Way back in April 2008 I bought a rough old IT175G from a forum member for something around $300 from memory. I'd owned one of these back in 1980, and thought it was a great little bike. The only problem was a wheelie balance point somewhere past vertical which led to a few nasty moments, but by and large I have only good memories. So it was I had been wanting to get one again, especially with the whole Vinduro thing starting to gain traction.
The bike I bought was fairly straight with all original plastics in good nick except for the rear guard. It was missing a few bits, but not too bad overall. The plan was to do a simple tidy up and go ridin, but as always the best laid plans etc.
In the end, I bought a swag of NOS bits, managed to score some very nice forks and a pipe from another forum member, lucked upon an excellent airbox at a well known bike treasure trove in Yass NSW, and had the engine completely rebuilt. The latter was expensive as the cases turned out to be cracked and needed a little artful welding work, and that combined with the new piston, rings, bearings and seals added up to a fair chunk of hard earned.
So what was meant to be a quick and cheap exercise ended up taking nearly two years and more money than was wise. Still, although not a concourse resto, it IS clean and tidy and looks like the bike I remember.
Last weekend I added some premix and with one kick she fired right up. Well pleased, I took it out to a local track and managed a half hour of running in around a few nice little trails. And you know what? It's every bit as good as I remember. I was worried that it'd feel like a bit of a soft overweight trailbike, but surprisingly it's not bad at all. The forks feel supple, the shock is good tho a tad soft, and it seems to steer quite nicely when compared to the rock hard twitchy '05 YZ125 I usually ride in the bush. The only downside is the old seat foam which is a bit too soft. The motor is good, again the comparison with the YZ125 is flattering as although it's nowhere near as fast it has good bottom end and midrange, even though back in the day they were seen as a bit peaky.
So, I am one happy camper. Now just need a vinduro somewhere near home. What's that? There's a rumour that the local club might hold one at the Canberra MX track? Fingers crossed, eh?
Here's some pics:
