Today I has mostly been...

[wuvvum]

...buying Honda Spacys.

 

 

I bought a job lot of three project bikes from a chap in Ashford. One of them (the one on the left of the pic) is not too bad - it doesn't run but the engine turns over on the starter so being a 4-stroke Honda it probably just needs some fresh petrol and possibly a plug. I also have keys and docs for this bike, plus a full factory workshop manual. The screen is missing in the pic because it has a full-height screen rather than the standard flyscreen and it was removed to avoid breakage.

 

The one in the middle has no keys or docs but is complete and still has its number plate so could potentially go back on the road. The one on the right is going to be purely a spares bike as the frame is rotten, it has no stand, no reg, no docs and the brakes are seized solid. It does have its side panels though - they were removed for transport to avoid damaging them.

 

I really like these bikes - I had one before and it was brilliant. Proper '80s space age with the pop-up headlight and digital dash, but still a reliable, comfortable and useable bike. I'm hoping that the good one will be up and running in the next few weekends, and once it's MoT'd it can then start on commuting duties when the weather's good, which means I can get rid of the Aerox. The middle one I'm going to have a play with - stick a battery on it, bypass the ignition lock and see what happens. If it looks like there's signs of life I'll get it running and apply for a log book, but either way it's going to get sold; hopefully with the rotten one and the bits I have left over from my last one I should have enough spares to keep the main one happy without needing to nick anything from the middle one.

 

The seller was a bit of an eccentric bloke - kind of a shiteist but with scooters. He had various Lambrettas in his shed, along with other more obscure scooters, a race-tuned MZ 250, a Royal Enfield converted to hand change using the gear linkage from a Mk3 Transit, and a 1938 Enfield which was hand change from the factory, which was completely original (even down to the paint) and beautifully patina'd.

 

The Transit managed the 325 mile round trip with no worries despite getting stuck in hideous bank holiday traffic on the way down - it guzzled 70 quid's worth of diesel, but that still works out at around 32mpg so not too bad considering. And it was probably as constructive a way of spending a rainy Bank Holiday Monday as any other...

[Cavcraft]

WIN!

 

Any pic's of said Lambretta please?

[warren t claim]

 

Would this really be worth £500????

http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-moto ... /100054235

[M'coli]

I thought you were meant to be thinning out your collection, but I can see this could be business rather than fun! MZ racer sounds fun, there was a specific race series for them (and a flow-chart for deciding whether it was race-ready)!

[Timewaster]

I really want to pronounce that "Spack-eee" but I assume it is actually "Space-eee"

 

[wuvvum]

Any pic's of said Lambretta please?

Alas no - wouldn't have got a very good pic anyway as they were all rather crammed into his shed. He did have this beastie in there though, currently for sale on t'Bay:

 

[Cavcraft]

 

Would this really be worth £500????

http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-moto ... /100054235

 

 

Yes/no. It's not worth £500 for a wrecked bike like that as such, but I bet someone will rip his hands off for it. If a V5 was obtained for it someone with a SIL (Indian Lammy) or a non-tax exempt British reg'd Italian Lambretta would love it. Basically someone would just want it for the ID to ring their own, though there will be some value in some of the bits off it too.

[M'coli]

(and a flow-chart for deciding whether it was race-ready)!

It was similar to this!

[wuvvum]

I thought you were meant to be thinning out your collection, but I can see this could be business rather than fun!

Yup, that's my excuse too. I often buzz into work on a moped in the summer months to save on time & petrol (I can park a bike at work, there's a 5 year waiting list for car parking spaces), and the Aerox I was using last year needs some work and wasn't really fast enough for busy A-roads anyway. Spacy should hopefully be just as reliable, more economical and have a slightly higher cruising speed. All the T&T'd scooters that were available locally were either cheap Chinese cack or very overpriced. The Spacys were £250 for the three, so even if I flog the middle bike off as a project for £100 that's more than covered my diesel, and if I can get the good one roadworthy using the bits off the scrapper then it'll still be a cheap scooter, and (imho) much cooler than any other twist'n'go.

[MrDuke]

There's a guy over on the blue forum who has one or two of these, he had a whole thread up when he was getting one roadworthy. Always wanted to try one, but I suspect I might get bored with it very quickly, and end up using it as an ornament. Was it the only bike ever to have a flip-up light?

[warren t claim]

Was it the only bike ever to have a flip-up light?

 

Kawasaki GPZ?

[MrDuke]

Was it the only bike ever to have a flip-up light?

 

Kawasaki GPZ?

 

Got any pics? Not because I don't believe you, I just can't find any pics with a flip light?

[vulgalour]

The Kawasaki Katana 750 has a pop-up light. Finding a picture of one with the headlight up is proving... difficult, if not impossible.

 

 

 

Related note: If I *had* to have a scooter/moped, it would definitely be a Honda Spacey.

[Skinley]

That Kawasaki is a Suzuki.

[vulgalour]

So it is... derp.

[warren t claim]

Was it the only bike ever to have a flip-up light?

 

Kawasaki GPZ?

 

Got any pics? Not because I don't believe you, I just can't find any pics with a flip light?

 

Oops! I meant Suzuki Katana.

[Station]

Are you selling any of those Spackers, I think that's the only scootery moped I'd ride, I dint like the look of the other types and I really need something little and economical. Are parts still available??