Late 70's Euro Woods Machines

MaicoJC1
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MD US
12/25/2016 6:35pm
1978/79 Bultaco Frontera 370 Mark 11

1978 KTM 400 with Enduro Kit

1979 KTM 400 GS 80 Enduro


Been trail riding and/or racing PV HVA's and Maicos for the past 10 years. Thought about finally giving these other bikes I try this year. None of them have ever been raced. Purchased the Bultaco in November, and today I just finished going through the bike. Freshly rebuilt motor. Everything is very good working condition (even the horn and brake light!). Rode it around the woods and neighborhood like a kid with new minibike on Christmas. And though it's not as powerful as my KTMs, Maicos, and HVA's, it has a nice tractable motor. We'll see how she goes on the trail.

Purchased the 79 KTM in April. Solid bike, very nice handling, great motor, and brakes. Ditto with the 78 KTM -- which was purchased in 2012. Both have very fresh and completely rebuilt motor. Love these old things...don't quite know why sometimes...I just do. Merry Christmas. Cheers!

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MaicoJC1
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MD US
12/25/2016 6:37pm Edited Date/Time 12/25/2016 6:39pm
Crap! Meant to put this in the Old school moto section instead of here. Can one of the administrator's make that happen? Sorry fellas. My bad.
MaicoJC1
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274
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MD US
12/25/2016 7:26pm
Forgot about the 77 Penton 250 GS6 in the basement. Very nice runner too. Again fresh motor, yadda, yadda, yadda.


PS -- Guy, OC, ML512, GD2 -- when anyone of you guys see this can you help a brother out and move it to the old school moto section, please? Thank you.

hillbilly
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Afton, TN US
12/25/2016 7:59pm
Who knows why they have rear frame loops .

Cool old bikes.
hillbilly
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Afton, TN US
12/25/2016 8:03pm
Just saw the rokon, I remember the first one i saw in 75ish. At a hare scrambles ,watched this guy yanking on a rope and thought he'd put his lawnmower in the frame.

Why is the beta sticker upside down?

The Shop

MaicoJC1
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MD US
12/25/2016 8:12pm
Thanks HB. The Rokon is pretty reliable -- well, that is once you get all the bugs and gremlins worked out. Yeah, it's a pretty cool bike.

The Beta seat is off and upside down in order to get access to the battery. If you look closely you'll see that I have the battery tender charger clamps on there. I'll install "pigtail" attachments to the battery later this week.

I have my theory about rear frame loops. What's yours?
Robgvx
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3681
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4/1/2008
Location
GB
12/26/2016 1:49am
hillbilly wrote:
Who knows why they have rear frame loops .

Cool old bikes.
To support the weight of the rear light?

To give extra support to the fender when lifting the bike out of ruts?

MaicoJC1
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12/26/2016 6:57am Edited Date/Time 12/26/2016 7:02am
Robgvx...Correct. The loop also serves as a little luggage rack and I also think it keeps you from destroying the rear of the bike when you loop it out.

Thank you Hman. Been a PVR 10+ years. Raced alot of HS from 05 to 09. I race 1-2 times a year now, and trail ride as often as I can.
dcg141
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11/30/2009
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MS US
12/26/2016 8:32am Edited Date/Time 12/26/2016 8:37am
My profile pic is me on a 79 KTM 175 GS at the Twin States Enduro in Ky in 1979. My first KTM was a 75 Penton Jackpiner.
hillbilly
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9080
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Afton, TN US
12/26/2016 8:52am
I thought the loops were for the mud weight on extra long fenders since they were built with 6 days in mind. And i'm pretty sure your lights have to work in that event,no fender be hard to have a light.

Could be full of shit to.
MaicoJC1
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12/26/2016 1:41pm
You're correct too. And, nah, you ain't full of it HB. You got a lot common sense and old school knowledge. Thanks for your good comments and contribution to this thread.
tydog
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939
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8/26/2007
Location
Monticello, GA US
12/26/2016 1:46pm
Great looking collection and thanks for sharing!
They are meant to be ridden and shown, not stored.
MaicoJC1
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274
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MD US
12/26/2016 2:25pm Edited Date/Time 12/26/2016 2:40pm
Thanks Tydog.

11 out of the 14 bikes get ridden year round. Maybe not frequently, but they all get ridden. The only two I will not ride, is my garage queen -- a recently resurrected/restored 82 Husqvarna 430WR; and my garage King -- 69 Maico 360 MC. The Maico has about 5 minutes of running time on it and that was on asphalt. Most bike projects can be done in about 6 months to a year. This one took about 3 years to complete. Cannot tell you just how happy I was when that bike fired up on the third kick. Lots of money, time, and effort went to completing it. Vowed I'd never that do that again.

AND LO AND BEHOLD, enter the 73 DKW 125 Enduro that I bought in August 2015. Stupid purchase!!! This little rat bastid was in worse shape than the Maico that I restored.

It's perhaps the most complex old bike project I've ever taken on. Bike was a bloody hot mess. Thankfully the motor is done now (the builder, Gary Ellis, is the same guy who thankfully did all my KTMs and Penton motors). Finally have all the parts I need to put it back together. Had to buy some parts in France and Germany. When it's done I'll post up some before and after pics in the old moto section. Just effin' crazy. I'm going to leave a little bit of the patina, but I hope I can get it close to looking like this one:

Uncle Tony
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4149
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6/30/2014
Location
New York, NY US
12/29/2016 11:35am Edited Date/Time 12/29/2016 11:44am


Beautiful bike man!! I had the motocross version back in the day


Edit: if my memory is correct the enduro was called a "boondocker" and the motocrosser "hornet"
MaicoJC1
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MD US
12/29/2016 12:09pm
Actually the enduro and boondocker were separate models (minor, but differences nonetheless). I have some manuals and literature to verify this. Can't wait til I get this thing resurrected and on the road/trail. Every time I walk in the garage, I just keep staring at the stripped frame. Well, if I don't ride this weekend, I'm going to get this frame painted.

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