in readiness for when "Bikes" are added to the "Other Cars" section (yes, this is coming), i'll start the ball rolling...*edit: it's here. wooo hooo. ta dave!!

anyway, here's my story.
being raised around cars, namely bellett's, gave me the bellett passion. most of us are in that boat.
but in my family's past, there have been some with a huge passion for bikes, and naturally, that would rub off to any kid that had petrol in the blood... namely me.
i was named (middle name, that is) after my dad's late uncle. being that he passed away in tragic circumstances in 1971, at only 55yo, and i was born in 1974, i never got to meet him. his name was Ronald (Ron) Murray.
he raced extensively in the years before WWII, mainly on harley's. he was a well known rider in his day, preferring the "mud scramble" events to the other racing arenas. he was Victorian state champ in scrambles for 2 years running, and i'm told he was runner-up Australian champ 1 year, but haven't been able to confirm the Aust. champ title (i guess record keeping of such things in the 1930's wasn't like it is today!). i have been very lucky to even own 2 original photos of Ron racing in 1937, adding to the history i'm proud of.
that brings me to my bike. i have always wanted an old bike, and preferably a jap bike, being that when i was growing up, the 2 stroke jap stuff was totally dominant in the racing circles, and having a few old jap cars, it makes sense to add an old jap bike....... or 2 one day??....... to my collection. i don't have any brand preferances in bikes, and with the luvly's ok, i started the ebay search. had to be a small capacity jap bike, old enough to 'look' old, 2 stroke, running, and importantly, cheap. i was keen on a 1969 suzuki t250 hustler that was once a race bike and needed work, but that went for waaaaaaaay more than i was willing to part with. then this popped up a few weeks later.


it's a 1982 Honda H100. they were a 100cc commuter bike that was built between 1980 and (believe it or not) 1996! they went thru the normal model running changes during that time, and being mine is an 82 model, it's the first version, called the H100A. i believe these things are popular these days in small capacity classic racing too, as the head design is very good for it's time, and the original 10 hp can be upped to over 20hp with full race prepping!
i picked it up from outer northern melbourne, and paid very little for it. story goes that it was bought in 82 by a farmer (hence the knobby tyres instead of the normal road ones) to use around the farm and to go to the shop for the milk and paper. it clocked up 4600km in 4 years, then ran funny one day, and was parked in a shed. forward to 2009, and the guy i got it from is doing some work on said farm, sees it in the shed, and as he put it, "it follwed me home". this guy is a collector of many jap bikes, including some beautiful 60's and 70's suzuki's, yamaha's, kawasaki's and honda's. his shed was amazing! he sold it as he already had a nice H100, and didnt want to wreck this one as it was so good. the funny running was casued by, of all things, a small blockage in the fuel line, so a quick clean, some fresh fuel, and away it went! 5 weeks after i brought it home, i thought i'd better start it and let it run for a while. so ignition on, fuel on, choke out, and 2nd kick.....yes 2nd kick!!.... it starts and runs like a swiss watch! amazing really. it picks up all 5 gears (most H100's were 4 speed, and the 5 speed option is rare), stops and turns, and rides well for an untouched 27 year old bike, still with 4600k from new! best of all with this bike is that most parts are still available brand new, and as it has spoke wheels, drum brakes, and a 1960's-70's look, it fits exactly to what i wanted.
my plans are: a full strip down (bar engine re-build as it runs too well to touch), clean, re-paint and re-build along the style of a "cafe racer" or 1960's-70's race bike. i won't be riding it on the road, so it'll be a lightweight race looking unit. the twist is that i'm building it as a tribute to Ron. while he never raced a jap bike, i'm trying to picture what he would have had if he did. i'm hoping to find out what colour his bikes were back then (as my photos are black and white) so i can do the same. it will have the number "5" like he did, and will have his name on the tank like he did too. if i cant find out the colour of his bikes, then i'll do it in the "gulf racing" colours of the 1960's, being blue with orange stripes. this will only be as a last resort, as i really would prefer the correct "Ron colour". when it's done, i'm hoping to put it on the back of my Wasp for car shows/displays for some added interest, or put it in a trailer behind the Wasp or GT, to have that "tow car going to a race meeting in the 60's" look.
the bike is as u see it here ATM. i'm doing a shed extension right now (should have finished it weeks ago, but the weather isn't helping.......), and when that's done, it's bike time!!
stay tuned.

just realised that user "redback" is a 2 wheeler as well on here.
we are multipling!!
.... as a figure of speech....

I've had a 1966 Suzuki T20 Super Six sitting in my shed for years...used to own a Mk2 Hustler and the T20 is way better. If anyone wants a part trade on a GT...

Cheers,
Duane

oh my god.....

I didnt see this thread.....

no I didnt see it at all......

Gary will have me posting all sorts of stufffff......

and oh my god...if he reads Duanes thread.....but NO gt swapping.....

I didnt see a thing!!!!!!!!!!!!

degruch joins the 'BellettBikers'!! would love to see the T20 mate.
bembokabellettbloke is a HUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE suzuki fan too.
and his display of bikes is the awesome-ist of awesome awesomes!!
mrs bem-bel-blo should be congratulated for her awesome-ness as his wife with the display too!!

mon.... probably didnt see the thread coz i only got around to it today!!
and no probs with the verifying. really looking forward to it!!
cheers.

Yes Brett, 'tis very interesting. A biker from way back myself (confessed). In fact had a great little Honda CB 100 !! Fastest one in Adelaide

B.

looks i've started a monster!! seems that we shake the bellett-tree, and it's full of bike-monkeys!!

top stuff B!! got an pics?? those 100 2 strokes are ACE!!

just gotta get gav to show his Royal Enfield now..... CMON BIG FELLA!!

btw.... it never ceases to amaze me how many thing are locked away in the memory of my dear 90yo grandmother. she is 1 of Ron's younger sisters, and was very close to him throughout their lives.
i thought the other night..... "it was over 70 years ago, but she might remember the colour and whatever other details about his harleys". very slim chance i thought, but worth the STD phonecall.....
OMG!! she remembered EVERYTHING!!!! colour, approx. year model (but couldn't exactly remember the specific model...), his successes, his crash, it being stolen, the lot!!!!
he had an earlier one, in the early 30's. he was about 17-18 at the time (Ron was born in 1915) and they all lived in Preston (northern 'burb of Melbourne). he was "seeing a young lass" in geelong. he'd ride down on friday night, stay the weekend, ride back sunday arvo. remember this was the old geelong road (read: death trap), at night, minimal headlighting, no helmet..... at 70 mph!! came around a corner, and was met with a full grown cow in the middle of the road............ that 1st bike was destroyed, and he was so bad in hospital that his father (my great grandfather) had to ID him, and the priest read him the last rights.................. but he pulled thru.
second bike was bought brand new!! around 1935-36. raced this one, and was Vic champ twice and runner-up Aussie champ. this bike had a black frame and wheels (a harley norm.), but the guards, covers and tank were a greeny/grey colour. apparently, harley's did the henry ford thing of offering cars in only 1 colour, but as harley had different models, each model was a different colour to the next model. he wanted a blue harley............. strange that i was going blue with my honda........., but the model he wanted was the greeny/grey.
it was stolen 1 night when Ron was out at a mate's place. the family heard a noise in the shed, but thought it was Ron home early........... Ron did come home early, to see a guy pushing HIS harley down the street. Ron yelled out to him, and was ignored. so he walks up to the guy, asks to have his bike back (he was really a gentleman, i'm told), was told to ********, so he punchs the guy out in one punch!!! then he picks up his bike, and pushes it home, never seeing the thief again........ HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!!!!
now that i basicly know the colour, i'm going to see a harley historian that should be able to identify the exact model from the photos i have. then i should be able to nail down the exact colour shade too from there. i don't think a green/grey colour will suit my honda, so i'll still go the blue, but instead of the orange stripe, i'll see what the green/grey colour as a stripe looks like on it. then i'll have what he wanted, and a bit of what he had.

even though she won't read this........... THANKS GRAND-MA-MA. the knowledge is invaluable, and i can't thank you enough. I LUV YA!!

keep you posted folks.

PR91, As well as doing my license in my moms cortina 440 (thrashed the living daylights out of it but could'nt kill it with a stick, bless her soul) the CB 100 was my first bike and I fanged it (like Wayne Gardener) all around Adelaide between 1981 and 1985. The CB was a 4 stroke and had the same engine as in the XL series trail bikes (had an XL 250 and XR, but that's another story).

Back then you could fill the CB's tank for $2.50 Aus, and ride hard for two weeks, you knew you were gona run out soon when you had to switch to reserve ! (even used to transport the cello to rehearseals, strapped to my back.) It went 65 to 75 mph, down hill with a tail wind, wringing it's neck (and had to ride it like a mini sail in a strong crosswind).

Alas, was terribly young, had no access to a camera, and was more interested in getting around on it. So sorry man, no pics. Bought it for $275 just run in, and sold it only a little worn for $150, I think that's top value, and I'm alive to tell it on B'net in 2010, WooHoooo !!!!!

B.

YEP - and I just did 3000km on it (a custom chopper I built) around Tasmania with my wife (Bernie) on her pink Harley and my best mate on his Honda 600RR - what a motley bunch of "bike monkeys" we were - heh heh heh.

Photos shortly (and photos - yeah okay, okay)

Cheers,
Neil

Well...ex-bike enthusiast I guess, and a very short term one at that. Gawd knows I tried to be a regular rider, but the bikes just kept breaking down! I've attached a picture of the T20 pre-resto around 1998 (it's now about 20 million half restored bits), a nice T20 (which isn't mine) and my oddball T250 with upswept pipes (my old Cordia Turbo lurking in the background).

For the keen local Suzuki spotters, the T250 is a US spec'd model with upswept pipes, but had been in Australia since new. It sat for most of its life next to a T125 Stinger in the Suzuki South showroom, which wrecked all the bearings and seals. Not long after the photo it blew a crank seal...then spent 10 years sitting at the back of my shed. Now resides somewhere in an Adelaide garage.

The T20 and a Honda CB450K1 (in a mates shed...I think I'll just leave it there) are the only bikes I have left, the collection once included several T20's, a T10, a U70 step-thru, a neat Yammy YDS6 and a Fuji Rabbit Superflow scooter. I sold off my brochure collection too (except for a couple in my OZtion brochure store). Best stick with cars and not get too distracted.

Cheers,
Duane

never seen a T250 with factory upsweeps. rare as hen's teeth i'd say.
gary... confirm??

and that's a beautiful T20! the chrome and blue really look great on it.

i reckon that in the end, u can never have enuf toys.
dave and gary are top examples of that, and us meer mortal can dream!!

cheers for sharing duane.
hope your T20 sees daylight again 1 day soon.

Guys, I just got the bill for the Bond gearbox rebuild, so the fire sale is now!

Going out reluctantly, one Suzuki T20:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll ... 927wt_1139

Please feel free to join in, hehe.

...and exits. That's the last of my 2 wheeled dreams. Oh well, onward and upward with the Bond, Duane's Bond.

quick update: the Honda is sooooo close to being finished that it's crazy. ALOT has been done during the full strip down and rebuild and there's been a few changes to the original plan but I'm really happy with it. i'll post some pics and a write up soon.

Can't wait to see the finished product.

sneek peek..... nearly there!! just a few little things i want to do now.
write up and rebuild pics soon (when i get 5 mins to myself....)

to answer the question i was asked by a mate the other day.... yes, it's the same bike!!
just has taken the usual amount of work (actually far easier than a Bellett to resto in my book) to get this far.
cheers.

Now that IS sexy !! (almost porno), hahahahaha

B.

Very Smooth PR91!!!

Neil

Hey Guys, I might join in here, many a great trip on XS1100G, when sold had covered just over 90,000 klms.
Rode to every Aust GP between Eastern Creek and when Michael Doohan retired, great events.

Bikes are big love of mine, in fact only off them because a certain woman gave one hell of an option, I chose the wrong one!! (wrong woman).
Prior to the 1100 G, I had a XS750 2D, about 70,000 klms before it had to move over for the 1100!!
I have had 4 chook chasers, all 250's and haven't they improved with technology!! The last chook chaser was a TTR250, WOW what a performer for that capacity.
I will try to scan some photos and post.

I WANT ANOTHER!!!!!!!!!

LUV DEM BIKES.