All these mods make the bike a lot better. Jean-Mi was a tiny runt so he adapted the bike to his size ie the handlebars are now higher (extension on the forks). I’m 6″ 2 and find the position a lot less tiring than the standard one. All original parts come with the bike, should you wish to put it back to original state… a bad idea IMHO. It rides much better than the original pigs they are. See here for pics of it in action mountain racing (photos coming shortly).

This is an original paint and fairing bike, no fiber on this one. Newly painted rear section. Due to its age, it has the recurrent vibration cracks around the front mounts and a few assorted nicks and scratches… what do you expect?  It’s an 84 model and has almost 34’000km. As stated before the motor is new and all the mods were made when the bike reached 30’000km. It’s just been serviced and runs like the proverbial swiss clock. You can ride home with it. French rego and plates.

A sad sale. Offers around  6’000€. Bike is in my workshop in Lausanne. More pics coming soon.

Passablement corrodée, mais complète… faudra de l’huile de coude.

Years after getting this bike home from the States with the help of  quite a few friends, years after it last ran, after months of tinkering with it, running about finding parts for it, or as I put it:

15 years for finding a genuine A1R
15 months of  work

all for 15 hours of “fun”! Insert Big Grin emoticon here.

You’ll find a map of the track here as well as a bit of info about the race, one of the oldest in Switzerland.
I hope I’ll be able to send a vid of the race as One of my friends had a camera onboard… and he blew me away!

Here it is on Google maps. And with a satellite view. It is a normal road with lots of Police controls normally as it’s a fave with local bike nuts. But once every two years, it’s blocked by the same cops who fine you and becomes the local replica of the “Mad Sunday”.

A slightly tense Spike

This was supposed to be summer… a very chilly morning, curtains of rain, all that with a brand new bike, with a new gearbox, new tires and a new rider… Can you you say uncomfortable?

I only did one of the runs before retiring wet and cold (10 degrees for F sake!).
Not fun at all.

Thankfully at mid-day, the sun appeared and dried the track… the rest of the day was thouroughly enjoyable.

This is getting better…

Better still…

I'll zip up my leathers next time, promise.

You really get into the game after a few runs, the track is a miniature Deal’s Gap, 7 kilometers long, a lot of blind curves, most curves cantered… Takes a while to get used to it. To make it more interesting, it is in the middle of a forest and the road is flanked by ravines: wiping out is NOT an option.

I did my first run with a non-functional gearbox, I was stuck in second gear. The clusters needed to be run-in. Thankfully, by the second run, it loosened up and got better and better. Thanks to Ellis of Moore Performance Engineering for his brillant piece of kit!

Ok a few things still need to be worked: the first gear is the looooooooooong race gear, I am probably running a too tall final ratio (16 x 32 or 2) I had a terrible time launching the bike and the starting line was on the flat.

Next race will see me using 17 x 32 or 1.8 ratio. I suspect it will need an even shorter ratio to help pick-up.

We can now start tuning the bike, it could do with more power as it is basically using a 350 street top end.

I will also  use straight cut gears (again thanks to Ellis) and purpose-made intake discs, not my factory steels ones. this is so they fit standard disc covers (deeper than factory castings).

I am investigating having both the covers and discs coated to reduce friction… parts are getting difficult to find.

Next or first on the list will be pipes. I am running original A1R pipes modified by the previous owner but they are getting too close to the tarmac for comfort, plus I feel they are restricting the 350 motor. They do deliver but you feel that they hit really high in the rev range. Something torquier would be better.

My Smiths Tach is obviously not running at the correct ratio: full blast on a straight, it read 5’500 rpms with the bike screaming… not right.

The rear original shocks are basically dead…  I’ll keep them for collection value but need a decent pair of Hagons or Konis. Every bump on the track was transmitted directly to my spine. Ouch.

The fairing is also pretty much in the way, I have to prepare the bike to run without it, but it means I need a front fender.

Riding in the rain without one gave me a very cold shower. Got my hair parted by a jet of cold, wet and dirty blast of road muck.

Apart from all that, the rider needs some practice sessions… getting passed by (ex Swiss Mountain king riding a) bog standard T250 is quite disheartening… not being able to follow him even more! Some more room for improvement.

Apart from a cable (which I have now) and two scrapes on the turn signals, it is a very well preserved original… I bought it with less than 9’000 km on the clocks and have rode it for a couple years on and off. A lovely bike, now up for grabs. A bit of dedicated elbow grease will have it really shining. The front brake needs a thorough cleaning as it tends to seize.

I would like  around 2’800 € or CHF for it. Comes with a spare frame and motor. This bike will put a smile on your face!

Si vous êtes intéressé, envoyez-moi un email.

Nice Kawasaki Samurai in a very good original state. All bottom end seals changed, runs and rides well. Only a few screws are not original.

Leave me a comment below if you are interested or email me here.

Quelques photos de la Suzuki Cobra 6’000€

RD LC / RZ Job lot for sale – Lot de pièces à vendre en bloc prix a discuter

Marvic magnesium wheels for a RD 500 LC – for sale  with calipers and adapters, lines etc. avec pinces et adaptateurs. 500€ à discuter

La Rd 500 LC de Jean-Pierre: 6’600€ VENDUE

T250 de 1972 à vendre sur Lausanne  VENDUE

Kawasaki A1B de 1971 à vendre – for sale 2’800€ VENDUE

Yamaha Ds7, nice and clean 2’800€ VENDUE

Kawasaki H1 Mach III – job lot for sale – lots de pièces en bloc VENDU

Rd 500 LC job lot for sale – Lot de pièces RD 500 LC à vendre VENDU

NS 400 R Job lot for sale – Lot de pièces Ns 400 R à vendre en bloc VENDU

Leave me a comment below if you are interested or email me here.

No photos yet, but basically enough parts to build you a track day machine. 2 frames, one with french papers, the other is a japanes market bike.Lots of fairing parts, forks, wheels, tanks, etc. They’re all off KR-1B bikes. There’s also a mold for upper fairing.

Leave me a comment below if you are interested or email me here.