R60/6?

[ahutcheon]

So how crazy am I to consider getting rid of my 1150GS and replacing it with a 60/6? Other than cool old machinery, motivation is to free up some cash.

I commute to work (25 mile round trip) and escape for the occasional long trip. No use for excessive speed in this country (well-enforced 100km so 65ish mph limit), plenty of nice twisties, lots of gravel roads and the like.

The bike I'm thinking of is http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=413672831, but before I go look at it (Gore is south of the river, and I have mixed feelings about banjo music) what are the issues with a good one?

Things I can think of:

Four speed gearbox and leisurely performance - I used to ride a Guzzi convert and enjoyed it most of the time, but is stepping back four decades a bad fit for modern roads?

Brakes - looks like a cable lever with remote master cylinder under the tank? Will this make me nostalgic for the ornament on the front of mid-seventies CB550 Hondas (i.e. death trap)? Is there an easy upgrade?

Unleaded petrol - that's what we get, so replacement hardened valve seats are called for? Is that an easy job - NZ has decent engineers, but niche specialists are thin on the ground. What are the implications if the bike has been run without the work being done?

Handling - hinge in the middle and obtrusive shaft reaction, or par for the course for the pre-CBR600/GPz900R era?

Thanks,
Andy

 

[Posh Pete]

So how crazy am I to consider getting rid of my 1150GS and replacing it with a 60/6? Other than cool old machinery, motivation is to free up some cash.

I commute to work (25 mile round trip) and escape for the occasional long trip. No use for excessive speed in this country (well-enforced 100km so 65ish mph limit), plenty of nice twisties, lots of gravel roads and the like.

The bike I'm thinking of is http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=413672831, but before I go look at it (Gore is south of the river, and I have mixed feelings about banjo music) what are the issues with a good one?

Things I can think of:

Four speed gearbox and leisurely performance - I used to ride a Guzzi convert and enjoyed it most of the time, but is stepping back four decades a bad fit for modern roads?

Brakes - looks like a cable lever with remote master cylinder under the tank? Will this make me nostalgic for the ornament on the front of mid-seventies CB550 Hondas (i.e. death trap)? Is there an easy upgrade?

Unleaded petrol - that's what we get, so replacement hardened valve seats are called for? Is that an easy job - NZ has decent engineers, but niche specialists are thin on the ground. What are the implications if the bike has been run without the work being done?

Handling - hinge in the middle and obtrusive shaft reaction, or par for the course for the pre-CBR600/GPz900R era?

Thanks,
Andy

FB should be a tls job. Works fine if properly set up - going fw that is. Don't rely on it on a hill! If it's a disc and not a tls then I'd suspect the bike has been modded, possibly after a front end accident? You should ask about that if you see the bike.

Acceleration is not up to sports bike standard but should be ok for modern traffic.

Handling was always fine on my old R60. See above re sports bike comparisons.

The torque reaction and the offset footrests are things you get used to - part of the character of the bike.

Price seems ok at around £1500 quid sterling but it would have to be totally fault free and original or I'd be haggling.

 

[Packer]

The oil change frequency would be a pain.

 

[(RIP) Proff]

/6 = 5 speed...
My old R60/6 was my workhorse from 1974 to 1980..
Never missed a beat and averaged 55/60 mpg..
Cruise all day 2 up @ 70 mph....

Only retired when I got my R90s in 1980...

EDIT ...
Oil change frequency on /6's is 5000 miles... as they have an oil filter
Regarding Valve seats, if it's been in NZ all it's life they've either been done or are hardened enough by now
Just ride it, if it get quieter it could mean valve gaps tightening up THEN you may need to fit unleaded conversion..
Personally I'd get another set of heads and keep in reserve