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Post by agustanz on Jan 4, 2014 13:15:50 GMT 1
Hiya people, This is a long story! Back in 1986 I spotted a bike at a local bike wreakers and bought it.... As best I can make out it's history goes something like this....
It would have been an air cooled RD 250 or 350 from about 1974/5 when new. Some time between then and 1986 the frame was monoshocked and nickel plated. A TZ fairing, seat and tank were fitted. The aircooled engine was converted with TZ parts to be water cooled. TZ tacho, radiator, water pump, barrels, pipes, head etc etc. And a twin disc front end was fitted.
I have no idea who did the work or if it was ever seriously raced.
I decided to ditch the TZ engine and run a 350LC and convert it back to a road bike. I did some work on it over the years then sold it and bought it back after a couple of years in the early 1990's.
In the early 1990's I did heaps to it.... Cut the rear of the frame off and rebuilt it lighter (it still had the heavy frame for the twin shocks in place.) Sold the tank and seat and built new ones to my own style. Modified the fairing... Painted it up to look like a bit like a MV racer and fitted lots of Italian bits on it. Got a LC engine that I had the crank rebuilt on and overbore the cylinders to a total cc of 370cc.
It was designed to look a bit like an MV Agusta GP bike at a distance. I was also designed for one road between me and the nearest town which is twisty and up and down hill... so I wanted acceleration out of corners over top speed. One of the other design ideas was to be able to park it in a car park at motorcycle racing and sit back and watch as people tried to work out what the HELL it was!! I decided to call it the "Moto Contraffazione" which is rough Italian for "the counterfeit motorcycle". I was (and now will) make up some nice looking decals that say that for the tank etc... "Moto Con" for short... lol
Then I sold it again in the late 1990's to my cousin who died about 3 years ago....
So now in 2014 I just bought the bike FOR THE THIRD TIME from the second owner after my cousin. Amazingly NOTHING has been done to anything on it at all in all the years.
It will take a little while before I have it in hand as it's on the wrong Island and I have arranged to pay it off as I get money in.
Anywho if you made it this fair in the story good on you!! Pictures to come as I work out how... Regards Gavin New Zealand
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Post by agustanz on Jan 4, 2014 14:02:56 GMT 1
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Post by ulsta on Jan 4, 2014 14:16:58 GMT 1
Thats cool, love the curves on the tank.
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Post by 2strokesmoke on Jan 4, 2014 14:23:48 GMT 1
Great story and pics. Love it when bikes have so much history.
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Post by winnerevo1 on Jan 4, 2014 15:32:03 GMT 1
Nice story.... When I was reading your post it conjured up two trails of thought, it sounded like it could be a pretty cool bike, but then I imagined it could possibly be a complete lash up that sounded a lot better than it was. Have to say, looks like a very neat and well thought out job, well done.
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Post by kostas on Jan 4, 2014 18:31:21 GMT 1
Cool story and nice bike! Have an Australian mate that always told me how New Zealand fellas are a bit weird and crazy Kostas
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Post by thepetros67 on Jan 4, 2014 18:43:45 GMT 1
Thanks for sharing !!! nice story of the bike ...... nice work done to the bike too. Hope you don't sell it again because it's meant for you and should be a keeper for ever.
Petros
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Post by lcyoungboy on Jan 4, 2014 19:12:26 GMT 1
Looks great..I like it a lot
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Post by dusty350 on Jan 4, 2014 19:40:17 GMT 1
Hi, Welcome to the forum. Really nice special you have there, and great history. You gotta keep it this time ! Dusty
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Post by JonW on Jan 4, 2014 22:31:45 GMT 1
nice bike and a superb back story, defo a keeper this time!
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Post by 1966baz on Jan 4, 2014 22:40:15 GMT 1
What a nice story. Great roads and scenery in NZ, especially the south Island. ONE DAY I'll get there again. Enjoy it Mate.
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Post by agustanz on Jan 5, 2014 1:17:24 GMT 1
Thanks for the kind words chaps. Looking at the pictures and thinking about the bike I am remembering things about it (it was 17 years since I did any serious work on it!). I wanted it to be a light as possible while still looking as if it had been built in 1975. To that end I took off the oil pump and tank and was going to run it on a premix. I removed the battery and replaced it with a "power box" thing I bought from the UK that does the job of a battery at absorbing power. Nothing was going under the seat so it would LOOK light as well. Everything would be hidden inside the fairing or under the tank. I am looking forward to getting it here and being able to fix some of the things that looking back I would now do better! Like getting a new screen that fits INSIDE the fairing. In the long term list is Borrani look alike flanged rims and stainless spokes and Lockheed/SCARAB style brake calipers. And yes I don't think I should ever sell it again... it you sell it twice and it keeps coming back then I think it is trying to tell you something!! lol regards Gavin
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Post by smokin074 on Jan 5, 2014 7:39:04 GMT 1
Hey great read thanks for sharing
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Post by copper99 on Jan 5, 2014 20:28:52 GMT 1
Fantastic story and amazing bike.....welcome.
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Post by mikee on Jan 5, 2014 21:19:57 GMT 1
hohoho , thats superb fella
look forward to the updates
mike
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Post by agustanz on Jan 6, 2014 2:46:12 GMT 1
A couple of things I need advice one LC people!
I had 17 years ago planned to run the TZ water pump and radiator without an overlow/catch tank or a fan... but run a very good coolant and a high pressure system with high pressure cap.
Any huge problems with that plan? The bike will only be a toy... so I would be expecting to check the water every ride as I expect it might lose a little every time it went through a heat cycle if the pressure got higher then the caps rating.
Also back in the day when I was planning this bike battery technology was nothing like it is today... back then I had planned to run a batteryless system (for weight and simplicity reasons)... using the standard LC alternator... I bought a "power box" from a place in the UK that advertised in Classic Bike that would replace the battery.... BUT now days maybe I should rethink that as batteries are so small now.... and it might let me use a better simpler lighter ignition system if I had a battery to help starting etc... Light weight, simplicity and looking like 1975 are the aim.
Thoughts oh wise ones??
Regards Gavin
PS Not a cloud in the sky here in Paihia, New Zealand... and the tide is just started going out, white caps in the harbour... 26 degrees.. to hot to mow the lawn...
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Post by agustanz on Jan 13, 2014 23:54:21 GMT 1
Rather than do the work I needed to do.... and with the bike not yet here... yesterday I spent the whole day mucking about on the computer making a decal for the Moto Contraffazione!! I borrowed bits from the coats of arms of various Italian cities... mostly Palermo... which for this bike seem quite fitting! I like how the MC is close to MV! I never planned that...
Anywho here it is...
www.flickr.com/photos/59346333@N03/11936465493/
Regards Gavin
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Post by agustanz on Jan 27, 2014 3:35:13 GMT 1
In the absence of the bike, I have spent the past few weeks writing up my plans for it and researching the best ways to get what I want from it and the good bits to use...
Below is the latest version of "the plan"... it changes when better ideas come along... so if I am heading in the wrong direction let me know... while it's just on paper!
regards Gavin
______________________________________________________________________- THE MOTO CONTRAFFAZIONE SUPERLEGGERA.
The aim is to make a lightweight, road legal Italian style café racer that looks like it was built in the mid 1970’s. Clean minimal style is more important than ultimate lightness. Bike should be confusing to anyone looking at it, be good for short fun rides and track days, maybe even a “get out and have fun” pre 1982 Post Classic race bike. It started as a 1975ish RD350 and uses Yamaha forks, triple clamps, hubs and front discs. The frame was monoshocked and the engine converted into a water cooled RD/TZ race bike. It is now back to a road/track day bike powered with a 370cc LC engine. It will conform to NZ Post Classic Racings pre 1982 class rules.
ENGINE, INLET & EXHAUST. LC engine bored to 370cc. Pod air filters, not with end cap. 28mm RD400 carbs re-jetted, 300 mains/25 pilot as starting points? New carb intake manifolds & 6mm reedblock spacers. RZ reed blocks with porting to suit, new Yamaha racing reeds with 12mm lift. Raise exhaust port 1.5mm. Plane head/barrel, check gaps first, recut squish angle & set at 1.1mm. No head gasket. LC ignition, set at 1.8 btdc. (later programmable ignition) New coils (dyna mini or banshee coils?), leads, caps & B9ES plugs. Lighten flywheel. (No more than 6mm) Lighten barrels/head, remove ridges & markings. Stronger clutch springs, 3 TZ750 springs. 2 Dunstall megaphone 4 stroke silencers modified baffles, paint whole exhaust black. Premix of Castrol R, I like the smell! (Ratio 1:20, 5% oil to start) Aluminium cap screws holding non stressed covers. New water pipes in black. Fit thermostat.
CHASSIS, WHEELS, BRAKES & SUSPENSION.
S-arm, extend lower tube closer to axle, replace top rear tubes at better angle. Tidy up lower shock mount area. Tapper and fill in end and reshape top bit. Scallop corner braces & clean up frame welds. Fit WM2 1.85 flanged aluminium Borrani style rims & stainless spokes. Yamaha 34mm AC forks & hubs, polish hubs, rear brake & fork legs. Race Tech fork springs & Gold Valve Cartridge Emulators, fork seals & dust caps. AP Racing/Lockheed calipers, braded stainless steel lines. Old style Brembo or Grimeca 15/16mm round master cylinder. Make mounts for Lockheed calipers & TIG weld them onto the fork legs. Twin Yamaha 268mm discs narrowed slightly & drilled. Remove rear brake torque arm and mount brake plate to s-arm, Ducati style. (new?) Re-line rear brake shoes with best the material for race/track day use. Cable control. Light weight steel countershaft sprocket & aluminium rear sprocket. Gearing use 15/36, 2.4 ratio, standard LC gearing is 16/39 also 2.4 ratio. 520 light weight racing chain. DID VT2 Narrow Racing Chain. New rear shock if the current one can’t be rebuilt. New Heidenau race tyres, 90/90 18" K44, 110/80 18" K65.
BODYWORK & FITTINGS.
Section off the rear of the tank to reduce capacity & a place for parts. Seal inside tank with clear sealer. Get fuel cell safety foam to stop fuel movement & fit two high flow fuel taps. Drill holes or slots in tank strap. Fairing, make 1 piece with narrow bottom panel, 1 fastening only each side at top. Reshape at tank, reshape lump, flatten top edge, extend back ,refinish glassing. TZ350D screen with more curve, inside fairing & cut down blade, ali fastenings. Make a brace around the inside top of the fairing, like an MV one. Mount fairing & seat with 1975 period quick release fasteners. Front guard, shorten & square up with more clearance to tyre, remake in thin glass. Rear guard, shorten, make it removable, mount wide registration plate. Fit aluminium trim over the seat to divide upholstery from paint. Brown leather seat fitted, tapper end up to match tank shape, glass over outside. Fit a two part rubber guard between the tyre & carbs, through bottom of shock. New aluminium “old style” rearsets. Tarozzi? Brown Tommaselli handgrips & Aermacchi clutch lever assembly. Mount polished aluminium side stand with a “mouse trap” action. Re-shape or remake and drill holes in dash plate to lighten. Better temp gauge? Mount rear indicators off the reg plate at the ends & 60mm CEV taillight on the top. Mount front indicators on the under side of the fairing under the headlight. Fit 2 inch round aluminium bar end mirror. Re-place glass and rim on 160mph CEV speedo. Fit a replica 2-12 rpm Veglia white faced tacho with 1:5 ratio. Make a very basic battery less wiring loom. Drill & lockwire some items, brake, wheel nuts, sprocket bolts etc. Kill switch. Catch bottle for radiator, inside fairing or under tank.
PAINT, DECALS & OTHER FINISHES. Frame, swinging arm, fairing mounts & guards in 2-pack red/scarlet. Tank, red with blue border on fuel window. Blue & gold coat of arms MC decals. Fairing, red top & silver bottom & blue strip between. MOTO CONTRAFFAZIONE script in blue with blue & gold coat of arms on sides. Small coat of arms on fairing either side of headlight & oval yellow number oval 285mm by 235mm, black number “75” 144mm high on fairing lowers. Yellow nose cone number plate to replace headlight for racing. Clear fairing screen, cut down in height with small black trim. Seat, red with silver stripe. Old brown leather upholstery. Superleggera decal in blue. Black; Radiator, head/barrel, exhaust system, spring & inside fairing/seat/guards. Silver; Tail light, shock body, triple clamps & engine side covers. Chrome; handlebars, rear wheel adjusters, axles, indicators, headlight rim, gear lever, kick lever boss, switch gear. Polished; forks, stand, gas cap, tank strap, hand/foot levers, hubs, rear brake plate, sprocket holder, rear brake arm, torque arm, gear change rod, rims, spokes, dash, damper, kick lever, rear sprocket, throttle, fork caps, balance pipe, mirror. Tacho rim, chrome if steel or polished if aluminium. Carbs, have them cleaned, polish bowls & tops. All fastenings either aluminium, titanium or stainless steel.
Simple... JUST like that!
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Post by agustanz on Mar 8, 2014 1:53:28 GMT 1
WOOHOO!!! Bikes finally paid for and should be here in a few weeks
I sold one of my 99 year old cars to pay some bills and I had a small amount of cash left to throw at the RD... so I have started buying parts.... shop until you drop....
I put an order into our forum sponser last night for a bunch of nice bits that I am looking forward to getting.
Exciting times for the Moto Contraffazione Superleggera project!
Regards Gavin
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Post by dusty350 on Mar 8, 2014 8:19:52 GMT 1
Hi, You can't beat a bit of Rd retail therapy !! Looking forward to your progress. Dusty
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Post by oliveraa on Mar 8, 2014 8:57:40 GMT 1
Fantastic story, looking forward to following this thread.
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Post by daglad on Mar 10, 2014 13:20:24 GMT 1
Great story even better bike, i love it's pureness, I looks just right. One problem..... It's not mine?
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Post by mikee on Mar 10, 2014 18:41:03 GMT 1
Sounds great The only bit I'm unsure of is the 4 pipes , but will wait and see
Crack on then
Mike
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Post by agustanz on Mar 10, 2014 22:41:23 GMT 1
Sounds great The only bit I'm unsure of is the 4 pipes , but will wait and see Crack on then Mike Oh yes. When I say "like an MV" I ment just the shape of the muffler, a nice mega phone style... I will have just one either side... like one side of the the MV triple that Ago rode. Crack on indeed!! Regards Gavin ps I had "4s" which was 4 stroke... I have corrected it!
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Post by agustanz on Mar 10, 2014 22:52:57 GMT 1
Got these parts on the way....
Stainless spokes (from HVC cycle in the USA)
From Norbo... Reed blocks YPVS New inlet manifolds YPVS Pod filters Coils. Reeds.
Clutch springs.
and from ebay... 2 rims Borrani style Reed spacers YPVS CEV kill switch.
Looking at the programmable ignition next from Norbo... will see if the Bank account can stand it and if I can keep the girlfriend from finding out!!! Also looking at the white faced Veglia tacho from Italy... which would mean I would sell the original TZ tacho. One just sold on ebay for more than the cost of a new Veglia so that should be an easy swap money wise.
Regards Gavin
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Post by agustanz on Mar 10, 2014 23:26:43 GMT 1
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Post by agustanz on Mar 14, 2014 12:24:52 GMT 1
I have got a set of the above rearsets organised now! The chap who is buying my TZ race tacho popped over and bought a set from the chap as he was only 35 miles away! So we are going to take it off the price of the tacho which is a nice easy way of doing it. Got my nice shinny new Borrani style rims from Italy yesterday. They look great. Still waiting on the bike to arrive and hoping to have it home (again) by this time next week if the moving company does it's job right.... regards Gavin
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Post by agustanz on Mar 15, 2014 7:20:08 GMT 1
WOOHOO!! More parts arrived! Reed spacers Reed blocks Inlet manifolds Pod filters Coils. Reeds. Clutch springs. No actual BIKE yet... but the parts are starting to pile up. Regards Gavin
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Post by agustanz on Mar 17, 2014 14:54:09 GMT 1
News today... the bike is on the move!!!! It has been picked up finally by the bike moving company and is heading North... 1300kms to travel in total. Also in the mail I got a really nice engine kill switch, new old stock chrome Italian CEV that suits my style... and bought some Tommaselli hand grips off ebay. Regards Gavin
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Post by agustanz on Mar 21, 2014 2:15:12 GMT 1
New rearsets arrived today (many thanks to Ashley from this forum!)... Got a second hand rear brake plate yesterday (many thanks to Nigel from this forum!). What a great bunch of guys we have here. Regards Gavin
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