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I absolutely could not pass this up. Deep down, I have always wanted to run a hack and admire many of the rigs out on the road. But, they are pretty uncommon (not counting the ubiquitous Ural). A design that has always caught my eye is the old Vetter Terraplane. I didn't realize it, but less than a thousand of them were ever produced! Anyway, I happened across a decent example here in Phoenix ('78 GL/'78 Terraplane), owned by an octogenarian ready to let it go. He'd had it for years, but it unfortunately got kicked out of the garage relegated to his side yard. Luckily, it was covered on a Phoenix north-facing side of the building. Rough around the edges, but it should clean up nice. The paint on the car is oxidized, but I have already confirmed that it will shine up decently. I have a windscreen on order. There are a few farkles that I am not keen on (lights and riveted birds), so I have work to do that will leave the holes behind meaning I could end up with new paint.

All I wanted was the car, but he refused to break up the rig. My evil plan was to mate it to my current '78. I think the Terraplane lines and the cafe treatment of that wing would make an tidy combination.

So, it is hanging off a titled '78 GL1000, but the bike has early 1000 shelter and motor. I got the bike started - it had been sitting untouched for "a couple of years" he said. Could be 10 as far as I know, but it did run...sort of. Sparking in all four holes, but carbs are leaking into the plenum and I have wet gas out the left pipe. They're coming off. Compression was between 110 and 130 on all four. Very encouraging. For now, the known "need" list is, belts, battery, carb freshening, left side cover. Two Lesters on the rig - cycle front and the car. Wire rear wheel. She's a bit of a Frankentein.

But, the old guy had some skills as there are some nice, but subtle, custom touches throughout, tastefully executed. Once I clean it up, I think it'll be a conversation piece for sure. The rig has three new tires, an extra carb rack and did I mention the original tonneau cover is in perfect shape??

I have no idea what I'm ultimately going to do with this beast, but am pretty stoked to have one in my possession - at least for a while.

I need a bigger garage.

Pretty neat ....

Gord

Very nice. I bought my present wing to transform it into a rig in several years and the Terraplane is on my short list for a sidecar. Keep us advised in your project. Good luck with it.

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm relieved none of you "naked" purists think I'm nuts. (At least you're not saying it in polite company). I'm still feeling pretty good about this purchase four days after the fact. This rig will clean up very nicely. There's no rust at all. Hey, this is Arizona. It's dirty as heck and the paint has seen better days (bike and car). But, after a thorough detailing - and a complete tune up, I think this will be a nice setup. If I go so far as to paint it (jury still out on that one), I am confident that selling won't be a problem.

Storage is getting to be a problem. After my divorce some years ago, I lost <sniff> my 1000 sq. ft. detached garage/shop. Dang, I miss that place. For now, this rig will have to reside outside beside the house. I may do some juggling in the garage while it's under construction (the Westfalia might move to the side of the house). The Valkyrie and the "first" '78 stay garaged.

Anyway, I'm thrilled - both to have a new project and to have something I always subconsciously wanted!

I like it!!


HOTT

desertrefugee wrote:Thanks for the encouragement. I'm relieved none of you "naked" purists think I'm nuts. (At least you're not saying it in polite company)....

Don't get hung up on the the word naked, more a frame of mind than what clothes the bike does/doesn't have on. Just check pics from ANY of our rallies.


As there were so few made, Terraplane info is almost as/more scarce as the Terraplane itself. I see you found vetterowners.com might also check out https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Vetter_SC/info . A restricted group but I understand lots of info and pics in there.

How do those pipes sound? That's exactly what I was going to do to mine. If you want to get rid of them let me know.

I'm going to hang on to these pipes. (They're actually stainless steel!) And they fit with the quirky aspect of the machine. I've pulled the thing into the garage, so it's time to get serious. My beloved Westfalia needs to sleep outside for a while.

The bike:

First order of business was to clean it up some. And there's a Goldwing under all the dirt. One that was well-cared-for before its owner got too old. Sad. Timing belts are on - and let me tell you, getting that right side cover off was a miserable job. Sidecar frame mount had to go - which was attached to the floorboard, yada, yada. Almost every bolt had precious little space to spin a wrench. I'm sourcing another tail light as the one it had was positioned poorly. I actually kinda like the fender, too. The thing has personality. The carb rack is coming of this week. I think we all know what that means. The good news is that I think it'll be road-worthy after they go back on. Or dang close to it. We'll see. I still haven't decided whether I want to fork over any money on cosmetics (paint/polish). For the car, yes, the bike . . . not so sure.

The sidecar:

I received the new windscreen, so I pulled the busted windscreen off the sidecar. I was distressed to find a crack in the fiberglass, but it had what appears to be an old repair (riveted brace that must have been done right. Luckily, the crack stayed under the windscreen - or I might not have noticed it. Still, it unnerved me a bit. Invisible with the screen on...except for the rivets. I figure it's probably a 20 year old repair that has held just fine. I'm going to ignore it for now. So, that's if for now. Not a lot of progress, but there are other things getting in the way. Take yesterday, for instance. Big Valkyrie gathering here in Arizona. Folks came from all over - SoCal, Nevada, much of AZ:

Very cool hack!! Had a buddy who had one, said it could get pretty spooky on sharp right handers.

Those panoramic photos mess with my head. Shadows from all over.

Sidecar AND crash bars seems like belt and braces .... altho' the crash bar looks 'used' .... maybe predates the 'car ?

Gord

Yeah. I thought they were a little silly on the hack - until I realized that they provide the major front support mount point for the running boards. I'm not putting them back on and have obtained stock pegs and shift and brake levers to replace the heel/toe stuff.

I hope to get back to it soon. Been a bit distracted.

Interesting project. Will follow along.

The only reason I found for tip over bars on a hack rig was somewhere else to put your feet while cruising....

Well, after continually getting derailed from this project, I finally got the carb rack off. While they're surprisingly clean with most of the rubber soft and springy, (I did find a couple of flattened orings), I did get one nasty surprise.

These things were running WITHOUT screens in the fuel inlet under the float needles. Everything else about this bike so far has been well looked after. Until now. The kits I got don't have the screens included. Anyone got a set of them laying around they'd like to unload?

Another delay...