1984 CHEVALLIER HONDA RS500
RACER TEST
P84
Laurentz to rebuild the engine,
while French classic race guru Yves
Kerlo www.kerloclassic.com under-
took a frame-up restoration. It was
completed just a fortnight before
the fabulous 2019 Sunday Ride
Classic at Paul Ricard in May of this
year. There, I found myself running-
in the newly rebuilt motor with the
likes of Freddie Spencer, Kevin
Schwantz, Giacomo Agostini (and
his son Giacomino!), and Christian
Sarron zapping past me as I bed-
ded in those new pistons. Well, that
was my excuse, anyway….
The Johnson Chevallier fea-
tures Alain's distinctive cold-drawn
tubular steel twin-loop frame, with
massive strengthening around the
steering head, despite which it only
weighs just over 11 pounds, minus
the fabricated chrome-moly tubular
steel swingarm with fully adjustable
A NEW LEASE OF LIFE
After Nicotte stopped racing the
Chevallier, he entrusted it to Gull
for safekeeping, until Gull eventu-
ally bought the bike from him. "It
had been part of my youth—I'd lived
three whole years of my life cen-
tered around that bike, so it wasn't
going anywhere else." Nicotte's
tragic passing in 2004 inspired
Gull to have the bike rebuilt to run
again in the increasingly numerous
historical events like the Bikers
Classic at Spa. It was at the 2014
edition of this that we found our-
selves sharing a pit and, well – you
can guess the rest. However, my
promised test ride on the bike had
to wait five years more while Gull
managed to source some new
pistons for the V3 Honda engine.
Finally, in 2018, a batch was made,
allowing Gull's mate Emmanuel
(Below left) Belgian
legend Didier de
Radigues is reunited
with his 1980's GP
steed. (Right) Light
and nimble, the
Chevallier Honda
would have worked
brilliantly at tight
tracks like Laguna
Seca or Yugoslavia.
WP monoshock and variable-
rate link. The fully adjustable
40mm Chevallier upside-
down fork—complete with
one set of internals stamped
"Chevy" (go figure!) and the
other "CAG 500!"—is set
at a steeper 23° rake than
the stock Honda's 24.5°,
whereas at 55.9 inches,
the wheelbase is much
