And a chat with bike builder Jimmy Gurr.
We caught up with Classic bike builder Jimmy Gurr for a little chat.
Jimmy is a toolmaker by trade and his passion is for racing – and keeping the old wheels turning. At the time of the chat, he was the proud owner of an 82 Katana and had just sold his GSXR 750. It all started when he built a CB750 K1 about 7 years ago and that bike is still out there racing.
He’s a perfectionist and churns out some incredible stuff. The 750 was delivered in boxes and he took on the task to get it together and up and running on the track.
“Safety is the no 1 priority”, he says. “A lot of guys riding and racing the older bikes are older themselves – and you don’t want failures. I strip the bikes to the bones and replace everything. Guys like Mike Mc Skimming have given me the technical knowledge to do all sorts.”
“It’s different building a race machine to a road bike. My bikes are race prepped – right down to wiring and wheels.” (the standard bikes have the wrong sized 19 and 18 inch wheels). We fit 17”change the geometry, so it’s a complete build.”
“Parts can be a challenge. Suzuki seems to be on point, we know where to get them – and the entire GSX range is interchangeable. And being involved with the Classic club, we all share resources.”
“It’s great being a pensioner, because you have time to build. The average build with no issues takes around 100 hours. But I spend a lot more time on them than that.”
“And we get to have so much fun out on the track for far less than what it costs to race a new bike seriously. We don’t need brand new tyres which is a huge saving. Guys like AJ (Venter) pass used tyres around and we use them. Seriously, it’s great fun, a great bunch of guys. For around 25k you can come and race in the classic class.”
Look them up right here, say hello get involved and we’ll see you at the racing!
East London: 27th January
Kyalami: 3rd Feb
The SA Classic TT is on its way with some big names coming from abroad to do battle with our South African racers.
Steve Parish, John McGuiness, Ian Simpson, Adrian McCarthy, Gordon Grigor, Howard Selby, James Ellison, Danny Webb, Robbie Burns, Allan Duffus and James Hillier are all confirmed so far.
Team SA has some fast names like AJ Venter, Paul Jacobs, Fergal Mcadam, Matthew Herbert, Jaco Gous, Mike Mc skimming, James Barson, Etienne Louw, Douw Coetzee, taking the fight to them.
It’s going to be a family affair with stalls and all sorts, and if you have a spectacular custom motorcycle, plans are for RideFast to host a concours competition at the Kyalami leg.
It’s monster fun and if you are at a loose end, you need to get down to the track and watch the action.
It’s going to be great! Catch you there!
Click here for more!
