived: Seems today the CF Moto 450SS has Hi-Regards in the eyes of our puppies - Respectively !

Other then that city environment riding is so Far Out of context I raced is ridiculous and can NOT be compared to racing the Cambrian Shield to a Mine Site. There are NO Rules when racing the Asphalt in the Cambrian Shield that goes No-Where - It's full Throttle all the way and back and that 1970 Breganzie 750SF was a Winner - Dangerous SHIT to say the least ;o)
 
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NO 80's 1100 Suzuki or Kawasaki could beat my 70 750SF on the Jack Pine to Moose Mountain and back (20 miles out and 20 miles back) a 72 Ducati 750S came close. Granted the Jack Pine only had one 1/4 mile straight were over 2000 campers from the Northern States, Winnipeg to Montreal where there with their Machines for every given summer weekend to participate and watch racing at its BEST. Of Course: Totally off Grid and Illegal and that shit was in my back yard growing up as a teen and into my twenties ;o)

60's and early 70's were a BOOM Time for young men making a lot money in Mining, Railway and Forestry in Northern Ontario. - Lots of expensive FAST Machines plus Live Bands, Booze (French Beaujolais Wine) real Middle East Hashes and Peruvian Cocaine and free Mexican Weed ;o)
 
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Chrisk:
Today cheap Hybrid Potent Northern Ontarian Local (Illegal Farmers ?) Weed under cuts Legal Gov't Controlled Outlets by over 50% - What a Joke that the Gov't is loosing tax payer dollars in their scam to profit from weed sales by Legalizing it then attempting to profit from it (As If as weed hasn't been around forever) - Personally I've never been a weeder but don't mind a joint on occasions when I'm feeling pain in my old age. Hell my Dutch Grandfather would fill his corn cob pipe with cat-nip when working his fields when I accompanied him as a kid in the 50's. Shit it even kills pain of a tooth ache.

The thing is trying to teach our children to stay away from Speed, Meth, Opioids and not to become a Chronic Boozer.

Occasional indulgences of Beer or Wine and a joint or 2 on their time off while socializing on weekends is normal behavior in my opinion; in other words, they will learn it the hard way if they don't indulge appropriately and don't say I didn't warn them - I'm NOT perfect and don't expect my kids to be perfect either - Just part of life's Hard Knocks - If you haven't made mistakes you haven't lived - Face it and get on with your life that deserves respect ;o)

Shit it's 2:30 AM here on this side of the pond - I'm going to pour a shot of Scotch and stream an old Bogart Flic and go to bed - Been nice talking to you: Ron ;o)
 
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Chrisk:
If you want to waste some time START here on Google Maps: This is the Infamous Jack Pine Moose Mountain Mine Road - Except she had perfect asphalt back then ;o)
https://www.google.com/maps/@46.716...2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&coh=205409&entry=ttu

That sharp left corner about a mile from the start between the rock cut and that lake dropping approx 70 ft, backup and swing to the west you will see 4 crosses - 4 young girls lost there live there and there's a few other crosses on that road ;o(
https://www.google.com/maps/@46.7351966,-80.9258435,3a,75y,247.17h,82.09t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sDPviewCr4qc2dRcDreBRRA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
5 Girls in a 68 Dodge Monaco convertible plunged into that lake and the driver survived, I knew all of them and she married my cousin. Even today, I can't look at her without feeling her pain. Man life is tough through time.

Obviously aside from being an inexperienced driver she did not know the road, was going too fast for that corner and was probably impaired partying with her friends and all decided to attend a weekend at the Jack Pine 1/4 mile . Sure wish they would have made it because they were beautiful spirited young Women.

A horrific and tragic accident that will never leave my mind ;o(

There also a young woman killed in a 58 Thunderbird convertible that flew of this corner: https://www.google.com/maps/@46.770...m4PQEfKhaA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu

A young man was ran over and killed while changing a universal joint on his 68 440 Dodge Dart on the staging line of the 1/4 mile.
The young man should have known better and worked from the ditch side rather placing his body in conflict with the returning lane ;o(

The staging lane was anywhere between a 1/8 to a 1/4 mile long on any given weekend in the summer months were cars and motorcycles paired off and bets were made. Spectators lined both sides of the entire 1/4 mile. There were road blocks protecting the 1/4 mile as no one was unaware of the weekend Jack Pine 1/4 mile event: However, the very little traffic and Mine Shift workers were let through without incident even the Local Cops and OPP help protect the event.

By 73 the RCMP came in a closed the Jack Pine 1/4 Mile and would arrest anyone congregating around it - Didn't stop Rally Car and Motorcycle Enthusiasts from racing the course for years after the Mine Closed and the asphalt just became too rough.

In it's day the Jack Pine 1/4 mile hosted local Town Mayors, Politicians with their families camped in the gravel pits that aligned 1/4 mile along with Bands such as Janis Joplin, the Ungrateful Dead, Nickle Back and April Wine... etc. Talk about endless Summer Party week ends that lasted for over a decade when Northern American Muscle Cars were the Thing ;o)

Believe me it was tough to beat the local FAVORITE Town Host competitors from Capreol and the Sudbury Basin.
 
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Most frightening stretch of road I know isn`t a high speed sweeper with deceptive bends , but a narrow lane leading from Tiltups End to Horsley , just south of Nailsworth in Gloucestershire ......

Travelling south on the A46 there is a lane which leads off towards Kingscote which I sometimes take ....... that`s no problem , but on the approach there is the start to another lane , the two just a few yards apart , and it`s this other lane which is the problem ........

Twice now I have taken the wrong lane by mistake ......... most recently just a few weeks ago ..........

As soon as I started down it I realised the mistake I had made , remembering it from before , but continued , thinking It couldn`t really be as bad as I recalled .......

It starts off fairly reasonably , lulling you into a false sense of security , but before long it narrows to one cars width , and starts to descend steeply .........

You carry on , thinking it can`t get any worse , but it gets steeper and steeper , with an off camber which keeps trying to drag you over to the wrong side of the road ( not that there really is a wrong side , as it`s so narrow ) .......

It`s then you`re confronted by the piece de resistance , or whatever the phrase is ........... a blind ( tall embankments either side ) , 90 degree , even steeper left hand bend , the road disappearing down from view completely , with the afore-mentioned off camber trying to force you to go straight on ........

So you`re now stuck , at a standstill , facing the opposite side of the lane , with the corner you wish to navigate now almost behind you , about 110 degrees immediately to your left ......... front brake fully on because of the gradient ......... front wheel in contact with the grass embankment on the opposite ( wrong ) side of the lane ......... right foot on the ground , but left foot dangling in mid air about two feet from the ground ..... ( due to gradient and off camber ) .......... hoping and praying you don`t lose your balance and fall over to the left ...... ( which would end up with the bike being virtually upside down .... due to , you guessed it ..... the camber and gradient ) ....... and wondering why you ever decided to carry on down here in the first place ........

Now follows a good five minutes ( at least ) , of edging backwards and forwards , trying to turn around and return in the opposite direction ... ( all thoughts of trying to get the bike facing in the original direction to try to negotiate that cliff like left hand bend forgotten ) ......

Eventually , after edging forward to bounce the front wheel off the grass embankment , in order to generate some rearward backward motion , with right foot trying to force the bike backwards against the camber and gradient ........ hoping your foot doesn`t slip on the loose gravel as you try to force the bike backwards ........ left foot still dangling in mid air , above the chasm to your left ......... eventually you get the bike more or less pointing in the right direction so you can now retrace you steps back up the ( very steep ) hill and escape from this living nightmare ........

It`s not over yet ........ The clutch , not surprisingly , has become increasingly pissed off with all this inching backwards and forwards , and when faced with a re-start back up the hill , makes it`s displeasure known by ceasing to behave like a clutch ........

The first two or three attempts to re-start up the hill are met by the clutch becoming coil -bound ........ refusing to slip as you pull away , but engaging with a wallop immediately ........ this un-controlled forward motion resulting in the bike making a bee-line to the embankment at the side of the lane , instead of travelling in a straight line up it ......( due to , you guessed it ... the now uphill gradient , and the off camber pulling the bike to the side , instead of allowing it to travel in the correct direction .... ) ........

...... BTW ...... When I say coil-bound , the clutch on this bike , an R1 ( sorry ) , has a single diaphram spring , not the usual half dozen little coil springs .... but the effect is the same ........ If I`d been on the Mirage , I`d probably still be stuck there now ......

In the end , the clutch gave up all attempts at dis-engaging ...... but I finally managed to launch the bike off in a straight line , clutch lever pulled fully back against the bar , but still doing 15 mph if I wanted to or not ....... hoping and praying I didn`t meet anything coming the other way around the next blind bend ...... There was no room to pass , and I couldn`t have stopped anyway ..... ( .... There are houses at either end of the lane , but I would imagine they all use the main road when they venture out .... I know I bloody would ... ) .....

Made it back to the main road ( A46 ) ........ huge sigh of relief .... and the clutch had come back by now .........

Never , never , ever again .... unless it`s on the 125 trail bike I don`t have ......

........ As I said ..... absolutely terrifying ..........
 
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Sounds like a nightmare! I'd love to see photos of it if you ever manage to walk down there some time. Who and why would a road like that be built? A horse and cart wouldn't be able have navigated it, surely?

Imagine trying to do it on an Adventure bike with some of the seat heights they come with!
 
If you ever wanted to learn how Race FAST Motorcycle Cafe that Moose Mountain Mine site road was the BEST there was, especially riding a 1970 Breganzie Laverda 750 SF that could do over 7400rpm and 120mph+ down any stretch. It's no wonder the Breganzie Motorcycle Ruled the asphalt for over a Decade.;o)
 
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piranha-bro2 said:
Sounds like a nightmare! I'd love to see photos of it if you ever manage to walk down there some time. Who and why would a road like that be built? A horse and cart wouldn't be able have navigated it, surely?

Imagine trying to do it on an Adventure bike with some of the seat heights they come with!
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Exactly .... !! ....... Someone on a BMW GS , or Honda Africa Twin might manage it , if they were 6 foot 6 inches tall .... but that`s not me ....... !!!!!

Not all the lanes around here are quite as bad as this one , but this is the one I definitely try to avoid ........


As for most of these roads ........ This area is hilly , with narrow steep valleys separating the villages .......

You also have to bear in mind that these narrow lanes haven`t really changed that much in the last 800 to 900 years ........ apart from a tarmac surface nowadays , of course ....


There is a local expression " A Dursley Lantern " ........ which referred to a bloke with his white shirt tail hanging out of the back of his trousers .......

If a party of visitors arrived by horse drawn coach , and light was failing , but they still had to make it to their final destination ..... then they would follow the Dursley Lantern .........

He was the bloke who knew his way along the lanes , and across the hill tops ....... so you would follow him to your destination , otherwise in the failing light , you could easily slip or fall and injure yourself as you made your way along the narrow hillside tracks .......


..... Can make for some interesting riding , once you stray off the main routes ....... !! ......
 
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I did it in my old Short Wheelbase GQ patrol before the big bolder closed it, you wouldn't want to meet someone coming the other way or you would need to reverse till it was wide enough to pass. I did it after the bolder closed it on my Husky.
 
Vince said:
I did it in my old Short Wheelbase GQ patrol before the big bolder closed it, you wouldn't want to meet someone coming the other way or you would need to reverse till it was wide enough to pass. I did it after the bolder closed it on my Husky.
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Some years back I was coming down off the Long Myndd in Shropshire on the Mirage , heading back down to Church Stretton .....

......... The road follows the hillside down towards the town , with the hillside on your right , but to your left an un-fenced drop down to the botton of the Cardingmill Valley ....... Not exactly one of the Worlds Most Dangerous Roads , but a fair drop all the same ........ there is just enough room for two cars to squeeze by at once ......

On this occasion , there was a car just in front of me which started to slow right down , and slowly make it`s way past another car , which was stopped right in the middle of the road , half way down the hillside ........

I don`t think he had stopped to take in the view ....... more than likely he had " frozen " half way down the hill , due to the un protected drop just to the left of him ..........

I expect he was ok in the end ....... :unsure: ..........
 
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Vince I love my old rusting out 72 Chrysler 4L AMC inline Fuel Injected 6cyl TJ Sport JEEP Wrangler with a Manual 5pd.
She's jacket approx 6" total with over-sized tires and it's battles me every time I climb into the drivers seat or trying to get OUT of her ;o)

110K max on the freeway in short bursts before feeling unstable but that's not why the Jeep Exists. She can cruise rather comfortably between 90 and 100km/Hr for an hour or 2 on smooth asphalt with WHITE KNUCKLES and 200 miles when you notice the gas gauge approaching the RED. Really F*&k$#g terrible Gas mileage on the HWY but for putting around town and in the BUSH the Gas mileage is not all that bad.
 
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