My Christmas 2017

OldPro277
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1612
Joined
11/9/2009
Location
Avonmore, PA US
12/28/2017 4:24pm Edited Date/Time 12/31/2017 3:58pm
So..... to complete (?lol) my collection, I had been looking for a rare piece. A 1977 Husqvarna Cr125 GP. This bike had a special meaning to me, maybe even more so than the other 14 in my collection,as it was the bike that I got my Pro card on back in 77. A friend of mine sent me a craigslist link at 2:30 on Nov 28 that listed this one, and it was only an hour or two away from me!! The guy was a former Husky dealer and still had the original MSO and shop manuals for it.Crazy stuff. I sent the link to my wife telling her that this was the last piece to my puzzle and really wanted it. Her reply was "please ,no more bikes until they're all done" . She was right, I have 10 totally done and perfect ,but 4 are still in various stages of the restoration process. So, I agreed ,but was highly bummed. That night at home 8:30 ish , i was on my laptop and said "hey hon, Im going to text this guy just for the hell of it." So I looked for the ad, and it was already gone ,DAMMIT !! I had kept the guys number on my desk at the office from when my buddy sent it to me earlier in the afternoon,but couldnt contact him till the next morning. I got to the office early and I text him , he texts back 30min later a one word answer "SOLD". I was pretty bummed. Those dont come around very often, and NEVER with the original MSO. To make a really long story a little shorter, it turns out that my my wife and daughter contacted this guy 10 minutes after I sent her the link, they both left work early that same day,got to his place by 5 and had the bike back home and hidden in my daughter/son-in-laws toyhauler before I got home that night, and kept it in there until she gave it to me on Christmas . I nominate her as "Wife of the Year" lol.
Part 2 of my post-- when I first start racing that bike back in 77 we quickly realized they were really,really slow and underpowered compared to the Japanese 125's. My dealer had a connection with the Husqvarna factory in Sweden and they had a strong GP team in Europe at the time ,so we were able to get some porting specs from them, and made that little Husky scream !!! I may have been the only Husky 125 guy on the east coast pulling holies on one of those. Obviously after 40 years those specs are long gone, Im just wondering if anyone here in Vital Land knows of any Husqvarna gurus that can remember any tricks ??? I already have a set of the leading axle forks and clamps from a 250 coming for it and a set of piggyback Ohlins (2 of the things we did to it back then)..........

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Pirate421
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1812
Joined
7/26/2015
Location
MA US
12/28/2017 6:35pm
That’s awesome definitely wife and daughter of the year
speedman
Posts
235
Joined
9/11/2010
Location
Houston, TX US
12/29/2017 2:27am
Yep, your wife & daughter won Christmas on Vital this year, and practical joke of the year too, probably. I'm sure Mitch Payton at Pro Circuit has got some porting & pipe specs for that engine and would probably love to do the grinding himself for old times' sake. The other thing that wakes up those engines is an internal rotor ignition like was stock from 1980 on; significantly quicker and better for today's better-prepped tracks, though I'm not sure what the best source for one is these days.
RBrider
Posts
114
Joined
10/14/2010
Location
Malabar, FL US
12/29/2017 2:59am
Very nice! A tip of the hat to your wife & daughter. You got a couple of special women there.

Were you living in PA back in the day? If so, I know you District 5 & 6 guys were fast and you needed those GP porting spec's back then. But maybe now, 40 years later, stock might be OK? Just thinking about my own limitations.

I've got a '80 Montesa VF 414 bought new in '81 (Still have the original Certificate of Origin). I had the ports cleaned up a little back then, but now wish I'd left it alone. It's still very rideable , but it's not original.

RB

OldPro277
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1612
Joined
11/9/2009
Location
Avonmore, PA US
12/29/2017 6:21am
Yes, Im a lucky husband/father !!! Apparently they've been right all these years,lol !!!
And RB, yes I was a District 5 guy, raced with Gary Pustelak,Sammy Bosnic, Mark Garrison, Lynn Kirkland,Keith Schultz,Jon Epstein,and other really fast dudes. Im pretty certain we all scored National points during our time.
Im really wrestling with restoring it to a perfect showroom stocker,or building it to exact specs as the one I raced back then. Being that I have a REALLY fast 78 Rm125 FMF replica racer built to extreme measures to run in that class,I probably dont need to build the Husky , but Im really wanting to,lol. That was the best handling 125 I had ever raced . I would keep all the OEM stuff to be able to return it to stock,of course. Obviously the porting couldn't be reversed but might run across another stock cylinder somedayWhistling

The Shop

newmann
Posts
24444
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
US
12/29/2017 7:32am
I like it. You should build it with the mods you want and race it for old times sake...
OldPro277
Posts
1612
Joined
11/9/2009
Location
Avonmore, PA US
12/29/2017 9:35am
Im leaning that way very heavily Joe. I just needed some positive re-enforcement , so thanks for that. BTW, are you done with the PVL deal ?
mb60
Posts
4709
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3/7/2010
Location
GRAPEVINE, TX US
12/29/2017 9:39am
Very cool story and good luck on the build.
newmann
Posts
24444
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
US
12/29/2017 10:34am
OldPro277 wrote:
Im leaning that way very heavily Joe. I just needed some positive re-enforcement , so thanks for that. BTW, are you done with the PVL deal...
Im leaning that way very heavily Joe. I just needed some positive re-enforcement , so thanks for that. BTW, are you done with the PVL deal ?
Dan Gray at RE-MX.com is taking over the PVL deal from Penton Racing. Not sure how far along he is with that deal but give him a call. Good guy, tell him I sent you.
ledger
Posts
3673
Joined
1/17/2013
Location
TN US
12/29/2017 5:32pm
What a nice score !! Bike is cool too.
12/30/2017 10:27am
Wow!!! Way cool story too!! I'm originally from Pittsburgh - when my father was in high school he had a 1974 Husky WR125 that looked just like yours with the yellow tank and white fenders. He always went to Bohn Cycle for his parts.

When we were back in da burgh seeing family recently, he took me down to Bohn's for old time sake. We just missed Ron Bohn, as he had just gone home for the day, but they did have a beautiful yellow 125 hanging in the shop that *I think* just might of been a 1977 like yours. Would absolutely love to find one of these for my father some day for the collection of bikes we've accumulated together. (Were the CR's much more common than the wide ratio 125s? Seems I rarely see WRs compared to CRs)


jimmie
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2256
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8/21/2008
Location
Huntington Beach, CA US
12/31/2017 3:58pm
What a great story!
What an awesome family!
Congratulations.

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