There’s nothing fairly like the sensation of getting a cut price, is there? That most likely goes not less than double in the event you’re an individual with a really particular, very area of interest curiosity, and also you assume you have in some way managed to discover a diamond within the tough for a particularly tiny sum of money. It is not that you just essentially wish to put one over on whoever you are shopping for it from, however extra the sensation that they did not know what that they had, so that you simply bought the discount of the century.
Or possibly it is simply your everlasting sense of optimism, poking its cussed little head up each on occasion to remind you that there is at all times a silver lining, proper? Properly, a number of the time, that is true, after all. And different instances, these suspiciously low cost finds you dig up are priced precisely as cheaply as they need to be, since you’re not going to love the horror present you are about to search out in the event you dig in simply beneath the promise of that shiny, candy-coated exterior.
We have shared some 2Vintage movies prior to now, and ceaselessly stand in awe of a number of the actually cool examples of random Japanese bikes (specifically) that he is been in a position to dig up throughout Wisconsin and breathe new life into. And I’ve stated earlier than and can say once more, in the event you’re the kind of one who appreciates a methodical, process-oriented method to diagnosing previous, disused powersports autos, then hopefully sorting them out and getting them working once more, then that is positively a YT channel you ought to be watching.
However what if there’s even a query about whether or not the bike in query may be saved or not? That is not one thing each channel like this ever reveals you. What if what’s lurking inside that cylinder head and/or engine circumstances is a nightmare far past what your native haunted home industrial complicated may hope to indicate you round Halloween?
Pals, what you are about to see right here is just not one, however two tremendous uncommon 1973 Harley-Davidson small-displacement bikes. To be trustworthy, they give the impression of being tremendous charming, and it is simple to grasp why you may go “oh, they’re $200 apiece? SOLD.” and queue as much as deliver them dwelling. I imply, simply take a look at them!
Now, in the event you’re taking a look at these and immediately pondering, “oh, that is a pair of Aermacchis!” then congratulations. You are completely right. And in the event you’re unfamiliar with the story of Harley-Davidson and the AMF years within the Seventies, then you might wish to learn this overview in our explainer on That Time Harley-Davidson Made A Motocross Bike. You might also wish to make time to go to the AMF Years exhibit that is at present on show on the Harley-Davidson Museum in the event you’ll be in Milwaukee any time quickly, too. However I digress.
For the quick model, although, Harley had had an curiosity within the Italian motorcycle agency Aermacchi since 1960. However by the point 1973 rolled round, it was deep within the throes of making an attempt to determine the right way to deal with the inflow of small-displacement, cheap bikes from Japan’s Massive 4 that have been making inroads into the US market. From 1968, the Motor Firm had a deal to be acquired by AMF (that is quick for American Machine and Foundry), however 1973 marked a really particular turning level in its relationship with Aermacchi, as a result of that is when it took over the opposite 50% of the Italian agency that it hadn’t already managed.
That is additionally when Harley caught stickers on some small-displacement Aermacchis that already existed, as you will see 2Vintage level out on this video, noting that they have been made in Italy by Aermacchi for Harley-Davidson. How do you battle off the competitors’s small-displacement bikes? By pivoting to supply your personal, after all!
I wasn’t round in 1973, however you do not have to go searching for very lengthy to search out of us swapping tales in boards about how the TX125 did not precisely go over nicely when it was new. And diving particularly into the 2 featured on this video, nicely, to say that they’ve seen higher days is a mega understatement.
On the surface, they give the impression of being promising! One in every of them (the one with the strong blue tank), a earlier proprietor even went to the difficulty of lining the within of the gasoline tank, which is a cool factor to see! However one thing made them hand over on the restoration, and as 2V digs into it, he begins to uncover why.
See, the one with the tank that appears a bit cooler on the surface (the one with the candy retro stripes and Harley-Davidson textual content on it), the engine is totally seized. So he is hoping that the opposite one’s engine can truly run, and that he can handle to cobble collectively one good bike out of the components of those two put collectively.
It is a good thought, however as he begins to chase down the explanation why the blue-tank bike’s engine has such low compression, the issues go from dangerous to worse. Seeing deep gouges within the cylinder partitions with a borescope are a powerful indicator, however even that would not essentially put together you for the horror of a disintegrating piston, wouldn’t it?
On the finish of posts like these, I usually ask in case you have tales or reminiscences of the bike in query that you just wish to share, and I will ask that right here, too. However I will additionally open it up and ask in case you have any challenge bike horror tales, the place they appeared promising on the surface however solely bought worse and worse once you opened them up and began to actually dig in. Let me know within the feedback, and keep in mind, ache shared is ache halved! I believe, anyway.
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