Hi Steve,
The bike was built in
Germany, by the tuning firm of Jako Motosport of
Hessich Oldendorf in 1994. It uses a Harris frame supplied by Steve
Wynne of Sports Motorcycles, England which was mated up with a brand new
Mille motor. The motor is standard and puts out 67bhp but has had the
starter motor removed (and huge battery) and a kick start fitted -
Jako's own design and cast in-house from magnesium. A pair of Dell Ortos
were fitted along with a titanium hand made exhaust system which is
finished off with a Scorpion (Akrapovic) end can. Suspension is White
Power forks and Ohlins rear shock, Billet six pot calipers provide
stopping power to the Marvic wheels.
Last year it won the "best
bevel" award at the Isle of Man DOC meeting during TT Week.
The bike was very
successfully raced at Ducati club races in Holland, Austria and Italy
until it's original owner sold it.
It makes regular appearances on the Isle of Man during TT and
MGP weeks. It is a delight to ride with exquisite handling and braking,
although not particularly fast off the mark it is able to hold its own
in the corners and often shows a clean pair of heels to more modern
machinery. Kick starting a high compression V-Twin is definitely an art,
I have the bruises to show for learning this art! but I have just about
got the hang of it now, push the engine over, listen for the "hiss" from
the rear carb, nudge the front cylinder onto TDC, choke if cold, a twist
of the throttle to pump some gas in and heave, if you're lucky she'll
start 2nd or 3rd kick, if not she's probably flooded, then be ready for
a sweaty session of kicking. The satisfaction of starting her first time
is immense and can only be appreciated by having gone through the
starting ritual for at least 10 minutes on a previous occasion! |