Kimjon's 50cc (then later ... 150cc and 400cc...then 1000cc) of awesomeness! Oh and a 2+1 wheeled machine...

[Kimjon]

Bmw is running so good now. I've basically been daily riding it for the past 2 weeks.

Unfortunately I'm getting a little complacent with it. It doesn't feel fast, like a modern bike. And in reality it's not...however the speedo tells me I'm actually going faster than I should. Today I nearly lowsided it as the rear end started to drift around a corner.

Its a bit of a wake up call. Tone it down, live to fight another day.

[Kimjon]

And then there's the buell, which is a medium fast bike.

I dropped a cylinder 2 weeks ago. What a fuck around that turned into. First thing I did was check if it had spark, which it appeared to have good strong spark. So I focused on fuel, compression, then back to the coil. All tested well. Yep, full circle - the fucking sparkplugs was the actual problem.

Anyway, got there in the end. Replaced the plugs - back to normal again.

Its challenging swapping between the bikes (BMW v Buell). They're two completely different bikes to ride. I think that's why it feels so sketchy going from one to the other.

[Muncie]

All my V-TWIN engines have shat plugs with clockwork regularity I buy them 4 at a time and still get the "you eating these things" comments from the guy at Honda shop that normally has the right type.

 

[cletus]

How are you going with your chopper build?

[Kimjon]

On 05/05/2025 at 21:18, cletus said:

How are you going with your chopper build?

Long finished a couple years ago. It's an awesome bike, one I'd never sell.

[Kimjon]

Looks different depending on angle of photo, but I've yet to see an angle I don't like.

[Kimjon]

Better light, that shows the rootbeer paint off. Couldn't be happy with the paint on this.

[Kimjon]

I'd love to do another one, and probably will someday. I'd go more Japanese style, like the bikes from LuckMC. Check them out on IG, they push proportions to the limit...but make amazing bikes.

[Kimjon]

Aftermarket top clamp, should enable me to lower the front down.

This should improve the esthetics of the bikes lines.

 

[Kimjon]

Cnc machined top clamp now installed.

It's lowred the front end by 27mm, so it no longer looks like a hyena.

 

[Kimjon]

Low...low..low, low, low!

[Kimjon]

Been ages since I've done any work on this. So today I put 8hrs into it.

Long story short it now has a gas tank.

I centre mounted it in the tray. The vespa should still fit, and it's fuckloads safer than being inside the cabin like the original was. These are renowned for rolling over, so I'd rather not get covered in gas in the process.

[Kimjon]

Another distraction enters the room...poor Ape, you'll never get finished with the way this story is unfolding. 

But come one, a 1980's vintage quad bike. This is the first Yamaha quad made, after the 3-wheelers and probably a lot of litigation in the courts over the safety issues of such machines.

Bit of a bucket list item for me, as this particular model (Yamaha moto4 250) is so entrenched in my childhood memories. Stoked to have it in my shed.

[Kimjon]

So fucking cool...and still mechanically sound. Goes hard for what it is.

[Kimjon]

Last photo. But fuck yeah!! Almost feels surreal seeing one after 40 years...let alone the fact it's mine to play with.

[440bbm]

thats the 2nd gen of the moto4. the first was a 225 with a way more vintage look, actually better imo.  had both and they're sweet bikes. i do prefer the first model though.

[Kimjon]

14 minutes ago, 440bbm said:

thats the 2nd gen of the moto4. the first was a 225 with a way more vintage look, actually better imo.  had both and they're sweet bikes. i do prefer the first model though.

Cheers, good to know thanks.

Its a fun little machine to play around on. I've been riding around my lifestyle block and our neighbours farm, so far it's climbed every hill I've put in front of it.

Its got 40 years of quirks, work arounds and dodgy repairs to unravel. But it seems mechanically solid, so maybe that's all I need. Sometimes you gotta know when to stop and accept the win.

 

[440bbm]

yeah man they are quirky. 

this was the first model, the yfm200 but was actually a 225

grew up around all these quads, was a great time to be alive seeing the changes each year and riding through them all.

yours looks tidy for its age! someones done some work to it, and the seats been changed so it was obviously well used and loved.  They do go everywhere, largely due to the huge rear tyres and they suprisingly do well in the swamps too

[Kimjon]

Next adventure...1969 Honda Dax. I'm collecting it from Waiheke Island next weekend, which just adds to its story.

From what I can see in the photos it looks like its all there, including the easily lost parts like the chain guard and original exhaust etc.

I'm kinda excited about this wee project. Shouldn't brake the bank and will be hella fun to ride.

 

[Kimjon]

Dimensions are frighteningly small...

But that's kinda the point of these. I'm going to hold onto it, get it going etc...think about what direction to take it i.e restoration or JDM cool...?