The creation of the 1989 Jordi Tarres Beta proto replica
by Retro enthusiast sascha basler and with input by original designer Ricardo Bosi and pilot
- seven times world champion jordi tarres
Im loving the bike porn :)
I called my friend Andi Kindsvogel, himself a specialist in retro trials and a former German championship rider. I asked him if he would like to make the test ride with my bike,because he would have been able to give a professional opinion on the Proto. Andi felt honored and we meet on a Sunday morning at his practice area. The weather was beautiful and perfect for the test. I was really exited what Andi would say. He started the bike and went straight up and down. The sound of the bike was enormous. I knew how the original bike has sounded those days and the replica sounded really equal. He started with some turns and rode up easy slopes to get a first impression. After a few minutes he got warm with the bike and rode a few parts of former sections. |
I felt really emotional when I saw my bike in action. Everything has worked so perfect.
Andi stopped after ten minutes and we talked about the bike. The first thing he said was -
“What to hell is happened to the engine? “ He did really know how a Zero engine have worked, but this he meant is a monster. The power was awesome and the response was like modern standard. It had so much tork and reved up easily that it felt like a factory engine.
“What to hell is happened to the engine? “ He did really know how a Zero engine have worked, but this he meant is a monster. The power was awesome and the response was like modern standard. It had so much tork and reved up easily that it felt like a factory engine.
The chassis was free of play and the fork and also the back have worked very well, that the bike felt much lighter as the standard zero. I asked myself if my replica was working like Jordi’s original.
I mean the bike was a copy up to a couple of titan screws. The weight must have been almost equal. Jordi’s bike was equipped with 260cc as well, and the exhaust was also the same. Maybe the factory bike had a better special clutch, but that was not an important thing because I would not use the bike for hard riding in competition.
Andi told me that he was allowed to ride a 307 factory Fantic of Diego Bosis for a few minutes those days. It was in 1991 before Diego gothis new Fantic K-Roo.
He said the power and the handling of this special bike wasn´t any better as my Proto Zero. He meant it´s a long time ago, but the proto engine feels more powerful. Astonishing.
I mean the bike was a copy up to a couple of titan screws. The weight must have been almost equal. Jordi’s bike was equipped with 260cc as well, and the exhaust was also the same. Maybe the factory bike had a better special clutch, but that was not an important thing because I would not use the bike for hard riding in competition.
Andi told me that he was allowed to ride a 307 factory Fantic of Diego Bosis for a few minutes those days. It was in 1991 before Diego gothis new Fantic K-Roo.
He said the power and the handling of this special bike wasn´t any better as my Proto Zero. He meant it´s a long time ago, but the proto engine feels more powerful. Astonishing.
I was very pleased with the result. Aside from the fact that the bike looked absolute identical, it had worked almost same. It must have been a combination of the special exhaust system and the modifications on the crank housing that the bike was so strong. Anyway, after a beautiful day I brought the bike home, cleaned it up and put it back into my work shop.
I was sitting there for a while and thought about what´s all happened during the building of the bike. I have to say that this project has influenced my live. I went to England, got friends there like Jason Finn, James Brown, Bryn Matton and so on. I had phone calls to Jordi and to a lot of important people. I wrote emails with people in Japan, Spain, Italy, Germany and who knows what else.
The feedback was amazing and I have grown with the challenge. And even the bike is finished, I cannot rest. I want to start another project.
A copy of Jordi´s 1992 works Zero
Many thanks to:
Kivo Trialcenter Germany www.kivo-trialcenter.de
Maria Baßler www.magreativ.de
Cornelius Becher ( graphics )
Jason Finn
Bryn Matton
James Brown
Frank Schroeder, Betamotor Export Manager
Andy Doughty
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Handy-Motorcycle-Parts/265534520227491
https://twitter.com/handy_parts
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/H-Andy-Motorcycle-Parts?_rdc=1
Jordi Tarres
Pere Olle and Son
I was sitting there for a while and thought about what´s all happened during the building of the bike. I have to say that this project has influenced my live. I went to England, got friends there like Jason Finn, James Brown, Bryn Matton and so on. I had phone calls to Jordi and to a lot of important people. I wrote emails with people in Japan, Spain, Italy, Germany and who knows what else.
The feedback was amazing and I have grown with the challenge. And even the bike is finished, I cannot rest. I want to start another project.
A copy of Jordi´s 1992 works Zero
Many thanks to:
Kivo Trialcenter Germany www.kivo-trialcenter.de
Maria Baßler www.magreativ.de
Cornelius Becher ( graphics )
Jason Finn
Bryn Matton
James Brown
Frank Schroeder, Betamotor Export Manager
Andy Doughty
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Handy-Motorcycle-Parts/265534520227491
https://twitter.com/handy_parts
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/H-Andy-Motorcycle-Parts?_rdc=1
Jordi Tarres
Pere Olle and Son
Thanks for sharing the story Sascha - she's georgous