Jay Leno's JPN

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My respect for Leno went up when he said he has owned the bike for 30 years...it is nice to see a collector that drives their vehicles.

Hmmm...an alarm on the oil shut off...that should start a whole new controversy!
 
Has any one (LAB) noticed the many differences between his example and an original? first off, the pipes are chromed, they should be black. The mufflers should have beem he annular discharge type and black. The mirrors are wrong, the gear shifter should have been only a reversed lever... but his bike does run well and it is on the road :D

Jean

Oh, the buzzer is a nice touch
 
Jeandr said:
Has any one (LAB) noticed the many differences between his example and an original? first off, the pipes are chromed, they should be black. The mufflers should have beem he annular discharge type and black. The mirrors are wrong, the gear shifter should have been only a reversed lever... but his bike does run well and it is on the road :D

Jean

Oh, the buzzer is a nice touch
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Jay Leno has an interesting collecting philosophy. He doesn't care much about originality for it's own sake. That might be because he rarely shows anything and just about never sells. But he also keeps every original nut and bolt. He still has the car that he slept in while he was coming up on the comedy circuit, altered of course.
 
bpatton said:
Jeandr said:
Has any one (LAB) noticed the many differences between his example and an original? first off, the pipes are chromed, they should be black. The mufflers should have beem he annular discharge type and black. The mirrors are wrong, the gear shifter should have been only a reversed lever... but his bike does run well and it is on the road :D

Jean

Oh, the buzzer is a nice touch
Click to expand...
Jay Leno has an interesting collecting philosophy. He doesn't care much about originality for it's own sake. That might be because he rarely shows anything and just about never sells. But he also keeps every original nut and bolt. He still has the car that he slept in while he was coming up on the comedy circuit, altered of course.
Click to expand...

I'm not a fan of his show, but I like the fact that even with fame and fortune he is still a gearhead.

Jean
 
Jeandr said:
Has any one (LAB) noticed the many differences between his example and an original? first off, the pipes are chromed, they should be black. The mufflers should have beem he annular discharge type and black. The mirrors are wrong, the gear shifter should have been only a reversed lever... but his bike does run well and it is on the road :D

Jean

Oh, the buzzer is a nice touch
Click to expand...
Yeah, it seems to run well. But he seems to think a cold idle at 200 rpm on one cylinder is a good thing. But it's his bike, and he can make it anything he wants. I'm sure it'd be concours d'élégance correct, if that's what he wanted.

Stu
 
What are those two aluminum clamps on the front downtubes??
 
Ron L said:
What are those two aluminum clamps on the front downtubes??
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I didn't see any clamps. At what time in the video do you see them?

And I wasn't so concerned about the forks, did you see how far his chin stuck out below his helmet!!! :shock:
 
For the longest time I thought the JPN was quite ugly. At speed its really not that bad looking :)
 
I'd have to take exception to Jay's opinion that the JPN is comfortable. It's the most uncomfortable motorcycle I've ever owned. After riding 2 1/2 hours back from Laguna Seca in 2003, I sold it two weeks later to a collector in San Diego. It did run nicely north on US101 at a good rate with no wind hitting me in the chest and face as would be the case with the roadster.
 
I've never been a big fan of the JPN.
Stock, neutered IIA Commando with fancy bodywork that can't back up it's racey looks.
The best part was the color scheme.

Have to admit watching the The Chinned One riding it, it looks rather nice going down the road.
 
I still think they are pretty darn ugly, but the hi rider still beats it out of all commando variations. I do admit I liked the way the replica looked while running down the road. I was also was amazed at the chin/helmet thing as well. Couldn't believe his chin was sticking out 2-3 inches below the helmet. I couldn't figure out what it was at first. :lol:
 
When he bought it, it was a limited production collectible. Still is. The man has class, his show absolutely kills that other one out of New York. Funny man, bitchin bike, great guy.

I'm in LA. Seems like if he's in town, and there is some weekend motorcycle or car event to attend, well, he's there, as much, it seems to support the hobby, as for his own enjoyment.

I see him show up at car shows, or at the Rock Store, and similar venues. Fanatics (fans) mob him, won't leave him alone; just cause they see him on TV, they think they know him and that they're entitled to his time. He's gracious while he suffers fools. Yeah, it comes with the territory but when I see it, I think, "let the guy enjoy his day, just leave him alone, let him look at the cars and the bikes like the rest of us . . . "
 
Great vid, and I am going to enjoy drooling over some of his other cars and bikes. Nice to see a celeb that has used his fortune to enjoy a hobbie liek we do, luck bugger.

And I too like the look of the JPN making music, love the pee shooters, they look like US brand Epco jobs. I have set of these in Stainless and they really sound great.

Cheers Rich
 
Did you notice the 3/4 inch poly tube coming back from the engine area to follow back along the rear fender? Looks like a drainage tube, but I'm guessing
that is the breather tube from the oil tank. Why not run it down to the bottom of the frame?
 
singring said:
Did you notice the 3/4 inch poly tube coming back from the engine area to follow back along the rear fender? Looks like a drainage tube, but I'm guessing
that is the breather tube from the oil tank. Why not run it down to the bottom of the frame?
Click to expand...

To ensure that any oil that might come out of the breather hose is deposited behind the rear wheel, not in front of it or even beside it. Also, someone riding behind has a little bit better chance of seeing that oil hit the street before he or she has to run over it.
 
singring said:
Did you notice the 3/4 inch poly tube coming back from the engine area to follow back along the rear fender? Looks like a drainage tube, but I'm guessing
that is the breather tube from the oil tank. Why not run it down to the bottom of the frame?
Click to expand...
That bike originally had a short hose running from the oil tank breather to the top of the air box. But he's replaced the air box with a K&N filter. When I saw that hose on the fender, it reminded me of a typical breather hose on a Triumph. MY JPN had foam pods on it with the short oil breather hose just laying over the battery - replaced with an original box thanks to a member of this forum. Those bikes are rare collectibles and aren't really much fun to ride for more than an hour at a time, so I think staying stock makes more sense.

Stu
 
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