• There has been a recent cluster of spammers accessing BARFer accounts and posting spam. To safeguard your account, please consider changing your password. It would be even better to take the additional step of enabling 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on your BARF account. Read more here.

is this bike worth putting back together ?

I had a friend in high school with a 750 water buffalo. Another had the GT380, I think I liked the 380 more.
 
Schnellbandit said:
Now those are some of the best looking bikes. The expansion chambers alone could school every can maker out there. All we have now are sewer pipes stuck onto irrigation pipes for exhausts.
Click to expand...

You can design a better can that meets the exceedingly stringent decibel requirements these days?
 
ex-walker said:
I don't personally know if it is or isn't a ron Grant factory bike. I was just told back in the day that it was a ex ron Grant racing bike turned street legal. I do know that when ever so called factory bikes get sold to the public that most of the factory parts are taken off. Again I don't personally care if it's a ron Grant bike or not. I am not trying to sell it, hell it's not even mine it's my dad's. It's just a bike that's in my dad's garage that I wish was up and running
Click to expand...

It's still a cool bike. It's worth some effort but it's got to be in your blood to be worth the effort. If I was in your shoes, the frame would be at the powder coater already, just saying.
 
Phanuel said:
You can design a better can that meets the exceedingly stringent decibel requirements these days?
Click to expand...

I said:

"Now those are some of the best looking bikes. The expansion chambers alone could school every can maker out there. All we have now are sewer pipes stuck onto irrigation pipes for exhausts.

I have a request, next time you take them out, how about link to a sound clip?"

I pay the owner of those GTs a compliment and that is what you come up with?:rolleyes
 
We banned 2T for a reason. Exhausts are built to a price point for most bikes. Higher end bikes come with nicer stock exhausts that are still limited by law due to having to contain cats, muffler boxes, and other noise controlling flaps.

BMW-S1000RR-HP4-2013-077.jpg


Plenty of "race" exhausts look sexy because they require none of these, just how T2 exhausts worked.

akrapovic_racing_exhaust_system_bmws1000_rr20102014_titanium_carbon_fiber_zoom.jpg


So yes, you're implying the current generation of exhausts are ugly because nobody cares anymore. It's quite the opposite, but all of these accouterments cost money to R&D and at some point function > form.
 
Last edited:
OP that would be a sweet bike if you could save it. That it's your Dad's bike would give it even more value to you. These are special bikes. You'd probably end up loving it.

Schnellbandit said:
Now those are some of the best looking bikes. The expansion chambers alone could school every can maker out there. All we have now are sewer pipes stuck onto irrigation pipes for exhausts.
Click to expand...

Some of the current two stroke pipes are total works of art.

b127818178f97f099acc142f65f60465.jpg

Phanuel said:
You can design a better can that meets the exceedingly stringent decibel requirements these days?
Click to expand...

Absolutely, the silencer is actually quite easy to set up that way.

Phanuel said:
We banned 2T for a reason.
Click to expand...

Actually that's not accurate. They were limited, but you can still buy them in the States, and in many other countries as well. And anything you have is of course still totally valid. Modern strokers can also be fitted with catalytic converters depending on the market, and the Euro3 and Euro4 rules don't differentiate between engine types. You just have to build it clean enough to meet the regulations. So any of the stokers that have sold in the last 17 years or so are meeting the same regulations as their four stroke bretheren. Still the stroker pipes look, and sound way better. :teeth
 
Phanuel,

I'm not trying nor did I intend to debate the decibels, emissions of the two stokes vs the four stoke engines and their exhaust or why in general two stroke street bikes aren't being offered anymore.. That has nothing to do with how good those GT750s look. They are vintage bikes and someone obviously put a lot of time and effort into getting them to the point they are.

The sound from those GTs must be a symphony. Who cares about why they aren't being made anymore?

BTW, to me, those exhausts you showed (for the 4 stoke engines) look like something from home depot compared to what that guy has on his GT750. Its called and opinion and a compliment to him.

Peace.
 
Last edited:
You say you don't want to sell it, but you have asked a few times what's it worth.

Is the thinking, if it is worth $8000 all fixed up you'd rebuild it, but if it is worth $2000 all fixed up you'd just leave it in boxes?

If I were you, I would not try for some incredible full restore extravagant project.

I'm guessing the engine/carbs/pipes are all in boxes but everything else is together?

If so, I'd make the first project to get the motor sorted out. Clean off a work bench, get it all out, see what's needed, check out eBay and other suppliers. Check out rebuilt water buffaloes online, contact the owners, see where they got their parts, etc.

If you get the motor sorted, all the other stuff should be way easier. Then just rebuild the brakes, new tires, carb rebuild kit, new air filters, etc. and let it rip!

If all that works and it is running well and fun, then you could decide if you want to do a full frame off restore type of thing.
 
usedtobefast said:
You say you don't want to sell it, but you have asked a few times what's it worth.

Is the thinking, if it is worth $8000 all fixed up you'd rebuild it, but if it is worth $2000 all fixed up you'd just leave it in boxes?

If I were you, I would not try for some incredible full restore extravagant project.

I'm guessing the engine/carbs/pipes are all in boxes but everything else is together?
Click to expand...

Again it's not my bike to sell. The reason I ask what it's worth, is so I can tell my dad what he could get for it, if he would just sell it. I am paralyzed and not interested in restoring it myself as I wouldn't be able to ride it with out doing my hole outrigger mod to it and I wouldn't do that to this bike. I just think it's a shame for this bike to not be in the hands of someone who could do something like the two blue bikes. If it were mine I would give it to someone who could appreciate it.
 
Schnellbandit said:
...BTW, to me, those exhausts you showed (for the 4 stoke engines) look like something from home depot compared to what that guy has on his GT750. Its called and opinion and a compliment to him.

Peace.
Click to expand...

Actually the header pipe looks compromised. To deal with the expanding gas the header should have a taper to allow maximum gas expansion as the exhaust gas cools. The racing 750s had a cool third pipe that snaked through the frame with a high exit. They sounded awesome at Ontario Motor Speedway on the bank. I don't think they had any silencers back then (but my memory is getting fuzzy).

Here you go:

TR_abertura.jpg
TR_equipe_1972.jpg
1972xr11.jpg
 
Last edited:
One of my pals built a Water Buffalo for the famous Ontario Six Hour race. The thing was fast but not sorted having been put together in a rather hasty fashion. If I recall correctly he got a good start and was near the front when the bike seized solid. Oh well. You can't build a bike in 6 hours for a 6 hour race, lol.
 
Price varies greatly on provenance, condition and completeness.
A mostly complete basket gt750 without anything special or too destructive going on maybe $1200.
A factory race bike with unobtanium factory parts, a history and in easily restorable shape maybe $4k or more?

Also, if it has rare parts that are NOT in good shape, this can actually hurt the restoration process as they will have to be swapped out with other usable parts. I found this out the hard way fixing up a 1998 yz250 that had a custom head, piston, cylinder, carb that were all worn out.

Great bike, I started building a custom one for a customer a decade ago but he ran out of money as he turned his attentio towards collecting Nortons.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top