MY OLD SEELEY HONDA

 

 

 

 

Well, back in 2007 I was lucky enough to have not One , but Two Seeley Honda’s and this one I am featuring was a really sweet ride and one of the last ever made by Colin Himself.

I saw Colin at Snetterton race track back in 1977 as this was the year before I left school, I hitched a ride on the back of a old Gt suzuki and jumped the hedge to get to see the trans- Atlantic races, Colin was there with a Honda britain and boy did that bike stand out, Colin was far superieor to anyone with frame design back then and this Duplex cradle from for the DOHC and round swing arm was a first and boy did it perform, little would I know that later on in life on the other sode of the world, I would own 2 of his examples.

 

 

This was complete with Lester rims and had never been touched since 1978 when it was assembled and sent to the USA.

 

This still had the Original Number plate on the bike of which i rode about for a while with this on, reminded me of home. 

 A fantastic machine, the Duplex cradle frame handled the road like a Ducati, this was a 836cc motor and it purred through the Dunstall exhausts.

 

 This even had the original Avon tires on the bike and road it with them on, I was so stoked to get the machine running as it had ZERO miles on the whole bike.

 

 The rear Lester rim was unusual as Seeley had used a stock CB750 Hub and machined it to fit the rest of the rim.

 

 The Paul Dunstall rear sets really were a superb set up and so smooth.

 

 

 This was the last bike made and left the shores of back home in 1978 which for me was cool as that was the year I left School.

 No stickers here, Colin used the same sign-writer for years, so these were all hand lettered.

 

 

 You do not see many of these around these days but the ones you do are used and some are even raced on a track and I love seeing that.

 Early front forks with a Double disc set up was the trend of the day and worked very well once it was all bled etc.

 The Tommesselli clip ons were amazing and set just right, the bike handled so well.

 

 I had original Koni shocks on here too.

 

 Paul Dunstall rear sets were so nice and smooth in the gear transition it was a super ride.

 

 Round adjustable rear swing arm was a really good engineered design and function so well.

 

 

 Original cb750K hub had been machined and pressed into the rear of the Lester rim which was a disc brake version.

 836cc old Bellmouth Velocity stack and untouched since 1978.

 

 The Paul Dunstall megaphones sounded really sweet and had a nice deep tone as you shifted gears.

 

 

 Alloy rear seat was comfortable and had the original tuck n Roll cover and had the Colin Seeley initials hand painted on the sides.

 

 I doubt I shall be lucky enough to have another of these but so glad I had the chance to own 2 of them and ride this, the bike now resides in Brisbane- Australia.

 

 A superb time piece and something I believe will always turn a few heads when it blaps down the road.

 

The bike was such a lovely design, and a dream to ride, the bike hugged the corners like a Ducati and the motor was a strong 836cc that put the power to the tarmac with a Linear feel and as this also had a Jerry Branch head, the bike pulled hard when you got over 5000 revs.

 

 

 The fairing has a few scuffs and a lot of it all cleaned off, but the brakes were seized but only took a couple of hours to get everything dialed in.

But as this was the last bike to be made, the sign writer must of been in a hurry , as he painted the logo the wrong way around, making this an even more unique machine.

 

 This bike had ZERO miles, I did about 11 miles on it and loved every mile of this ride.

 So- if you see a Seeley, take a good look at the cool work that went into that bike as the frame is a piece of art.

 Hope you like the photos? I was lucky enough to get in  a few magazines with this machine.

 

 Time waits for no man and now a geezer in Australia is bombing about on this machine with a mile wide smile.

 

 On the road and this bike was just pure fun to ride and like stepping back in time to 1978 as nothing had changed on the bike at all.

 

 Sure wished I had videoed it as the sound of the exhaust tone was really cool and unusual to hear these days.

 If you see a Seeley for sale- grab it, a cool piece of history and Colin is still around and meeting people at bike shows and race events.

 

 

 

So until I find another one, I will bid you all a fond farewell and hope you enjoyed the photos?