White House K10 - a story of regeneration

[Ninemeister_imp]

Where to start?


Whilst I've been a car nut from the time I began to walk, up to 10 years ago I only really had a passing interest in motorcycles whilst helping out friends with their classics. This all changed after I bought a Vespa LX50 scooter for my daughter on her 16th birthday, us jointly restoring it so she could use it for her commute to college.

That tripped the switch, so before long I had restored a Vespa 125GT for myself, passed my bike test and bought my first bike, a Honda GL1100. In hindsight that was a big mistake as the 17,000 mile '82 failed its MOT test shortly after with a rotten frame - and hence became my first (and continuing) restoration project.

With an impending summer road trip to Spain, as a stop-gap I acquired a 6,000 mile Honda VTX1300S. With added Corbin Beetle boxes, a Mustang seat, and custom made a rack, that bike ran faultlessly for 3,000 miles and was the perfect choice for me with only 6 months riding experience.

Roll on 9 years and I'm sharing my dry day commutes between a Vespa 300 and a Bonneville Black 900SE and I make the decision to sell on the VTX. A quick clean, little set up for iPhone photos in the driveway and just 3 weeks later the VTX is off down the road on its way to its new owner.

And so it became how I had a lump of cash sat in my motorcycle fund on the day I first learned about the White House K10...
So, there I was one night at the end of August, family watching TV whilst I played around on Pinterest studying BMW Cafe Racers looking at design ideas for a BMW R80 Cafe Racer project which I now finally had the funds to complete. Then, for no real reason, this photo popped up on my search:

[Houtman_imp]

My wife (she is from England ) loved the scooter picture with the L plate !

[Ninemeister_imp]

Takes me back. That was Jess's first ever ride out on her new Vespa.
I blame it on Pinterest. A few more searches, a few more photos and I was now well and truly hooked on what I believed to be the best looking retro bike I had ever seen.

One of my mates, Dave, had always been into old Hondas, over the years owning a fleet of CBX and CB750's, building many specials on the way. Thanks to him I was not only well versed with how great they look, but also with the effort required to restore and maintain a Classic Honda in perfect running condition.

I had also seen the stock CB1100 and considered it a pretty cool retro option before buying the Bonnieville based purely on looks.

The K10 on the other hand had rocked the balance right over in favour of the straight 4 Honda. I had to know more...

[peterbaron]

Great pics of the WH K10
The gold tops'em all

[Ninemeister_imp]

The success of a good project? Research and planning.

Whilst it didn't take long to land on Takashi's excellent Samurider website and find the complete Deluxe K10 kit (https://www.samurider.com/?p=19957), it did take a while to get my head around the cost, 619,000yen, or £4,568, plus shipping, plus VAT.
Of course, then there is the exhaust. Nothing but the Wyvern Classic 4 into 4 would do. Oh. That's another 245,000yen, or £1,808 plus shipping, plus VAT.
Total with VAT = £7,651 plus shipping.

Ouch. That's a lot more than I got for the VTX. Failed at stage 1 - I needed a new plan.

[GoldOxide_imp]

The cost of passion has its rewards. Very nice Nine.

[Ninemeister_imp]

So, keep in mind that at this time I had sold the VTX for a decent sum, had mentally committed myself to finishing the GL1100 restoration and to using some of the money to buy all the remaining parts to complete my BMW R80 Cafe Racer project. Now that I knew the total cost of buying a stock CB1100 and importing the White House kit, I came to the resignation that the fresh idea to build the K10/17 would have to come at the price of selling the 865 Bonneville to fund the difference.

Or would it? There is always Plan B, Maurice.

The light bulb moment came on Saturday night of the Summer Bank Holiday Weekend.
Would it be possible to buy a ready-built K10? Surely there wouldn't be one for sale? Only one way to find out: eBay!

[Houtman_imp]

It is better to mentally commit yourself than be mentally committed by some else to a nut house. What about crowd funding , is that available in the UK ?

[Ninemeister_imp]

It is better to mentally commit yourself than be mentally committed by some else to a nut house. What about crowd funding , is that available in the UK ?

I think it's highly likely we should all be mentally committed to be here in the first place, especially those who the part number of an RLET off by heart.


As for crowd funding, I did think of having a whip-round but with current Covid restrictions if the wife and daughter question the "need" for another bike I'm on a hiding to nothing from the get-go.

[peterbaron]

It is better to mentally commit yourself than be mentally committed by some else to a nut house. What about crowd funding , is that available in the UK ?

I think it's highly likely we should all be mentally committed to be here in the first place, especially those who the part number of an RLET off by heart.


As for crowd funding, I did think of having a whip-round but with current Covid restrictions if the wife and daughter question the "need" for another bike I'm on a hiding to nothing from the get-go.

I second that....