Fast Fiddie's

[GMC]

The Europeans loved thier tiddlers, none more so than the Italians as VMX mag showed a good collection in the latest issue. I was going through some stuff the other week & came across an old mag, World Motorcycle Catalogue - 76 / 77
These are some of the 50's you could have bought back then ( if you were in Europe I guess)

Okay, this first one is a 125, but if you thought the Chinese invented the pathetic Harley copy then think again.


Are you into MX


or Enduro




Something to learn on

[GMC]

[GMC]

You could pick up chics with this powerful racer


They had something for everyone,
Here's one for our resident chic Alison


Or something for a teenager, like Tom perhaps

[GMC]

[GMC]

Even the Spanish had something


& the Japanese too




I remember reading about the 50 & 80 class in the ISDE. Funny how the modern 80 would be way more powerful than these things yet the class has dropped completely. Nowadays guys want to big bore their 525 in a strange quest for more power. I may be getting old with tales of back in my day, but it also seems that the modern Enduro isn't all that tough. Back in the 70's it was an effort to finish, or was it the bikes that made it seem that way?

[firko]

I remember seeing one of those Fantic Choppers for sale at the old Frasers shop on Parramatta Rd Strathfield back in '72 or '73.
A month or so later I saw one buried into the back of a bus on Arden st Coogee with the rider laying on the road with a tarp over him, presumably dead. I wonder if it was the same bike or did they sell more than one of those atrocities here in OZ. The Aspes, Monark and Puch 50 motocrossers look remarkably like their bigger brothers. I once found a complete Puch 50 mini in a skip bin and kept the Magura throttle and levers and passed the rest along to Mick Murnane (is he still around the Vic vintage scene?).

[vmx42]

Hey Geoff,
I can see that sitting around after surgery is playing with your mind.
Try to get better [and out into the shed] before you drive your family crazy.
Good to see you are using your downtime effectively trawling through all the old stuff [never know what you'll find].
VmX42

[GMC]

Yeah Jeff, it's been a bit of a no news week on here so I thought i would make some input.
Maybe I should start a thread on rule changes

It's amazing what boredom can make you do, I even ended up having a conversation with the missus this morning, allthough I'm not sure what it was about as I wasn't really listening.

[Hoony]

.........and passed the rest along to Mick Murnane (is he still around the Vic vintage scene?).

don't think so, but not sure, i bought a CR250M basket case off him in 1991 or thereabouts for $330 its the only bike i have sold for more than i paid after i did a mechanical only resto, funnily enough i never raced or rode the bike only round the back yard before selling it after 18mths.

[090]

How trick is the yellow CO-BE (what?) with the Sachs motor and the rear shocks set up. Cool machine, love it. (Page 25 in latest vmx mag)

[Drakie]

Jeezus Geoff, ....you -- 50s? Why not put a sidecar on one too and take Kaye, the dogs and Jax around the paddocks? I think someone's operated on your mind. I thought only Sean had that illness, now he's talking modern Sherco 50. The Fantic Caballero 50 RC looks the goods, but if the 125 was peaky what would the 50 be like? I had a Herc/DKW 175 GS '76 that you had to rev to the moon to get moving. You needed everyone of those 7 speeds. Give me torque. OSSA is bossa!
D.

[GMC]

I had to shelve the sidecar plans Drakie as Jaxom's QR 50 couldn't make it up the hills around here without me running along behind pushing.

Bloody Sean & his DT 50 were getting around Castella pretty quick. I refuse to ride with him now until he gets a "proper" bike. I don't mind him beating me when he's on a decent bike but I hate it when he beats me on these oddities.
He was catching me on that bloody twin pipe Jawa on my own track, I had to pull over on my KTM 300 & pretend something was wrong with it

[jimson]

G'day Geoff that 125 chopper at the top of your list. The engine should bring back some nightmares   about a little 125 Indian that was hanging out in your shed for a while its the same Minarelli engine and if you look at the latest VMX mag the 125 Carabela is using the same engine  jimson

[cyclegod]

Check out the pic of the fantic chopper here...

http://vmxwa.com/Other-Events/VMX-ROAD-WARRIORS-INAUGURAL-RIDE.html

[GMC]

Hey Jimson, your not going to restyle that Indian into a chopper now are you

I'm looking forward to seeing it running at CD6