My Favourite Motorcycles (Part 2)
(Part 1)
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We moved from the northern suburbs of Melbourne to a small Gippsland town on April Fool's Day in 1972. "How small was it?" I hear you ask. "Well" I reply, "Our phone number had three digits." My dear old Daddy had purchased the town's only service station and mechanical workshop. It was an old building; or rather, collection of buildings, and filled with stuff. The stuff included a '55 Customline and a '48 Packard (which had the first straight eight engine that I can remember seeing. Dad sold these. Spewin'. However what he didn't sell was one of these:
Yes folks, a communist era East European clunky two stroke utilitarian roadster. It sat untouched for a while, then my brother and I decided to see if we could get it going. Turned out that there was nothing much wrong with it. We cleaned up the carby ('cause you always clean up the carby), stuck the oxy up the exhaust pipe to burn out the carbon that was built up in there and fired it up.
Except that it wouldn't go anywhere. Inspection revealed that the clutch was emotionally stifled and didn't want to appear 'clingy'. Over the pub to hit up the publican for some old corks, which we cut into slices and glued onto the friction plate. Started her up again and this time it moved! Not very fast, but what do you want from about a dozen very small horses?
This is probably a lot neater looking than we managed to get the old girl, but we managed to have more than our fair share of fun terrorizing the area at ungodly speeds (30 - 40 kph).
Several years later I found another one under a house. This one had been parked and left for no apparent reason. It started, ran and moved with minimal attention required. I had plenty of time on my hands, so I decided to restore it. I had most of the cosmetics done and was on the home stretch when somebody stole it and a friend's bike that I was working on. Don't be shocked. Gentle Reader, but I think some uncouth language may have escaped my lips.
It probably wouldn't have looked like this anyway; mainly because a) it wasn't black and b) this is a Jawa-NZ, not a Jawa-CZ. They were assembled in Un Zud in the late sixties.
Yes folks, a communist era East European clunky two stroke utilitarian roadster. It sat untouched for a while, then my brother and I decided to see if we could get it going. Turned out that there was nothing much wrong with it. We cleaned up the carby ('cause you always clean up the carby), stuck the oxy up the exhaust pipe to burn out the carbon that was built up in there and fired it up. Except that it wouldn't go anywhere. Inspection revealed that the clutch was emotionally stifled and didn't want to appear 'clingy'. Over the pub to hit up the publican for some old corks, which we cut into slices and glued onto the friction plate. Started her up again and this time it moved! Not very fast, but what do you want from about a dozen very small horses?
This is probably a lot neater looking than we managed to get the old girl, but we managed to have more than our fair share of fun terrorizing the area at ungodly speeds (30 - 40 kph).Several years later I found another one under a house. This one had been parked and left for no apparent reason. It started, ran and moved with minimal attention required. I had plenty of time on my hands, so I decided to restore it. I had most of the cosmetics done and was on the home stretch when somebody stole it and a friend's bike that I was working on. Don't be shocked. Gentle Reader, but I think some uncouth language may have escaped my lips.
It probably wouldn't have looked like this anyway; mainly because a) it wasn't black and b) this is a Jawa-NZ, not a Jawa-CZ. They were assembled in Un Zud in the late sixties.
posted by Dirk at 3:58 am
8 Comments:
Bastards. Meanwhile, I assume the goofa isn't getting a mention till part III??
Cant,
it was fun. Working on motorcycles used to be half the point of owning them.
Stilt,
Goofa?
For 3 years I was on the HWP in Philly, and my joy and reason for getting out of bed every morning was the Harley~Davidson Electraglide police-package... My wife (now, re:ex-wife) didn't like me riding it, and coerced me to quit the HWP...
Funny, when I could actually afford one, I wasn't "allowed" to have one, now I can have anything I want, I can't fucking afford one.
Cosmic joke on me...
I've never owned a Hardly Dangerous. Ridden and worked on a few. I've been giving serious consideration to buying a basket case and playing silly buggers with it. I probably won't, though. It's an admission you're getting old.
Goofa!
the F2 version of the CBR6 has he 600F in script on the back cowling, and it looks like it says "goof". My goofa now has the carbon fibre can, cause that makes it go faster. and shit.
Those bikes were pieces of shit.
True, but they're cheap as far as Harley's go. (H-D's are ridiculously overpriced down here).
When you're rebuilding them, the original build quality is largely irrelevant.
Stilt,
it is with regret that I have to inform you that your application to have the Goofa included in the prestigious 'My Favourite Motorcycles' was unsuccessful. Don't be discouraged, however. I urge you to re-submit your application with a motorcycle of which I am already aware.
JAWA
I mate of mine after surviving WW2 went with his ship on “show the flag world cruise” one place they stopped at was RIO where for the duration of the ships stay he was “La Anglais” riding one of these at the Wall of death at the local fairground.
He tells me that there was a yellow line up at the top of the wall and if you went higher than that the handlebars would hit the spectators heads as they looked down inside.
I think he enjoyed that more than chasing the Bismarck
Down there? They're ridiculously overpriced here! lol
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