Replicant. 5/30/2008
I can understand fan-dom. I have a few fans myself. And I have seen first hand how far fanaticism can go, in support of your favourite sports star, or team, or actor. But this one made me pause and think. Almost everyone in the world knows of Valentino Rossi. Multiple world champion, the man who’s riding skills are now legendary. And also a favourite with his fans. Rossi has a huge fan base, not just amongst the motorcycle enthusiasts.
This of course has lead to lots of riders wanting to emulate their hero. AGV makes a Rossi replica lid which sells for not far short of US$800. Rossi replica leathers from Dainese? Yours for US$3000. Yamaha certainly issues a Rossi edition of their street bikes, especially when he wins a world championship. But something I saw this morning in a forum I frequent takes the cake.
A bike was advertised for sale today, and it was certainly well done. Beautiful paintwork, all the right stickers in the right places. Done up to look like a replica of the ‘07 M1 that Rossi races in the MotoGP. I looked at the pictures and thought, wow, this guy really put a lot of time, effort and money into making this replica. Then I read the blurb accompanying the pictures of the bike, and I had to laugh out loud.
What’s wrong with the picture above? Can you spot it? You’d have to be really well versed with modern sportbike design and models. In case you can’t see it, here’s another picture.
The sharp eyed amongst you might have noticed that certain components and proportions don’t quite fall into place. I am not distracting from the amount of work the owner has put into making this “replica”. I admire the effort he’s put in. Just that there is one fairly serious problem with it. Can’t spot it yet?
Here’s a picture of the rider, wearing the obligatory Rossi replica leathers, and replica helmet.
Beautifully turned out replica of Yamaha’s M1 in Rossi livery. There’s only one problem. That bike started life as a Kawasaki ZXR750-H.