Camionjeep

Mid fifties, just starting to ride again after a serious accident 5 years ago. Not bike or car related. Started riding age 4, fell off straight away, been doing it ever since, but never really hurt myself from any of them. Ridden trail bikes all my life, road bikes once I could get a license, ridden across the Simpson desert in central Australia 4 times, once on my own, carrying everything (over 1,100 sand dunes, up to 40 metres high, temps high 40's C). Been a Courier, Riding Instructor, and ridden as a Moto Scout for professional cycling races (like Tour De France, closed roads, police escorts and solos, no speed limits, or road rules). Been chief mechanic for a motorcycle team at the Australian Safari. Have been collecting bikes all my life, only ever sold 2, both Japanese, regretfully one was a TL 125 which I wish I'd kept. All are now either Spanish or Italian(1 American/Swiss), other than a TT600 with a 640 kit, that is just a hack(but a good one). Not enough room to include all my bikes in the box above, so additionally to the Montesa's, I have, 360 Bultaco Frontera, bought as a box of bits for $100 when I was 23, rebuilt a number of times, blown up a number of times, spends most of it's life resting between rebuilds, ATK 605, interesting American enduro with Rotax engine, almost too tall for me to throw a leg over, I'm 6 foot 2. Benelli Tre K Amazonas, a massive adventure bike, 1130cc 3cyl, 145hp(not stock), runs wire wheels and TCK knobbies. My usual daily ride prior to injury, FUN. Moto Guzzi Quota 1000. Fuel injected, shaft drive, wire wheels, adventure bike. Super heavy, only 80 ever made, and 7 in Australia, great all road tourer, lovely V twin sound. Gilera CX 125, 2 stroke, like a GP bike on the road (130 front tyre, 160 rear, and it uses them, remember it's only a 125), single side rear, single side front, and the biggest front disk I have ever seen except a Buell rim brake. Yes it does stoppies, or you can dive up the inside of 'anything' in a corner with the back wheel in the air. Laverda RGS 1000. The original eighties muscle bike, heavy, fast, forget the Japanese, this has seen 265kph, with a thousand left on the tach, and yes it was still pulling, I just ran out of straight road. Pretty good for a stock 83 bike, Italian speedos might be optimistic, but not that much, probably no more than 15 max, which still makes it the fastest 80's production bike by a very long way. Yes it's faster than a Jota, from first hand experience, but only pulls away once you hit about 180. Laverda 668 Sport, last and best of the 668's, this bike is telepathic and goes round corners just by thinking where you want it to go. Very under rated, apart from the blowing up thing they do, where the crank destroys the cases. The parallel twin always sounds unhurried compared to a Jap 4cyl sports, but it's always going 20 to 30% faster than you think, pulls like a schoolboy in the mid range. Unbelievable Paoli suspension, like riding a magic carpet with your knee down. In the middle of negotiations to buy a 97 Ducati 748SP, gorgeous factory race bike, carbon bits everywhere (stock), it vibrates, rumbles, and sounds like a Mack truck on the over run. Perfect. Can you believe it, some people call me eccentric?