A good customer passed several months ago and left quite a collection of Enduros in his shop. Most of them had not been run for decades and we are selling them as is, with absolutely no mention of mechanical condition or knowledge of road worthiness. Among them was this ESO engined Cheney Motocross Bike that Mike was running around Williams these past years.

It was tough trying to sort out exactly what the motorcycle is, I did not find anything on line like it. ESO was a Czechoslovakian builder of racing engines from the late 40’s until the 60’s founded by Jaroslav Simandl, who made a name for himself building bikes and engines for Speedway racing during that time. Eric Cheney was one of England’s premier motocross riders following the war. A bout of illness brought the end of his riding career, but his intimate knowledge of what it took to make a competitive bike led him to preparing and eventually designing a line of frames he basically built in his home garage. Cheney would prepare his initial designs for a frame in chalk on the wall of his workshop. Creating different lines until he was satisfied, Cheney would then form steel tubing using his chalk drawings as a guide. When he had built a working prototype motorcycle would he start work on a final jig for mass production. His famous quote was "I know when it's right and it screams at me when it's wrong” The 60’s and 70’s saw Cheney building bikes that were used in ISDT using BSA and Triumph sourced engines, winning National and International titles along the way. Cheney’s won the 1971 250 Grand Prix Road Racing title with Phil Read on board a Yamaha 250 engined racer. His frames were without peer during their time.

So, what do we have here? It is hard to put an exact model description on this bike. I have yet to find another ESO engine in a Cheney frame on line. There are period parts but also new items such as the White Power rear shocks. The front forks are Ceriani, wheels, AKRONT Rims and again, the rear shocks are White Power. The hubs appear to be magnesium, I am told they are CZ which if true does make them so. . There is a number stamped on the left side of the frame near the triple clamps, BRIT6. Not much to go on. The bike has not run since we have had it. It did drop a bit of oil when we were transporting it, my assumption it is going to need some attention before it is run again.

The VIN# is BRIT6 and the selling price is $8,675. For other interesting bikes and collectable vehicles, visit our web site http://www.automaniagp.com 541 479 8888 or come by and see us at 895 SE Gladiola Drive, Grants Pass, Oregon, 97526. Oregon Dealer DA1287.

Automania is a Consignment Oregon Dealer selling quality, privately owned vehicles including Aprilia, Buell, BMW, Citroen, Ducati, Harley Davidson, Honda, Hummer, Kawasaki, Moto Guzzi, MV Agusta, Nissan, Ossa, Piaggio, Suzuki, Triumph, Vespa, Classic Hot Rods, Buick, Dodge, Ford, Chevrolet, Lamborghini, MG, Packard, Porsche, Rover, Shelby, Toyota, Triumph, Volkswagen and any other vehicle of interest