Top man. 73 & throwing a leg over a Hailwood to ride a thousand kays. I did 4x 900km days on the ‚04 900SS at a paltry 54 a couple of years back with. UK to Aragon MotoGP run. Tough on old bones. That MHR is glorious.
Great interview with a terrific bloke. I can vouch for Rob's claim about riding PI to Syd in one day. I rode with him as far as Canberra that day and was gobsmacked when he kept going! He's a legend! Don't tell anyone, but secretely he wishes he had a Paso.
Thank you very much. Loved this episode. I was absolutely enthralled. I,m about the same vintage as your guest and i,ve owned a 1985 MHR Mille for nearly 20 years. My daughter actually encouraged me to buy it, she said " who knows dad...you may be dead soon." So i did, sight unseen from Queensland, i live in Mt Gambier S Aust. I,ve used it as a daily ride toured on it, yes done the Lake Leake rd in Tassie and loved it. And yes i,ve crashed it... but i rebuilt it and now it goes better than ever. Love, love, love it. Thanks again.
Again, nearly the same age as Rob and was a proud owner of a 1976 900SS. Loved that bike and wish I still had it. Now thinking of buying a Royal Enfield Continental GT and fitting the 865 big bore kit.
I bet the 76 900ss was fun to ride. Let us know if you buy the Royal Enfield and if you do fit the big bore. Personally I think there is enough power from the stock 650cc engine but the REs are priced so well that making those types of mods is affordable. Very different but to the Ducati but a heap of fun none the less
Yea, thinking the same. By the time you do all the stuff. Engine, suspension, exhaust, body mods, airbox delete, lithium batt. Possibly old style upper fairing, no lower! Will cost as much as the cookie cutter bikes. To get the performance up & weight down. But you will be unique!
Another great bike and story Ross , brings back memories . I only regret selling 2 bikes, my 70's 750 Ducati and a highly-modified Sr500-Cafe .I replaced my 750GT with a black and gold 900 Darmah, silliest thing I ever did. Rob is right about the adrenaline , it does tend to make sense go out the window .Dave NZ
Great interview, what a champion, good on you Rob, wise words too. I own a Moto Guzzi Lemans so I too suffer from that V twin addiction, motorcycles of this era still had soul. I hope you have many more years in front of you Rob, enjoy every minute.
Thanks for watching. I agree with you about bikes from that era having soul. Something that is missing from many of todays 100+ hp bikes with countless electronic rider aides.
At 5:09, I see an ST (not sure which one, 4,6 or 8 valve?) but I do believe that is Australia's own Staintune exhausts on it? I believe that I have the last full exhaust made for a fuel injected Moto Guzzi Sport 1100, purchased and built in the middle of Covid, thanks to Adam there. Cheers, from Southern California.
Great to see a bevel getting used. They're such a beautiful bike. Another cracking episode Ross!👌 Ps if the fella has any parts he wants to let go, let me know eh.😉
@@BikerTorque Just over 50,000 kms mostly early in her life. She's on historic plates now but I haven't ridden her very much the last couple of years but this video has inspired me to put more kms on her this year.
Rob, you could ship your bike to the U.K a month or so before the T.T, then catch a flight towards the end of May, meet up with your bike and take the ferry to the Isle of Man. Its going to be a major undertaking and no doubt costly, but if you don't do it now you will never do it. God love's a man who tries. Believe me you will not regret it, the Isle of Man is the greatest and most magical place on earth. Check around and see if any aussie rider's are competing at next year's T.T. They might be willing to ship an extra bike for the right money.
I thought the MHR was a bit boxy looking when it came out.......the 900 ss looks cool....a guy I worked with divorced his Mrs in 1979 and bought a 1978 900 ss for $5000 wow I thought that's ridiculous money 😂😂😂😂😂
Not sure how they keep producing such classics, but certainly something about that Italian style, Ducati, Moto Guzzi, MV Augusta, Aprilia, Laverda, Moto Morini, even Vespa. I’m sure I’ve forgotten a few but all produce beautiful bikes
had one nightmare have to take the fairing off to check oil and just fall apart bulbs blew every day,its all myth old tek and rose tinted glasses a modern 500cc would blow it away.
@@BikerTorque I'm a ducati fan and have a beautiful 1995 750SS but out of all the ducatis I never grew to like the Hailwood rep... Good video all the same
Ducati Bevel engines paired up to Conti pipes are one of my favourite motorcycle sounds.
It’s a great note.
What a beautiful bike and you can tell Rob loves it.He's doing all right for 73.👍✋
👍
Top man. 73 & throwing a leg over a Hailwood to ride a thousand kays. I did 4x 900km days on the ‚04 900SS at a paltry 54 a couple of years back with. UK to Aragon MotoGP run. Tough on old bones. That MHR is glorious.
Thanks for watching, it certainly is a glorious bike.
Fantastic bike. I bought my very original 1980 MHR 900 in 2004. 18 years on I still love it…it’s one bike I will never sell.
Sounds like your MHR is definitely a keeper. Thanks for watching
Great interview with a terrific bloke. I can vouch for Rob's claim about riding PI to Syd in one day. I rode with him as far as Canberra that day and was gobsmacked when he kept going! He's a legend! Don't tell anyone, but secretely he wishes he had a Paso.
Cheers Kate, thanks for watching. LOL a Paso, not sure about that.
@@BikerTorque Ask Rob - he'll tell you :)
😩😂😂😂😂👌🏻
So much to love, listening to the sound of a bevel 860
It sure is a great sound. Thanks for watching.
Looks like a fun bike. Getting a bike or car like this, that you really love, and using it as a daily driver is gold. Life’s too short.
So true
Thank you very much. Loved this episode. I was absolutely enthralled. I,m about the same vintage as your guest and i,ve owned a 1985 MHR Mille for nearly 20 years. My daughter actually encouraged me to buy it, she said " who knows dad...you may be dead soon." So i did, sight unseen from Queensland, i live in Mt Gambier S Aust. I,ve used it as a daily ride toured on it, yes done the Lake Leake rd in Tassie and loved it. And yes i,ve crashed it... but i rebuilt it and now it goes better than ever. Love, love, love it. Thanks again.
Thanks for watching Keith and glad you enjoyed the video. I must get down to Tassie again and do the Lake Leake Rd.
This is what motorcycles should be like. Agile, lightweight and simple. Too many modern bikes are monstrosities.
Couldn’t agree more. Thanks for watching
Rob's bike was amazing and he sounds like a legend. Great upload sir. Eric
Yes, certainly is a very nice bike. Thanks for watching
Best sounding engine on the planet.
It's pretty good
Nice looking Ducati -- great to hear that it is ridden a lot. Good story.
Thanks for watching. Agree it’s a great looking Ducati
Again, nearly the same age as Rob and was a proud owner of a 1976 900SS.
Loved that bike and wish I still had it.
Now thinking of buying a Royal Enfield Continental GT and fitting the 865 big bore kit.
I bet the 76 900ss was fun to ride. Let us know if you buy the Royal Enfield and if you do fit the big bore. Personally I think there is enough power from the stock 650cc engine but the REs are priced so well that making those types of mods is affordable. Very different but to the Ducati but a heap of fun none the less
Yea, thinking the same. By the time you do all the stuff. Engine, suspension, exhaust, body mods, airbox delete, lithium batt. Possibly old style upper fairing, no lower!
Will cost as much as the cookie cutter bikes. To get the performance up & weight down. But you will be unique!
Love it! Thanks for sharing.
You are so welcome!
Another great bike and story Ross , brings back memories . I only regret selling 2 bikes, my 70's 750 Ducati and a highly-modified Sr500-Cafe .I replaced my 750GT with a black and gold 900 Darmah, silliest thing I ever did. Rob is right about the adrenaline , it does tend to make sense go out the window .Dave NZ
Thanks for watching, glad it enjoyed the video
Got one here @ellaspede as we speak mate! Great clip Ross, Rob's bike is lovely, great story. Cheers Leo
Hey Leo, it will be interesting to see what yourself and the Ellaspede team come up with Leo.
Great interview, what a champion, good on you Rob, wise words too. I own a Moto Guzzi Lemans so I too suffer from that V twin addiction, motorcycles of this era still had soul. I hope you have many more years in front of you Rob, enjoy every minute.
Thanks for watching. I agree with you about bikes from that era having soul. Something that is missing from many of todays 100+ hp bikes with countless electronic rider aides.
Such a lovley chap!😀
Absolutely. Thanks for watching
Red and Green ss900. Nice. Vee two engineering have genuine mike hailwood replica now. Not just colours.
👍
Another Unicorn Bike . Those MHR's , Green-Frame 750's and the likes of Honda's CB-1100 R D .
Oh to own a green frame Ducati…
Awesome machine xxx
Sure is
Great video, great story!
Thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed it
Top bloke and beautiful bike!!
100% agree on both counts.
At 5:09, I see an ST (not sure which one, 4,6 or 8 valve?) but I do believe that is Australia's own Staintune exhausts on it?
I believe that I have the last full exhaust made for a fuel injected Moto Guzzi Sport 1100, purchased and built in the middle of Covid, thanks to Adam there.
Cheers, from Southern California.
Im pretty sure you are correct, looks like a Staintune. Thanks for watching, enjoy that Guzzi.
Bloody beautiful 😎👍
Cheers Mark, thanks for watching. It certainly is a great looking and sounding bike
That was awesome! Subcribed!
Thanks for watching and subscribing. Plenty more coming up every Thursday
Great to see a bevel getting used. They're such a beautiful bike. Another cracking episode Ross!👌
Ps if the fella has any parts he wants to let go, let me know eh.😉
Lol, i think Barbie wears all of her clothes
I bought my MHR new from Frasers Sydney in '84 and still own her. I'll never sell her.
That’s awesome, love hearing stories like that about bikes that are held onto. How many kms have you put on it? Thanks for watching.
@@BikerTorque Just over 50,000 kms mostly early in her life. She's on historic plates now but I haven't ridden her very much the last couple of years but this video has inspired me to put more kms on her this year.
@@coobye great to hear. Side note, how good is historic rego? Ive got a couple of bikes on historic, it’s wonderful
@@BikerTorque It's great. It allows us to have more bikes than we need😂.
@@coobye 😂 not sure what you mean. I definitely need more bikes than I have.
Definitely a unique looking bike he has too
👍
Rob, you could ship your bike to the U.K a month or so before the T.T, then catch a flight towards the end of May, meet up with your bike and take the ferry to the Isle of Man. Its going to be a major undertaking and no doubt costly, but if you don't do it now you will never do it. God love's a man who tries. Believe me you will not regret it, the Isle of Man is the greatest and most magical place on earth. Check around and see if any aussie rider's are competing at next year's T.T. They might be willing to ship an extra bike for the right money.
Thats worth looking into.
@@BikerTorque It won't be easy but when you weigh it up against a lifelong dream. The very best of luck my friend
IHMO yes, black and gold 900SS
Yes, that is also a good looking bike. I’d still take an MHR though
I thought the MHR was a bit boxy looking when it came out.......the 900 ss looks cool....a guy I worked with divorced his Mrs in 1979 and bought a 1978 900 ss for $5000 wow I thought that's ridiculous money 😂😂😂😂😂
It probably is a little bit boxy, but still a great looking bike in my opinion.
Great episode. Beautiful bike. How did the Italians keep doing it?
Not sure how they keep producing such classics, but certainly something about that Italian style, Ducati, Moto Guzzi, MV Augusta, Aprilia, Laverda, Moto Morini, even Vespa. I’m sure I’ve forgotten a few but all produce beautiful bikes
A: Yes, the 750ss with Imola tank
Not a bad choice, but I think I still prefer the MHR
had one nightmare have to take the fairing off to check oil and just fall apart bulbs blew every day,its all myth old tek and rose tinted glasses a modern 500cc would blow it away.
No doubt a modern 500 would be quicker, and you are probably right about rose tinted glasses, still…I love to own one.
Another great episode Ross.
Can I borrow your editor sometime?
😂😂😂
Quite the story!
Thanks for watching, funnily enough I actually edited this one, Tegan’s had a fair few edits to get through in the last few weeks.
@@BikerTorque well then let me borrow you lol 😂
Imo 79 black and gold 900ss was best looking ss/ mhr.
It’s certainly up there. Thanks for watching
Yes.. Plenty.
Lol, maybe, but maybe not. Thanks for watching
@@BikerTorque I'm a ducati fan and have a beautiful 1995 750SS but out of all the ducatis I never grew to like the Hailwood rep... Good video all the same
@@Team-fabulous I think for me it’s the colour.
Had one new in 1979 I think it cost me 2900 pounds then
Do you wish you still had it?
1,000 km in a day on that?! are you serious?
It’s a pretty good effort, not sure I’d be keen though
Umm the real NCR that mike rode, different more powerful motor.. the 916 or the new audi ones LMAO
Certainly was
I wonder if he was a cool cop or a bastard cop? 😉.
Definitely a cool cop. Rides an MHR, doesn’t get much cooler than that
I think he would have been a cool cop. He had the burning passion