74 MOTORCYCLETRADER
one that’s still in the
shed.” Rather than argue,
I wander down to the
shed, have a look around
and discover my own
little barn find. Bugger
me! There lies my old
1989 GSX-R750 that’s
been under wraps for
about 10 years.
Now the point or
question: Should I
resurrect this lovely little
beast to sell or would I
be wasting money and
energy and better off just
selling it as is? Should
I put a price on it or
auction it? If so any of
these, what would be a
fair price?
Here are the known
quantities: the speedo
needle broke just as I
was enjoying the upper
regions; the blinkers are
broken from storage; the
fairing was resprayed
by a friend (good but not
perfect); upgraded USD
forks, wheels, brakes, etc
from a 1990 model (for
track work); it’s in need
of recommissioning.It has 65,000km on the
clock and was running
well when parked.
Any advice would be
greatly appreciated.
Warren Lindsay
Ballina, NSW
warrenwhs
@hotmail.comYo u didn’t find any
ex-wives in there as well,
did you? As for the bike,
have you got some time
on your hands?
Recommissioning it will
take a fair effort and thebiggest issue is likely to
be carburettors that had
fuel standing in them
for a decade. If you’re
unlucky, it will lead to apretty big clean-out and
you may end up resorting
to ultrasonic blasting to
clear them.
Then we’re talking
draining the tank and
putting in fresh fuel.
Ditto oil, brake fluid,
etc. I’d also be tempted
to pop the tappet cover
and get some fresh oil
to the cams, plus a hint
down the cylinders and
then turn it over (minus
sparkplugs) on the
starter.
The gist is the bike
will be worth a fair bit
more as a going concern.
That said, the quickest
solution is to sell it
as-is and just wear the
financial hit.
Given the mileage
and the fact it’s been
substantially modified
(an original one would be
of interest to collectors),
I have a suspicion the
second course of action
would make more sense
as its value either way
will not be great.- Guido
Mailbox
WAR BIKES
Thanks for the ‘Soldiers of Fortune’
war bikes story with pictures (MT
#352), which revived memories of my
youth growing up in Dunedin, New
Zealand, in the 1950s and ’60s when
the Indian Scout-based ex-NZ army
bike, the 500cc 741 B, was available
as army surplus for a few hundred
dollars (apparently as new with many
said to be still in crates).
The NZ Army bought heaps of them
during WWII and they were popular
with some people simply as a cheap
means of transport. One of those,
a uni student at the time, made it to
the front page of the local paper when
his Indian mounted the kerb, crossed
the footpath and smashed through
the door of a cake shop. The bike wasicu s inanuprightposition
halfway into the shop. The rider
explained he was new to the machine
and unfamiliar with the controls, most
notably the foot-operated clutch. Thestorygoeshekepthiscomposureand
calmly asked for half a dozen cream
buns while still seated on the bike.
I owe my existence to a NZ Army
Matchless (probably a 350cc G3/L)after my father (part of the 2nd NZ
Expeditionary Force in Egypt during
WWII) had an accident on one in an
army camp near Cairo. When his
badly broken leg failed to heal, he
was repatriated back to NZ and the
man who replaced him on the Bofors
anti-aircraft gun was later captured
during desert warfare and lost his
life on an Italian prisoner of war
ship that was torpedoed by a British
submarine in the Mediterranean
Sea. This would probably have
been my father’s fate had he and
the Matchless not collided with an
Egyptian taxi in 1942.
Keep up the good work.
Keith McKechnie
Bendigo, Vic
[email protected]OL I R
OR UN
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ofwartobecomecollectable32 MOTORCYCLE TRADER MOTORCYCLE TRADER 33PHOTOSWORDSBEN GALLI/MT ARCHIVESGUY ALLEN^of
Should I
resurrect this
lovely little
beast to sell
or would I be
wasting money
and energy?