Build your own '70s SS Replica ... w/ '00s power

fasterdammit · Post by **fasterdammit** » Thu Apr 28, 2005 4:15 pm

Looks '70s, but juiced up with present-day snot:
Baines Racing: Project Imola

Basically, for a price, you get a frame, swingarm, fuel cell & tank cover, fairing, Conti replica pipes, rear shocks, and some other goodies - add one pair of fork legs and the appropriate SS lump & control units, shoot some paint, a liberal application of your own elbow grease and a little cussin' thrown in for good measure ... and voila. Your own retro quasi-Sport Classic. You can also have them build one for you, sure, but that gets a little more expensive.

It's not the real thing, no, but it's a helluva lot cheaper and looks to be pretty slick. I'd rock one mainly because I know what it'd cost me to restore a real one ...

Post by **Skins** » Fri Apr 29, 2005 6:59 am

:lick:

Well, I tell ya what, faster, the Pantah motor has never looked better to me than it does those beautiful bikes.

I reckon I could even bend my aging body into a racing crouch for one.

A black and gold one, I think. 75 bhp will do.

redpaso · Post by **redpaso** » Fri Apr 29, 2005 11:32 am

I have a magazine article on these bikes. They reckon they ride pretty well & with the advantage of 20+ years motorcycle technology are probably better rides than the original, they look great! Possibly a cheaper alternative to teh Ducati Classic limited runs & they are available now.

fasterdammit · Post by **fasterdammit** » Fri Apr 29, 2005 12:58 pm

Well, the kit is about $6500; that leaves the new owner to source an SS motor, forks, wheels & electricals (and maybe some other tidbits). If I had a wrecked SS, I'd scarf one of these kits up in a New York minute. I still want to scarf one up even without an SS. I love that Baines has adapted a kit that follows the original SS much closer than (hate to say it) Ducati's new Sport Classics. I do like the Sport Classics, and I was definitely hot for one of those when the prototypes first appeared ... but I like these kits a little better, I think. They haven't been "subtly updated" as the Classics seem to be (the Paul Smart in particular).

Not that any of that makes it any easier to convince mrs. fasterdammit to let me buy one. At least, if I bought a Sport Classic I could take her for a ride on it right away! :laugh:

As for the kit ... as much as I would love to have a '73 or '74, I doubt I'll ever find one that I can afford and/or fix in my lifetime. So this way, like red says ... retro classic looks w/ present-day power and - even better - present-day suspenders and binders!

Needless to say, I've been trying to figure out how much I can get an SS lump for, and what it'll cost me to have it shipped directly to Ferracci for a set of stage 2 or 3 cams, wider Ti valves, bronze race guides, etc ... nothing wrong with taking present-day power and packing it full of snot before tucking it away into an innocuous little retro bike ...

DesmoDog · Post by **DesmoDog** » Sat May 14, 2005 1:05 pm

The two with the quarter fairings look ok, but the yellow one looks plain wrong to me. Maybe it's just the angle of the photo or something, but I think the size/shape of the tank looks terrible. The addition of the fairing must put it into better perspective or something.

Too bad really, I think it'd look pretty good with a closer reproduction of the Sport's tank as opposed to the Imola style supertank they have on there now.

Someone from Baines is on the Bevel heaven forum if you'd like more info on the bikes:

http://www.bevelheaven.com/~BB/phpBB2/v ... .php?t=288