Some interesting bikes

[husaberg]

Cheers Rob! The Z1 was in an auto museum in Perth - really cool place. The twin headlight bike is a Munch Mammoth. It has a NSU car engine in it - only one I've ever seen. The Kreidler belonged to a Dutch guy who also owned some factory Yamaha race bikes. Don't know anything about the Harleys except they were based on the factory biked that Cal Rayborn rode successfully. I was fortunate to see him race in the UK.

From memory the headlights also came from the NSU.


two wheels did a story on them back in the day i will see if i can find it next time i are sifting through the cupboard.
The sound of the bike is nothing like i imagined.....
Fred used to make pretty much all the stuff out of Magnesium alloy.

[F5 Dave]

Oops - sorry. Want any spares? My near neighbour apparently has boxes of them which he picked up some years in Hamilton

X7 went over 30 years ago, along with my Katana which was rubbish on short trips hence the X7. Mate just sold one.

The Kreider is cool though!

[98tls]

Here you go Dave. The X7 belonged to our eldest son when we lived in Tokoroa. Incredibly, it has been owned for the last 15 years to someone who now lives 4 doors from us in Coromandel. It hasn't been ridden for at least 10 years. I wouldn't mind restoring it but to be honest, prefer to ride with the time I have available. The Rocket 3 belonged to Dave Aldana from the USA. Taken in 1970 I think. The old guy is a rider at the Pukekohe Classic - hope for all us oldies! The Benelli 6 was also at Pukekohe a few years ago.

Have only ever seen one Benelli 6 in the flesh and it belonged to a bloke that worked for my old man up past Parnassus in the late 70s from memory,another bloke from Kaikoura was there at the time with a 750/4 with some Dunstall bits ie tank etc pretty sure the old man had his silver/blue SS at the time and through a young fellas eyes the Benelli seemed very strange fwiw the bloke that owned its name was Albert and was in his late 20s,always wondered where the bike ended up.

[Blackbird]

Have only ever seen one Benelli 6 in the flesh and it belonged to a bloke that worked for my old man up past Parnassus in the late 70s from memory,another bloke from Kaikoura was there at the time with a 750/4 with some Dunstall bits ie tank etc pretty sure the old man had his silver/blue SS at the time and through a young fellas eyes the Benelli seemed very strange fwiw the bloke that owned its name was Albert and was in his late 20s,always wondered where the bike ended up.

That's great history thanks, amazing where exotica pops up. Next to where I photographed the Benelli, there was a black Hesketh!

[Bonez]

That's great history thanks, amazing where exotica pops up. Next to where I photographed the Benelli, there was a black Hesketh!

spyda has one of those. Also a Vincent v-twin. Can't remember the exact model though. Last time I was at his place was a couple of decades ago.

An old buddy of mine had a Panta 500. When he got it the pistons were seized so modified GN250 liners were put in it with stock piston and rings. I believe Dave McDonald did the engine work.

[98tls]

That's great history thanks, amazing where exotica pops up. Next to where I photographed the Benelli, there was a black Hesketh!

I bought my old TL IN 2000 from Casbolts in Ch Ch and the sales guy i dealt with had a Hesketh.Fwiw a pic of a couple of Nortons the old man had,the 650 SS was bought as a frame and boxes of bits he got it all back together rode it awhile then it sat down the back of a shed for years,he had a few offers to buy it but didnt sell the thing until a bloke turned up with some motorcycle museum or similar in Auckland and it ended up going up there,from memory he had original front guard/pipes etc which all went with it,be nice to think it still survives.

[Blackbird]

I bought my old TL IN 2000 from Casbolts in Ch Ch and the sales guy i dealt with had a Hesketh.Fwiw a pic of a couple of Nortons the old man had,the 650 SS was bought as a frame and boxes of bits he got it all back together rode it awhile then it sat down the back of a shed for years,he had a few offers to buy it but didnt sell the thing until a bloke turned up with some motorcycle museum or similar in Auckland and it ended up going up there,from memory he had original front guard/pipes etc which all went with it,be nice to think it still survives.

Love to see cool old photos like that! One of my friends here in Coromandel still has the Commando he bought as a 19 year old in the UK! He's a total Norton enthusiast with an ES2 single, his 750 Commando and an 850 racebike. Took the photo in 2015. His racebike has an alloy tank and seat now.

[Bonez]

Some oldies.

IIRC that Triumph lived in New Plymouth. The owner rebuilt magnetos for older bikes in his garage full time.

[Bonez]

A few more.

The yellow Honda is a '77 CJ250 and my first motorcycle was one of those. Actually owned it twice.. Kick start only. First flat front tire coming into Napier on the Napiar-Taupo road after travelling from Hobsonville. Tossed it in a ditch, rung dad using a cockies land line and we trailered it to my parents place in Havelock North. That was in 1978.

The race bike pics were taken at Manfield years ago.

[98tls]

A few more.

The yellow Honda is a '77 CJ250 and was my first motorcycle was one of those. Actually owned it twice.. Kick start only. First flat front tire coming into Napier on the Napiar-Taupo road after travelling from Hobsonville. Tossed it in a ditch, rung dad using a cockies land line and we trailered it to my parents place in Havelock North. That was in 1978.

The race bike pics were taken at Manfield years ago.

Was the Yamaha Triple yours? never rode one but always liked the look of em back in the day.

[Bonez]

Was the Yamaha Triple yours? never rode one but always liked the look of em back in the day.

No a mate had that model XS750 Dad had one too, the last model, maroon and bigger capacity tank than the a/bs. His first japper. He and his buddy use get rundown brit bikes back on the road in our shed when we were kids. AJSs, Trumpies, BSAs and an Aerial(sp) twin. Remember one backfiring and lighting up. They got the fire out quickly before the bike was damaged. I think it was the Aerial Huntmaster.

When Dad met mum he had a Triumph 650 and use too travel the old Napier/Taupo Rd on a regular basis. All gravel then. I was invited to their wedding but didn't see much. The music was cool though.

An airforce buddy of mine had a bevel drive Ducati GT860.

A border of ours had a KH500 triple. One night he launched the bike into a shop frontage in Hastings.

[98tls]

No a mate had that model XS750 Dad one too, the last model, maroon and bigger capacity tank than the a/bs. His first japper. He and his buddy use get rundown brit bikes back on the road in our shed when we were kids. AJSs, Trumpies, BSAs and an Aerial(sp) twin. Remember one backfiring and lighting up. They got the fire out quickly before the bike was damaged. I think it was the Aerial Huntmaster.

When Dad met mum he had a Triumph 650 and use too travel the old Napier/Taupo Rd on a regular basis. All gravel then. I was invited to their wedding but didn't see much. The music was cool though.

An airforce buddy of mine had a bevel drive Ducati GT860.

A border of ours had a KH500 triple. One night he launched the bike into a shop frontage in Hastings.

Nice,before the Nortons in pic the old fella had a really nice Trident with 3/1 and bikini fairing,we lived in the middle of nowhere and you could hear that Trident for bloody miles up the Hundaless,sounded nice,his first Duc was an 860 followed by silver/blue 900ss then a black one with the gold rims,he had a contracting business and pretty much all the blokes that worked for him had bikes,great memories,recall that Albert the bloke that had the Benelli had a AJS when he first turned up,another bloke Brian Stanley from ch-ch i can remember him riding a brand new GS750,first one i ever saw from memory he raced a TZ for awhile,was another fella cant remember his name that had a waterbottle when he started and eventually bought a brand new Jota,many more came and went over the years,everyday they would ride from a rented farm cottage around 10ks south of home and turn up for work,great being surrounded by so many different bikes on a daily basis when a young fella.Old fellas still riding by all accounts fwiw his first Jappa was a wire wheel Katana and last i heard he has a V-Strom.

[Bonez]

Some of the bikes I've owned.

The GSX750EX I bought off my little brother. He needed the money. He never was very good at budgeting. I owned a GSX750EZ from new and did 50,000kms in three years. Still had the original chains and sprocket on when I traded it. Did 20,000kms on the EX.

Obviously I still have the '76 CB550F Super Sport but modified a wee bit.

The CB250T was left under a plastic sheet for years. I was walking the dog one morning and spotted it from the foot path as the cover had half blown off. Saw the owner that night and bought it. Rego was long dead. Picked it up with the work ute and trailer in the pic. I wrecked that and made a nice wee profit selling bit n bobs off it on Trade Me. I owned a brand new CB400T in 1980 and did 20.000 kms on it before trading it in on my first CX500. The Ching Shin Hi Max tyres off the 250 twin were use on the CB550F.

The CB250RS single was abandoned it the motorbike shed in Shelly Bay, Wellington. It had a slightly buckled front wheel with some broken spokes and dead rego. Got the wheel straightened and new spokes fitted then put my BMW twin shock small frame R65s number plate on it and rode to Palmy and caught the train back to Wellwood in the early morning the next Monday. Tried contacting the previous who had moved overseas..


The CB750F2D Integra I bought new in 1986. It's a Jap market model. It was about 2 grand cheaper then any other 750 at the time, didn't have those stupid 16" front wheels that were all the rage at that time and had a far better fairing. I always liked the look of Bol 'Dors and finally had one. When I got it I bought the OEM workshop manual, the full range of sims with shim fitting and removal tools and put crash crash bars on it. Bought at Dave Whittiker Honda in Hastings back then.. In the first 50kms, yes only 50kms, from new I was T-boned in Wiapukurua and broke my feft leg tibia and fibia .Bike damage was the LH fairing lower, rear foot peg hanger, muffler. and LH rear shock tube( found this out when I was fitting the Konis at around 50,000kms) The LH side soft pannier was totally destroyed. Could not ride for a year and a half. Did a total of 130,000kms on it doing most of the servicing myself. A very comfortable bike to ride long distances. Fitted Givi 40 ltr panniers and top box to it when my leg had healed enough to ride. The nurse just pulled the two halves of each bone together, after I persuaded her not to cut the legs of my one piece full leathers and take the whole suite off. She just slapped plaster around the lower left leg.. It healed fairly quickly and I didn't require metal inserts, pins or a frame..Looks like two tubes have been very tidily welded together. The pic is of me checking a paper map (old folk know what they are) No gps back then. Me and a couple of buddies were travelling some pretty random back roads which at one point turned into a single lane dirt track.

The BMW R80 I bought off dad when he lost a leg due to diabetes. It wasn't a motorcycle I liked. Bars too narrow, shins hit the carbs, terrible slow speed handing on tight twisties, stupid side stand location and the seat fairly stiff compared to the Integra and CB550F. Sold it to my brother who is a year younger than me to get cash to put my CB550F back on the road. The 550 is a far superior bike than the monoshock R80 with respect to low and high speed handling. My small frame twin shock R65 was better IMHO as well. Did 20.000kms on the R80 in 6 years. Had a few other road legal bikes a the time as well. A total of 9 bikes in the shed at one point.