OzVMX Forum
Clubroom => Introductions => Topic started by: Michael Moore on June 28, 2013, 01:47:15 am
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I found the forum a few days ago when doing a search for a photo of a Cheney Yamaha. Like some of you I'm more interested in bikes with aftermarket/DIY chassis than stockers. I've never had a new bike that stayed stock, and while I'm glad there are people who like to do restorations it isn't a big interest of mine. I'd rather build the bikes that I wanted to build "in the day" except that then I lacked the knowledge, skill, and tools to do so.
I've spotted a few people here that I know.
I MXed 1971-74 (first race on my TS185R, then I bought a used TM400R, followed by a new 1972 MC125 Maico and then a 250 Greeves Griffon) and started riding trials with a new 325 Bultaco in 1974. A new TT500D saw a little bit of trail riding before I went roadracing on it. I stayed on the pavement until 1988/89 when I VMXed a B50MX. I rode vintage trials in the early 2000s on a KT250, and a couple weekends ago I made my return to VMX on a friend's 380 CZ at the Unadilla "Vintage Rewind" AHRMA national. I recently picked up an MX175B Yamaha to rob the transmission for a CT-1 roadracer project and decided that I'd try to put it together as an "always ready to ride" VMXer.
My current dirt bike projects are the KT250, a 76 325 Sherpa T, the B50MX, a Modern Classic TT500 trials bike and the MX175. I've also got a fairly trick Can Am/Armstrong 560 Rotax that I need to move to a new home. I don't want to ride something that goes that fast or that needs a box for me to stand on to kick it over. :)
At Unadilla I found myself referring to the 75+ model year stuff as "modern bikes" and while they were interesting I'll be sticking with the 7"/4" travel bikes.
I've seen a few references in posts to the material on my website: www.eurospares.com If anyone has a spare 20-30 hours available you might want to browse around the gigabyte of photos/articles there.
cheers,
Michael
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Hi Michael,
I've been here for years and there are a lot of great people on this forum and loads of great info and advice!
;D ;D ;D
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G'day Michael and welcome to the forum. Quite an interesting and varied background you have there - I just spent 15 minutes browsing your website! Funnily enough I think I linked to your site from a site I ran years ago that featured TT500s...
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welcome
have sent you a pm re yetman triumph
jim
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I found the forum a few days ago when doing a search for a photo of a Cheney Yamaha. Like some of you I'm more interested in bikes with aftermarket/DIY chassis than stockers. I've never had a new bike that stayed stock, and while I'm glad there are people who like to do restorations it isn't a big interest of mine. I'd rather build the bikes that I wanted to build "in the day" except that then I lacked the knowledge, skill, and tools to do so
Welcome Michael you're my kind of bloke ;D. I'm also into aftermarket framed bikes and currently have either running or awaiting construction.......Cheney Yamaha RT1, Hindall RT2MX, Hindall DT2MX, Hindall 250 Ducati, Boyd and Stellings TM400, Petite Metisse Maico 350 oval, Cycle Factory RT2MX short tracker, Fastrack TM250 Suzuki short tracker, Tom Cates rigid framed Honda 305 short tracker, Trackmaster 650 Triumph street tracker project and the pride of the fleet Shell OW72 750 Yamaha mile flat tracker........Waiting in the wings there's a Steens mini pitbike awaiting a TS90 Suzuki motor and a Zundapp Metisse awaiting some kind of Frankenstein monster engine swap...or not ;D. All up way too many projects but they make me happy which can't be a bad thing ;D.
Wherabouts in the city do you live? I'd also love to think you're the great left wing documentary maker but I doubt he's into dirt ::)bikes. You'll have some fun here so dive on in. ;)
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Thanks for the welcome!
Jim, I emailed you some Yetman info.
Mark, I'm familiar with you from VMX magazine, and I've already read most of your posts here on your projects. I know a guy in SoCal who I think still has a Hindall TT500, let me know if you want to contact him. I can think up new projects much faster than I can finish the old ones, but I'm trying to make some progress. When the projects tend to start with not much more than a motor and a "this would be interesting" idea and then I try to build all the missing parts they often don't proceed very quickly. There's never a shortage of things to avoid doing. :)
I'm 2.5 blocks south of Golden Gate Park and 3 blocks in from the ocean where the fog is usually nice and heavy and it doesn't get too hot! For someone who started dirt riding in Albuquerque NM I don't tolerate the heat very well once I got acclimated to living near the beach.
Beware of imitators trading on my good name. :) I think you've got a politician down your way who shares the name with me (though he seems to use "Mike" where I always go by Michael).
Graeme, you've barely begun to scratch the surface on the website. I've got lots more stuff to add when I get that elusive "round tuit". I never expected it to get so big when I started it (sounds like a typical project) and it could use a good tidying up/reorganizing. I never know what kind of interesting photos/information will show up in my email.
Tahitian_Red , drop me a PM with your contact info and maybe we can meet at the races. I'm hoping to get the MX175 ready for Hollister in October. Since I've not been doing much of any kind of dirt riding the last decade+ I mostly only know vintage road racers, though of course I know Fred Mork (who sponsored me on a RR 350 Ducati one season and let me ride his Garden Gate Manx and his 380 CZ a time or two).
cheers,
Michael
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Michael,
I was at Sears Point, on the first day. We probably passed by one another a few times, as I was with one of my friends and pitted about 10 feet from Fred Mork's bikes. I will be at Hollister for sure, but will not be racing for at least 12 months, because of a recent "health setback". (I'm DT1CMX on the Enduro site.)
:(
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I found the forum a few days ago when doing a search for a photo of a Cheney Yamaha. Like some of you I'm more interested in bikes with aftermarket/DIY chassis than stockers. I've never had a new bike that stayed stock, and while I'm glad there are people who like to do restorations it isn't a big interest of mine. I'd rather build the bikes that I wanted to build "in the day" except that then I lacked the knowledge, skill, and tools to do so.
I've spotted a few people here that I know.
I MXed 1971-74 (first race on my TS185R, then I bought a used TM400R, followed by a new 1972 MC125 Maico and then a 250 Greeves Griffon) and started riding trials with a new 325 Bultaco in 1974. A new TT500D saw a little bit of trail riding before I went roadracing on it. I stayed on the pavement until 1988/89 when I VMXed a B50MX. I rode vintage trials in the early 2000s on a KT250, and a couple weekends ago I made my return to VMX on a friend's 380 CZ at the Unadilla "Vintage Rewind" AHRMA national. I recently picked up an MX175B Yamaha to rob the transmission for a CT-1 roadracer project and decided that I'd try to put it together as an "always ready to ride" VMXer.
My current dirt bike projects are the KT250, a 76 325 Sherpa T, the B50MX, a Modern Classic TT500 trials bike and the MX175. I've also got a fairly trick Can Am/Armstrong 560 Rotax that I need to move to a new home. I don't want to ride something that goes that fast or that needs a box for me to stand on to kick it over. :)
At Unadilla I found myself referring to the 75+ model year stuff as "modern bikes" and while they were interesting I'll be sticking with the 7"/4" travel bikes.
I've seen a few references in posts to the material on my website: www.eurospares.com If anyone has a spare 20-30 hours available you might want to browse around the gigabyte of photos/articles there.
cheers,
Michael
Now that's how ya do it!! ;D Welcome to the fold Michael, sounds like you may be a bottomless pit of information for some guys here. ;D
Cheers, Brendan
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Welcome Michael, yes your site does appear have plenty of juicy info for many of the black hole VMX brains that abound on very forum.
Please remember there be some brilliant minds amongst this lot , but basically we are just a pack of living in past fun loving VMX weirdos :D Cheers mate Tim754