Leftover Factory Bikes.

Robgvx
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Robgvx 10/8/2010 5:33am
10/8/2010 5:33am
Had this in my garage for a while:

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Chris_ONeal
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Chris_ONeal 10/8/2010 5:43am
10/8/2010 5:43am
Henry has 2 factory bikes. One 1993 CR125 in parts, out in the shed where the cows sleep and the 97 OW 400 just hanging around in his basement.
Aussie_power_sports 10/8/2010 5:50am
10/8/2010 5:50am
I was reading an interview, and if the bike has factory parts on ( super special) stuff they'll replace it with standard, and most riders that win a championship get the option to take it.
Swede
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Swede 10/8/2010 5:55am
10/8/2010 5:55am
That's a beauty Rob, what's the story behind it?

Why do you have a wheelchair in your workshop?

Did you do any riding at this years Farleigh Castle Vintage MXdN's (Legends Lap or maybe even some racing)?

The Shop

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newmann
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newmann 10/8/2010 7:31am
10/8/2010 7:31am
I know of about 30 old works Yamaha's in one location. Good ones too!





CrashMaster
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CrashMaster 10/8/2010 8:19am
10/8/2010 8:19am
A buddy of mine purchased a set of Stewarts works forks that came off of one of his old kx250's he raced on. They were super trick, but my buddy had a hard time getting custom triple clamps made for the forks in order for them to be mounted on his bike. He told me he called many company's to see if he can get some made and at Emig racing they Even asked him how he got those forks because there should be no way any body of the public should have those forks in their possession. He wouldn't tell me where he got them but all i can guess is somebody from the inside snagged them.
Robgvx
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Robgvx 10/8/2010 8:28am
10/8/2010 8:28am Edited Date/Time 10/8/2010 8:28am
Swede wrote:
That's a beauty Rob, what's the story behind it? Why do you have a wheelchair in your workshop? Did you do any riding at this years...
That's a beauty Rob, what's the story behind it?

Why do you have a wheelchair in your workshop?

Did you do any riding at this years Farleigh Castle Vintage MXdN's (Legends Lap or maybe even some racing)?
Hi Jonas

It was Thorpe's factory bike. I stored it for a friend who bought it. It's now overseas sadly.

The wheelchair? Well spotted! No story to that. I borrowed it for a friend who had had an operation on her foot.

Yes, I did the legends lap at Farleigh. Great event.

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Bill163
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Bill163 10/8/2010 9:58am
10/8/2010 9:58am
I have found lots of works parts in local salvage yards in so cal.Most bikes and parts were taken to scrap metal yards to be shredded the worker's there took the parts and sold them to motorcycle salvage yards.Here's some of the things I found over the years.

1. New nos 81 ow 250 works cylinder
2. 77 RA 125 works Suzuki engine
3. 82 SR 250 factory fork assembly
Also works wheels,Ignitions,shocks lots of Mugen stuff too.

My friend found 75% of a 74 OW 125 works bike half buried in a sand dune at a junk yard.
Also some Mechanics took bikes that are now in private collections.I also know of some support riders that rode factory bikes that kept parts and bikes.

Things still pop up a local restorer had some guy off the street bring in a 79 RN 420 works Suzuki to be worked on!The guy just thought it was just any old dirt bike.


dlowe102
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dlowe102 10/8/2010 10:38am
10/8/2010 10:38am
When i worked at a kawasaki dealership someone brought in a 1999 kx250 works bike for a trade..well it belonged to kawasaki of "foriegn country.". and had a good bit of special parts..clamps,wheels,brakes. the frame was different also.
we told him there were tiltle issues and he said he would leave it there and come back later.
I rode it some ..I had the same bike and a 2000...it wasnt like something majical..just real deliberate and responsive.
it was stolen from a supercross team the year before .It hung around a while Then the cops got it.
Craze
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Craze 10/8/2010 11:59am
10/8/2010 11:59am
Bill163 wrote:
I have found lots of works parts in local salvage yards in so cal.Most bikes and parts were taken to scrap metal yards to be shredded...
I have found lots of works parts in local salvage yards in so cal.Most bikes and parts were taken to scrap metal yards to be shredded the worker's there took the parts and sold them to motorcycle salvage yards.Here's some of the things I found over the years.

1. New nos 81 ow 250 works cylinder
2. 77 RA 125 works Suzuki engine
3. 82 SR 250 factory fork assembly
Also works wheels,Ignitions,shocks lots of Mugen stuff too.

My friend found 75% of a 74 OW 125 works bike half buried in a sand dune at a junk yard.
Also some Mechanics took bikes that are now in private collections.I also know of some support riders that rode factory bikes that kept parts and bikes.

Things still pop up a local restorer had some guy off the street bring in a 79 RN 420 works Suzuki to be worked on!The guy just thought it was just any old dirt bike.


Asco metals in Santa Fe Springs,Ca. always had quite a bit of OW parts there strewn about the yard
BKoonts
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BKoonts 10/9/2010 9:11am
10/9/2010 9:11am
CrashMaster wrote:
A buddy of mine purchased a set of Stewarts works forks that came off of one of his old kx250's he raced on. They were super...
A buddy of mine purchased a set of Stewarts works forks that came off of one of his old kx250's he raced on. They were super trick, but my buddy had a hard time getting custom triple clamps made for the forks in order for them to be mounted on his bike. He told me he called many company's to see if he can get some made and at Emig racing they Even asked him how he got those forks because there should be no way any body of the public should have those forks in their possession. He wouldn't tell me where he got them but all i can guess is somebody from the inside snagged them.
Tell your buddy to get in touch with a good local machinist. He'll have the tools, (indicators, etc) to reverse engineer the basic dimensions and then pull some numbers (diameters, etc) from the new forks. It's not as hard as it might seem. It boils down to how badly he wants them on the bike. I am a product designer and a few years ago I designed a set of triples for my buddy's 2001 YZF 426 using Solid Edge (3D solid modeling program). My buddy, the owner of the bike, is a tool maker/machinist and he used my file to write the program to CNC the clamps and they came out sweet. He still uses them to this day.
Utrider
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Utrider 10/9/2010 10:10am
10/9/2010 10:10am
I was on a tour of Honda's Race shop in Torrance about 4 years ago. They had McGraths 95 Supercross bike and one of Gary Jones championship bikes in the shop working on them for an open house or something. Don't know how much of them were the real deal, but they sure looked trick considering their age.
MAGOO85
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MAGOO85 12/30/2014 5:17pm
12/30/2014 5:17pm
f4ctry wrote:
Anyone ever gone through the factories garbage bins at night time to see what they can find?
Yes many parts factory parts floating around europe have come from or should have gone into Factory importers teams garbage / rubbish bins , TRUE STORY Dickie Dye who is a friend of Dave Thorpe worked at Kawasaki i think as a mechanic he was allowed by Alec Wright to build a a SR500 86 out of all the throw away works parts and i saw this bike at a mid year meeting so it was not like they were all end of year parts no good for next years model , If a works part is suspect or has tiny damage it cannot be chanced in 2 x 40 min races .
Skerby
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Skerby 12/30/2014 7:06pm
12/30/2014 7:06pm
f4ctry wrote:
Anyone ever gone through the factories garbage bins at night time to see what they can find?
I grew up next to the lib tech snowboard factory, a lot of kids were going through the garbage at night and pulling out , along with some blemished throw away inventory, real life prototype boards that would not be in production for a few years!

Not moto but a similar situation.

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coolhand
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coolhand 12/30/2014 7:49pm
12/30/2014 7:49pm
I have 2...KTM 360 and 82 CR 480.
Loftin79
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Loftin79 12/30/2014 8:07pm
12/30/2014 8:07pm
Ive heard back in the day they would take the old Moto GP bikes and dump them in the ocean. Im sure that would be a big no no nowadays. I read that somewhere but dont remember where.
TeamGreen
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TeamGreen 12/30/2014 8:40pm
12/30/2014 8:40pm
Bret wrote:
Some get crushed. Some get parted out. Some get tucked away in warehouses. Some just vanish without a trace...
Boom!
Racer_Twentynine 12/30/2014 8:47pm
12/30/2014 8:47pm
i have someone but no idea who's Doubt "factory" bike but it has been to the pro's

all i know is it has an AMA tech inspection sticker on the frame.

2008 CRF450
Dragoo168
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Dragoo168 12/30/2014 9:51pm
12/30/2014 9:51pm
I don't know if there has ever been a specific protocol as to what happens to factory bikes, but i do know that there are many sitting in various garages, shops, and collections, as well as there has been many, very awesome parts and pieces tossed in with destroyed OEM parts that were part of a return program to destroy obsolete parts to entice new bike sales at one point. I also know that some have been disguised and sent to schools like MMi, and colleges with factory supported MTP programs. I would say that now a days, anyone could build a really close replica, as many teams use what's available, and it's the research and one-off stuff (very few items) that you cannot have.
ML512
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ML512 12/30/2014 9:56pm
12/30/2014 9:56pm
In Kawasaki's case, many bikes are part of a loan pool system. They must be returned to stock and sent back at the end of the year. They are then auctioned off internally, with the remainder going to dealers in a used batch purchase.
Grizz
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Grizz 12/30/2014 10:43pm
12/30/2014 10:43pm
Racer_Twentynine wrote:
i have someone but no idea who's Doubt "factory" bike but it has been to the pro's all i know is it has an AMA tech...
i have someone but no idea who's Doubt "factory" bike but it has been to the pro's

all i know is it has an AMA tech inspection sticker on the frame.

2008 CRF450
That sticker doesn't mean anything special.
markit
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markit 12/31/2014 12:13am
12/31/2014 12:13am
I had a 99 PC yzf400 like a dumd ass i sold it, cant remember the riders name but it was on all the fork and shock tunning stickers........No it wasnt Henry as i would still have it.
steed 2.0
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steed 2.0 12/31/2014 1:12am
12/31/2014 1:12am
newmann wrote:
I know of about 30 old works Yamaha's in one location. Good ones too! [img]http://i609.photobucket.com/albums/tt171/duc-man97/OW__004.jpg[/img] [img]http://i609.photobucket.com/albums/tt171/duc-man97/ow.jpg[/img] [img]http://i609.photobucket.com/albums/tt171/duc-man97/ow2.jpg[/img]
I know of about 30 old works Yamaha's in one location. Good ones too!





Holland?
Canerat
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Canerat 12/31/2014 4:27am
12/31/2014 4:27am
I had dinner at Bob Moore's house in Arizona back 1999 and he had one of his Chesterfield Yamaha nicely tucked away. That thing was thick with sweet parts.

mgtkr1
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mgtkr1 12/31/2014 4:48am
12/31/2014 4:48am
I don't know about modern times or mx bikes but in the world of road racing, Kawasaki and Suzuki would allow the factory bikes to go to the rider either as part of a contract that's agreed or on the condition of a championship. barry sheene had a vast collection of factory bikes. mick grant has a few of his Kawasaki's from his days as a factory rider. schwantz also has his title winning rgv500. Honda were more strict about factory bikes been released though. many ended up in the crusher although I know of one with 6 miles of my house that escaped the usual hrc fate. the bike in question is an rcb1000, the era's equivalent to a full hrc bike. in a nutshell Honda factory stuff ends up back dissappearing more so than kwak/suzi stuff. im not sure on yams policy, I think they were more like suuki and kwak though as Roberts has a decent works bike collection

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