I was invited down to Ian’s place along with some other Diamond Valley members in the early 80’s
He gave us the scoop on this bike just before it became public.
I thought at the time that he had quite a few good ideas in this bike and that if he had concentrated on just any one idea he could have got it working really good.
It wasn’t his plan though, he was out to prove things could be done differently and I don’t believe he was ever blind to the fact it wasn’t perfect, he really did think outside the square.
I do remember he based the motor on a Maico but he actually cast his own barrel, years ahead of his time for going it alone.
I thought it was a 400 but the sign in 090’s post says 250
Interesting to note that the most successful 2WD bike would be the Ohlins? Fitted to the Yamaha’s that used a hydraulic motor in the wheel driven by an oil pump which was mounted on the countershaft sprocket, it wasn’t all that removed from Ian’s bike that was built decades before.
Although Ian’s bike looks a little cumbersome it is streets ahead of that Maico with the huge beams and sprockets on the front end.
Ian’s bike was also fitted with the worlds strongest bark busters long before they came into fashion.
I had heard it was sold to a museum in the UK, good to see it now back in Australia
You can check out some of Ian’s Enduro results in the Vinduro section too.
