Project "Cavalleggero" - Kawasaki AR80

Exciting times lay ahead for Omega Racer!

I got this soft spot for small displacement bikes, especially if they are vintage and look like extreme racing machines. I already have a nice example in Italy, an original and unrestored Tecnomoto Special 50cc and just recently acquired a '67 Moto Morini Corsarino Scrambler, also original and unrestored, which I bought for my dad (blog post coming soon).
Those little 2 stroke rockets were truly remarkable and in my opinion will be the target for a new wave of collectors and bike enthusiasts. You heard it here first!

Tecnomoto Special 1973

Corsarino Scrambler 1967

My idea then, is to build an homage to these Italian micro racers of the 60s and 70s here in Thailand, trying to combine the features that distinguish them from other offerings of that time, with a good dose of my own particular "Omega" design. I don't like to do pure replicas or trying to mimic technical solutions at any cost. My project shall be inspired by these bikes but should be instantly recognizable as an Omega Racer bike. That's the goal at least...

Guazzoni Matta 50, with "disco rotante" inlet valve

1972 Malanca Testarossa

1970 Aprilia Colibri

1966 Mondial Record Sport

1966 Ducati 50 Sport SL1

Suzuki A100

First I had to look for a cheap donor bike. My first choice fell upon a Suzuki A100. I really like the tank and frame combination with the half-suspended motor.
Pros: easy to find in decent conditions, price range 10-15k Baht (350-500$), plenty of spares.
Contras: it has a 4 stroke engine.

While asking for advice in a FB group, an Italian gentleman pointed me towards the Kawasaki AR80. I've never heard of this bike before, but it turned out to be perfect for my project. After a bit of searching, the only suitable bike I found was some 300km away and was already modified quite heavily. But since the price was very interesting (4.5k Baht/ 150$), I decided to buy it.
Pros: small, lightweight, 2 stoke, 6(!) gears, CHEAP
Contras: no registration book

A Kawasaki dressed up as a Yamaha...AR80

I immediately felt this wave of enthusiasm rush through me that I typically feel when I know I'm on the right track. Ideas started to flow and soon I had a drawing ready. Also typical for me is the extremely low-tech approach to the design stage. Printer, pencil, pen, scissors and white correction pen are my design tools, there's no fancy CAD or design app for me.

First draft for project "Cavalleggero"

For the first time I also tried my hands on a 3D model, which I made with plasticine, the stuff that children use to play. Not ideal, but it can give an idea of the proportions and general style of my project.

The name I chose for this new project is "Cavalleggero", which is Italian for "light cavalry". It gives the idea of being lightweight and with few horse power, plus it's Italian...perfect I thought.

The next step is to take it apart and order the necessary parts that need to be replaced. I already got steering bearings, aluminium rims and an exhaust that is much lighter than the stock one.

 Anyway, all this has to wait until I come back from my holiday in 6 weeks. See ya!

Unbelievable People

There are all sorts of people out there. Some are clever, kind and considerate, others are a bit thick, abrasive and aggressive. We have to deal with them all...

Here is the latest gem I got in my inbox:

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1. This website looks like fraud.
2. If this is a legit website and company I want to inquire what is the gel insert? You should explain what gel insert means on the web page. 
3. I want the Diamomnd stitch classic brown seat for a 2018 Thruxton R.
4. How long does it take to receive seat?
Please get back to me asap or I will seek another company for custom seat.

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Hilarious.

I've answered with the only logical reply: Please, feel free to seek another company.

Not long after I got a reply from this "gentleman":

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So after several attempts to reach this company, this is the first response I receive... (LIAR, this was his first email...I checked!)

No wonder why I had my concerns....(because you're a moron)

Great way to run your business!

I will happily post your response on trustpilot, facebook and everywhere else I can. (Now he's threatening to slander my company!)

Here I’ll type in my status as well since I’m using my personal and not my professional business email. 

Best Regards,

D. M.

CEO & Founder Mxxxxx & Gxxxx Insurance Agency. 

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I did have a reply for him, but in the end I decided not to poke the nutter further.

Some people....

The Butterfly Effect

There is a bike event here in Bangkok where one gets the chance to test ride a number of new bikes from several different manufacturers. Needless to say that it is one of my favourite events and I can's wait to hop on bikes that I would otherwise only admire on the internet.

This year I made sure to get there early in the morning, so that I would have time to test as many bikes as possible. When I arrived I walked up to the first stand in my path which was BMW, and asked to test their bikes. They had their 310 road and dual sport all the way up to the 1000cc supersport. I've decided to start with the small bikes and work my way up. First round was the 310 street version, a nifty little bike but nothing to write home about.
Then I hopped on the 310 dual sport. After barely one lap, I took a 2nd gear slow right curve and WAM, without warning, my front tire just gave away. With no time to prepare for the slide, I hit the tarmac hard with my right shoulder. I picked up the bike with some difficulty and rode back to the stand, worrying about the trouble I would get into. To my surprise though, the BMW guy asked me if I was OK, looked at the scratched exhaust and plastics and just asked me which bike I wanted to ride next.

Great I thought, and hopped on a NC750X. As soon as I was sitting on the bike, I felt the adrenaline dump: I started shaking and sweating, my vision became blurry and my shoulder wasn't doing much better either. Since I had done already enough damage to these Honda guys, I decided to stop for a while and get my shoulder checked out at the first aid stand. The nurse there put some cold spray and applied a cream and when I asked if anything in there was broken, he just said naaaah.
Alright then, just a bit bruised then, I guess. The shoulder was making strange creaking noises when I moved it, but hey, what do I know. After all I've never had a broken bone in my 45 years.
I decided to have lunch, hoping the pain would go away. Then it started raining heavily. Crap, I was feeling pretty miserable at this point.

In a moment of mental clarity though, I decided to stop feeling sorry for myself. "I will NOT go home now, beaten and hurt. I will go out there and do what I came here to do!"



At that point, the sun had come back out and the track was starting to dry up again. I went back and test rode the Triumph Speed Twin. Wow, what a bike! It would be the perfect upgrade from my Street Twin. Lovely. Next I tested the Royal Enfield Interceptor: a nice bike, good looking and comfortable. If it had a bit more power though, it would be great.
I really wanted to ride the Ducati V4, but at that point my shoulder started hurting even more and moving my arm was becoming a problem. Dropping a shitty 310 is one thing, crashing a V4....hell no, I couldn't forgive myself!
To make me feel a little better I got myself a textile jacket on sale. Trying it on was an adventure as you can imagine.

Finally I decided to call it a day and drive home. At this point I was still hoping I could keep it hidden from my wife because you know, the "I told you so" look was not something I was looking forward to.

Well, turns out I couldn't hid it from her because I couldn't even take of my t-shirt by myself. I had indeed broken my collarbone. :-(

tons of pills

This caused my holiday plans to be postponed and forced my to wear some sort of medieval torture device, 24 hours a day for 8 weeks. I had planned for a 3 week bike trip through France, Spain and Portugal, but the summer was running out and I still didn't get the green light from my doctor.

When life throws you lemons, make a lemonade!
So again, instead of feeling sorry for myself, I started learning Spanish and French with a great app called Duolingo, and lo and behold, I stopped smoking. It took me 29 years and a
broken collarbone to finally quit.

That was my last 2 months, but now I feel much better and next week I'll fly to Italy and from there go on a bike trip to Southern France.

And to prove that I make great lemonades...I managed to buy 2 (small) bikes while dozing on my sofa. The first is a Moto Morini Corsarino Scrambler, first edition from 1967, original and unrestored. It's one of very few 50cc 4 stroke bikes and is quite sought after in Italy. I bought it for my dad who will use it as a daily runner.

The second is a bargain Kawasaki AR80 here in Thailand, which I got for a project I have in mind. More about it in another post. ;-)

As you can see, a small fall like that caused a lot of other things to happen, in my case mostly good things.

See you in Italy!!!