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Vintage bikes

Discussion in 'WERA Vintage' started by papa_pepe, Dec 2, 2021.

  1. papa_pepe

    papa_pepe Member

    I asked this in another thread, but thought I'd ask here for more eyeballs.

    I love vintage bikes, but I don't like to wrench. Are old 4-stroke bikes reliable? I know they're a lot simpler so not as much can go wrong (electronically), but in general are they solid?
     
  2. cyclocrossfool

    cyclocrossfool Well-Known Member

    some and depends
     
    418 likes this.
  3. papa_pepe

    papa_pepe Member

    Any ones stand out in particular?
     
  4. bullockcm

    bullockcm Well-Known Member

    Vintage covers a pretty wide swath at this point from truly vintage stuff of the 60’s -70’s in WERA, not that older stuff can’t be run as well, to what some still consider pretty modern stuff in the V8 class. Late 80’s and newer most likely take a bit less wrenching and fiddling. A Ninja 500, also known as a EX500 in relatively stock state of engine tune would be a good example of simple to maintain vi rage eligible bike. As a bonus they really are vintage now vs. a performance indexed bike!
     
    papa_pepe likes this.
  5. papa_pepe

    papa_pepe Member

    Yeah I guess I was casting too wide a net. Good to know about the late 80's as that is more of what I'm interested in.
     
  6. cyclocrossfool

    cyclocrossfool Well-Known Member

    if your going to race vintage you will have to fix something at some point. better learn. and check the rule book first , see what you want to race and what class you can race it in. dont go out and buy the first bike and relize theres no class for it.
     
    evakat and BlueR32 like this.
  7. evakat

    evakat Well-Known Member

    You better like working on carbs...
     
    rd400racer and papa_pepe like this.
  8. cyclocrossfool

    cyclocrossfool Well-Known Member

    your in portland? your going to race wera in california?
     
  9. papa_pepe

    papa_pepe Member

    True... I should clarify. Maybe a better way to put it is: I know how to do a few maintenance things like valve clearances, replacing camshafts, but I've never replaced a piston.

    So do old bikes require frequent rebuilds ?
     
  10. papa_pepe

    papa_pepe Member

    No maybe race in OMRRA.
     
  11. papa_pepe

    papa_pepe Member

    I rebuilt a carb once. I don't know shit about tuning them other than I understand in theory how the idle/main jets and needle work together.
     
  12. bullockcm

    bullockcm Well-Known Member

    I see you don't know what a proper racebike is so vintage may not be for you. Valves and camshafts are for toilets and those heavy 4 strokes neither of which has any business being on the actual race track! Race bikes do require piston replacements so you may need to learn :)

    Not kidding around now it actually sounds like you have more mechanical ability than you give yourself credit for and maybe just lacking some experience. Unless you are going to pay someone Broome style to maintain your bikes, as mentioned any racebike will take work. The major things like fuel delivery should be more one and done and not change much unless it is a run on the ragged edge 2 stroke. You can always farm this type of stuff out or usually there are knowledgeable people who are more than willing to help out. A quick break down of vintage mechanical state would be something like: Pre 1980(carbs, tube type tires, points ignition, simple suspension), Pre 1990(carbs, radial tires, cdi ignition, simple suspension), Pre 20xx(fuel inj, radial tires, cdi ignition, slightly more complex suspension). Body work can be on any period bike but the newer you get the higher the probability will be that it will have bodywork.
     
    cyclocrossfool and papa_pepe like this.
  13. papa_pepe

    papa_pepe Member

    Ha ha, thanks for the info. Yeah my heart says get a NSF250R, but my wallet and patience say "just get a modern R3 or RC390".

    Cheers :beer:
     
  14. cyclocrossfool

    cyclocrossfool Well-Known Member

    i dont think any of those bikes will get you in a vintage class. so why post in the vintage section?
     
  15. papa_pepe

    papa_pepe Member

    I'm considering both vintage and modern, just haven't made up my mind.
     
  16. fastedyamaha

    fastedyamaha Well-Known Member

    I have an 89 gs500 race bike that is dead nuts reliable and just needed oil changes between races in the 3 years I raced it. One set of tires lasted a whole season.
     
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  17. 83BSA

    83BSA Well-Known Member

    cyclocrossfool likes this.
  18. cyclocrossfool

    cyclocrossfool Well-Known Member

    i have 2 bikes for sale. one is wera V5/ ahrma middleweight superbike the other wera V6/ ahrma next gen middleweight.
     
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  19. guzziguy

    guzziguy Well-Known Member

    like anything, reliability is a function of state of tune, if you dont stress it it can be reliable, old electrics, maybe not, but that is easy to replace on a race bike, ignition is all you need. One thing is for sure, you'll have to fix it when you crash, so I've been told :)
     
  20. crojack

    crojack Well-Known Member

    Unless there are big changes for this coming year, not a lot of vintage classes in OMRRA, or rather, not a lot of vintage racers. If you found Honda 160/170 ready to race, that class seems to have the most turnout.
     

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