SAUNDERS Jota 1000

[Jacob Saunders]

Hi Guys :-)

I thought you might be interested in a Jota based machine I designed and built in the UK in the 1980's while running a small business called Saunders Motorcycle Engineering (UK).
The frame was fabricated from T45 aircraft tubing, while the swing arm was fabricated from T45 and Reynolds 531 tubing. It was finished in stove enamelled Candy Red. The Fuel tank was handmade in aluminium.
The bike looks better with the solo seat attachment on :-). It is off in this picture.

[SF2DieHard]

Looks kinda like a beautiful woman. which brings the next question - do you have any pics of this beauty naked???

[Jacob Saunders]

Hi,

Thanks for the compliment :-)

Here are some semi naked pics of the bike

Jacob

[FALCOnry]

Even in B&W, that is a beautiful machine.

[TuonoAB]

That is a amazing machine, great job! What I would do for even a stocker!

[MAR]

Wonderful bike!!! I love the frame. how did it handle? what was the weight? Do you still have it?

[SF2DieHard]

Damn gorgeous. did you make Bimota jealous with that frame??

[Jacob Saunders]

Thanks for the comments Guys! :-)

The bike was built for Geoff Robinson

When Peter Watson, from Bike Magazine was testing the bike,
I asked him what he thought of it.
He said "It's better than anything else made in England"
I asked "What about Bimota?"
He replied "Don't worry about Bimota!"
That was really encouraging to hear :-)

Here are some quotes about the handling from the Bike Magazine test

"it rolls over beautifully on all that rubber, but you can pick it up with ease and swap lines right up to the second when you hit the brakes and the nose dips and the back end squats like a dog waiting to be stroked"

"When I got the opportunity to flick it through a well-known series of smooth curves - amazing how you can loose a CX if you, um, need to (the owner was following the tester on another machine!! - jgs) - I was impressed by the machines unwavering adherence to a selected line."

"The chassis can definitely handle a lot more poke than this motor can put out, but the combination of the two is so attractive that such wild cravings are immediately stilled"

[jrflanne]

Beautiful. The welds? Ahhh! Very clean.

[SF2DieHard]

sooooooooooooo
are you going to fess up what the rake and trail and wheelbase were???
inquiring minds need to know.

DungeonMaster

[Jacob Saunders]

Hi Guys

Roughly, and only from memory,
wheelbase around 56", rake around 27 degrees
Cheers Jacob

[TuonoAB]

Stunning! Very cool! Do you know if it is still around?

[SF2DieHard]

That's a nice wheelbase.
My 1999 Laverda 750 had a 54 inch wheelbase. Which in my personal opinion is as short as you should go. Buell made a model with a 52 inch wheelbase and that machine pretty much Required getting professionally set-up (like one does for track use).

DungeonMaster

[Jacob Saunders]

Hi,

I've lost track of this machine, so don't know it's fate!

[Antoine]

Love this bike. Please tell us more. Was the engine a standard Jota? How did it go compared to a standard bike? How many were built?