Anyone heard of a "Buffalo" motorcycle??

[LB]

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A guy at my work was admiring my bike photos yesterday, and was telling me that about 30 years ago his sister had what she called a "Buffalo" motorcycle. He thought "Buffalo" was the brand (ie like Ducati or Suzuki). This bike apparently had what he called a "rotary" gearbox, that you changed up, up, up, up then when you got to top and changed up again you were back in 1st.

Anyone heard of one of these??? I've not ever heard of it. He was really serious, he wasn't pulling my leg.
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[Motu]

There was a Buffalo,one of those Taiwanese bikes like the Gemini and Tas,I think he's right about the rotary box too.Maybe sold through Dalgety's,I know that Tas were anyway.

[Oakie]

Yes yes yes! I do remember seeing one for sale for ages at a farm supplies shop in Oamaru that may well have been Dalgetys. I used to perv at it as I biked home from school ... 'round about 1975 I'd guess. Can't tell you any specs but I seem to remember it was a chunky wee thing that looked a bit like the old style CB125 with a few dirt bike features thrown on. Perhaps a wee bit like the 'Van Van' bike you can get today ... or perhaps not.
Looked like around about 100 to 200 cc.

[Gixxer 4 ever]

Did it have a neutral? I hope so cos going from top to first could be a bit spooky even at farm speed

[Ixion]

A friend had something with one of those rotary boxes. Wasn't a Buffalo though, can't remember what it was, moderately mainstream though.

I rode it a few time, that rotary change has to be the stupidest wankiest thing ever on a bike. Totally a pain in the neck and achieveed nothing. Who the hell wants to go from 5th to 1st in one change anyway ?

[TonyB]

Who the hell wants to go from 5th to 1st in one change anyway ?
Valentino Rossi

[vifferman]

Valentino Rossi
Maybe, but he wouldn't ride a Buffalo, and if he did, it wouldn't get him there. Fifth to last, mebbe...

[TonyB]

Maybe, but he wouldn't ride a Buffalo, and if he did, it wouldn't get him there. Fifth to last, mebbe...
Erm...I was referring to block shifting, where they shift down from say 6th to 2nd as quickly as poss and let the slipper clutch deal with it while they get on with braking etc....but then I'm sure you knew that

[Jackrat]

Kawasaki made a fat wheeled farm bike called a Buffalo in the early 70s.
The tyres were like mini tractor tyres.
It had one of those odd gear boxes as well.
The one I fell off was orange an scared the cows.

[GNR]

ohhh ,lol, brings up a storey

in maths, last year at school,. we have this maths teacher, whos old, with glasses and a hump back, and a funny voice, we always try and distract with lots of questions, like, how to make home brew, what do u think of the princeable, anyway, on one of his distraction he was tellin us about the motobike he road in the 70's with a rotary gear box, If you could hear his voice it makes it so much funny
anyway, to cut a long storey short he was on a motoway, thinkin he was in top gear....oh dear was he wrong, stright to first " and the motobike must have been doin 20,000 revs," and he went flyin forwards, i don't tink he came of tho,

but yer, dodgy

[Motu]

They didn't go into 1st,they went into neutral,but the natural reaction was to think you missed a gear and tap the lever again.

[LB]

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Many thanks guys, I'll pass this info on.
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[What?]

Tas was, and still is, Japanese.
There were a few "rotary" boxes made, a couple by Kawasaki, several by Suzuki. When worn (didn't take long) they would indeed jump straight from fifth to first, but as Motu says, they were meant to go to neutral. They were the reason gear indicators were invented... I don't think Yamaha or Honda ever made them.

[raster]

My bro had a Buffalo 100 when I was a kid about 10, don't think I ever saw it go but I used to ride it down the hill on the farm and push it back up again, spend hours/days doing that.

Orange sounds familiar.

Those were the days.

[nudemetalz]

When I was younger a bunch of us used to go trail riding. I had an RM-80, my friend had a DT-125 and someone else had a Tas Taka. Now that was a peculiar machine to ride with one of those 'orrible rotary gearboxes.