The rehabilitation of Sir Gustave Sabastian (‘Gus’)

[Mark_S]

well?

Mr tour leader whats happening?

the sun i shining
my gears all packed
the klr's all prepped

I'll be at Waikanae at 8am
Tony (DR650) will probably be there to (day tripping)

if for any reason you don't show by about 20 past 8 I/we will head up to Shannon for a coffee

if you aint comin can you txt me on 0274499115

[Box'a'bits]

It was my threat to come round & do you mischief that got you going wasn't it....

I'm up & running. See you at 8.00am. Still haven't decided on a route. I'll leave that to concensus (& how well Gus is running).

Cheer, Steve

[advNZer?]

great stuff you guys are getting me all fired up about the PD again.Riding it around the last couple of days has me seriously considering upgrading the forks.There is an ohlins shock already sitting in new plymouth for me but things like achilles tendons and broken hall sensors have got in the way.

[Padmei]

Put the front wheel on Schmidt today & rode down the drivewayto get the mail & back. Very rattly & noisy so I spose that's good

It will be good to have a front brake tho. After riding Gonzo today I wonder if the BM will be up to standard performance wise in comparison.

I've been pondering if there's an easy way to put a disc on the back- I know Phils done one.

[advNZer?]

Originally Posted by Padmei

Put the front wheel on Schmidt today & rode down the drivewayto get the mail & back. Very rattly & noisy so I spose that's good

It will be good to have a front brake tho. After riding Gonzo today I wonder if the BM will be up to standard performance wise in comparison.

I've been pondering if there's an easy way to put a disc on the back- I know Phils done one.

not an easy way,but it would help to pull it aprt and make sure that every thing is as it should be.My back brake is hopeless too

[Box'a'bits]

Originally Posted by Padmei

It will be good to have a front brake tho. After riding Gonzo today I wonder if the BM will be up to standard performance wise in comparison.

Chicken & the egg. Assuming I get the brake caliper, then you can borrow mine. Assuming you get your engineer friend going...

Just back from the Kiwi. About 1000kms for the weekend. Bloody good times. But needs brakes...

[Padmei]

OK I'll get this adaptor underway but not sure how many to make. You mentioned you may want to fund making 10 & reselling them ? Did you want to advertise first on aussie thread & see if any takers? At the moment I have 5 takers costing about $60 each for 5 whereas 10 would cost $30 each.
What do you think?

[Box'a'bits]

Originally Posted by Padmei

OK I'll get this adaptor underway but not sure how many to make. You mentioned you may want to fund making 10 & reselling them ? Did you want to advertise first on aussie thread & see if any takers? At the moment I have 5 takers costing about $60 each for 5 whereas 10 would cost $30 each.
What do you think?

Go with five. Flick me a PM & I'll dump some cash in your a/c. You can return this once the five are gone. Cheers, Steve

[Box'a'bits]

In the interests of saving time for you skim readers, & dealing to any tension you might have felt, Gus was up & running for the Cold Kiwi weekend.

He successfully managed to run for the round trip of 873kms.



But I didn't get him up & running until about 10.30pm Friday night, & given the conditions (absolutely bucketing down) I didn't get a test run in. Part of the delay was wiring in an essential piece of equipment - the heated grips.

Made it to the 8.00am meeting place at 8.20am - I needed to reinflate tyres (they were sitting at 20psi), but discovered the local air lines wouldn't accomodate the BMW rear wheel / valve stem.

Carbs also need a good strip & set up. The idle mixture was set way high, & the carbs wouldn't balance. A strip is in order. They'd run on occassionally, which was 'interesting' in some corners.

Initial ride impressions were of a very torquey motor, faster than the KTM, stable on seal or gravel (the shock still has some damping), no brakes to speak of (work with a full hand squeeze - not 2 fingers). The seat height's a lot lower than the KTM. I kept catching myself trying to do the balance / scramble I had perfected on the KTM, but no longer need. Whilst the bars seem quite high they are perfect when standing. The pegs / seat relationship is a little cramped & I need to build the seat up.

The alloy boxes just work a heap better on the BMW than they ever did on the KTM. On the KTM they were 950mm wide (air brakes). On the BMW 800 wide. The KTM felt like they were too far back (to accomodate a pillon that was never going to be there).

The clutch slipped once, out on the gravel.




Rode with GuzziTony on his highly modified R80G/S, & Mark_S on his wanna-be KLR. Took a route via Ashurst, Pohangina, Ridge Rd, Apiti, Mangaweka, the Taihape for lunch. After lunch Mark_S left bound for Napier via the Gentle Annie, GuzziTony & I went to the Kiwi site, were I met up with EddieB, & an old friend Paul Roberts. Paul's had a R100GSPD (Miami Vice colours) from new.

The Kiwi was a lot of fun, caught up with a number of friends I don't see for 12 mths. They'd had snow Friday (2cm), but it was largely gone before we got there.



Sunday rode over the Gentle Annie with Paul, met Mark_S at Omahu, & rode Valley Rd / Argyll Rd across to Waipawa for coffee. In amongst that had minor issue with the speedo drive & battery strap, soon resolved.



Then rode Blackhead Beach, Porongahau, Wimbledon, & Weber. The wind after Porongahau was threatening to blow us off the bikes, so I wasn't particularly enjoying the ride. Mark_S convinced me to continue through to Pongaroa, where things improved but rain threatened. Then Pahiatua, PNth, Otaki, & Home at 6.30pm.



The bike appears to be getting about 15 km/litre (35mpg US), which I find a bit thirsty, but it was being pushed at times.

Surprisingly good grip from the munted IRC 110 GP whatevers. But they howl somthing aweful.

The sump gasket is leaking (it was weeping before the trip), but I was going to drop that anyway, so an easy repair. The neutral switch doesn't appear to be making good contact - the light is very dim. Either crap in the switch again, or the external wiring connections need uncorroding. When riding I can feel a regular ticking coming from the bike. Haven't diagnosed fully yet. Suspect (but hopeful it is not) gearbox or final drive.

Found the headlight surprisingly poor. I expected this to be much better, coming from the KTM. I need to investigate why that might be (aside from not being set up right). The mechanism which allow adjustment appears broken & the light has a lot of movement in it. Until I know if the fairing is going to stay, I won't be repairing that however..

I've won an auction on a 4 pot Tokico caliper off an RGV 250 tonight. So that's next on the list of upgrades...

[Padmei]

Good stuff Steve. They're interesting to ride after more modern bikes I think.
I have to say the Red is a revolting colour (I can say that cos mine is too ) - even worse than the Ghey gravel rash colours, so a paint job may be sooner rather than later for me. mark could do with one too - I've still got somewhote rattlecans.

That G/S looks interesting. I love the old Marlboro paint jobs. Any more details about that bike? It loks like a cool pipe on it.

BTW are the pics from the cold kiwi fairly indicative of what you do there- stand around fires & drink piss? I've never been to a rally yet...

[Box'a'bits]

Originally Posted by Padmei

Good stuff Steve. They're interesting to ride after more modern bikes I think.
I have to say the Red is a revolting colour (I can say that cos mine is too ) - even worse than the Ghey gravel rash colours, so a paint job may be sooner rather than later for me. mark could do with one too - I've still got somewhote rattlecans.

That G/S looks interesting. I love the old Marlboro paint jobs. Any more details about that bike? It loks like a cool pipe on it.

BTW are the pics from the cold kiwi fairly indicative of what you do there- stand around fires & drink piss? I've never been to a rally yet...

As I understand it, Tony's bike started as a R80 monolever (not G/S), and has been converted to a full 1000. He's had it dyno'd at 47 BHP at the rear wheel (comparable to my RS). Lots of torque. More mods than you can shake a stick at. 40l non HPN tank. Amal carbs (seriously!!). Its got a DR front end on it, and extended swingarm & driveshaft. He had it on TM for about $12.5k earlier in the year (only semi serious - he was looking at swapping to a Guzzi Quota). He's seriously quick in the gravel. Mark_S was complaining 'cause he wasn't king of the heap this ride...



Yes rallys can be about standing round sinking piss & bullshitting. There are organised events (which I largely ignore). A large part of the rally is the getting there. I go to catch up with some friends, & to oogle other peoples bikes.



Gus won't stay red for long. I'm not a big fan either. I don't need to worry about originality with him....But if I had a nice ghey gravel express PD - I'd probably leave it in factory trim. So thats why I don't have one, if you understand what I mean..

Likely heading towards Basic colours (white, blue frame), or maybe bumblebee black & yellow with a view towards easy repair.

Steve

[Box'a'bits]

Got delivery of two couriers packages today. One contained brake calipers from a Tardme auction.



But the other was more unexpected. A mystery box from Germany, I wonder what that could be!!



The really great thing - It was way early - wasn't supposed to be manufactured until mid Sept & delivery late Sept. And even better - I haven't got stung for GST or other tarrifs for any of the deliveries YET.



Kewl.... Looks like some quality time in the Man Cave this weekend

Steve

[Padmei]

Niiice. Is the tank plastic or metal- can't tell from the pics.

The adaptors should be made up next week so you can play with the brakes.

[Box'a'bits]

Originally Posted by Padmei

Niiice. Is the tank plastic or metal- can't tell from the pics.

The adaptors should be made up next week so you can play with the brakes.

43l HPN Nylon tank. Hence the Supertanker label. Paintable. Ordered via Touratech. Surprisingly affordable given where the Euro/NZD rate has been.

Thanks for putting in the effort re the adaptors. Appreciate it...

[clintnz]

Originally Posted by BMWRSNUT

The really great thing - It was way early - wasn't supposed to be manufactured until mid Sept & delivery late Sept. And even better - I haven't got stung for GST or other tarrifs for any of the deliveries YET.

43 friggin litres So the 28L on the 640Adv that most people consider wildly excessive for NZ obviously wasn't nearly enough to satisfy your big tank fetish That will look damn cool.

Usually if customs are gunna charge ya GST they'll want the cash before they release the package.

Cheers
Clint