EC Birt- Precision Cycle?

newmann
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newmann 2/12/2016 8:02am
2/12/2016 8:02am Edited Date/Time 2/12/2016 8:05am
Here is a NOS 100cc sleeved down 74 CR125 cylinder with the boost port added. Would use a small window in the piston. Marked FMF 1/76






newmann
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newmann 2/12/2016 8:07am
2/12/2016 8:07am Edited Date/Time 2/12/2016 8:09am
Haag Bros FMF 2/75 , 74 CR125 boost ported. What is the significance of the W engraved?




newmann
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newmann 2/12/2016 8:12am
2/12/2016 8:12am Edited Date/Time 2/12/2016 8:15am
Another 74 boost ported marked Haag Bros. FMF 1/75 . Got a few others including a 1976 which I believe to be a fake.



rhaagusa
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rhaagusa 2/12/2016 9:23am
2/12/2016 9:23am
No idea on the W. Yes, authentic though seems someone knifed the edges of the bridges which we always left/made rounded. Don talked about it being better for the fuel mix 'tumbling" so we rounded them.
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AHRMA361
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AHRMA361 2/12/2016 11:32am
2/12/2016 11:32am Edited Date/Time 2/12/2016 11:33am
rhaagusa wrote:
Had this question in the back of my mind for a couple days now. I think in the early years we used an electric engraving tool...
Had this question in the back of my mind for a couple days now. I think in the early years we used an electric engraving tool and did write Haag & Haag with a thin line etched look. Later we went to bold FMF using a carbide bit in the air tool. There may have been a couple variations imbetween. So is the writing very thin lined? If so then I think it's authentic.
As I recall it is a thin, etched line. Mine did not say Haag Bros., it definitely said Haag & Haag.

I don't recall why I ever sold it or even if I did. I had about 10 different cylinders at one time. It may still be in a bin somewhere.
Oldnslo
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Oldnslo 2/12/2016 12:19pm
2/12/2016 12:19pm Edited Date/Time 2/14/2016 3:25pm
I have a full EC Brit TM125......Wild bike with wild parts everywhere.....I need to take a picture of it. Not restored .too cool in original condition to restore. Ran it around the track last year. Ran very well, pipie bike with light switch power band...he built some extremely cool bikes and was very well known, on par with the big names of the day....
newmann
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newmann 2/12/2016 3:12pm
2/12/2016 3:12pm
rhaagusa wrote:
Had this question in the back of my mind for a couple days now. I think in the early years we used an electric engraving tool...
Had this question in the back of my mind for a couple days now. I think in the early years we used an electric engraving tool and did write Haag & Haag with a thin line etched look. Later we went to bold FMF using a carbide bit in the air tool. There may have been a couple variations imbetween. So is the writing very thin lined? If so then I think it's authentic.
AHRMA361 wrote:
As I recall it is a thin, etched line. Mine did not say Haag Bros., it definitely said Haag & Haag. I don't recall why I...
As I recall it is a thin, etched line. Mine did not say Haag Bros., it definitely said Haag & Haag.

I don't recall why I ever sold it or even if I did. I had about 10 different cylinders at one time. It may still be in a bin somewhere.
I think the cylinder on my Ward replica Mini Elsinore has the Haag & Haag engraving. It is also a 100cc boost ported sleeve job with a 100cc FMF porky on top.




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gregscycles
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gregscycles 2/14/2016 3:00pm
2/14/2016 3:00pm Edited Date/Time 2/14/2016 5:00pm
Oldnslo wrote:
I have a full EC Brit TM125......Wild bike with wild parts everywhere.....I need to take a picture of it. Not restored .too cool in original condition...
I have a full EC Brit TM125......Wild bike with wild parts everywhere.....I need to take a picture of it. Not restored .too cool in original condition to restore. Ran it around the track last year. Ran very well, pipie bike with light switch power band...he built some extremely cool bikes and was very well known, on par with the big names of the day....
Can you post pics, I had a ec birt tm100 suzuki back in 2014 I had posted pics on here about a year ago it had the reed valve cylinder, ec head , aluminum swingarm , air forks ec cone pipe that was enscribed E.C.W. and other trick stuff everywhere you look. I have a ec birt book on eBay right now but no longer have the bike. Cool stuff...
Oldnslo
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Oldnslo 2/14/2016 3:23pm
2/14/2016 3:23pm
I sure can and I will as soon as it warms up a bit...it's -12 F at the moment and neither love nor money could get me out there athe moment....hope you understand...



gregscycles
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gregscycles 2/20/2016 9:20pm
2/20/2016 9:20pm
Thanks, I now live in sc. And that is cold to me. -12 I couldn't even imagine. Would that bike ever come up for sale I Really regret selling my tm 1oo it had a lot of trick stuff. Thanks again Greg
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Bultaco 2/21/2016 2:21pm
2/21/2016 2:21pm Edited Date/Time 2/21/2016 2:22pm
I had a business card from EC Birt for years. On the back he printed all the stuff he could do. Most of it sarcastic. The ones I remember were: "Tigers Tamed", "Wars Fought", "Bars Emptied". There were about 10 or 11 in total.
LWC307
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LWC307 2/21/2016 11:41pm
2/21/2016 11:41pm
What issue of Modern Cycle is that EC RM article in?
riv187
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riv187 2/23/2016 5:27pm
2/23/2016 5:27pm
LWC307 wrote:
What issue of Modern Cycle is that EC RM article in?
June 1978, has RM400 on cover
project racer 2/24/2016 8:28pm
2/24/2016 8:28pm
LWC307 wrote:
What issue of Modern Cycle is that EC RM article in?
riv187 wrote:
June 1978, has RM400 on cover
I have an old Dirt Bike magazine from 78 that has an article on an E.C. Birt RM400. If I recall, he used a 450 Maico piston to get 422cc out of the RM400C. Used special spacers on the rod / wrist pin to make it fit.
LWC307
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LWC307 2/24/2016 11:38pm
2/24/2016 11:38pm
Ok thanks i will try and find both those articles.
riv187
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riv187 2/25/2016 7:25am
2/25/2016 7:25am
Modern Cycle had numerous interesting articles. From fall 77-spring 78 they ran a series of RM125 bikes built by tuners like E.C.,,,others included LOP,CH,Cross Up,,,I have about 1/2 the issues that period. I recommend them.
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LWC307
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LWC307 3/1/2016 12:38am
3/1/2016 12:38am
riv187 wrote:
Modern Cycle had numerous interesting articles. From fall 77-spring 78 they ran a series of RM125 bikes built by tuners like E.C.,,,others included LOP,CH,Cross Up,,,I have...
Modern Cycle had numerous interesting articles. From fall 77-spring 78 they ran a series of RM125 bikes built by tuners like E.C.,,,others included LOP,CH,Cross Up,,,I have about 1/2 the issues that period. I recommend them.
Can you tell me what issues/months those articles are in?
gregscycles
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gregscycles 3/4/2016 6:19am
3/4/2016 6:19am
Oldnslo wrote:
I sure can and I will as soon as it warms up a bit...it's -12 F at the moment and neither love nor money could get...
I sure can and I will as soon as it warms up a bit...it's -12 F at the moment and neither love nor money could get me out there athe moment....hope you understand...



Any break in the weather yet. I'm drooling to see those pictures. Thanks Greg.

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vmx3 12/12/2016 7:10am
12/12/2016 7:10am
yzvet426 wrote:
One of the guys racing here has this EC Birt YZ 100. Very trick bike. Extra length welded on to the fins, trickness everwhere [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2016/02/10/123353/s1200_1526455_667227303339974_179556638_n.jpg[/img] [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2016/02/10/123354/s1200_1654445_667227280006643_649373819_n.jpg[/img]...
One of the guys racing here has this EC Birt YZ 100. Very trick bike. Extra length welded on to the fins, trickness everwhere













Here is Tom racing that bike at Mustang Sally's MX round of Midwest VMX 2014
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gregscycles
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gregscycles 4/30/2017 9:33pm
4/30/2017 9:33pm
Oldnslo wrote:
I sure can and I will as soon as it warms up a bit...it's -12 F at the moment and neither love nor money could get...
I sure can and I will as soon as it warms up a bit...it's -12 F at the moment and neither love nor money could get me out there athe moment....hope you understand...



Can you post picks of that TM 125 ec Birt bike
oldsocalmxr
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oldsocalmxr 5/1/2017 8:34am
5/1/2017 8:34am
I went to Laguna Beach High School with a guy named Billy Barnes. He rode a Hodaka Super Rat that EC built for him. Extremely fast at the time with extreme attention to detail not seen before. After the Hodaka, EC built him a Rickman Zundapp 125/100 that was featured in a magazine article.... Cycle World or possibly Cycle Guide. The bike was a show piece with custom paint by "Molly" if memory serves. I don't recall if Billy every raced the Rickman. Don't know what ever became of the bike. It was truly a "one-off".
gregscycles
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gregscycles 5/4/2017 7:32pm
5/4/2017 7:32pm
Oldnslo wrote:
I sure can and I will as soon as it warms up a bit...it's -12 F at the moment and neither love nor money could get...
I sure can and I will as soon as it warms up a bit...it's -12 F at the moment and neither love nor money could get me out there athe moment....hope you understand...



Can you post pics on that ec Birt Tm 125 suzuki
Trogdor
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Trogdor 8/12/2017 7:44pm
8/12/2017 7:44pm
oldsocalmxr wrote:
I went to Laguna Beach High School with a guy named Billy Barnes. He rode a Hodaka Super Rat that EC built for him. Extremely fast...
I went to Laguna Beach High School with a guy named Billy Barnes. He rode a Hodaka Super Rat that EC built for him. Extremely fast at the time with extreme attention to detail not seen before. After the Hodaka, EC built him a Rickman Zundapp 125/100 that was featured in a magazine article.... Cycle World or possibly Cycle Guide. The bike was a show piece with custom paint by "Molly" if memory serves. I don't recall if Billy every raced the Rickman. Don't know what ever became of the bike. It was truly a "one-off".
Just stumbled across this forum & thread. I worked for EC. Birt back in his first Precision Cycles Shop on Hawthorne Blvd. in Lawndale. I help with the move over to the new shop on Artisea Blvd. in Lawndale. Most of my time working at Precision Cycles I was doing all of EC's porting. EC would layout the port dimensions on the back of the work order & I did the grinding. When I didn't have porting work, I would build pipes or work over in the parts department. When Donny Emler left EC's and soon after started Uncle Donny's Flying Machine Factory (later FMF) I ported for EC during the day and Donny at night. Later when he got the shop opened I was the 3rd employee at FMF after Jim McDonald & Bobby Messer and did all of the porting. A year or so later the Haag Bros took over the porting and I was in charge of building the production line pipes. At Precision Cycles and early FMF I always stamped the head gasket surface with either PC CW or FMF CW. Later as said, the Haag Bros wrote on the fins with a porting tool.

I remember the Barnes builds as I ported all of them. The Micro Matisse was Molly painted, predominately white with red & blue, beautiful bikes!

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skypig
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skypig 8/15/2017 6:14am
8/15/2017 6:14am
oldsocalmxr wrote:
I went to Laguna Beach High School with a guy named Billy Barnes. He rode a Hodaka Super Rat that EC built for him. Extremely fast...
I went to Laguna Beach High School with a guy named Billy Barnes. He rode a Hodaka Super Rat that EC built for him. Extremely fast at the time with extreme attention to detail not seen before. After the Hodaka, EC built him a Rickman Zundapp 125/100 that was featured in a magazine article.... Cycle World or possibly Cycle Guide. The bike was a show piece with custom paint by "Molly" if memory serves. I don't recall if Billy every raced the Rickman. Don't know what ever became of the bike. It was truly a "one-off".
Trogdor wrote:
Just stumbled across this forum & thread. I worked for EC. Birt back in his first Precision Cycles Shop on Hawthorne Blvd. in Lawndale. I help...
Just stumbled across this forum & thread. I worked for EC. Birt back in his first Precision Cycles Shop on Hawthorne Blvd. in Lawndale. I help with the move over to the new shop on Artisea Blvd. in Lawndale. Most of my time working at Precision Cycles I was doing all of EC's porting. EC would layout the port dimensions on the back of the work order & I did the grinding. When I didn't have porting work, I would build pipes or work over in the parts department. When Donny Emler left EC's and soon after started Uncle Donny's Flying Machine Factory (later FMF) I ported for EC during the day and Donny at night. Later when he got the shop opened I was the 3rd employee at FMF after Jim McDonald & Bobby Messer and did all of the porting. A year or so later the Haag Bros took over the porting and I was in charge of building the production line pipes. At Precision Cycles and early FMF I always stamped the head gasket surface with either PC CW or FMF CW. Later as said, the Haag Bros wrote on the fins with a porting tool.

I remember the Barnes builds as I ported all of them. The Micro Matisse was Molly painted, predominately white with red & blue, beautiful bikes!

Wow.

That's some history you lived right there!
Thanks for posting.

I lived in Australia, and bikes with FMF/EC Birt parts were only ever seen in magazines. I knew one rich kid that had a DG radial fin head on his YZ80D.

I copied the "EC" stickers seen in US magazines. Cut them out of red and black "contact" with scissors for the tank of my stock YZ80F. (Must of worked, I won the A grade club championship.)
mxbonz
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mxbonz 7/16/2019 8:17pm
7/16/2019 8:17pm

This cylinder sat on Ebay all week a few years back. I was the only bidder. It was as if no one had any idea what it was.
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mxbonz
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mxbonz 7/16/2019 10:50pm
7/16/2019 10:50pm Edited Date/Time 7/17/2019 1:03pm



Thanks for this thread.

Godspeed Chinky .

The 77 Ohio State Championship writeup is pure gold. Charles "Chinky" Godby would have probably ended up being a top ten National guy but for that freak, crash in 125A Saturday Hi Point Memorial weekend 1981 that took his life.

We'd race there locally in fall and spring being at school nearby, and it was pretty regular to see him sweep 6 motos of 3 A clases...sometimes 4 with 100 class.

I'd pull in worn out from 125, all anyone with me could say " Man that Chinky kid is unreal better than anyone here".
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cz2crf2wc
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cz2crf2wc 8/2/2019 6:17pm
8/2/2019 6:17pm
david631 wrote:
E.C.Birt owned Precision Cycle in Lawndale, ca. weird little dude. kinda like if Phil Spector ported cylinders. his shop jersey's were cool. the "P" for Precision...
E.C.Birt owned Precision Cycle in Lawndale, ca. weird little dude. kinda like if Phil Spector ported cylinders. his shop jersey's were cool. the "P" for Precision was a big micrometer. saw a lot of those jersey's in the 70's. the 125's out of Precision did'nt scream, they howled. he used reed valves a lot. I think he was the 1st. to put one a 125 elsinore. Chuck Lunde's bike. I'm pretty sure it also had a Bing carb. who know's why. Birt use to put mikuni's on Sach's but used a Bing on a honda. well, I'm done.
Luke Messer


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