Jung
Member
Given that it is warmer than the devils's jockstrap in my shed at the moment, and about as fragrant, it might be a while before I crack on with this. However,
this is the 2nd and totally random, impulse buy I made, just after acquiring my RD250 in December last year.
Shortly after picking up the RD (in fact so shortly, that I hadn't had time to unload and stash it,) I set off for a couple of days work in SF, followed by a few days off with the Mrs and nipper, just near Ft Bragg. On the way up, we stopped off in Pt Arena to say hello to Dave at Zen Motorcycles, which has been something of a ritual ever since we moved here back in 2013.
On the very first visit, he kindly gave me a little tour and showed me a super cool, 250 race bike, with a Rotax tandem twin engine. The history was a little cloudy and the frame itself was a total head scratcher. I'd not really thought about it in the intervening years but for some reason it popped into my head to ask..
Turns out the owner had passed and the bike was for sale, so a day or two later, I snuck off with the wean and drove down through a storm from Ft Bragg to pick it up....
After getting it back down and sorting through all the paperwork and bits, there's actually a fascinating story behind it. It is a copy of a Kobas Rotax, commissioned by well known racer and Rotax importer Tony Murphy back in 1982. He bought the original from Rotax, when they switched to Aprilia and was so enamored with the design, he got an Australian fabrication whizz, to knock up a few replicas.
Tony is a very cool chap (and certified loon.) After chatting on the phone, I drove over to his place so he could take a look, show me the original bike and tell me a bit more about it.
I've done nothing more than clean the carbs, poke around a bit and fire it up to annoy the neighbors on xmas day. It shouldn't need much - it's not run for long enough that I'll do a basic strip on the engine to replace the seals and give it a good check over. I've only a parts list and it's quite unusual. The 256 Rotax seems to have had a reputation for go, but not necessarily a bike you'd want to follow....hopefully, I'll be able to enjoy the former whilst avoiding the swings and arrows of outrageous seizures....
this is the 2nd and totally random, impulse buy I made, just after acquiring my RD250 in December last year.
Shortly after picking up the RD (in fact so shortly, that I hadn't had time to unload and stash it,) I set off for a couple of days work in SF, followed by a few days off with the Mrs and nipper, just near Ft Bragg. On the way up, we stopped off in Pt Arena to say hello to Dave at Zen Motorcycles, which has been something of a ritual ever since we moved here back in 2013.
On the very first visit, he kindly gave me a little tour and showed me a super cool, 250 race bike, with a Rotax tandem twin engine. The history was a little cloudy and the frame itself was a total head scratcher. I'd not really thought about it in the intervening years but for some reason it popped into my head to ask..
Turns out the owner had passed and the bike was for sale, so a day or two later, I snuck off with the wean and drove down through a storm from Ft Bragg to pick it up....
After getting it back down and sorting through all the paperwork and bits, there's actually a fascinating story behind it. It is a copy of a Kobas Rotax, commissioned by well known racer and Rotax importer Tony Murphy back in 1982. He bought the original from Rotax, when they switched to Aprilia and was so enamored with the design, he got an Australian fabrication whizz, to knock up a few replicas.
Tony is a very cool chap (and certified loon.) After chatting on the phone, I drove over to his place so he could take a look, show me the original bike and tell me a bit more about it.
I've done nothing more than clean the carbs, poke around a bit and fire it up to annoy the neighbors on xmas day. It shouldn't need much - it's not run for long enough that I'll do a basic strip on the engine to replace the seals and give it a good check over. I've only a parts list and it's quite unusual. The 256 Rotax seems to have had a reputation for go, but not necessarily a bike you'd want to follow....hopefully, I'll be able to enjoy the former whilst avoiding the swings and arrows of outrageous seizures....
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