Should I sell my Seeley 850 to someone who only wants it for the parts he can sell.

Should I sell my Seeley 850 to someone who only wants it for the parts he can sell ? Is there more value in a viable race bike than just the bits from which it is constructed ? We have a situation in Australia where our controlling bodies are bureaucracies made up of people who must be paid - usually through entry fees, licences and log books. Gate takings are often almost zero. The fun of racing does not justify the expense. So who would buy a race bike which has potential ? Some people who race, do not know they are part of the entertainment industry. My brother took two Vincent speedway sidecars to a meeting last week to put on a show for the crowd - it cost him a motza.

acotrel said:

Should I sell my Seeley 850 to someone who only wants it for the parts he can sell ? Is there more value in a viable race bike than just the bits from which it is constructed ? We have a situation in Australia where our controlling bodies are bureaucracies made up of people who must be paid - usually through entry fees, licences and log books. Gate takings are often almost zero. The fun of racing does not justify the expense. So who would buy a race bike which has potential ? Some people who race, do not know they are part of the entertainment industry. My brother took two Vincent speedway sidecars to a meeting last week to put on a show for the crowd - it cost him a motza.

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I would be interested in it if it had a big drum brake on it ..

What about the Jawa?

Al it doesn't have to be parted out, someone could easily make it into a very good road going bike, there are many options that could become your bike in the right hands, if it as good as you say then parting it out might not be a good thing, it could be completely rebuilt to something better, improvements could be outstanding if done right, better than sitting in the shed collecting dust, if I had the money to buy your bike, I would love to turn your bike into something special as I have a lot of spare parts laying around or throw your motor in my spare Slimline frame could also be another option, but money is my problem but I have the time and parts to make it into something good, it doesn't have to be a race bike.
A Seeley road bike be good fun to build, be a shame to part it out.

Ashley

Seeley Commendos make a great road bike. Al no one is going to break your bike & sell the bits. Why? Because the bikes still worth more than the parts.

Go to the local race track and put up a sign advertising it for sale. Say you are looking for a young aspiring racer who will actually race the bike. It would be cool to see it race again and have a new life after it served you well....

If you GIVE it to me , I will see if ( that ) it is running properly . !

I have decided that I will get it going again. I have my eyesight back and I won't be half blind the next time I ride it. It is a long time since I have been a gangster, so I might have to find some friends.
If the Seeley was converted into a road bike - how could it be ridden slow enough to stay behind traffic ? I would have to reverse all of it's engineering. I was just talking to one of my old mates. He is in aged care cuddling the nurse. His son is the leader of a Motorcycling Australia affiliated club. I feel I should not do it, but there are about three idiots who need roughing -up. The worse one is manic-depressive. Insurance is a problem - shell companies in the IOM which are owned by motorcycling officials might be shifty.

Ashleigh, you are being unrealistic. It is not far from Brisbane to Benalla. Come and ride my bike. We might both get a laugh. The first 50 MPH is always a leap into the unkown. It is either stationary or doing 50 MPH. The difference just happens somehow. The first time I raced it an 1100cc CB750 Honda spread it's guts on the ground in front of it - that was interesting - luckily there was room beside both me and him. The 6 speed box might be better.
Try riding your bike from a stand-still in 2nd gear with your motor doing 6000 RPM. It would be insane to ride it in traffic.

Some push-bikes have race steering geometry most people do not ride them anywhere other than in races. A road bike does not need to steer like that. With all three of the race bikes I have built - if you get halfway through a corner and don't accelerate, you might not get around the corner. If the motor drops out of the power-band - how can you accelerate without slipping the clutch ? If you back-off in a corner on any of my bikes, you are buggered.

acotrel said:

Ashleigh, you are being unrealistic. It is not far from Brisbane to Benalla. Come and ride my bike. We might both get a laugh. The first 50 MPH is always a leap into the unkown. It is either stationary or doing 50 MPH. The difference just happens somehow. The first time I raced it an 1100cc CB750 Honda spread it's guts on the ground in front of it - that was interesting - luckily there was room beside both me and him. The 6 speed box might be better.
Try riding your bike from a stand-still in 2nd gear with your motor doing 6000 RPM. It would be insane to ride it in traffic.

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I am not being unrealistic Al, if it was made into a road going bike you set the gears for road riding conditions and if it was in my hands I have a gearbox, a belt drive primary already to go, as you have already told us many times over your motor is near stock so there be no problems there, easy to tune the carbs to run 98 petrol.
In the right hands any track bike can be converted to a road going bike, my Manxman project bike is a ex race bike being built for the road that use to belong to a champion ex racer and I am turning it into a cafe racer build for the road.

Ashley

Can't see the problem Al. Put it on petrol. Done! My Mk3 Seeley has an 850 engine balanced crank, ported, 4s camshaft, I've used Dellorto pumper cams, close ratio 4 speed box & a 5 speed Quaife. As with all Commandos it has ridability. You can plod, rev it, stick it in 4 th on a run. It sets the tank drumming when you Cruise at a certain speed/revs but I run above or below that. Strangley that's just under 70 lol. You don't have to ride it as you do on the track. I've also used this engine on track.
Just get it out there before you run out of time.

I am just trying to avoid the head-fark of going near the car guys at Winton Raceway again. My Seeley 850 has given me the best feeling of any motorcycle I have ever ridden. If I think about it, I really want to do it again. But the hurdles shit me. To be able to just wheel it out the door and ride it would be good, but not the same as being on a race circuit where it can be used properly. A while back I was going to go to Winton again and talk to them, but the last time I went there, there was nobody in charge of anything. I need to find their CEO. When I first came to Benalla, I could go there any Friday and ride, but the car guys got stupid. If there are practice sessions for bikes, they are well-hidden.
When you optimise a race bike for a circuit and it actually works, it is a really lovely thing.

One of the best race meetings I have ever attended was a Seniors meeting at Mount Gambier. It did not matter what age you were or what bike you had, you would get a good competitive ride. There was a young guy there with a Honda CB750 or bigger, who had a really good go at me, but I think I put too much pressure on him. Life is a learning experience. A win under those circumstances or being beaten, does not mean much. What would really mean something to me would be a race against large capacity bevel Ducatis. Anything else is pretty irrelevant. I have built one fast two stroke and immediately sold it, and there is another one in my shed which would be too fast, but needs chambers.