Sadly I missed the trackday at Oulton Park on 19th Sept that saw the BSRacing built Wes Cooley Special roar in anger for the first time. No worries – I caught up with Buffalo today and he was a happy chappy. After a bit of fettling with the carbs he had the 1983 GSX1000R Wes Cooley Rep lapping in 2.02 which is on a par with the modern sports bikes in Fast Groups on most track days.

With the lower engine covers getting scraped at times but no real drama it was a respectable first ride —

With Buff doing the riding she handled well with real meaty power from about 3500rpm and she certainly had more stomp than the similar big bore 1098cc eight valve motors in the XR69s – possibly down to the uprated 35mm smoothbore Keihen carbs which have yet to grace the XRs.

The fully adjustable Ohlin twinshocks already sport custom made 30mm extensions but she is going to be jacked up another 5mm at the rear to help hold the line under power.

She’s a beaut and my earlier misgivings about the aesthetic qualitys of the oldstyle front fairing were kicked into touch when I saw her with her warpaint on – a set of race numbers will really finish her off —

By all accounts the Showa front forks worked well in combination with the Ohlin rear shocks and the Nissin front calipers biting on twin discs were more than capable of hauling up her 179kgs fighting weight.

The 17 litre alloy fuel tank plus the alloy seat unit and catch tanks all fabricated in-house look the part and the whole bike is testament to builder Buffalo’s engineering ability and years of experience in the racing game. As a former TT winner and Scottish Champion he is no slouch in the saddle either and after a few minor adjustments and further testing I’m sure the Wes Cooley Special and rider will do well on the tracks in South Africa this winter.

If you want one – best get your order in quick cos bikes this good from that era are as scarce as hen’s teeth.