revtothelimit - motorbike forum

Another great built from Graham Merrick (creator of the unique BMW K75 which we shared last week)! On this CRF/CB500F hybrid, he said:

"My bike was built around the well known search for the ultimate dual sports bike to go on/off road. Again I chose the build around engine choice arriving at the CB500F.

"I found a thread on the web centred on the CRF250L chassis with CB500 engines fitted. Three had been done by two Americans and a Brit. I subscribed instantly and drove down to Merseyside and back over to Hull to purchase the engine. My frame mods were done by same builder as the K75 bike and in no time I was rebuilding it back up.

"It's got a full stainless steel 2-2 exhaust system with carbon cans, rear fuel tank (8 litres) gravity syphon delivery, pannier frames. This was phase 1 so to speak.

"Then came the TCAT (Trans Canada Adventure Trail) obsession, so the bike was then prepped for an assault on full east to west navigation with extra forward luggage brackets, sat nav allowance, heated grips, spots, fan override and all important extra fuel can with rack affair, not pretty, but much needed!

"The bike has a pair of Talon cush drive wheels yet to be fitted along with a front brake upgrade, 320mm offset disc + a Honda 3-pot caliper. Baja Sports LED headlight unit to be fitted also along with maybe full black plastics.."

You can see Graham's CRF/CB500F at this year's ABR Festival, where he'll be displaying it along with his BMW K75. Get your tickets at abrfestival.com/tickets

Ditchfinder wrote: Mon Apr 11, 2022 12:34 pm [/url]

https://www.bikebound.com/2022/04/10/yamaha-fzx750/

*Wanders off to ebay to start looking at Fzx's

*returns disappointed and without another pile of shit likely to clutter up the shed

I ALMOST Like that!

2022-05-09_07-33-17 by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

Grrrrr.

Skub wrote: Fri May 13, 2022 12:11 pm Grrrrr.

Mr Dazzle has got it completely wrong with his fancy pipe bending machines, mandrels and skill to make them, welded up and on show expansion chambers are in fact, glorious and spectacular to see.

They'd look a bit fucking stupid on an R series Beemer though right?

I can sorta get behind it on expansion chambers cause making the cross section change is really effin expensive any other way.

Needs a longer side stand

Le_Fromage_Grande wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 2:06 pm Needs a longer side stand

And probably not heavy enough.

Why has it got Paris-Dakar plates on? It wouldn't be allowed in would it?

Count Steer wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 3:00 pm Why has it got Paris-Dakar plates on? It wouldn't be allowed in would it?

It wouldn't for lots and lots of reasons, it'd also get it's arse seriously kicked by proper rally bikes with half the capacity.
But I can see what he's trying to do, it's like a tribute to the mid 80s Dakar BMWs ridden by the notoriously short Gaston Rahier

Le_Fromage_Grande wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 3:48 pm

Count Steer wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 3:00 pm Why has it got Paris-Dakar plates on? It wouldn't be allowed in would it?

It wouldn't for lots and lots of reasons, it'd also get it's arse seriously kicked by proper rally bikes with half the capacity.
But I can see what he's trying to do, it's like a tribute to the mid 80s Dakar BMWs ridden by the notoriously short Gaston Rahier

Think it's a nice looking thing, clearly never intended to go much further than Chelsea!

v8-powered wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 3:52 pm Think it's a nice looking thing, clearly never intended to go much further than Chelsea!

I agree, I looked at buying the GS version of the R-Nine T a couple of years ago as road bike that looked like the old R80GS, but the price put me off, also I'm not convinced I want an 1170cc bike to potter about on, I'd prefer an XT660 styled like a 1985 Tenere.

Le_Fromage_Grande wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 3:57 pm

v8-powered wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 3:52 pm Think it's a nice looking thing, clearly never intended to go much further than Chelsea!

I agree, I looked at buying the GS version of the R-Nine T a couple of years ago as road bike that looked like the old R80GS, but the price put me off, also I'm not convinced I want an 1170cc bike to potter about on, I'd prefer an XT660 styled like a 1985 Tenere.

I had the chance of buying an R80GS back in 2003/4. I took my 1150 to Germany to get panniers fitted by Kiwi Bob and he had his old one that he'd used to lead tours around NZ up for sale. I think I could have got it for £1k (or €1k - can't remember). Wish I had!

Count Steer wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 4:07 pm
I had the chance of buying an R80GS back in 2003/4. I took my 1150 to Germany to get panniers fitted by Kiwi Bob and he had his old one that he'd used to lead tours around NZ up for sale. I think I could have got it for £1k (or €1k - can't remember). Wish I had!

In 2003 or 4 that was cheap for an R80GS, in the UK good ones were fetching about £4K then, no idea what they're going for now, but I bet it's a lot more than I'm willing to pay for one.

Le_Fromage_Grande wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 4:10 pm

Count Steer wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 4:07 pm
I had the chance of buying an R80GS back in 2003/4. I took my 1150 to Germany to get panniers fitted by Kiwi Bob and he had his old one that he'd used to lead tours around NZ up for sale. I think I could have got it for £1k (or €1k - can't remember). Wish I had!

In 2003 or 4 that was cheap for an R80GS, in the UK good ones were fetching about £4K then, no idea what they're going for now, but I bet it's a lot more than I'm willing to pay for one.

I may have misremembered but that £1k sticks in my mind. At the time I was keen but the logistics of getting it back here put me off. It had a few miles on it and probably needed a bit of TLC. (It was seeing a new R80Gs parked up that
had sparked my interest and got me back on a bike after a few years off - living in a totally unsuitable place for bike ownership).

The real thing.

The seat is at his elbow height and the bars are about nipple level.

That tribute bike looks like someone who can't admit their clothes are one size too small.