Topic: Moto Martin GSX 1260 -82

[DME]

Picked up this Moto Martin GSX 1260 from the original builder/owner/racer last night 
He built it in 1982 and it was run on the road for the first 10 years.
After that he set it up for dragracing and it was raced for the last time in 2002 before it was parked.
I´ve been trying to aquire it for 15 years but to no avail... until this last weekend when the owner asked if I still was interested 

Will be my next project as soon as the TR1-project is finished 

[seanbarney41]

Ohh my...that is a cool bike.  Excited to see what you do with it!

[MauiK3]

I have never seen one. What is the motor?

[Leino]

I have never seen one. What is the motor?

Suzuki GS(X in Europe) 1100.

[Leino]

Lovely bike by the way! Congrats!

[Kelly E]

That's a cool bike. You going to ride it on the street or just track days?

[Don R]

 Sweet! I thought I saw a familiar side cover peeking out of there.

[BenelliSEI]

Congratulations! That’s exactly how I picked up my Rickman CR750. It was a race bike all its life. I pestered the owner for +20 years and he finally handed it over!

[DME]

Yes, I´m very excited to finally be the owner of this bike 

The engine is a GSX 1100 that has been bored to 1260.
Other goodies are:
 - welded crank
 - Norris cams
 - Mikuni RS36 flatslides
 - ported head
 - oil cooler etc...

The bike ran mid 9 second runs the strip in this trim.

Anyway, the engine and it´s parts is one thing but what I´m most happy to be the owner of is of course the chassis
Finding av Moto Martin nowadays isn´t easy, and to find one that I have access to the complete history of is not gonna happen ever again.

My plan has always been to put it back on the street where it belongs, but time will tell.
I´m in no rush as rush always makes one make the wrong decisions... and that would be bad.

So... my only advice right now is to watch this space 

[Leino]

Just noticed "Piteå" on the sticker. I've been there once back in 2008 

[DME]

Just noticed "Piteå" on the sticker. I've been there once back in 2008 

It's a small world 
I was born in Piteå in -74, and the Moto Martin was also "born" here in 1982. And we both still reside here 
The dragstrip here was known as one of the fastest in Europe back then, both because of the good surface but mostly due to the cool and moist air under the midnight sun.
The races were called "Midnight Sun Internationals" and they were the main reason the Martin was set up the way it is 
What brought you here in 2008, Leino?

[Leino]

Drag racing... as a mechanic that year and I was supposed to race there later but NDRS pulled the plug on Streetbike class.

You being from there explains many things about the bike 

I remember a guy riding his copper(ish) colored Katana to the pits, removed the baffle from the sidewinder exhaust and ran it in Super Gas Bike with good success.
Always loved how people in Sweden kept the old iron going strong.

[Leino]

I think that Katana was 1428cc

[DME]

Yeah, the guy with the Katana is from a nearby town 
I know what you mean with keeping the old stuff running and running well.
There is still a lot of that going on around here, and hopefully it will continue that way... but time will tell.
I for one hope to continue to contribute to that mentality, and that was one of the reasons the owner of the Moto Martin wanted to sell it to me 
But I´m turning 50 in a couple of weeks so...

[grcamna2]

Was the Moto Martin originally designed for Road Racing ?
A wonderful looking chassis 
A 1260  !!

[DME]

Well, it was designed to be a better alternative than the stock chassis just as Rickman, Bimota, Seeley and later Spondon etc.
Many were used for roadracing, and many were used on the streets.
This one was used first used on the streets, but as the years moved on it was more and more focused on the dragstrip as the strip were where it was happening around here in the eighties,

[MRieck]

I saw those RS carbs....looks like older Ohlins shock in the rear too. Neat bike....I've seen a number of them with the CBX engine.

[MauiK3]

A CBX engine would be great!

[Leino]

I built engines for a Moto Martin replica GSX-R 1100 a few years back.
Unfortunately that bike isn't raced anymore.

[spotty]

A friend of mine turned up one day on a GSX11 Martin, no warning about buying it. I got to ride it that night and it was the best bike I'd ever ridden. Spinning the back wheel while wheelying up a hill round a bend on tram tracks. Any other bike I'd ever ridden would have killed me to death for being so stupid, it just felt like total control.
My mate ended up running it into the ground ( like all his other bikes ) and I didn't see it for years. He ended up selling it for $4K but didn't think I could afford it so didn't contact me. Fcuking d1ckhead. By then I had the Vmax and it's the only bike I would have sold the Vmax to get hold of.

[Stev-o]

Cool bike...looking forward to the project thread....

[DME]

And so it begins...

Started off by hanging it off the scale in the condition it was picked up.
No fuel or battery, but with motoroil and brake fluid resulted in 206.2 kilos with the straps tared off.

Then all of the bodywork was removed.

Really enjoying getting this project started 

[BenelliSEI]

Lovely. What is the finish on the frame? Polished bright nickel
.

[DME]

As far as I know the frame is made of brazed (not welded) thinwalled chromemoly tubing and finished in nickel plating 

[grcamna2]

Very nice bike and following your build