No Reserve! 1977 Rickman CR Framed KZ1000
This one is going to a new home one way or the other. As usual, with some of the lesser known 70’s sport bikes I had to do a little research to be able to write anything coherent about this bike. What I found was interesting to me. Rickman was a little like an English version of Bimota. They were well reguarded frame builders that sourced their engines from several manufacturers. They started with hare scrambles type bikes and moved onto building road racing frames.
For a time they produced some complete small cc motorcycles but then returned again to frames and “kit” bikes. They earned a solid reputation for the frames and the nice fiberglass work that came in the kits. Just from a casual glance I’d say they got the styling correct. Seems like a good combination: a large, hp loaded Japanese motor in a hand built frame with some modern styling.
That is a manly man’s gas cap there my friends. It’s not museum quality but I can’t imagine there are too many out there to choose from and hey, we all know it is a lot more fun when there is no reserve on the auction. Even though it isn’t in pristine condition it only has 6196 miles on it. Here is the best explainer I could find about the “CR” series of frames.
The details:
For sale here is a rare Rickman CR (Competition Replica). The frame was built by Rickman in the UK in 1977. It is constructed from Reynolds 531 tubing, which is beautifully brass-brazed and then nickel plated. It has Betor forks, AP Lockheed brakes, and superb German-made Ronal wheels. It is fitted with a 1977 Kawasaki KZ1000 motor, with Kerker exhaust and K&N Filters.
The bike runs well, but is a bit smoky when cold. Cosmetically it is certainly presentable but not a concours candidate! The bodywork is generally good though the fairing has some stress cracks, etc. The frame is in good condition. A prior owner has fitted frame-neck covers which are just thin pieces of aluminum sheet and seem to serve no real purpose–these can be seen in the pictures.
The speedometer and tachometer are new.
The rear brake master cylinder leaks and needs to be rebuilt.
The bike comes with a selection of eccentric washers for adjusting the chain tension.
There is NO Buy-it-Now and No Reserve either.
Does anyone else see Ducati in those lines? Does anyone know if the wheels were part of the kit or added by the various owners?
Who says we don’t have naked pictures here at RSBFS?
The Italians do it, the British have done it, why can’t someone here in America make unique frames, add them to solid engines and mix in some different styling? Maybe the latest incarnation of Buell is the answer.
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IK
Rickman CRs varied with year. Earlier (e.g. 1974) they came with Rickman branded forks. Later CRs came with Betor forks. The bikes during this era were only sold as kits and came in three levels of trim. The lowest level used the donor bike wheels, the next level used a wire spoked hub with alloy rim and single disc and the highest level was the ronal alloys with dual discs. Note that the chain guard was hand hammered alloy and is missing. I need one or two so if someone is interested, we might try to get several reproduced. M
Great info Michael, thanks for posting.
Ronal wheels were supplied so as to get the TUV approval needed for export to Germany. These wheels started of a silver in colour. They are very hard now to get tyres for as they have to be ‘V’ Rated tubed tyres 120 rear 110 front(most 125’s use bigger tyres now!). The originals were Dunlop ‘RED ARROWS” which were specifically made for the ‘Rickman CR’ That KERKER LOOKS AWESOME!
Looks like the forks are switched as those calipers are meant to be behind the fork leg and not in front!
The forks on the bike are original later version of Rickman supplied forks. Betor manufactured them for the bike. It should have a second caliper and disc and the forks flipped side to side so they can mount the calipers behind the legs.
The manly cap is attached to a steel tank hidden under the fiberglass cover.
The rear swing arm is modified or a replacement of the original as it should be nickel plated like the frame. The shocks are obviously replaced and they look a little longer.
You may want to remove the aluminum plates behind the steering head as these early bikes were known to crack there. The later versions of the frame had a semi circular tube welded in between the down tube and the undertank frame tube to help carry the braking loads and stop the cracking.
I see you need an eagle eye if you are interested in a Rickman.
Agree with most of that – looks to me the tailpiece kicks up way too much for a Rickman though – possibly it is a repro from a photo? I have had mine 30 years – just redoing it again – I would bin the little frame covers – very hard to get good nickel plating in the tight areas behind the steering head so this is where rust starts – so dont hide it. Pipe does look sweet. They tend to crack the down tubes just below the steering head so a small gusset bronzed onto each side extending 3 to 4″ down each front tube and back around an inch or two is a good idea – check that area for fine cracks. Still excellent hills bikes but wish they had made a frame for a 900SS bevel Ducati motor…..