A-RRRing-Ding-Ding-Ding

A coworker forwarded on to me this morning a PowerPoint document comparing the sounds of a HD to a Honda... of course the HD was all rumbly potato-potato, and the Honda was, well, not... but the funniest thing is I describe the sound of my bike almost exactly like this! Have a listen:

[728k WAV]


UPDATE: After having heard the sound once again, from online ads touting it as a cellphone ringtone to a wierd animation of a frog imitating a motorcycle, I followed the link to annoyingthing.net and actually discovered the origin of the sound from an interview conducted by Newtek Europe with Erik Wernquist, the creator of The Annoying Thing:

A little more than a month after I had put the animation up I got a phone call from a somewhat confused person claiming he recognised the sound in my animation as his own creation. His name was Daniel Malmedahl and he said he had been contacted by a friend of his telling him to check out my website. I was a little uncertain at first but when he gave me the "proof" of performing the sound live on the phone there was no doubt he was the guy I was looking for. Apparently he was oblivious to the fact that his sound had spread around the internet, even before the Annoying Thing. He told me the he didn't actually make that sound as a joke at first, but as a serious attempt to imitate the 2-stroke engine of a moped of his. He has a talent and interest in imitating the sound of engines. This was about six years ago, and it wasn't until a friend of his put the sound on a CD that they used to play at parties he realised the hilarious quality of the noise. From that CD, the sound somehow found its way to the internet and eventually ended up in my mailbox...

Want to convert an R5 into a TR3 replica?

I had already linked to another R5-TR3 conversion, but the parts listed were from Yamaha, and most are no longer available. Well, Jamie Linxwiler put together an up-to-date article on building a TR3 Replica R5/RD350, using parts and resources that are currently available. It seems like it's remarkably simple and straightforward process... and making a hybrid, street-legal version with the TR3 tank and seat could be very interesting... time to start saving sheckles...

Old Brit Blog

Dr. Laverda writes about the joys and woes of vintage motorcycles... some damn funny writing here. This is a must-read!

Bike is indoors!

And it's been called "a work of art"... gotta love that!

Took a friend and I, a long 2x4, much grunting, some profanity and a few tense moments, and it was in.

I rather like it inside, it really is a conversation piece. I find myself sitting on it regularly.

Problems... solved?

It came time for the annual DelVal ABATE Toy Run, and after giving the car a much-needed washing, I tried to get the ol' Stinker started. No dice. I changed plugs, nothing. Plenty of gas, oil, petcock open. Nothing. Noticed the idiot lights were pretty dim. That might be it.

Got around to getting a battery tender/charger, plugged it in and clamped it on. In about an hour, voila! The foulest mix of gas, oil and crud came spewing out the pipes all over the pavement. Took a good while to clean. But the bike was once again running strong. So that might be the problem!

Perhaps this winter, once I get the bike inside (weather has been too nice these past few weekends... can't bring myself to do it!), I'll tear everything apart, get a good cleaning done, and see if I can suss out the problem with the electricals.

Getting a few more rides in...

I got a message from a member of a friends' scooter club, Neal Friedant, and thought I'd pass this on:

One of the local scooter people forwarded your website and I found your email and wanted to ask you if anyone you know may be interested in buying my project 1970 R5, purple and white. I have it in my warehouse at Frankford & York. It runs and is complete, but needs crank seals on left hand side of the motor. I have a clear title and the bike has 20 on it, asking $400.00/OBO. By the way I saw your bike on 3rd street yesterday. It is sweet. Thanks if you know anyone that is interested.

If anyone is interested, let me know, and I'll put you in touch. Thanks, Neal, for the kind words.

Got the bike out on Sunday for a trip to the supermarket - a few items needed for a late breakfast. She ran spectacularly. Probably because she's feeling it might be time for hibernation...

End of summer...

I entered the Yammy (alongside Russ') in the Hot Rod Hoedown... first time I've entered anything in any sort of car show! Great stuff there, including a handful of tasty kustom bikes in the show and a whole slew of them parked just outside. A few of 'em are shown below. Good stuff.

After that we rode out to the Lansdale Bike Show... and by gosh I have never seen ANYTHING that enormous EVER. There were easily 60,000-70,000 people there. And just as many bikes! Not too much interesting stuff, mostly cruisers and such, but there were a few gems here and there and some really well-done examples, even for Harleys. Mike from Hiway had a booth set up. Stopped by to say hello.

Since then I've been riding sporadically, as the Yammy has been quite temperamental. She'll go a whole day, 130 miles or so, without a hitch, and the next day she won't make it around the corner. Plug fouling seems to be the culprit, and I haven't been able to figure out what's wrong. Got her going a little yesterday, that was fun. I'll keep her going as long as I can, until it gets too chilly. Then she'll come inside, where I can admire her all winter.

Here are a few snaps from the day:

Pictures posted

This past weekend, while putting in a little wrench time, I was able to snag a few photos of the bike. She looks a little different from the images posted in the auction...

First real outing!

This past weekend I went to pick up the bike from my boss/friend's house. He had been holding it there since the weekend before when I left it after his party.

Well, rather than just coming and getting the bike, we decided that we would all go for a ride. Me on the 72 Yammy, Michelle (Brian's finacee) on her newly-acquired 72 Honda 350, and Brian and Kendra on the his first bike, a Yamaha cruiser-type. The Triumph is still in the shop over at Hiway.

The plan was simple... Michelle had to drop something off at her parents' house in Plumsteadville. After getting to Brian's house in Abington, we would all ride out first to Russ' house, possibly recruiting him, and then on to the parent's house, and back.

We got to Russ's house, and after a few minutes he arrived and we persuaded him to go for a short ride. He pulled out his caffeinated Yamaha, and we were off... on the way there, Michelle's mirror glass liberated itself from the mirrorpost and went sailing through the air.

We got to Michelle's parent's house, marveled at Norman (a bat who had taken up residence behind a wooden sign on the outside wall), had a Coke and a smile and were off again. This time to Van Sant airport for a little glider-watching. Just as we pulled in a orange glider landed silently on the grass runway... after a few minutes of poking around, looking at the old open-cockpit trainers and such, and watching another glider go up, we were headed out again, this time down to Dilly's for some eats.

Even though it is August, the weekend was surprisingly chilly. I had two shirts on plus the jacket and was slightly shivering. Going in and out of the tree shadows really had a big impact on comfort. The sun was setting when we approached Dilly's.

We pulled in, to a small crowd of children's amazement. Russ departed, heading back to his projects at the house. We ordered a whole trayful of greasy goodness, scarfed it down, remounted and pulled away past a bunch of Victory riders. Cool.

Lots of hand waving, nods and thumbs-up. Very much like the MINI, although there are a lot more bikers that we came across, especially in that neck of the woods. We rode back down the main drag in New Hope, in slow traffic, beaming at all the stares and finger-pointing...

Speaking of hands, boy mine were sore. That clutch is not an easy thing to keep squeezing for six hours. Eventually we got back to Brian's, where Kendra dismounted and got back into her car for the long ride home.

All said and done, the trip was about 7 hours and 140 miles. Not too shabby. The bike was great, except for that constant-speed bucking thing, which I've learned to keep under control with clutch usage. The bike was even smoking a lot less by the end of the day. Felt a lot more confident, especially in slower traffic.

More feedback...

Hadn't checked in a while... got some responses to my introductory posting over at the Old Bike Barn forums. Big Bob writes:

Among the other bikes I've owned, my R5 was one of the favorites.

There were only a couple of things that turned out to be crucial, the first being don't try to make it do something it does not want to do. Mine would shake its head one time and lay right down on my left knee. Happily, they are not heavy beasties, and pick up relatively easily, although I should tell you that it's been more than 30 years since I had to pick it up.

If it smokes too much, odds are the oil mix pump needs adjusting - but don''t adjust it yourself to a no-smoke point - that could be followed shortly by a no-run point, and a large bill. It should smoke just a little at hard throttle.

They are good runners, although you're right in that they seem to hate a stead speed - but after all, it is a small Yamaha, and they're custom made for canyon racing, or for running up into Bucks County on some of the older roads. I'm a Hatboro class of 1960 graduate, so I know Street Road fairly well - you'd've been happier on a two-lane that was interesting - the four-lanes are best run with something larger and less intense.

The R5, when everything is just right, will run like stink, and embarrass many a larger bike, both at a light and back through the boonies. Mine spent a lot of time in the New Hope area, which was loaded with good practice roads.

Enjoy it - it is a fine machine, and should serve you well for years with minimal upkeep - just read the manual and do what it says.

And 79cb750f aptly adds:

Since it is the predecessor to the RD-350, the quintessential hooligan bike, you can do darn near anything to it racy.