Larry Pearson replica in the making

[Rijko]

Copying someone's work is the best flattery

I just read Mitch Boehm is building a bike very similar to Larry his S.
I will be following that thread with great interest.

Would be nice if a certain unnamed friend could convince him to do a build thread on GSR ...

Link to FB thread :
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1563800013915737/permalink/3117945708501152/
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Hello, S Fans…. Just joined and wanted to say hi and check in.

I’ve owned a few S models over the years, starting with an ’80 in 1982 while in college which I foolishly totaled in Little Cottonwood Canyon (Utah) while trying to apply my motocross skills to a 600-pound streetbike at speed on a twisty road. (Didn’t work out that well.)
Then a low-mile and pristine ’79 with about 6000 miles on the clock (sold it to a collector that offered me way too much money for it) and then a higher-mileage ’80 that I rode for several years and am now resurrecting into an actual (street-going) Wes Cooley replica, as it’ll have the blacked-out engine, wheels, fork legs, etc. like Wes’ 1981 racebike. (I’m sure most of you know this, but the ’79 and ’80 production bikes weren’t aesthetic replicas of anything, as Wes didn’t ride a blue-and-while bike until the year after the ’79 and ’80 debuted.)

And finally a thrashed and rusty parts bike that sat outside someone’s garage for a few years, though one with a 12,000-mile engine (fresh!), a fine frame and, bingo, an intact fairing, instrument panel, f fender, wheels, fork assy, etc.
Good to have, I guess.

Anyway, the Cooley race-rep will look just like my friend Larry Pearson’s GS, which I’m sure some of you have seen.

It’s just beautiful (see attached).
The finished product will appear in the pages of American Motorcyclist magazine, which I’m Editor of, and which is part of every AMA membership, so some of you have probably seen it.

We’ve made a lot of changes over the last couple of years, so if you’re missing the traditional motorcycle magazine experience, check it out.
I’ll try to update things here as the bike comes together over the next few months; the chassis is about done, and my buddy Thad Wolff (who raced an S against the likes of Wayne and Eddie and Wes and Steve Wise back in the early ‘80s and did quite well despite being a starving privateer) is re-assembling (and painting) the engine as we speak.
Should be fun!

Thanks for allowing me to blather on endlessly here…hope to connect with some of you in the coming months.

Thanks!
Mitch Boehm
Editorial Director
American Motorcyclist Association

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[steve murdoch]

Thanks for the link, Rijko.
Should be a fun project to follow.

 

[nvr2old]

Thanks for mentioning that Rijko. Yeah, Mitch became a good long-distance friend after seeing pictures my S on line and wanting to feature in his magazine Moto-Retro Illustrated. Great magazine, but it didn't last but just a couple of years. We've stayed in touch about making a clone of mine for himself. Part of me (selfishly) at first didn't want to see a duplicate of my bike. But he was really cool about it and always gave credit where credit was due and I appreciate that. He's been working on it for a dozen years now, so hopefully he'll get the time to finish it. I look forward to seeing it in his new magazine.

 

[steve murdoch]

Larry, what's that phrase?...."Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."
Well deserved, i would say.

 

[nvr2old]

It is, Steve, and I should be more grateful I guess. I've seen so many S models that have borrowed styling cues from my bike since it got featured here, in Cycle World, and Moto-Retro Illustrated along with on-line features like Pipeburn and BikeFX. I've thought it would be funny if someone thought my bike was a faithful clone of that cool blacked out S seen everywhere..

 

[Rijko]

Larry, what's that phrase?...."Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."
Well deserved, i would say.

absolutely.

Mine was not built by me, and if it was not for the history of the bike i would have taken cues to change some things.



In one of the articles about Larry his bike they mentioned it all started with a Yoshi pipe.

Funny thing is, i am in the same situation.
Have a set of the replica rounded Yoshi downpipes, alas not the muffler, and have been collecting parts for years to build a bike with those.

Even talked to Larry years ago about him painting my blue/white parts because i really like his meticulous work and glassy finish.
But alas shipping and taxes from/to Europe killed that plan..

Not too proud to say i have been collecting pictures of Larry his bike and taking notes from articles about it.
Will definitely use some of the cues from that

 

[nvr2old]

That's a really cool bike, Rijko. I'm sure the more modern brakes, suspension and wheels are a treat. I like the chin spoiler, too. Period correct Yosh pipes are like hen's teeth. I looked for a year before finding one in mint condition..for 11 dollars. I still shake my head at what a stroke of luck in finding one in general, but for 11 bux on eBay. I called the seller and apologized to him. We both knew what it was worth. I had set a high bid of $600 on it, I wanted it that bad. He was cool about it and said his mistake was not setting a reserve, and putting it in the correct category. I just stumbled across it in Used Motorcycle Parts and gave the opening, and only, bid on it.

 

[Rijko]

Thanks Larry, i love that bike for what it is

(But my own build will be more conventional like yours)