MHR for sale

guy851

Sadly not mine and I am still kicking myself for not buying it 2 years ago with a fresh motor and needing the rest bringing back to life.

Its just down the road and I have known the bike for some time.

Its been a LONG restoration - so long that the owner cannot ride the bike anymore and he has decided to sell.

The motor was given to Olli Oltmanns (www.italo-schmiede.de) as the best of the best in 2001. With 35 engines already booked in the work was not completed until 2 years later.

The bill in 2003 was £3k for rebuilding and blueprinting + another £1.5K for gas flowing with carbs to 42mm.

The paint alone took 90 hours of the top paintsmith

Engine has just been recomissioned, dynoed and run in as per engine builders instructions and she has just had a 20 mile shakedown to the MOT station and back

I have lots of pictures + more information

The owner is not a computer/email user

He is looking for TOP dollar for the bike - I have no idea what top dollar means in reality but 18K has been mentioned

If anybody has children to sell or a fat bank balance do get in touch and I can pass on more information and help out with a comfy spare room if anybody here wants to come and view

Again I kick myself for not ripping his arm off a while ago

But hey I still have a nice alloy MHR tank so perhaps I will come across the rest of another one

Guy851

guy851

MHR More pictures

Some more

Guy851

MarkT

Guy- Ok- I am reluctantly stepping into this one. My opinion on the MHR is way out of step with current thinking- almost heretical.

I personally would not feel so bad about not buying it- unless you wanted it more for lusting after then riding. I know bevels are white hot right now- and for what they do they are fun bikes- but for me even the 851 strada is much more pleasurable to ride-- I would even reach for my BMW /2 conversion before I would mount up for a ride on the MHR.

I owned my '83 MHR for 12 years, ('84-'96) splitting miles with my '75 R90S. I rode the piss out of both. It was a good mix of riding experience since each did their own thing very well--but when I rode my first 851 I sold the MHR and bought an '89 ex race bike with updated suspension (Showa in place of the MR1) and an 888 kit.

I would ride that puppy for 8-10 hours and it was so light/nimble/ and never worked hard at high speeds that I was never bushed like I was after wringing out the MHR for 3-4 hours.

If I have any regret on selling the MHR is because it is another piece of art- but not because it was a great bike to ride.

Of course this is my opinion based upon riding one for 12 years and is personal-- Perhaps if I had not owned one I would be in complete agreement with the current thinking on riding/owning of a MHR.

All- please forgive my Blasphemy.

Mr.R

Hi Mark,

I've owned my 900SS from new for over 34 years now and still love the old girl, but I have to agree with a lot of what you've said...
When I returned from the TT on it in 2008 I said at the time my days of riding it for over 450 miles in a day are now loooong gone, it was beyond hard work it was actually painful. I found that day that 75 miles was my limit and that was even with me pumped full of very strong prescription only pain killers. All those crashes/broken bones have come back to visit me and they ain't leaving!
In my 20's it was common for me to ride the Bevel for well over 1,000 miles in a day, I even had a bigger Imola style tank made so that it could go 250 miles before needing to stop for fuel.
There was no such thing as a 24 hour filling station back then in the UK/Europe unless you were on a toll paying Motorway/Autostrada/Autobahn etc.
But these days I look to stop around 110 miles to stretch my legs/give my aching bum/limbs a rest.
It still a hoot to ride though but not for that far, my 851/916cc is a lot easier and comfortable to ride at high speeds.

They're of a different age, as I'm sure it would be if you compared a 851/888 with a much later Ducati Superbike.
Having said that I won't be trading either my '92 851, '79 900SS Bevel or my '74 250 Desmo for anything that Ducati have built since.

Steve R

griff851

Well, my bevel crank is now done and the engine nearly ready for assembly. I have to also agree with the above. I use to ride my old girl to and from Melbourne, 4000km round trip. Not a snow flakes chance in hell I'd do that now. Pushing around that much iron is way to taxing these days, but short couple of hundred K's are still on the cards. The old bevels still have that magic. But for serious fun it's always going to be the 851/888.

pgw

My wife isn't happy with my last 2 bikes being single seaters so next bike will be a dual seat bike for the occasional short ride over our mountains. I have been looking at MHR's, there seem to be a lot for sale in Australia. The earlier kick start, 900SS framed ones seem to bring more money. What year is this one?

scott 888

Memory Lane, Mark

Re the MHR If I had to take a stab 1982/3.

Brings back fond memories Mark?, Happy New Year to all, have a good one.

Scott

guy851

Mhr

Hi all and I am in total agreement with the thoughts on ridability, especially when compared with our 851/888's

I suspect there is an element of "maturity" mixed with our feelings and strangly I have memories of riding anything that worked for miles and days in shitty freezing weather, through snow with luggage held on with bits of string and apart from fingers that seized so solid that clutch and front brake were abandoned ... and my body never hurt and I did it all again the next day

I went for a boxing day ride, got caught with no fuel cos I never thought the garages would shut 😳 ended up riding home late and dark and my fingers were soooo hurting as they came back to temperature I promised myself some heated grips 😄

Ramble I know

Standing next to the MHR evokes lust, passion and want and this increases loads once she is fired up and for a 100 mile sunday run she will be great, yes the back and wrists will suffer but hey we can always have a hot bath while remembering the ride yes?

If the price was cheaper (lots cheaper) I would take a loan and buy here but the nagging thought of two lads in gcse's and A levels and uni fees around the corner I need to take care..but on the bright side the last of the flock will leave home soon and we will be free to do whatever we like and boy we are planning 😁

Oh the MHR - Its a 1981/82 kick start - Imported and registered in UK from Italy in 1988

Have a fab news years eve and I am planning my 1st Jan ride already

Guy851

griff851

Happy new year too all.
If I were you, I'd sit my boys down on the couch, look them in the eyes with that serious dad look, and say sorry boys time to get a job. Grandma is sick and it's going to cost heaps. 😁
If your lucky her indoors won't find out until after they are gainfully employed. Then after a short stay in hospital you'll have a nice bike in your shed! 😄

guy851

Mhr

Griff I am totally with you but have already engaged the boys in my/our master plan.

Having been a prolific breeder breeder with kids around since I was 19 this last batch have already been delivered a clear message.....we get them through school and do our best so they have some choices about college, apprenticeship, bar work or dossing

But they are on their own very soon and we will sell up/downsize and I will take a bit of an early retirement, retaining some key consultancy clients (in countries of my choosing) Keep a little place with a garage here in Wales and most importantly expect occasional thank you letters from the lads with some cash

And off we go, most probably to Turkey where property in the mountains is cheap, food is healthy, the people super friendly and top on the list Turkey has some of the best roads/tracks/goat trails around for a robust semi dual sport type of bike (my KTM 950 SM would be purrfect) + I still have riding all the way round the black sea (slowly) on my list to tick off.

So yes agreed having the MHR in the garage would be great I have even greater hopes that the masterplan comes together and realistically its only 2-3 years away

It all seems very fair in the great scheme of things, supported and basically built my life to date around the needs of my children so its payback time and time for Guytime

Hmmmm .... are there any flaws in the plan? I guess perhaps the expectation that the lads might send some pocket money but hey I can always turn a trick in a dark Istanbul alley from time to time if I have to

Happy dreams for 2014

Guy851

RWG

I'll have that, he said 😁