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Post by colinjay on Mar 13, 2007 17:57:18 GMT -5
Hi all, (especially the older Aussies)
By chance I flcked to ABC2 (digital) last night and caught Late Night Legends. They were showing the 1978 Castrol 6 hour race.
It was quite interesting to watch, with the main contenders, bike wise, being the Honda CBX1000, SUZUKI GS1000 and the monster YAMAHA XS1100 which was the eventual winner. Watching the rider doing sub 1 minute laps of Amaroo Park on these bike showed how much the riding style of racers has changed over the last 25 years.
Having done a Stay Upright advanced riding course at Amaroo in the mid 90's on My SR, and being the owner of a XS1100 (currently being set up as a sidecar) I just give one greater respect for the riders of that era who proddie raced these monsters.
I seem that Aunty is showing a lot of old race footage on Late Night Legends, so it is probably worth keeping an eye on if you have an interest in bike racing.
CJ
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Post by fenz on Mar 13, 2007 23:31:09 GMT -5
Thanks for the tip off.Will have to keep my eye on the tv guide.
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Post by milkman on Mar 14, 2007 6:42:14 GMT -5
Dont know if it was that the race or another enduro where the Yamaha lads really had such little desire to ride that bike that on the back straight away from the pits, they were pulling in the clutch and holding the throttle against the rev limiter. After a while of trying to kill it, they realised they were in sixth place and decided to get serious and won.
Great stuff.
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Post by davedunsboro on May 8, 2007 7:22:02 GMT -5
Col a mate of mine loaned me a tape & it was this race , it was quite interesting seeing all those old heavy clunkers on a track . You wouldn't have thought the XS11s had it in them but they had staying power comparing to the CBXs .I don't know what speed they were doing but I recon It was at least 100 odd Ks less than the 800s are doing today ( man those XSs & CBXs & GS1000 were so trick in our day weren't they ?) cheers Dave
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Post by colinjay on May 8, 2007 17:44:38 GMT -5
Dave,
The good old XS11 is almost indestructable. I have one that I am currently building up as a sidecar using a chassis of my own design and a PREMIER Tour Elite body (its great whe the owner of the company is a good mate and my old passanger from my cometition sidecar riding days). I choose to use the XS11 as thare are just such a tough old bike.
I will admit that compare to the SR it is an absolute pig to ride.
CJ
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RD
Full Member
Posts: 176
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Post by RD on May 9, 2007 6:28:07 GMT -5
Yamaha XS 1100 out of all the bikes I ever owned this lump was one of the best allrounders, I managed to snap the front uni joint doing wheelstands could have been something to do with how brutal you had to be with the clutch to get the front end up.
cheers Rich
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Post by davedunsboro on May 9, 2007 7:15:34 GMT -5
Holy crap! I'd like to see a pic of one of them doin a mono ,I would've been to frightened to think about all those kilos of heavy metal killing me . I recall those shafts twisting the bike out of the corners too ( and boy were they sooo ugly I mean most bikes at that time were but they were extra ugly) Good luck with the sidecar Col you must be a projectaholic mate ! Cheers from Dave.
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Post by colinjay on May 9, 2007 23:24:23 GMT -5
Dave,
Its a bit harsh calling the XS1100 ugly, for their time the styling was fairly conservative, they are just such a BIG bike that it would have been difficult to make them look"sexy", although the later model specials were a little bit sleaker/sexier in the tank shape and general stylng. It is sort of like saying a middle aged female body builder (XS1100) is ugly compared to fashion model like Jen Hawkins (996 Ducati), this could be true in a direct comparison but in her own right the girl (bike) with muscles can still be attractive.
CJ
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Post by milkman on May 10, 2007 2:42:21 GMT -5
i'd prefer Jen, but I'm not going to tell the body builder to her face.....she might hurt me!!!
Thats why i like the SR....she's the kinda a girl you marry. Looks pretty alright and goes well in its standard guise everyday. Without mush effort dressed up she looks stunning and goes unreal.
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Post by davedunsboro on May 10, 2007 6:45:52 GMT -5
OOOhhh did I touch a sentimental nerve there Col ? Sorry mate , its just there was only a few bikes from the 70s I actually liked ( Z1B Z1000 SR500 & of course XS650 & XT500 ) The Suzis , Hondas & the XS1100 of that era never really grabbed me at all . The bikes in the 80s well that was different GPzs FJs GSXs (Katanas ooohh yeah) Dukes Laverdas Guzzis .Then the 90s & now all the latest weapons .Whew! I'm going to have to stop myself there . Mate don't compare the ladyfolk to the bikes Try turning out the lights and locking her up in the shed for the night if somethings wrong with her ! If we're choosing I'll take Jen too cheers Dave .
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Post by colinjay on May 10, 2007 22:10:50 GMT -5
Dave,
As some ancient Greek once said, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder".
I can't think of any bike off the top of my head that I would really call ugly, however, this is coming from someone who has a collection of 1960's Honda Dreams, which a whole lot of people consider some of the ugliest bikes ever made! Hey, I even have a soft spot for the Honda CX500, which is another of the so called ugliest bikes ever made, even though I have never owned one.
There arn't many modern bikes that I would say I "love" the look of. In fact I find that most of the modern race replica and sports bikes all look the same if you disregrade the colours and loud graphics.
And since you have got me "flashed up", what's with the world when normal motorcycles like our beloved SR500's are called "Naked bikes". The motorcycle got by for the best part of 100 years before the "Styling and Marketing" people got their hands on the poor old motorcycle and deamed it nessesary to wrap them up in multi-coloured plastic (makeup) like some kind of cheap tart!!
I will stop now before this turns into a "rant", and everyone thinks that I havn't moved on from the 70's.
CJ
PS,
I am going to start a thread on "What is the world's ugliest bike?"
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Post by milkman on May 11, 2007 5:19:49 GMT -5
great point on the "naked" bikes.
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Post by davedunsboro on May 11, 2007 6:24:36 GMT -5
Yeah yeah Col I agree with you on all points I was just reving to see how passionate you are ! Good to see a bit there mate . I probably never owned a XS11 coz I couldn't afford one at the time ,I mean apprentice wages at the time was about $75 a week . I remember a mate of mine purchasing a GS1000E for about 3grand an getting it repoed coz he couldn't pay for it. I don't even think I saw a fairing in that era so they must've all been nude! Anyway I'm glad I reserected this thread I got a few good chats out if it , cheers lads, Dave.
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