plus > real not retro www.classicmechanics.com July 2007 £3.50 issue 237 BOXING CLEVER - BMW’s REVOLUTIONARY R80GS + YAMAHA SR400/500 + KAWASAKI 900 STRIPDOWN ISSN 0959 0901 9 7 7 0 9 5 9 0 9 0 1 6 2 0 7 No 237 July 2007 £3.50 WIN SEALEY SPANNERS Don’t trudge it FUDGE IT! A faster FJ1100 on road and track A faster FJ1100 on road and track FUDGE IT! Don’t trudge it SUZUKI GT750J Put the Kettle on, Ma SUZUKI GT750J Put the Kettle on, Ma HONDA VFR400 Rebuilt RC30 rides again KAWASAKI Z550LTD v SUZUKI GS550L Factory custom shootout KAWASAKI Z550LTD v SUZUKI GS550L Factory custom shootout HONDA VFR400 Rebuilt RC30 rides again the best bikes of the 70s and 80s
Transcript
plus >
real not retro w w w . c l a s s i c m e c h a n i c s . c o m July 2007 £3.50 issue 237
FUDGE IT!A faster FJ1100 on road and trackA faster FJ1100 on road and trackFUDGE IT!Don’t trudge it
SUZUKI GT750JPut the Kettle on, MaSUZUKI GT750JPut the Kettle on, Ma
HONDA VFR400Rebuilt RC30 rides again
KAWASAKI Z550LTD v SUZUKI GS550LFactory custom shootoutKAWASAKI Z550LTD v SUZUKI GS550LFactory custom shootout
HONDA VFR400Rebuilt RC30 rides again
the best bikes of the 70s and 80s
PH
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4 www.classicmechanics.com
I think I’m on fairly safe ground when I claimthat there’s nothing our revered editor ‘Doctor’Rod Gibson would like more at the momentthan to be putting this column together asusual. Unfortunately for him (and you lot, cometo think of it) Rod is recuperating from anoperation and – though he’s back at home now– he’s not quite up to applying the finishingtouches to this month’s magazine.
Stepping into the big man’s shoes is a prettydaunting prospect – even on such a temporarybasis. But, I like to think I know Rod pretty well,both as a friend and highly valued work
editorial > rod’s ramblings
colleague. Naturally, over the years, we’ve hadplenty of conversations on a wide range oftopics – but, somehow, whether we’re holed upin a hotel at some distant show or photo-shoot,or enjoying a quick beer on the way home fromwork, we always seem to end up talking aboutbikes and, more specifically, the bikes we love.
Now, Rod and I share a great deal in terms ofour background. We are about the same age,we’ve both worked in the motorcycle trade asmechanics and we both love old Jap bikes of the70s (and the 60s and 80s too) but, like any twomotorcyclists anywhere, we have our differences.
For a start, Rod’s a much better mechanicthan I ever was – a pretty scary admissionbearing in mind that that’s how I used to earnmy living – and, of course, even though I’d neveradmit it, this is something I’m desperatelyjealous of. And if that wasn’t bad enough, he’salso better organised and loads moreenthusiastic about actually getting things donein the workshop than I am. Don’t get me wrong,I like to do things right, it’s just that I neverseem to have time to get round to it all. Easilydistracted is how my teachers used to describeme, I think.
Then there’s the bikes we like. I’m heavily intooff-road bikes, while Rod can’t be bothered with thethings, with the exception of his gorgeous XT500 –and that never even goes near a puddle. He muchprefers big bore road bikes and is besotted by hisnew love of sprinting, a sport I’ve never really gotinto. I’m a big fan of Honda 400 fours – Rod can’tsee what all the fuss is about. Chalk and cheese.
But then there’s all the other stuff we agree on.The sheer pleasure of riding nowhere in particularon a warm summer’s evening, the quietsatisfaction of striking up a rebuilt bike for the firsttime in years and the fact that we both love
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Japanese lightweights – even though we’re entirelythe wrong size and shape to go far on them.
That’s what’s so good about being into oldbikes, I suppose. There’s something foreverybody and we don’t have to agree with eachand every one of our fellow enthusiasts. Most ofus seem to get along pretty well and we canappreciate someone else’s handiwork – even ifit’s not something that we’d want to own or ride.
Like Rod and I, most of you can enjoy being thesame – but different. Gez
These good manners and pleasantriding ability is all well and good, butjust how would such a machine adaptto the tough and unforgiving world ofthe short circuit?
We met up with Phil ‘Doc’ Hacker atMallory Park for an insight into just
It might not be the first bike you’dthink of when contemplating a sortieinto Forgotten Era racing, butYamaha’s big softie – the FJ1100 –can pack a remarkable punch.
HEAVYWEIGHTcontenderThe Yamaha FJ series are great big,
dependable bikes with a large followingand buoyant owners club. The FJ iseasily capable of travelling hugedistance in double quick time andoffers impressive rider comfort, butwould you consider racing one againstpure sports machines?
The track is a different arena to theopen road and the stocky FJ with itswide girth and slow handling is surelynot going to excel there. But, on theother hand, the FJ always has been afine handling machine if a little on theheavy side. A good, smooth rider willfind the big four to be a great machineto tackle twisty B-roads with easewhile having the high speed andstraight line ability to handle mile aftermile of motorway.
what his creation is capable of.Preparing to mix it with a host of farmore modern and expensive tackle ona normal practice day, I must admit tohaving had more than my fair share ofdoubts before actually cocking a legover the bike for the first time. Mindyou, looking at the impressive resultshe has already achieved on thismachine in his first season on it, leadsme to believe that, either Doc is a racegod, or there just might be somethingright with the big Yam.
My reservations about the FJ proveunfounded and out on the track, therace-prepped machine is a revelation.Light to the touch and deceptively fast,
the engine is ready to go and easilyspins the rear at will, so a cautiousthrottle hand is needed in the slowercorners. I spend the first few lapsgetting some heat into the PirelliDragon Corsa tyres and the bikemoves about a fair bit until I get someheat into the rubber. Once warmthough, the grip is as good as anymodern sports machine.
The riding position is a little strangeat first, being wrist heavy due to theGSX-R footrests and gearchangelinkage. The set up gives a harsh rear-set position and the strange, high rise’bars make for a sit up and beg attitudefor the upper body. While pottering
around getting used to the bike, thisseating position clearly doesn’t work forme and I find muscles – and aches – Inever knew I had. Controlling the bike inthis mode is the opposite of fun. As Iget on the gas though and up the paceconsiderably, the set up starts to makeperfect sense, the wide ’bars giving asuperb amount of authority over thebike’s front end.
The brakes are staggering too. Infact, a couple of modern bikes come to
grief mixing it with the FJ on the brakes.Maybe they feel this big old girl will beeasy prey, but they’re wrong andmisjudge their approach to stoppingbased, perhaps, on over confidence inthe superiority of their modernraceware. The FJ digs in and stays flatonce the R1 anchors have beendeployed on the large diameter disc,allowing me to brake late and hard atall times, the Brembo master cylinderrelaying my input with finesse and
excellent rider feedback.On the road, I’ve always felt it a good
idea to get an FJ stopped as much aspossible while still upright, the fat tyresmaking steering difficult while the frontend is heavily loaded a bit on the tightside. On board this racer, the oppositeis true and the brakes can be held onfirmly all the way into the apex of abend, the front tyre gripping consistentlyand the steering remaining light enoughto make small adjustments throughout.
MIND YOU, LOOKING AT THE IMPRESSIVE RESULTSHE HAS ALREADY ACHIEVED ON THIS MACHINE INHIS FIRST SEASON ON IT, LEADS ME TO BELIEVETHAT, EITHER DOC IS A RACE GOD, OR THERE JUSTMIGHT BE SOMETHING RIGHT WITH THE BIG YAM.
Once into a bend, the bike stillbehaves nicely, with none of thegrounding out of engine casings andfootrests experienced on a road-goingFJ. In its place, sharp steering and asurprisingly lively manner. As I ease onthe power, bags of grunt take over,making the scenery disappear into ablur as fast as the transmissionconsumes the gears, the fat rear tyresquirming under the intense batteringthe combined force of cornering andthe engine’s power. At low speed, I canfeel the rear breaking away from its firmhold on the track, while at high speedthe sensation is lessened but stillpresent. A glance at the ’bars whilecornering hard reveals a touch ofopposite lock as the back wheel stepsout of line with the front by a fewinches.
With 132 horses on tap, there’s morethan enough power to make life
interesting and yet the control givenover the machine by the benchmarkYamaha fuelling is exemplary. Gettingthe big beast out of a corners is just assatisfying as putting it in there in thefirst place. Hanging off as far aspossible is a necessity, as the weight ofthe big FJ is hard to throw around, butit’s all made that much easier as theusually soft and plush FJ seat has beenreplaced with a cut down version, thehard pad giving great feedback upthrough the seat of my leathers,allowing me to process and deal with itto good effect.
The engine is freer revving by a goodmargin than a standard unit – andlouder too. The Akrapovic four-into-two-into-one exhaust system and end canhave a tough time keeping the howldown below the 105db limit needed forracing in the UK and, although they domanage it, the musical output must be
pretty close to triggering alarm bells attimes. And if the exhaust note ispleasing to the ear under power, then itmust come close to being ecstatic onthe overrun. A staccato cackle isbacked by a band of banshees as theengine runs on mostly air and just awhisper of fuel. Each and everygearshift downwards sets the processoff again and I end up wishing therewere ten gears in the box so I canexperience it over and over again everycorner, rather than settling for the barefive downshifts provided by the Yamahatransmission.
Doc’s FJ may not be the fastest, orthe sharpest handling when comparedto the full-on sports bikes from theperiod but, with some carefulpreparation and set up of thecomponents used, he has ended upwith a machine that is so easy to ride itbeggars belief. Yamaha’s fuelling has
YAMAHA FJ1200POWERENGINE air-cooled inline four
CAPACITY 1188cc
BORE AND STROKE 77 x 63.8mm
COMPRESSION RATIO 9.7:1
CARBURATION four Mikuni 36mm
MAX POWER 132bhp @ 9500 rpm
TORQUE 79ft-lb @ 6500 rpm
IGNITION TCI
TRANSMISSION five-speed wet clutch chain final
drive
FRAME steel perimeter
SUSPENSION 41mm forks single shock rear
WHEELS 120/70 x 17 180/55 x 17
BRAKES 320mm disc four-piston calipers,
282mm disc twin opposed piston
caliper
WHEELBASE 1425mm
WEIGHT 216kg
FUEL CAPACITY 21.5 litres
TOP SPEED 165mph estimated
SPECIFICATION
always, since the days of the XS1100,been spot on and this hasn’t been lost,even with the extensive modifications,dynojet kit and more importantly, theopen air filtering that is so often thedemise of a good carb set up.
In fact, Doc’s racer may well provide abit of overdue vindication for the goodold FJ. Back in 1984 the model waslaunched as Yamaha’s latest Superbike,only to see some serious back trackingwithin months when the KawasakiGPz900 really showed the world what aSuperbike should look and go like. Backthen, the FJ never had a chance toshow what it was really capable of andfew, if any, made it to the track to racein anger. The FJ was duly consigned tothe role of sports-tourer before a yearof its life had passed. Doc Hacker’smachine though, allows a fascinatingglimpse of what might have been.
WWW.FJRACER.COM
GETTING THEBIG BEAST OUT
OF A CORNERS ISJUST AS SATISFYINGAS PUTTING IT INTHERE IN THEFIRST PLACE.
Triumph’s superb 675cc Daytonatriple has again scooped all theawards in the Supertest andMasterbike Awards. That’s prettygood going considering the bikeis unchanged from the 2006model – which scooped theawards last year.
The Supertest is held at theAlmeria circuit, in Spain and isjudged by 15 journalists fromaround the world – not the likesof me and you, these are seriousracers who can get 100 per centfrom a bike. It’s a back-to-backtest for sports bikes from all themajor manufacturers and the675 took top spot in engineflexibility, throttle response,chassis handling, brakes,equipment and price.
Then it was on to Jerez for theMasterbike, where the bikes wereassessed by magazine reps fromSpain, Austria, Scandinavia, USA,Spain, Italy, Greece, Brazil, Mexico,Portugal, France, Germany, Japanand the UK. This time, the 675beat the CBR600RR Honda intosecond place by a huge margin.
The new 1050cc Tiger also tooktop spot in Germany’s Motorradmagazine’s travel enduro test,against BMW, KTM, Suzuki andHonda. Well done to Triumph.
SNIPPETSGET YOUR LICENCE NOWAs details of new motorcycle licence
test arrangements for late 2008 are
finalised by the Government, the Motor
Cycle Industry Association (MCI) is
launching a major campaign to
encourage people to take up
motorcycling and get their full licence.
Driven by European legislation, The
Second European Driving Licence
Directive, or 2DLD, will come into force
in September 2008 and will introduce
new elements to motorcycle testing
and training.
Despite the fact that motorcyclists
are already the best trained non-
vocational road users in Britain, there
will be an additional element to the
current practical test, in the form of a
new manoeuvring test at ‘super test
centres’, which the government is
currently building around the country.
The new manoeuvres, including the
slalom, figure of eight, hazard
avoidance and cornering skills, will all
be tested during the new off-road test.
With the prospect of facing longer
waiting lists for tests and possibly
more expensive training, many would-
be motorcyclists are likely to take their
test over the next two summers before
the new legislation comes into effect.
MCI’s Craig Carey-Clinch said: “Over
the coming months, we plan to raise
awareness about the 2DLD legislation
and promote the benefits of getting on
two wheels in order to motivate those
who don’t have a full motorcycle
licence to get one now.”
For more information please visit
www.takeyourbiketestnow.co.uk
As many as it has been possible to assemble of theoriginal works Norton rotary racers is sure to be oneof the highlights of the VMCC’s Festival of 1000Bikes, at Mallory Park over 14-15 July.
Three of the original Spondon framed JPS RCWNortons, two of the Duckhams machines and a Harrisframed NRS JPS model will be out on the track, plusthe new, state-of-the-art Crighton-built NRV will makeits public track debut in the hands of former BritishSuperbike Champion, Ian Simpson.
Also present and airing the machines will be formergolden boys Trevor Nation and Steve Spray, pioneerrotary pilot Malcolm Heath, Terry Rymer and ‘Mad
Dog’ Jim Moodie.Also in attendance will be Steve Woollatt, ten times
British and European Top Fuel Drag Bike Champion,who will air his awesome sprinter ‘The Dealer’.
Legendary names from the past will be out on trackwith various raceware, including Classic Racer editorMalcolm Wheeler (Suzuki XR45 and Laverda 500),John Cooper (Seeley), Charlie Williams (Maxton 385ccYamaha), Chris Vincent (URS outfit), Tommy Robb(Honda), Grahame Rhodes (Velocette Roarer), FrankPerris (Yamaha), Sammy Miller (various), PieroLaverda (V6 Laverda), Mick Grant (Sheene RG500)and many others.
Loobman is a new, universal‘squeeze and go’ chain oiler. It’s asimple, system incorporating aplastic bottle, a natty little topfitting and a couple of pipes thatallow oil to drip onto both theupper and lower chain runs. Itcomes complete with all the cableties etc necessary for installationand fully illustrated instruction.Price is £17.99 including postage.It’s only available directly fromLoobman on www.chainoiler.co.uk
LUBE IT UPWITH LOOBMAN
oad
Carole Nash has introduced a newmotorcycle insurance category –the ‘modern classic – whichmeans owners of bikes that arejust 10 years old or more can nowclaim discounts of up to 26 percent on their premium.
Typically, to qualify for lower costclassic insurance brokers demandthat bikes must be anythingbetween 15-25 years old. But themove by the UK and Ireland’sbiggest motorcycle insurancespecialist means that owners ofmodern classics like the HondaFireblade can also now slash thecost of their annual cover.
But despite costs being cut,
cover isn’t. Every modern classicpolicy includes, as do all CaroleNash motorcycle policies,extensive UK and Europeanbreakdown cover, up to £50,000in legal protection cover and a‘Green Card’ for travel in the EU.In addition owners can secure‘agreed value’ cover, which isparticularly good if you have a raremachine.
Excesses are set at £125 andowners can reduce their premiumfurther by specifying a limitedmileage.
For further details visitwww.carolenash.com or call freeon 0800 298 5500.
Even the weather’s attempt toestablish the monsoon season inNorthwich couldn’t stop a brilliantweekend of motorcycling. In the twodays of the Thundersprint, therewas something to suit all tastes inmotorcycling. The festival beganwith the Thundersprint Bike Show,sponsored by AGV Sport, at nearbyWinnington Park RFC. Bike Safetalks hosted by Cheshire Police,test rides courtesy of BMW andsome beautiful bikes on showmade for a very relaxed start to theweekend.
As the sun beat down and thehogs were roasted, everyonewondered why the gloomy weatherforecast had been so wrong. It wasstill wrong on Sunday morning andmore than 200 road and race bikeswent through scrutineering andalmost a mile of traders set up.
The Thundersprint attracts a goodforeign entry; Frenchman AlainMarie brought along an immaculateBMW racer and commented: "It’sincredible. Everyone is sodisciplined and go to their placeswithout any argument. It’s verydifferent from Europe."
The first hint of what was tocome manifested itself in theSpitfire display, which turned uptwo hours early! The weather wasturning bad at RAF Coningsby, andthe Battle of Britain Memorial Flightcalled to offer an early display – ornone at all.
By the time Captain Jackie Parkerof the Salvation Army gave theblessing, someone had turned outthe lights over Northwich and the
James May – well, what can you say?
THUNDERSPRINT’S NO WASHOUT
Tony Hudson’s four-cylinder Honda was on the pace...
first fat spots of rain began to fall.As the Masterclass assembled,riders were already wiping theirvisors.
Tony Hudson and his four-cylinderHonda went through in 25.14sec –in the wet – while German starsKarin Leffrang and StefenBauermeister took first and secondin the 250 section of the GoldenAge class.
TV’s Top Gear co-presenter JamesMay takes a bizarre pride in beingthe slowest rider at theThundersprint and brought anuncompetitive Honda 90. However,he was comprehensively beaten byboth Cyril Watson on his RaleighWisp and more spectacularly, byGraeme Hardy and his impressionof George Formby and theShuttleworth Snap. Graememanaged to smash the courseslow record with a 1m 10s run.
Things were very different whenthe 350cc arrived. By this time, therain was torrential but GaryJamison (Honda) came to the linerelaxed and smiling – and very fast.He skated round the rain soakedtrack in an astonishing 24.54sec –a respectable time in the dry.
Next up was the 500cc class andPepin San Milan solved theproblem of the wet – by pretendingit was dry! The talented, but crazySpaniard took his BSA B50 roundin 24.64sec.
Despite the increasing rain, thespectators stayed to the final runfor the sidecars, and Moz Bainesand Peter Jordan took the bigwheel award – with their Norton
almost underwater. The final wordmust go to six times worldchampion, Jim Redman, whobattled through the pain of arecently broken hip to compete atthe Thundersprint.
"I ride all over the world and theThundersprint is still my favouriteevent. I am always made sowelcome in Northwich that I feel itis a second home.”
show report > the international classic motorcycle show
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Stafford’s record
ROCKSAGAIN
Heidi Cockerton’s lovely little Suzuki was one of the star turns on the VJMC stand.
Despite the ever increasing popularityof our October show, don’t everbelieve the doom and gloommerchants who say that the classicmotorcycle bubble has burst, the goodtimes are over and it’s downhill fromnow on, because if you ask any of the30,000 who passed through theturnstiles at the 27th InternationalClassic MotorCycle Show, at theStafford County Showground, over theweekend of 28-29 April, they’ll tell youthey have proof to the contrary!
Even before the gates officiallyopened, the record books were beingrewritten, as more traders than everbefore had taken stand space, bothinside and out, and by the time theyclosed, the overall attendance figurewas the highest ever recorded in theshow’s history.
If you were on the jumble trail then itcould have easily been a two-day affair,and even if you’d only come to look atthe exhibits, you’d have been hardpushed to get them all in in a day.
It never fails to amaze that thestandard of exhibits and displays justgets better and better. Nowhere doesthis apply more than on the clubstands, where the Rudge boys set thestandard with their light hearted,
More exhibits, more stands andmore people than ever before. The
International Classic MotorCycleShow was a real monster.
Sam Brumby’s machine was in the programme as a 1987 XS750. It was changed
from shaft drive to chain drive and is powered by a 15bhp Ruggerini diesel engine.
It’s slow but uses hardly any fuel!
Colin Wright’s beautiful Suzuki GT750B won him the best Japanese machine trophy.
somewhat eccentric capers. The GoldStar OC made quite an impressionwith the second M24 ever built,belonging to George Wander and ofcourse, no such show would be thesame without contributions from VJMCglamour-girl Heidi Cockerton and herpals. Heidi brought along her splendid1965 Suzuki B105P but was pippedfor oldest bike on the stand by DaveJupp, whose S65 Honda was a year
Joe Green (right) is a regular at Stafford with
his racing Yamaha collection. Here he receives
his best private display award from The Classic
MotorCycle editor James Robinson.
It must have been Gold Star day at the Ace Café that day…
Expensive but selling well, John Mossey’s new Egli Vincents.
350cc Triumph and TZ250 racer – just two machines restored by John Weedon Restorations.
show report > the international classic motorcycle show
22 www.classicmechanics.com
the KZ100P on the Historic PoliceMotorcycle Group and Z100A on theKettle and Kwak Club stand. The MVAgusta OC put on a fine display withmachines ranging from cammy 125sthrough to the mighty 930cc MagniSpecials, likewise the TR3OC had amouth-watering array of three cylinderroadsters and racers along with allthe regular British, European, Vintage,and Classic clubs putting on the ritz.
Much is down to the individual tooand many regular faces were on handto show off their latest creations,Triumph Bonneville from GrahamBowen, BSA A65 from Derek Gothard,Alan Rowland’s 1964 CB77, SamBrumby’s XJ750, Ben Millar’s Kettleplus many others.
An outside attraction, a littledifferent to past years, was the pre-65trials demonstration. Around a smallbut perfectly adequate piece of copse,a short walk from the main hall, theorganisers had set up a handful oftricky section obstacles, including alarge tree root, a see-saw, and amixture of cable drums and pallets tochallenge the teams. It proved popularand a good ‘side-show’ to the DirtBike Hall, another new addition which,admittedly, could have been betteradvertised within the main hall.
The Bonhams Auction always pulls acrowd and the inclusion of an ex-Surtees MV Agusta and a Kay-builtGilera certainly fed the imagination.
Four cylinder machines are ten-a-penny these days but what price a piggy-back four cylinder Douglas? Don Brown’s efforts earned him the engineering excellence award.
older. Youngest bike on the stand wasDoug Perkins’ 1989 Kawasaki1000RX A3.
Multi cylinder machines aboundedon the Benelli-Motobi Club stand toowith Monty Sadler and Chris Lathamshowing off their Benelli SEI models –
1987 900cc and 1976 750ccrespectively. The Historic HondaCollection was in its regular place withmachines ranging from PC50 andStep-thru’s to Monkeys, CBs of varyingsize, CRs and RS racers.
Kawasaki was well represented as
The V6 Laverda certainly attracted some attention. Inset – The heart of the beast.
Unfortunately however, both stalledbefore their anticipated estimates andwere withdrawn. There were somegood prices made however, such asformer racer, John Blanchard’s G50and 7R, which made £17,250 and£20,700 respectively. Likewise HarryWhitehouse’s ex-Frank Cope 250ccManx and an ex-Rudi Alison 500made £26,450 and £21,850.
Roadsters did well too, a 1960DBD34 Gold Star made £10,465,1925 799cc AJS Model D V-twin£13,800 and a 1913 P&M outfitreached £13,100. Vincents continuedto do well, a 1954 Rapide reached£18,400 but the top lot went to a1954 998cc White Shadow Series C,topping out at a very healthy£81,800.
RESULTSBest club stand – Malmesbury Classic MCC.British club stand – Rudge Enthusiasts Club.Non-British club stand – MV Agusta OC.Mixed make club stand – British Two Stroke.Local area club stand – North Wilts BritishMCC.Best Veteran – Mark Greening, 1913 BSA.Best Vintage – Alan Smith, 1925 BSA.Post Vintage – John Phizacklea, 1934Sunbeam.Post War – Chris Armson – 1950 BSA B33.Classic – Peter Weait, 1969 NortonCommando.Japanese – Colin Wright, Suzuki GT750B.Three wheeler – J Chatwin, 1934 Morgan.Military machine – C Jones, 1942 Indian.Autocycle – John Aston, New Hudson.Scooter – Fred Openshaw, Lambretta.Combination – 1923 Douglas, Martin Wheway.Continental – Allesandro Actinier, LaverdasV6.Competition – Dave Stewart, 1961 G3Matchless.Original – George Wander, 1937 BSA M24.Private display – Joe Green, Yamahas.Trade stand exhibit – Weedon ClassicRestorations, 1938 Francis Barnett.Trade stand – SRM Engineering.Racing machine – Dennis Bunning, 1960 G50Matchless.Oldest machine – David Earnshaw, 1899Phebus.Villiers – Dave Bradley, 1958 GreevesScottish.Technical interest – Sammy Miller, Haythornfour.Lady entrant – Ann Davy, 1929 DOT.TT machine – Ivan Rhodes, 1939 Velocette.Indian – A Cooper, 1942 Indian Scout.Triton – Harry Brown, 750cc eight valver.Engineering excellence – Don Brown, 1957Douglas four.Classic Special – Keith Williams, 1975 Ducati.Best in show – Graham Lunt, 1968 BMW.
Below:The 2007 Rudge TT Team
ham it up – from left Dave
McMahon, John Griffiths, Mike
Farrell and Pete Welch.
This tasty GT750B was a joint effort between Messrs Millar and Wright on the Kettles and Kwaks stand.
01: Right, time to get the spanners out and getinvolved. I'm starting with the points cover – as it's heldon with masking tape it won't take much to remove it.As I suspected, one of the cover screws has beensnapped off in the points housing. The broken endmight be tricky to remove, but I'll deal with that once theengine is stripped. The good news is that the pointscover itself is intact – the early Z1 cover is not easilyavailable and later supersessions had a differentgraphic, which would spoil the bike’s original looks. Theinner points housing has a ding at one edge, but itshould be repairable.
02: These big chrome plates have been bolted to thebike over the front engine mountings, and it takes a bitof head scratching to realise they are probablyaftermarket mountings for a set of cruiser pegs. Mightlook strange to our eyes in the UK, but pseudo chopperparts were very fashionable in the US at one time. Ifthat's all the ‘customising’ that has been carried out bya previous owner the bike has escaped fairly unscathed.In the bin with them.
03: While I'm working on the rest of the bike I'll removethe oil drain plugs, so any old lubricant in there candrain safely away. Encouragingly, the sump drain boltunscrews fairly easily – these can be tight on older Z1sand I've even heard of someone cracking a sump whiletrying to unscrew one. The drain bolt is magnetic andhas a fair bit of metallic sludge stuck to it. Possiblyevidence of missed oil changes, which somehowdoesn't surprise me. Hopefully the engine internalsaren't too bad.
The
tear
dow
n
Our 1974 Kawasaki Z1A project bike was in worse condition than we thoughtwhen we got it back to the workshop last month. Now Rod begins to dismantle
09: While the remnants of the old oil dribble out I'vemoved round to the right-hand side of the bike to beginto dismantle the electrics. This plate bolted to the rightside of the battery carrier carries the solenoid andrectifier, and a small sub-harness that has the colouredblock connectors for the harness connections. It alllooks in surprisingly good shape, though I'm beginningto notice that all the rubber mountings on this bike areperished, probably from years of exposure to the hotUtah sunshine. Sorting out the wiring routing can be apain later, so again I'm taking loads of photos of theseparts as they are unbolted and stored away.
10: Now the battery carrier and tool tray can come off.Judging by the surface rust and dry, whitish gunge onthe battery tray it's a fair bet that the battery has beenovercharging on this bike. It's a common fault on Z1s,but it won't have been helped by the high temperaturesin which this example has lived most of its life. Blotchypatches on the chrome on the rear wheel rim and braketorque arm are consistent with battery acid spills too.The battery itself is, of course, bone dry and thoroughlygoosed, but we expected that.
07: Right, let’s start unbolting stuff. The remnants ofthe hideous 4:1 exhaust system unbolts fairly easilyand goes in the skip outside. I'm saving the exhaustmounting collars and flanges, as they're the correct,original parts and will clean up. One of the finned collarsseems to be tight against the frame as it comes away –I'll have good look at that when I've made more room towork. The front of the engine is coated in oily sludge,but it's no real cause for concern and it might have justhelped prevent corrosion over the years.
08: Now I can get at it I'll remove the oil filter. Thecentral bolt comes free easily – again these arefrequently tight on older bikes and can put up quite astruggle. At least the bike has an oil filter fitted and it'sthe correct type. This large diameter metal shroudedfilter was only used on the early Z1 and Z1000 seriesand the Z750 twins. Later bikes have a smaller, paperfilter identical to the sohc Honda 750, and I've seen thelater filter bodged into early housings before. There's agood amount of thick, black sludge in there, but at leastit's oil and not rusty water.
06: The caliper and fork legs look original but this is thewrong wheel. The Z1, Z1A and Z1B were fitted with thefront end from the H2, and should have a blackwheelhub with six mounting bolts for the disc. This hubis silver and carries a four-bolt disc, which probablymarks it out as either a Z900A4 or Z650B item. Thefront axle with sleeve nuts is also incorrect for the Z1A.Although it all seems to fit together quite well, I'mwondering if the bike has been accident damaged andfitted with a different wheel to repair it?
04: Up at the top end, I'm pausing to take loads ofpictures of the cable and wiring runs before removinganything. On a bike of this age, and with an unknownhistory, there's no guarantee that everything is correctlyrouted to begin with, but a photographic reference isstill useful to have. On this bike the main harness runsalong the top left frame tube towards the headstock,and the handlebar switch wires are at the right. Note theignition coils bolted to the frame tubes – these havebonded HT leads that have hardened with age and arenow quite brittle. Two new coils required for the rebuild.
05: Further up and the mystery of the enormously longbrake hose. Although the bike has low bars now it must,at some point, have had enormous ape-hanger barsfitted; someone has changed the bars but simplylooped up the excess hose. There is no sign of anybrake fluid in the master cylinder and no indication thatthe brake will work, so this master cylinder may or maynot be usable. The anodising has faded to a dull silver,so it will need refinishing and servicing at the very least.Note the bashed headlamp rim and loose tacho bottomcover.
18: At the back end of the bike the trademark Kawasakitailpiece lifts away after I've removed its four rubbermountings. Beneath it we have the rear fender front and rearfender rear. The two central bolts that attach these to theframe are almost always rusted in solidly on UK bikes –these unbolt without any drama. Ah, the joy of working on aUtah import! Note the winkers mounted to the frame – fromthe Z900A4 onwards they were mounted to the grabrail.Deep joy – the rear section mudguard is solid and will re-chrome easily. Replacements are easy to get these days, butthe UK spec long mudguard is still a rare and valuable find.
16: The winkers fit through a collection of rubbergrommets and each is secured with a single nut insidethe shell. This bike seems to have rather too manygrommets fitted, so I'll be cross referencing from theparts list to find out what I should have when it all goesback together. I thought the headlamp brackets werebent, but a little gentle tapping with the rubber hammerlines up the headlamp to the top yoke quite easily, so itseems the brackets were just twisted on the fork legs.There is a minor ding in the right-hand one, but they willre-chrome perfectly well.
17: The clock assembly comes away from the top yokeafter removing two bolts. Again, all the rubbermountings are perished so everything’s wobblier than itshould be, but that's all easily fixable. The tacho head,though, is quite obviously damaged so I'll be goingshopping for a second-hand item to replace it. This lotwill dismantle further, but again I'm taking lots ofpictures of the wiring to help me put it back togethercorrectly when I rebuild the bike later.
15: Broken winker earth mounts in the headlamp shellare further evidence of accident damage. The wiringitself looks fairly sound, except for the unused sidelightconnections, which have been clamped between theheadlamp unit and its inner rim. Helps keep it tidy Isuppose, but I'd rather not risk it chafing through tometal and blowing the main fuse each time the lightsare switched on. The headlamp unit is in fine conditionbut dips the wrong way for UK roads, so a new one goeson the growing shopping list.
13: Time to unplug the harness and unbolt the coils,and store them all away in the Big Box of Electrical Stufffor sorting out later on. A quick examination shows theharness to be in pretty sound nick – there's no obvioussigns of bits of bodged wiring repairs that we see sooften. Even the block connectors look pretty good, but itwill all be cleaned up and checked over before I assumeany of it is fit to reuse.
14: One of the quirky bits on the Z1 is this device boltedto the left-hand ignition coil. Its function in life is tocontrol a warning lamp on the tacho face that notifiesyou if your stop-lamp bulb is not working. There are signsthat the block connector on this example has beenoverheating. To be frank, I don't ever remember comingacross a bike that had this function working, and whenthey packed up on customers’ bikes we simply used toremove them. If it works it will be a novelty – if doesn't Imight even go the extra mile and fit a new one for thesake of originality, if I can be bothered.
11: The regulator is a separate item on the Z1, and isbolted underneath the battery tray. It might still evenwork, but I reckon it will be prudent to convert the biketo a more modern, and more reliable, charging systemwhen I rebuild it. Unlike the Z750B or Z650B1 the Z1has a three-wire alternator, so it's quite easy to fit amodern combined regulator/rectifier unit. With the driedup remnants of the rubber mountings removed, labelledand stored the battery tray and toolbox goes in the pilefor powder coating.
12: As I'm stripping the bike I'm sorting all the bits forrenovation, further dismantling or storage. It makes senseto remove the points backplate and store it with the otherelectrical components for now, so I'll have a Big Box ofElectrical Stuff to sort through later. Personally, I like tostart up restored bikes on the original points ignitionwhere possible – it makes any troubleshooting easierwithout introducing unknown elements into the equation.For that reason I'll be fitting new points and condensersfor the initial start-up, and once the bike is running I'll belooking at converting to electronic ignition of some kind.
THANKS TOThe following have all offered to help with services and parts for the bike:
19: No putting it off any longer – something was wrong withthose exhaust clamps hitting the frame downtubes. Theclamps have fins relieved on one face to clear the inside ofthe frame on numbers two and three, but here the numbertwo clamp is hard up against the frame. Number three, bycontrast, has a good half an inch of clearance. I've alreadynoticed buckling on the front engine plate, and the mainfront engine bolt is bent. There's only one conclusion – theframe is bent. It all adds up – the scuff marks on the frameand engine, the wrong front wheel fitted and mountings forhighway pegs that are strangely missing.
24: Now, at last, the top yoke can be removed. The headbearings were a little notchy but I intend to fit taper rollersas part of the rebuild. While I want to (hopefully one day)experience the undiluted Z1A riding experience I fullyintend to take advantage of modern bearing technology atboth the steering head and swingarm pivot. It's hard toimagine a time when cup and cone bearings from abicycle were considered adequate for the most powerfulproduction motorcycle in the showrooms.
22: Next job – engine out. With rags on the bench to prevent any more scuffing, the bike now goes over sideways.I'm taking the engine out as one lump, and will treat it as a project in itself. With all the weight on the engine I cannow remove the wheels and suspension, leaving me with the fairly easy task of lifting the main frame loop off theengine on the bench. At this stage it’s also easy to get at the main engine mounting bolts and loosen them all off.
23: The front wheel unbolts easily, and I can then turn toremoving the fork legs. Slackening off the pinch bolts onthe yokes should make them loose enough to twist out,but these are still tight. The easiest solution is to removethe pinch bolts entirely and shove a screwdriver into thegap in the yoke. A little gently leverage will then open upthe bottom yoke far enough to release the fork leg, whichcan then be twisted and wiggled free. The bottom yoke issteel and quite sturdy, but be careful if you have to do thisat the top yoke – the alloy can fracture if you're too roughwith it. The headlamp brackets and fork shrouds have aselection of rubber O-rings and cups, all of which arecarefully collected and stored for later use.
25: With all the peripherals removed I can now removethe engine bolts and lift the frame off the engine. It's abit of a wiggle to clear it, but at this stage I'm notworried about scratching any paintwork. The engine willstay on the bench for stripping down, and I now have abig pile of dirty, greasy parts to clean up and check overbefore sending them out for re-finishing. And then, I'llhave to come up with a plan for the bent frame.
21: The caliper is correct for the Z1 at least, and itlooks to be in fairly good nick, apart from a little lightscuffing. I have no idea if it actually works, but for nowI'll unbolt it and store it for a full strip down later. Themarks on the fork leg could be accident damaged, orcould simply have been caused by the bike rattlingaround in a transatlantic container. The sticker on thefork leg is an authentic touch of the bike’s US heritage.
NEXT MONTHHOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE ABENT FRAME? ROD GOES TRUDGING OFFTO SUNNY NORWICH IN SEARCH OFSPECIALIST HELP. AUGUST ISSUE ONSALE 18 JULY.
20: Now I notice this cracking at the headstock gussets.Close examination of the front downtubes showsindentations above each front engine mount. I reckon thebike has been fitted with crashbars, then heavily binned.The crashbars have bent the frame, and it's all beencobbled together with a different wheel and handlebarsand moved on. Time to stop and think about this – nowwould be a good time to abandon the project, sell the bitsfor a profit and forget all about it. But I'm made of dafterstuff, and am beginning to feel like I'm on a mission. It allmakes me more determined to not only repair this bike,but to rebuild it to show standard. Onwards and upwards.
If ever there was a time to put away anyprejudices about old BMWs, the launch of the
R80G/S in 1980 was certainly it. But, despitethe appearance of the mightily impressiveR90S a few years earlier, there remained afew lingering doubts in the minds of some.
First impressions, pre-ride inparticular, never do work in aBeemer’s favour; the engine looksungainly in the chassis and the twoexposed cylinders seem completely inthe way – especially for any kind ofoff-road use. Likewise, the rest of thebike looks too big, too heavy andnothing more than a styling exercise,only useful on the Tarmac.
Things don’t get much better whenyou press the starter and the wholebike shakes and rocks like a WWIIpiston-engined fighter firing up –coughing, spluttering and struggling toget going.
Once the starter has had its minorsquabble with the big twin enginethough, they do seem to sort it all outand agree to get on with the job. Thetwin Bing carburettors fire a quicksquirt of petrol into their respectivecylinders and the engine soon settlesinto a burbling tick-over. Then thewhole bike joins in with the rhythm,dancing away in time with the exhaustnote as if alive, the sideways forces ofthe boxer engine creating a strangehandlebar movement in the lower revrange.
Well balanced, and easy to get thebest out of on just about any terrain,the R80G/S is actually a doddle toget along with, its thumpy and willingengine happily trudging down greenlanes or speeding along on thehighway.
Serious off-roading is best left tothose svelte single cylinder machineswith a good deal more groundclearance, less engine and all upweight. The Beemer can do it, but youprobably wouldn’t want to be tooclose to it when things go wrong –which of course they can and do soeasily on the rough. Where the G/Scomes into its own is out on the openroad.
Power is plentiful, smooth andeasily controlled. Once the brain hasbeen dialled in to cope with the lumpy
gearbox, the G/S is a delight to ridethough gear selection can be notchy ifthe correct throttle-clutch ratio andtiming isn’t used. But, once this hasbeen mastered, clutch free shifts area real breeze. Not that gearshifts arecommon, the torquey, and well fuelledengine pulls easily and strongly fromaround 30mph in top gear so, formost corners and obstacles, it’s a
case of leaving it in full auto modeand enjoying the ride.
Downshifts can be more difficult,with so much engine mass spinningaround getting that and the rear wheelin sync throughout the process is areal art form, which, once mastered,is addictive. The shaft drive impartsits will upon the rear end too and anyheavy handed throttle input or downshifts have the back end trying torotate around the gearbox as thepinions transfer the power through 90degrees and out to the wheel.
Get too enthusiastic with thedownshifts and rear wheel hop is alsounavoidable, an effect not too bad todeal with when upright but unwantedat any angle of lean. This effect isn’tas bad as other more road-biasedmachines from the BMW stable as, inan effort to reduce weight on the G/S,around 8kg was shaved off fromvarious clutch components, reducingmass and making for a smootheraction – although still nowhere nearthe silky operation enjoyed on bikesfrom the Japanese big four.
Despite the look and suggestedbulk, the R80G/S is a lively beastcapable of lofting the front wheel in
the first two gears and leaping up allkinds of inclines like a youngster.Braking could be better and is the onearea where the Beemer could beimproved – particularly on the hardstuff, where speeds and grip aregenerally higher than off-road. Despitehaving a powerful twin-opposed-pistonBrembo caliper, the brake is let downby the size of the disc and the weightof the bike behind it. In reality, a twindisc setup – or a much largerdiameter disc – is required to keepthe whole plot in check with authority.
The rear drum is no better, althoughwhen it comes to the initial bite, itdoes instil some confidence in itsabilities. Thankfully, the enginebraking is powerful and predictable –easily helping out the feeble frontstopper. Shift down a couple of gearsand feed the light clutch back in asand when required to feel the benefit.Using this technique also keeps thebike more stable by not using up all ofthe long travel of the forks – asrelying on the front brake alone wouldeasily do.
Factor the few foibles of the bikeinto the ride and the result is hard tobeat. The engine can be relied upon
at all time, as indeed can the sure-footedness of the chassiscomponents.
At low speed, the Boxer engine actslike a gyroscope keeping the bikeupright and making feet up U-turns, orfull stops at traffic lights andjunctions a doddle – once confidencehas been gained. The secret is to notblip the throttle at low speed or at astandstill. Doing this has the bikeswinging alarmingly to one side as thehuge crankshaft spins up from its lowrevving slumber and the rest of thebike reacts to its spinning mass.Simply leave the throttle well alonewhen at rest and enjoy this stunninglywell-balanced machine to the full. Analmost trials style lock-to-lock steeringarc has the big bike doing feet up U-turns in the tightest of back roads,making for effortless rambling around.
Throwing the bike around twistybends couldn’t be any easier either,thanks to the low slung engine andwide handlebars, while, at speed, amore conventional ‘superbike’ ridingstance is the order of the day. The bigBeemer happily responds to smallinputs through the ’bars and pegs,flicking from side to side with greatenthusiasm in a manner not at all inkeeping with the image it portrays.
LET’S NOT FORGET THE RESTThe trail bike world was a relativelynew one in 1980, having seen thefirst dedicated designs for this newbreed appear around the late 60s.The Yamaha DT1, a 250cc two-strokesingle, was the first of the seriouslooking machines, being aimedsquarely at the upcoming Americanoff-road market. Pretty soon, theEuropeans got a handle on the trailbike ethos and, as the demandincreased, more machines found theirway onto the market place. The trailbike blueprint was a simple onehowever, with everyone sticking to thesame format of a lightweight chassiswrapped around a simple, single-cylinder engine with the usual styling.
At the time of the G/S’s launch,there was nothing else to comparewith it – especially when it came topure road riding; it even out-handledthe rest of the BMW range. It took thebig players some considerable time tocatch up on the march stolen by the
BMW team when it came to bigtrailies. Commercially, Yamaha cameclose with the big bore XT range thatalso saw action in the mammothParis-Dakar battles but these lackedthe class displayed by the BMW whenon the hard stuff – as well as runningout of puff on long hauls.
The year after the last of the G/Smodels rolled off the BMW productionline – albeit to be replaced by a much
TUNING TIPSFew people in the early 80s would have desired more from their mounts than the G/S had
to offer. The balance was just about right between the usable power and the chassis
abilities to hold it all in check. Added to these factors would have to be the tyre
technology, the G/S had required a new breed of tyre to be developed and Metzeler were
the only ones in that game to begin with.
As time moved on and the R80G/S grew a little long in the tooth, many opted to fit the
later 1000cc engine as a direct replacement for the older and less powerful unit. Looks
can seem to add extra go without actually affecting performance, the Paris-Dakar replica
machines have a ‘go faster’ image and any machine bedecked in such a manner always
advanced model – saw a whole gamutof similar designs from both Hondaand Yamaha. Yamaha finally went twincylinder with their off-roader creatingthe XTZ Super Tenere to replace thebig single cylinder XT series, whileHonda went for V-twin power with theAfrica Twin series.
In recent times, the GS has comeinto its own yet again and hasspawned a whole new class ofmotorcycling with the adventure sportcategory.
WHAT GOES WRONGThe BMW is a tough cookie andcommon faults are few. The relativelylazy engine and car-type gearbox andtransmission technology means thatactual mechanical flaws are few andfar between.
The clutch, with just the one dryplate to absorb the forces put through
it, can be fragile though and it’s trickyto access compared to a moreconventional layout.
The electric starter places a greatload on the electrical system andearly 80s battery technology was notwhat it is today, so expect theoccasional temperamental one.Replacements aren’t cheap either, somake sure you are getting a qualityitem with a good warranty.
The front disc is woefully small andgets a lot of hammer because of itslack of stopping power, so check forwarping and excessive wear to thesurface. The rear too comes in forsome stick and being an integral partof the final drive system means itdoesn’t get checked too often. Whenleft unattended for long periods theshoes can wear though, damaging thedrum beyond repair with subsequenthuge repair bills.
MODEL July 1987 BMW R80 G/S
PD
OWNED SINCE: January 2006
PRICE PAID: £1600
PRESENT VALUE: Priceless (to me)
MILEAGE: 107,800
CONDITION: Well used
OWNER: Rob Farmer (44).
Controls Engineer.
Loughborough
These bikes are like gold dust to
find. I had one a few years ago and
really liked it, but then I sold it,
decided I missed it and soon wanted
another one. It took over two years
to find this one.
When it came up for sale I offered
£100 over the asking price and
bought it without seeing it. In more
recent times a good condition G/S
will attract strong interest and even
stronger prices often well over
£4000.
The ride home was interesting;
the starter motor worked
intermittently, the oil light flicked on
at anything below 2000rpm. The
camchain sounded like it was going
to eat through the engine case and
one of the carb needles had come
adrift: dropping down in the slide and
wearing a huge groove in the main
jet – surprisingly it ran quite well and
the 100 mile ride home wasn’t too
bad.
A new oil pump sorted out the oil
light problem and a few hours’ work
and a few new parts sorted the rest
out.
It’s not the prettiest bike around,
certainly not the fastest or the best
condition, but it’s been off-roaded,
crashed and bashed and keeps
coming back for more. I love it. It’s a
real Tonka toy.
OWNER’S TALE: ROB FARMER
1980 BMW R80G/S – Chassis number 6250001
Take the R80 engine and wrap it up in an R65 chassis with long
travel suspension and you have the unlikely, but nonetheless
successful, G/S range.
1981 Chassis number 6251499
This was the first real year for the G/S range, it coincided with the
class win in the Paris-Dakar race of that year and this in turn led to
the maximum impact possible for the range. It sold over 6000 units
in the first year of production.
1982 Chassis number 6255879
Electric start now fitted as standard while the rear rim received a
wider section.
1983 Chassis number 6258246
The G/S remained unchanged for this year.
1984 Chassis number 6281212
A new gas rear shock with remote reservoir is fitted while a limited
edition Paris-Dakar model is also introduced.
1985 Chassis number 6283357
Having seen few changes since its introduction, this year the G/S
got a revised engine. New heads and rockers reduced noise, while
improvements were made in the transmission.
1986 Chassis number 6286767
A new colour scheme and a different shape seat marked the only
changes to the G/S for the next two years.
1987 Chassis number 6291006 ends 6292522
The last of the R80G/S models
1988 The G/S loses its slash and becomes the Paralever R80GS and
100GS complete with lightweight Marzocchi forks. The older design
lived on as the German market only R65GS, visually identical to the
previous G/S, but with a mere 27bhp on tap, this underpowered
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0 8 4 5 FOR YOUR LOCAL STOCKIST
show us yours > readers’ bikes
1> YAMAHA RD350LCTim McCall has a day job playing guitar for Jarvis Cocker, but his otherpassion is two-strokes – and in particular Yamahas. “This is my KennyRoberts style LC that I restored recently and is pictured here after a goodthrashing. The engine was rebuilt by my good friend Paul Mottram, whowas a factory mechanic for Wayne Rainey when he was world champion.Paul also worked with Harold Bartol among others. The black one in thebackground is my mate Spenny’s. They attract attention wherever we go.We also have a ‘77 RD200 and a ‘77 RD250.”
2> HONDA CB400FColin from Huddersfield recently had to sell his Katana to finance a newbusiness venture, but has softened the blow by restoring this lovely Honda400/4. “The bike has been an ongoing project, and I’ve had lots of helpfrom my mate Graham Sharp, who some Yorkshire readers may rememberas ace spanner man at Huddersfield Kawasaki.” The bike is not quitefinished yet, but it is now road legal and looking pretty good.
3> SUZUKI T500“This is my 1973 Suzuki T500K Titan,” writes Neil Batterham. “I boughther nearly two years ago and have thoroughly enjoyed restoring her to nearshowroom condition. I really enjoy the history of motorcycling and this isfrom a defining era of acceleration and reliability. I love the deep burble ofthe exhaust note – it is something you don’t hear any more. On a recentrally of 200 motorcycles mine was the only two-stroke! Ah the sweet smellof two-stroke in the morning, you can’t beat it! Keep up the great mag!”
4> YAMAHA FJ1200Adam Mabey owns this 1991 Yamaha FJ1200. “I have fitted a Suzuki 17inrear wheel and a Genesis front wheel, along with R1 brake calipers andbraided hoses. At the rear I have fitted a JMC deep braced swingarm andHagon uprated shock to stiffen the back end up. I also fitted rear sets andXJR cans. There’s lots of bling fitted and the bike had a total respray byRevolution Custom Paint of Reading. The engine has a Dynojet Stage 3kit. It was already a great bike but now it’s awesome! I can compete withmost modern sports bikes but also run all day in comfort. Great mag, yougave me lots and lots of inspiration and tech help!”
5> SUZUKI GS1000SPaul Edley is treating this Suzuki GS1000S as a rolling restoration. “Iknow it is not standard! We previously had a Zephyr 1100 but the seatwas like rock, and my wife Viv said she preferred the seat on our old GS,so we looked for another one. Personally I just love the look of the bike!Great mag by the way, which we read the print off each month.”
6> YAMAHA RD200“This is my newly restored 1981 X reg Yamaha RD200,” writes DavidWalker. “I purchased it as a complete but non-running project, back in thesummer of 2005, for the sum of £100. She hadn’t been used sinceDecember 1991 and needed a lot of work. The chrome work was notgood, but it had only had two owners and 8509 miles on the clock. 18months on she now is finally finished, and runs as sweet as the RD200 Ihad back in 1982. I still have the grin on my face from the test run roundthe block! Thanks to the guys at the Aircooled-RD Club; without them itwould have been a lot harder restoration project. Blue haze expected inthe Lincolnshire countryside this summer I fear.”
7> SUZUKI T250J“Here is a picture of my recently restored 1972 Suzuki T250J,” writesLyndon Williams from Merthyr Tydfil. “This is the very bike that as a 16-year-old I drooled over. I would watch the owner ride past at a snail’s pace,willing him to open the throttle. Last year I was amazed to find that he hadstored the bike in bits since 1976, and I persuaded him to part with it andset about the rebuild. The engine was in perfect condition but I had to buynew exhausts, new mudguards and re-chrome many other parts. I spentaround 250 hours on the rebuild and enjoyed every minute. The bike nowshares space with my 2004 SV650, my restored 1979 GS425E and a sick1980 Honda CM200.”
8> HONDA CB900F2Andy Windrass bought this 1981 Honda CB900 F2 last October. “The bikehad only one previous owner and 13,000 miles on the clock. It is incompletely original condition, no restoration has been carried out. It looksnew and it rides like new. Apart from the Marzocchi rear shocks andMetmachex swingarm the bike is completely standard, and the originalscame with the bike. I love it!”
9> HONDA CB350/4‘’My brother, John Boyd, in Johannesburg, South Africa, has just completeda 14-month restoration of this 1973 Honda 350/4,” writes Jerry Boyd. Mybrother owned a 350/4 in the 80s, which is still in Zimbabwe today.Efforts to repurchase this bike for restoration came to naught, so anotherexample was found in South Africa. A short time later, a further completebike was tracked down in Zimbabwe and was acquired for the project.Ultimately, the South African frame and engine was used as the basis forthe restoration, but virtually everything else is either from the Zimbabwebike or sourced from the UK, USA, Taiwan, Germany, the Netherlands, NewZealand and Thailand. The biggest plus with the Zimbabwe bike was that itcame with a set of new, original, pipes which the previous owner hadbought but never fitted. The value of the pipes alone justified the outlay
for the bike. A fine result and another classic saved.’’10> GEMINI MONKEY BIKE“I found this bike in the back of a local dealer’s workshop and nobodyseemed to know what it was,” writes Garry Yule from Newport, Isle ofWight. “I liked the look of it, although it was obviously in need of somerestoration. A deal was done and it went home in the back of my car. Idiscovered the little bike is a Gemini SST, produced in Taiwan between1970-72. They were only imported to the USA, so how this one made it toour country I don’t know. It’s a 49cc two-stroke engine, which looks verysimilar to a Fizzy, and I understand that production of these bikes wasstopped due to legal action from Yamaha. Any parts I have needed havebeen sent over from the States, and even there are very hard to find.”
11> DUCATI 900SSMario H Sanctos used to race TZs in the 70s at Interlagos. “The real one,not that stupid F1 circuit they use today!” he says. This is Mario’s 1977Ducati 900SS, part of a collection that also includes a 1980 HondaCB400, a Norton Commando fastback and another Ducati; an MH900E.
12> SUZUKI GT500Stephen Sanders bought this bike last April on eBay, without even seeingit first. “The seller said the carbs needed cleaning, and indicatorsconnecting. Almost £2000 later, I have got the bike to this standard. Ihave renewed almost every part of the bike with genuine Suzuki parts andstainless steel fasteners. I would suggest to any Suzuki restorer; beforebuying new, old stock from eBay give Robinsons Foundry a ring. Forexample, I have seen the rubber buffer for GT sidestands go on eBay for£9, and Robinsons sell them new for under £1. I know the colour is wrongand the seat is T500 pattern, but these are both to my taste. ImageWorks did the paintwork, really good blokes.”
13> SUZUKI GT380MKeith Patstone wanted a GT380, when he was 17, back in 1977. “Theproblem was I was earning about £19.50 a week at BeauchampMotorcycles in Leamington Spa, anyone remember it? Seven years ago Ispotted an old beat up 1975 model GT380 for £200. By late afternoon Iwas sitting in my garage, with a nice mug of tea, looking at the sorry stateof my purchase, thinking what the hell have I done! After seven years, lotsof tea and late nights this is what she looks like today. I entered the bikeinto the Donington Classic show and the bike won the award for ‘bestchrome’. I am now about to start restoration of a 1964 Yamaha YG1.”
14> ‘ANGELINA’ DUCATI 860GTSCanadian Tim Lovell bought this 1977 Ducati as a wreck in 1996 for$1500. “Then in 2003 I was introduced to an 83-year-old Italian lady whokindly offered me the use of a little garage in the back of her house for amere $200 a year. This lady was ‘Angelina’, a lady who has lived inCanada for over 40 years and knows about the same number of words inEnglish. Over the next three years the restoration process proceeded, andAngelina taught me a few words of Italian and fed me during my latenights in the garage. In kind I would cut her grass and dig her vegetablegarden every spring. This bike quite simply would not be on the road todayif not for her generosity, and so it is my humble tribute to her that I amproud to carry her name on this Ducati.”
15> YAMAHA XJ900Dave Hughes bought his XJ900 new from QB Motorcycles of Quarry Bank,West Midlands in March 1991. “I still have the original receipt along withmost of the service invoices. It currently has just under 9000 miles on theclock. Other than two new replacement batteries and a set of tyres theonly other expense has been routine servicing. It is a very underrated bikeand is reliable, has a good turn of speed and handles well. It is now up forsale as I treated myself to a new Suzuki Bandit 1200 (new bike, old style,best of both worlds?) last year and I need to pay the wife back some ofthe money I borrowed!”
16> HONDA C201John Maskell had to send in this pic for Show Us Yours, after seeing theHonda S65 in the January issue; “It’s beautiful! This bike arrivedunannounced at my back door one evening. The motor was seized, andthe oil pump drive had failed along with general abuse. I set to work andrebuilt it from the ground up. Everything has been done – paint, chrome,alloy, cables, engine, even the correct spokes as original. The only partthat is not genuine is the muffler, which is now stainless steel andproduces a more fruity note than the original. It rides really well, andkeeps up with the traffic no problem.” The model is John’s wife, Chris.
17> KAWASAKI H1Andy Thompson, from Port Douglas, Queensland has a couple of KawasakiH1s; this is a 1970 model that he has just restored. “It’s very hard toobtain the triples here in Australia and I am on the look out for an H2. Myother H1 is a 1972 H1B that is currently undergoing restoration. “I alsohave a 1973 S1A 250 and a 1973 S3 400, both of which requirerestoring when time and cash flow permits – and when the wife will allow.I moved here from Cleethorpes and do miss going to Cadwell Park for theracing and trackdays. I used to marshal there back in the late 70s. Italways was a good day out as you got to have a blast around the circuit atthe end of the day. Back then I had a Z650.”
18> KAWASAKI KR1SThis 1993 KR1S C3 belongs to Mark Corcoran, from Widnes, Cheshire. “Ihave had it four years now and I am never going to part with it. It’sstandard, apart from the exhaust cans, polished rims, a WP rear shockand progressive fork springs. I bought it as a second bike, but as I wasriding it more than my main bike I sold my TL1000S and use this instead.I also have a KR1S hybrid with a RGV complete rear end (bananaswingarm) and a ZXR400 usd front end.”
19> HONDA CBR600F“My name is Clive Davis and this is my 1991 CBR600FM. I got it in thesummer of 2006 as a rolling running wreck. I was turned on by the singleseat unit and the price. I started the rebuild in October 2006 and it is nowfinished and MoTed.” As a body work lecturer at Bedford College, Clive hadno problems restoring the paintwork, but does offer this advice: “Don’tdrop the freshly painted tank when fitting the drain and breather pipes toit, d’oh. Thanks for a great magazine, I’ve been a reader for many years,having been bike mad since a very early age. I’ve been both a road andAMCA motocross rider, and have owned bikes from MZs to Harleys,including motocross Kawasakis and KTMs, Hondas, Suzukis and Yamahas,and a Bultaco!”
For a bunch of amateurs we seem to be doing rather well!The Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club is delighted toannounce that its 25th Anniversary show is going fromstrength to strength and is set to become one of themajor biking events of 2007.
With the stunning venue of Uttoxeter racecourse andits facilities, allied to easy access via the A50, there’sno reason not to be there on 7-8 July. Entry tickets areonly £6 and with over 600 bikes, 50 clubs and morethan 100 bike-related traders already signed up withseven weeks to go, the public are assured of a veryspecial event.
The show is aimed at the heart of classic biking:the clubs themselves. It’s tremendous to see thatthe event has support from all sections of thebiking world British, European and Japanese. Evenmore impressive is the commitment from Hondaand Yamaha to the event; expect to see theircurrent UK models and if the gods smile one ortwo special pieces of history as well.
The aim has always been to celebrate our 25years as a club and put something back intobiking at grass roots level; hence to focus onthe clubs. Have a look at the list below and I’msure you’ll agree we’ve got a very eclectic mix.
vjmc > the voice of the vintage japanese motorcycle club
40 www.classicmechanics.com
IF THISSHOW DOES
NOTHING ELSE, ITDEMONSTRATES ADIVIDE NO LONGEREXISTS. IT’S THELOVE OF CLASSICBIKES THAT UNITESUS; THE COUNTRYOF ORIGIN ISPURELYINCIDENTAL. ”
THE VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE CLUB IS ANENTHUSIASTS’ CLUB WITH MORE THAN 5500 MEMBERS,UNITED BY A COMMON INTEREST IN OWNING, RIDING,PRESERVING AND RESTORING JAPANESE MOTORCYCLES OF15 YEARS OF AGE OR MORE.
Motorcycle Club, Different Strokers,Federation of Sidecar Clubs,Francis-Barnett Owners Club, FS1EMotorcycles, GoldWing OwnersClub, GoldWing Owners of GreatBritain Classic Section, GreevesRiders Association, HednesfordMotorcycle Club, Hesketh OwnersClub, Historic Honda, InternationalLaverda Owners Club, Italian MCOCGB, Jawa CZ Owners Club, KatanaOwners Club UK, Kawasaki GTClub, Kettle Club, LC Club, NortonOwners Club, Real Classic Club,Royal Enfield Owners Club, SportsMoped Owners Club, StreetSpecials Motorcycle Club, SunbeamOwners Fellowship, Suzuki OwnersClub, Suzuki X7 GT Owners Club,The Vintage Motor Cycle Club Ltd,Tiger Cub Club, Triumph Owners’Motor Cycle Club, UK Honda TurboAssociation, Velocette Owners Club,Vincent HRD Owners Club, VintageJapanese Motorcycle Club (well wethought we ought to make aneffort!), Vintage Motor ScooterClub, XJR Owners Club, YamahaClassic MCC, Yamaha TZ Club andZ1 Owners Club.
Right from the early days of
Japanese bike imports into the UKthere has been perceived divisionbetween British and Japanese bike-owning enthusiasts. Admittedly alot of the so-called friction waswhipped up by the thencontemporary press but there wasundoubtedly a schism betweenEast and West. If this show doesnothing else, it clearlydemonstrates the divide no longerexists. It’s the love of classic bikesthat unites us; the country of originis purely incidental and shouldnever be divisive. All those involvedwith the show deserve a pat on theback for achieving this unifiedposition; biking needs to present aintegrated front in the face ofburgeoning bureaucratic meddling.
The aim of the weekend is tohave a damn good time enjoyingthe best hobby in the world. Seeyou there folks, it’s going to be acracking event run by some of themost professional amateurs you’reever likely to meet.
The Uttoxeter Show will be the first major national show organised and run by theVJMC. And for a first attempt it all seems to be going pretty well, says Steve Cooper.
ANYTHING TO SAY? SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:CLASSIC & MOTORCYCLE MECHANICS,PO BOX 99, HORNCASTLE, LINCOLNSHIRE, LN9 6LZOR E-MAIL [email protected]
44 www.classicmechanics.com
I thought I would just drop a note aboutregistrations, as I acquired a Suzuki GS550last July from my brother-in-law, who hadpurchased it as a rolling frame withdismantled engine and various important bitsmissing, such as V5C, registration plate etc.I completed a registration form at the localpost office, sent it off with my £19 andwaited. A letter came asking me to presentthe bike for inspection at their office. Iexplained its condition to them and theystated as long as there is 60 per cent of thevehicle and it was on their computer file(1980 or newer) they could give me itsoriginal number. It had not been taxed forover 10 years but I got the original numberre-issued. All they did was check the framenumber and contact the last known owner tomake sure it was not stolen, all for myoriginal cheque of £19. I hope this helpssome readers.
Tim Wardle, by email.
That’s good news, Tim, you’ve obviously gotthat rare creature, the sensible civil servant,in your area. I wish there were more like them.– Rod.
DVLA REGISTRATION
WIN FIVE LITRES OF MILLERS OIL
A VACUOUS WASTEI enjoy the magazine and look forward to receiving
it each month, but I can't help noticing the
increase in advertorial and supplier puffs (in the
XT500 feature for example).
I found myself particularly annoyed with the May
issue by the waste of a two page colour spread on
a fairly vacuous and clearly advertorial piece about
Gibson exhausts.
I know advertising revenue is important but I
hope CMM won't increasingly use this cost
effective way of filling pages as an alternative to
quality editorial.
Mark Marlow, by email
There’s nothing sinister about it Mark, we needadvertising revenue and we support advertisers
who support us. Its win/win as far as I'mconcerned – everyone who helped with partsfor the XT, for instance, supplies quality stuffand is prepared to put their goods up for publicscrutiny on our rebuild bikes. Readers want toknow what stuff is available and what thequality is like – we show 'em. Would you ratherwe kept it secret who we get bits from? Itwould hardly be fair to people like Phil Denton,who busts a gut to run his one-man businessand provide top quality parts – an enthusiastsupplying parts for other enthusiasts. We're allengaged in the same enterprise here – readers,writers and suppliers; what's wrong with us allhelping each other out? Start up your ownbusiness and we'll support you too... Rod.
We’re giving away a five-litre bottleof Millers 10/40 Oil (worth over£17) to suit your classic bike for theletter we judge to be the best of themonth. Send your email withpictures as JPG attachments [email protected] or post your
letters and prints to the usualaddress. Please include your landaddress with all emails, andadd your name and address tothe back of photos if you want them returning.
Rod Gibson.
WATCH YOUR LOCKSWhy does it always rain on MOT day?When you've spent hours buffing up yourhighly polished crankcases, fork legs,paintwork etc.... it has to rain all day. Stillthe XV flew through; Rich Lewis knows agood bike when he sees one even if helaughed at me riding off in the rain.
On the way home I stopped off in townto visit the bank, securely locking the XVto the railings in the bike park on the seafront in Weston, using my trusted Oxfordcable lock I've had for about 12 years.Returning about 15 minutes later, to myhorror the key wouldn't fit into the lock –strange, never had any trouble before. Iunpacked my comprehensive Yamaha toolkit and started to prod and pokehelplessly at the brass tumblers in thelock that had fallen out of place, but to noavail. After putting my helmet back on atthe start of another heavy downpour, Ithought, why me? After my second phonecall I finally managed to find someonewilling to help me in my predicament,good old Malc, my brother in-law. Withassorted screwdrivers, hammer and
hacksaw, we set about attacking the evillock. Oxford locks have a good reputationfor being highly tamper proof and verystrong, but on this particular day this isnot what I wanted! We soon realised theonly way this lock was coming off was withbrute force and ignorance, one of my oldfavourites.
My luck was about to change, for onthe beach lawns opposite was a mobilesales unit selling wheelchairs and electricbuggies. The young lad in the sales officecould see my problem and came over tooffer his assistance. The first thing thatentered my head was "have you got agenerator?" to which he said "yes". So Ithen asked Malc to nip home and get myangle grinder.
Finally it stopped raining and with thegenny running, the spark eroder screamedthrough the blue cable in about 30seconds, freeing the XV and allowing me toget home out of the rain. A big thanks fortheir help. The moral of the story is: buygood security kit but don't let it get too oldand tired, it might drop you in it; I wasquite lucky it happened only a mile and halffrom home, could have been a lot worse.
Worryingly, while all this was going on,not one person questioned if it was mybike. I must have been there an hour atleast. That's life.
Mark Gallett, Weston Super Mar
I’VE DONE ONE TOOI congratulate Pete Tantrum for his excellentreplica of Bazza’s bike. I too have built anRG500 replica. The famous Texaco Heron No7. The bike is also road registered and wasbuilt to complete the Barry Sheene ride inAustralia from Bairnsdale to the MotoGP atPhillip Island. The bike won top Japanese atthe Show ‘n Shine, also raising more than$3000 for cancer research. It also impressedBazza’s kids, who signed the bike for me. Toview the bike you can go to the DucatiOwners’ Club of South Australia’s websitewww.docsa.com.au. Go to events cal andclick on the picture of Barry Sheene’s bike.I’m sure that we are the only Bazza Sheenereplica owners around, but would love to hearif anyone else has taken up the challenge.
Cheers Bazza Warren, Adelaide, South Australia.
GOLD WING’S DEBUT WAS AT THE TTAs a follow up to the heading ‘The first GoldWing’, to my recollection the British, if not worldpremier, of the Honda flagship was at the 1975TT. It was ridden by none other than MikeHailwood and pillion on that day was Geoff Duke!
I remember standing in Parliament Square,Ramsey, waiting for its arrival between races. Itwas such an anti-climax to see this long awaitedbike come along the road and disappear out ofsight with hardly more than a whisper. Was this asign of things to come? I guess it was, becausethe Wing made it past the 25th anniversary indifferent guises. I’ll look out the picture of theday if I can find it.
Please find enclosed a picture ofmy 1994 XJ900F. It's not showcondition, but from buying a rustywreck with a blown engine, I havenow a fully working and reliablebike. It's had the frame, fairingbrackets and swinging arm shotblasted and powder coated, newbearings all round, new forkinternals, brakes rebuilt, newshocks, a replacement enginefrom a breaker’s, and some goodold elbow grease. I've learned alot while doing it, and have beenhelped by my good friends when Ihave been head scratching.Initially bought in November 2003to keep my mind occupied overthat Christmas because I had gotthe push from my beloved; sincethen I have bought another nonrunning XJ900F, which was easierto get on the road, met mywonderful fiancee, was seriouslyinjured when knocked off theoriginal XJ, and finally was on theroad in September 2006. Just
because it's not a desired modeldoesn't mean it's worthless.
Secondly, I remember talking toyou at the Donington show andyou telling me that you had seen aZ1 that you fancied restoring. I amglad to see you gave intotemptation, and good luck with theproject. I would like to put forwardthe XJ for review, but as I say itain't mint.
Thirdly, letters page. Pleasekeep up the re-runs of the MIRAfiles. I was born in 1971 and wasreading the Beano when they firstcame out, and find theminteresting and informative.
Finally, while watching an advertfor a miraculous domestic cleaner,I wondered if any of these wondercleaning products are suitable formotorcycles and whether youfancy doing a consumer testfeature on some motorcycle parts.Thanks for a great mag, keep upthe good work.
Tom, by email.
MY XS IS BACKLong time no speak, hope you are keeping well. Great article andpics on the XT – well done. From the photographs it was clear thatyou were really happy with the result!
You may or may not remember I was the one who bought theseized Yamaha XS400 – well I'm glad to report it’s back on theroad. It stills need a bit of work but I shall send a picture for ‘showus yours’ by separate mail.
Best WishesSteve Powroznyk, by email
This is the only magazine I buy now, as I
normally find it the best in the world, but
I was shocked, nay horrified, when I
went to purchase the May issue to find
that my favourite read had now stooped
to the levels of the plastic rocket mags
with their idiots on the front cover. I was
stunned to see some young hooligan on
an off-road bike, on the wrong side of the
road, one hand on the handlebar and a
tax disc out of date. I think he must
have been doing this to impress his
mates or the ladies. I just hope this
youngster lives to grow up and become
a respectable motorcyclist.
Trevor Dent, Respectable LC rider
I hope so too – Rod
I’d like to enlist the help ofMechanics readers to try and helpme find my old bike. I know youmust get hundreds of requests totrace old bikes, but I think you’re myonly hope on this one. I’m askingas the bike was unusual and wasn’troad registered, so I can’t trace itthrough normal channels. It was arace bike I’d campaigned in the late80s and early 90s and was acomplete one-off. I raced it in theold F2 class with some successand now I’d like to get hold of itagain to use at track days.
It was based around a modifiedTZ500 rolling chassis fitted with anair-cooled GPZ550 motor. I knowwhat happened to the engine, butthe rolling chassis I sold in the early90s to a guy who was going to fit a
Bonneville engine into it and put iton the road. I reckon he was aDutchman, resident in Norwood,South London, at the time.Obviously, being a race bike, thereare no frame numbers to go on butI know of some distinguishingmarks that can help identify it. Ifanyone knows of its whereabouts,they can contact me [email protected] as I’d really liketo get hold of it again (if it stillexists) as it holds some goodmemories for me. I’ve enclosed apicture of it to help , apologiesabout the quality but it's the best Icould find.
Mark Wateridge, by email
We’ll do what we can Mark. Anyoneout there recognize Mark’s old bike?
There are presently no plans forany further episodes, but whoknows what the future holds. Rod
A SHINING EXAMPLEJust thought I would let you know that I havejust received the exhaust headers back fromCamcoat, they have been finished in silver.
I had been looking for an exhaust finisher foryears after struggling with various hightemperature paints and sprays on various bikeexhausts. If I had not been a reader of CMM Iwould not have been aware of Camcoat.
I have liked following your Katana rebuild –after the filler cap modification, did you washout the tank from the grinding bits and dust?We would not want you to experience another'goosed engine'.
Do you want to improve on your ETs or speedat the drag strip? Deflate your tyres slightly!You will need to consult another Katana dragbike racer for the pressures, but remember tore-inflate for your journey home!
Dave Wood
KLE – ONE AMONG HUNDREDS –RARE OR JUST NOT POPULAR?I have just read your editorial of June's editionof CMM and while I agree with your sentimentsabout global warming and the effects of carsand bikes it got me thinking. It occurred to methat if the Mortons organisation wanted to helpclean up the environment then perhaps a goodplace to start would be to replace thethousands of plastic bags that are used tosend out the magazines to subscribers. If theywere replaced with recycled paper envelopessurely that would be a help?
Recently, a village in Devon started the ballrolling by all the traders and shop ownersbanning plastic bags for a six month trialperiod. Why not be the first publisher to banplastic bags and help the environment? Rightthen, that's got the plastic bag rant out of theway, onto bike matters.
I have just renewed my annual subscriptionto Classic Motorcycle Mechanics for thesecond time. For me it's the best motorcyclemonthly, being informative, entertaining and auseful guide for the home mechanic whosometimes needs a few tips on how to getaround a problem.
I read my first copy just over a year ago atthe same time that I bought a cheap, fiveprevious owners, 1994 Kawasaki KLE 500 as arat bike for the commute to work. I hadn'tintended to do any restoration on it, but due inpart to your magazine I found myself engagedin a restoration that has just been completed.Not to concours standard however, the dangerthere being that it would not get ridden if it wastoo 'precious', but to an acceptable state that Iam happy with. It looks newer than theregistration suggests, and that's fine.
I recently took part in the Mortons LymphomaWolds Run and had a really good time. Onething that surprised me was that my KLE wasthe only one there among hundreds of bikes. Idon't know if that makes it rare or just not apopular bike, the latter probably.
I don't care that it is a shell suit turquoisecolour and that the replacement Arrow exhaustis nearly worth more than the bike, it's a hoot toride and much more fun than my previous BMW.
Thanks again for a great mag.Roger Evans, Sleaford, Lincs
FASCINATED BY FEATURESWhat a childish rant that was from TrevorLock in your June issue. I cannotunderstand why he resents road testsbeing published for bikes that were alsocovered 30 years ago. Being new to bikingand 27 years old, I am fascinated byfeatures on classic bikes, and where elsecan I read them, if not in your excellentmagazine, which I look forward to eachmonth. I think Trevor should think back onthe pleasure he got from reading the roadtests back then, and realise that classicbiking is about heritage, which needs to bepassed on to the next generation in orderto survive. I recently bought my first bike,a 1990 400cc Bros, and thoroughly enjoyinformative articles and restorationprojects, keep up the good work.
Karl O’Neill, Kilcoole, Co Wicklow
RODEO LEMONYou forgot to mention what a greatmachine for pillions the Kawasaki Z400was in your Biking Lemons feature!!
Pete Johnson, Sheffield
Here’s a picture of my CX500Z(78). The photo was taken at theCX-GL National Rally at EastMalling, Kent in May 07.
I paid £75 for the bike as arough runner, it now has new paint,revised front end with AR125 frontlight, straight bars, cut down frontguard, 2/4 seat and miniindicators.
The CX-GL MCC (UK) had beenfantastic source of information andhelp in getting my bike up toscratch. I love it to bits!
Testing custom bikes in the 1980s was athankless task, but it did reveal how somemanufacturers were better at it than othersas demonstrated by Kawasaki’s Z550LTDand Suzuki’s GS550L. John Nutting steps back 25 years.
CHALKCHEESEAND
Testing custom bikes in the 1980s was athankless task, but it did reveal how somemanufacturers were better at it than othersas demonstrated by Kawasaki’s Z550LTDand Suzuki’s GS550L. John Nutting steps back 25 years.
OK, I’ve got a confession to make.When it came to reporting on thegrowing range of so-called custommotorcycles in the late 70s and early80s, I mostly passed the buck.
To me, bikes that were offered onlyas a style alternative to basic modelsdidn’t seem worth commenting on.After all, what more can you sayabout a bike that’s had its handlingcompromised by longer fork legs,softer suspension and a wider andtaller handlebar?
I suspect reporters elsewhere feltthe same. Flicking through the
US mainstreammagazines likeCycle, you’d
see tests of
the latest customs but readingbetween the lines you could sensethe feeling that highlighting thetechnical changes of some show-boating chrome-bedecked cruiser theysatisfied the needs of the growingband of uncritical buyers who wantednothing more than an easy ride.
That was mostly because bikemagazines were staffed byenthusiasts. The bike manufacturerswere chasing bigger marketspopulated not by petrol heads, but bythe Sunday morning brunch bunch.And their heads were turned by thelaid-back look.
Delivering style enough to satisfythe casual buyer was fairly easy.Kawasaki first tried with its Z900LTDin 1975 with lavish brightwork, extradetailing and a higher handlebar. By1980, all of the Japanese factorieshad ranges of models from 250ccto 1000cc.
But although styling the bikeswas one thing, designing them so
they actually functioned wasanother. And the spectrum ofcapability was highlighted whenin 1980 Which Bike?, where Iwas editor at the time, testedtwo 550cc fours from
Kawasaki and Suzuki. At firstglance they looked very similar,
but on the road no two bikes couldhave been more different.
SPEEDS IN GEARS 39mph, 58mph and 75mph 39mph, 50mph and 65mph
AT MAX POWER REVS 88mph, 99mph and 108mph 79mph, 93mph and 106mph
STANDING 1/4 MILE 14.0sec 13.4sec
0-TO-60MPH 6.0sec 5.8sec
AV FUEL CONSUMPTION 53mpg 62mpg
RANGE 148 miles 167 miles
SPECIFICATION
The Suzuki, a GS550LT, had greatlineage. The GS550 (launched in1977) from which it was derived wasquick for its time, with fine handlingand a potent, robust doubleoverhead-camshaft four-cylinderengine. The motor was a smallerversion of that used in the GS750,Suzuki’s first four-stroke road bike,which had appeared in 1976.Durability stemmed from the use ofgear primary drive and roller bearingsthroughout the crankcase and six-speed gearbox, the overheadcamshafts being chain driven andopening the valves, two per cylinder,through reliable bucket followers.
By the time it was powering theGS550LT custom, the engine’soriginal four Mikuni slide-type carbswere replaced with larger-chokeconstant-velocity Mikunis with alighter action at the twistgrip. Power had also been upped from48.5bhp at 9000rpm to 53bhpat a heady 9400rpm with peaktorque of 30ft-lb at 8000rpm. Suzukihad also dropped the use of akick-start lever and fitted a morepowerful generator.
In its custom role, the bikeacquired a deeply padded two-step
“AND THERE’S NOTHING LIKETHROTTLE RESPONSEENOUGH TO LIFT THE FRONTWHEEL IN THE LOWER GEARSTO CREATE A FAVOURABLEFIRST IMPRESSION. ”
seat, pull-back bars, megaphone-stylesilencers and chrome where plasticshad previous been used, such as for the headlamp body and chainguard. Running gear changesincluded a longer leading-axletelescopic fork and a smaller 17inrear wheel with a fatter tyre, andtriple disc brakes.
It has some neat equipment andinstrumentation. The fuel cap waslockable. At the time the use of adigital gear indicator between theconventional speedo and rev meterwas the height of gizmo, as was thefuel gauge – though without a fuel tapthere was no reserve supply. And theengine still had old-style ignition withcontact breakers.
Style-wise it then started to gowrong. The smaller 2.7-gallon fueltank left a gap at the front that wouldhave otherwise exposed a nest ofcontrol cables and wiring had it notbeen for a crude plastic cover. Andthe colour scheme was uninspired:a dull metallic blue offset withpin striping.
It didn’t get any better once you satastride the Suzuki. The seat was sotall you could barely get your feet onthe ground, which as our expert onthe magazine remarked was hardly inkeeping with the custom image.Then, once you were on the move,the broad, pull-back handlebarseemed out of keeping with theconventionally positioned footrests.Low speed handling took somegetting accustomed to, againbecause of the handlebar’s width.
At speed, it was hard work as wellbecause not only were you strugglingto control windblast above 70mphbut, with the grips pointed back, ittook the hands of a weightlifter tohang on. Stability wasn’t too bad,
despite the 2 1/2in longerwheelbase and lanky 61-degree rakeresulting from the extended forklegs. Suspension was unbalancedthough, with the fork being toosoft while the conventional rearshocks felt too hard, so on roughersurfaces it could easily get itselfin a twist.
Braking was similar. Suzukispecified twin discs for the front end, rather than the single discfound on other markets and so longas you were used to the pitching thepower was controllable with goodfeel, but the rear disc was too easyto lock up.
The engine, as ever, was thehighlight. Smooth and free revving,with six gears to play with, the 549cc(56 x 55.8mm) four was potentenough to haul the bike up to anindicated 105mph, a speed that wasmuch lower than the stock bikemostly because of the drag createdby the rider hanging on the ’bars.Gearing was lower than stock throughthe use of a larger 51-tooth rear-wheel sprocket, one tooth up. Just aswell because the engine couldusefully have been more responsiveat lower revs.
Other features included a morepotent alternator – enough toadequately feed a 60-watt headlamp.
Fuel consumption was onlyaverage at 53mpg and, though thetheoretical range was about 145miles, we wouldn’t have risked it.After topping up, the fuel gaugewould register full for 50 miles thenin the next 30 miles would drop intothe red, suggesting a reserve of 60miles. Few would fill up after 80miles, but then you would riskrunning dry if you forgot, an easymistake to make.
Suzuki offered the custom-styleGS550L for just one year in the UK,sparing some potential buyers theexperience of riding a true donkey.
Trouble was that the potential buyerwould probably never have evenconsidered riding the Suzuki back-to-back with the Kawasaki Z550LTD.Though populating a growing nichesector, these bikes were mostlyimpulse buys. But had they donetheir homework even the mostundemanding would have realisedthat the Kawasaki beat the Suzukihands down in every category, andthis has been borne out over theyears. Kawasaki Z550LTD owners stillsay they’re great bikes. We evenfound in the US a Ducati fan withseveral classy models, who enjoyedhis Z550LTD until very recently. Butwe couldn’t locate a GS550L owner(they’ll probably now come out ofthe woodwork with unqualified praisefor the bike).
Fact was that the Kawasaki hadbetter styling, performance andhandling than the Suzuki. It wasderived from the sporty Z500 fourlaunched in 1979, a bike that hadbeen quickly uprated to 550 andspawned a series of spectacularGPz550 sports bikes, the highlight ofwhich was the 1983 version withswoopy styling that mimicked theGPz1100 and with 65bhp was goodfor more than 130mph.
Kawasaki did as good a job indesigning the Z550LTD, starting witha specially adapted frame with lowerseat tubes that enabled the deeplypadded to offer a manageablycomfortable riding stance that madethe bike more wieldy.
It even looked better, with blackpaintwork picked out with gold liningthat perfectly matched the cast-allywheels with polished rims. Shorty,mega-style silencers werecomplemented by a trimmed frontmudguard. Adjustable suspensionwas the icing on the cake.
And there’s nothing like throttleresponse enough to lift the frontwheel in the lower gears to create afavourable first impression. For the1980 models in the UK, Kawasakihad retuned the 553ccc (58 x52.4mm) engine to boost peak powerto 54bhp at 8500rpm with peaktorque of 34ft-lb at a relaxed7000rpm. Otherwise, the enginefollowed the architecture establishedin the Z650 four of 1976 with acrankshaft running in plain bearingsand the double overhead camshaftsdriven by inverted-tooth chain –though for this year the chain’s rollertensioners had been replacedwith slippers.
Showing the way ahead was theuse of electronic ignition, though
52 www.classicmechanics.com
the carburettors remained anearlier version of slide-type Tekeiwith 22mm chokes. Response wasbrilliant with the engine pulling withalacrity from low revs in any of the sixgears, and even pulling wheelies atwill in bottom or second gear. Thiswas despite the fact that the LTD hadtaller gearing: a two-tooth smallerrear sprocket (38t) was used.
Kawasaki’s use of a speciallydesigned frame for the 550LTDshowed up in many ways. With alower riding position the bike felteasier to handle at lower speeds andprovided better roadholding, thoughthe fat 16in rear tyre occasionallyrolled off white lines and otherirregularities and had so little grip itwould squeal under hardacceleration. But the feel of the bikewas so soft and well controlled, andcould be enhanced byexperimentation with the fourdamping adjustments on the rearshocks or the air-pressure valves onthe front fork legs, that it matteredless than it might otherwise.
Though the LTD sported thecruiser look, it had conventionalfront-end geometry with a 62.5-degree steering head. Weavingthrough city traffic was a breeze,
YAMAHA XV750SE VIRAGOThe Japanese manufacturers took an
inordinate period of time to catch on
to the fact that to design a
successful custom machine you had
to start from the ground up, and not
just adapt current technology.
It wasn’t until 1983 that Yamaha
took the plunge and offered an inline
V-twin that, with custom styling,
could approach the experience of
riding a Harley-Davidson.
In a brave move by the factory it
designed a 75-degree overhead-
camshaft twin to power both a US-
style cruiser and a European tourer
designed to appeal to traditional
riders. The cruiser was the XV750SE
while the Euro-tourer was the bigger
capacity XV920. The bigger bike
bombed, but while the XV750SE,
dubbed the Virago, fell short of
meeting riders’ dreams it was if
nothing durable: examples are still
seen running.
Yamaha launched the Virago in
southern Spain where its light
steering and responsive engine
pleased the press. Novel features
included a spine type frame made
from steel pressings that exposed
the light-alloy castings of the chunky
motor and Monoshock rear
suspension with shaft drive. It
wasn’t fast – being good for about
110mph – but from 3000 to
5000rpm in fifth offered a relaxed
and nimble ride.
With Yamaha’s experience of
producing custom bikes from the
mid-70s, you’d think they’d be able to
get the laid-back riding position
right. But even within the longish
59.8in wheelbase the stepped seat
and pull-back handlebar contorted
the rider so anything longer than an
hour’s riding turned to torture. But it
was a great first try at matching a
Harley.
though the mirrors measuring 41inacross, might cramp some riders’style. Braking was much better thanthe Suzuki’s. Kawasaki had longbeen specifying sintered metal padsfor its disc brakes, matched torotors with asymmetric holes tocombat squealing and improving wetweather performance.
For carrying a passenger, theKawasaki was well equipped witha grab rail and seat strap, and withits generally more secure demeanourwas the better choice of the twobikes. It felt more powerful, corneredbetter, was lighter (by 15lb, at 436lbdry) and realistically offered a highercruising range of over 160 miles,thanks to its proper fuel tap and62mpg average consumption.
Matching the two bikes provedthat under the glitz there was a realpecking order in custom bikes,despite their earlier evolution. Intime, that process would lead to theappearance of engines designedwith cruising in mind, with theJapanese producing their own V-twins, such as Yamaha’s 750ccVirago. It would, of course, be toorefined, but in time that too wouldbe dealt with and Harley cloneswould rule the earth.
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SMOOTH AND FREE REVVING, WITH SIX GEARS TO PLAYWITH, THE 549CC (56 X 55.8MM) FOUR WAS POTENT
ENOUGH TO HAUL THE BIKE UP TO AN INDICATED 105MPH...”“
NORWAY BY YAMAHA SRXIt was time to part company withBoyd. He was heading for Oslo andsome more sightseeing, while Iwanted to see the huge cliffs of theRomsdal and ride up the Trollstigenpass. After a damp morning packingtents and loading the bikes in thepouring rain it was time to say ourfarewells. To avoid gravel tracks overthe tops of mountains, I initiallyheaded east and north beforeturning back west towards theRomsdal. This seemed a prudentplan in view of my problems so far. Iwanted to make sure that ifsomething broke that I couldn’t fix, Iwould at least be on a main roadand thus easier for the breakdownservices to locate.
The day’s ride was once againpunctuated by showers, but none ofthem too bad, and the rain stoppedcompletely by mid-afternoon. Enroute I stopped at the Slettafoss fora break and some pictures. TheSlettafoss is one of a number ofwaterfalls in the valley I wasdescending. It was here that Iencountered my first trolls, theyseemed fairly harmless.
A short while later and I wasgazing in awe at the mighty cliffs ofthe Trollveggen (Troll walls). Stoppingevery few hundred metres, forpictures from a different perspective,soon became a nuisance, so I justrode slowly and took in the view.
The next landmark was the trollpass, which is also very spectacular.I timed my run from the car park atthe bottom to try and avoid beingstuck behind any camper vans. Thisproved fruitless as one pulled outfrom a lay-by before the first bend. Icould have got by but did not want tothrash the old girl so far from home,so I stopped for some more picturesand let him crawl off ahead; thepass has several hairpin bends. Theactual number varies according towhose account you read, and takesyou from the car park at the start ofthe pass to 850 metres in aboutthree miles.
The road now crosses a plateaubefore dropping down to Linge,where I took the ferry to Eidsdal.Ferries in Norway are frequent andnot too expensive. The only thing aNorwegian likes more than a ferry isa tunnel. Beware! Some of them areunlit, some are narrow and some areboth, and some are very long. I evencame across one near Drammenthat had a roundabout in it. At leastmotorcycles are exempt from thetunnel tolls.
From Eidsdal a short run up thevalley, followed by a steep descent,brought me to the beautifulGeirangerfjord. That night I campedright on the shore of the fjord, whichis considered by many to be theloveliest in Norway. Wanderingaround the campsite, I was luckyenough to find an English coupleand scrounge a cup of tea. I had notbothered to take tea as I thoughtthe percolator would take up lessroom than a kettle.
An early start the next morningsoon had me high aboveGeirangerfjord, heading southtowards Bergen. While eating lunchat a roadside picnic table, Ioverheard two Australian couples atthe next table bemoaning the factthat they had no napkins to wipetheir fingers with. It was my goodfortune that I had helped myself to afew paper towels from a toilet block,so I was able to service their napkinrequirements. So overwhelmed bygratitude were my new friends thatthey offered me some of their coldroast chicken. In the interest ofgood international relations Iaccepted the offer. Things were
definitely looking up.Arriving in Bergen I found what
turned out to be the most expensiveand least well-appointed campsite ofthe trip. I had intended to stay a dayor two in Bergen but, not wanting tomove camp a few miles to a nicersite – and definitely not wanting topay over the odds for a second nightat the same site, I upped sticks andheaded for Stavanger.
Since making my bookingarrangements, my son Daniel hadarranged to come over viaNewcastle to Stavanger and meetme there. Our plan was to catch aferry from Stavanger along theLysefjord to Lysebotn at the end ofthe fjord. From Lysebotn 27 hairpinbends take you up to a café wherewe intended to park the bikes andwalk up a mountain. The mountainin question – Kjerag – has alarge boulder jammed ina gap at the edge of thecliff 1000 metres abovethe fjord. I arrived inStavanger on the Wednesdayevening and found an excellentcampsite 15 minutes’ walk fromthe town centre.
Last month Martyn Peters of the Thumper Club took his 20-year-old Yamaha SRX600 through Holland to meet up with his
mate Boyd at the ‘Bukkerit’ off-road rally in Norway. Despitebits falling off, dodgy electrics and torrential rain he made it.
I had a couple of days to wait inStavanger as Daniel did not arrive untilthe Saturday morning. This time wasput to good use sightseeing, andamong other things buying fresh prawnsfrom a boat in the dock, and checkingout the route from where the Newcastleferry docked to where the Lysebotnferry sailed. The last item was fairlyimportant as there was only half anhour or so between Daniel’s arrival andthe other ferry departure. While waitingin Stavanger I had a chance to reviewmy exhaust pipe repairs and spentsome time buying and fitting a couplemore jubilee clips. This resulted in areally solid job, which looks dire but haslasted ever since.
Saturday morning dawned bright andsunny and after breaking camp I wentto the harbour to wait for Daniel’sarrival. As Daniel rode off the boat hewas stopped and asked to show hispassport. I had travelled from the WestMidlands via Holland, Germany,Denmark, Sweden and Norway to reachthe same point and had not had toshow mine once. After searchingthrough his tank bag, Daniel got off hisbike and rummaged through both hispanniers and top box beforeremembering that he had put hispassport in his inside jacket pocket sothat he could find it easily. To loudcheers from all the passengers liningthe ship’s rail he then rode to join me.A five-minute ride round Stavanger tookus to the other ferry terminal and aftera short wait we were on our way. Likeall the other fjords I had encounteredthis one was equally photogenic,passing such things as the‘Preikestolen’ (Pulpit Rock), Kjeragboltand the longest wooden staircase inthe world. With 4444 steps I wasn’tgoing to argue, or count.
By the time we had negotiated the 27hairpins, parked the bikes and put onwalking boots, it had started to rain. Onthe walk up the mountain we passed apoint where the base jumpers like to dotheir thing. We were lucky enough tohave a couple of them for company onthe walk and we found out that if youjump off without a chute it will take 12seconds before you impact with theground. By now the rain was steady andcold, it was getting dark and we neededto find a campsite. After about 20miles and three sites with no room wewere able to rent a cabin for the night.At 500N.K it seemed a lot but it wouldhave accommodated eight people, andhad its own shower and central heating.
On getting to Kristiansand thefollowing day, wet and cold, thesightseeing went out of the window sowe decided to head towards Oslo andlook for another cabin for the night.Shortly after we woke next day the raineased for a while. The camping fieldwas completely flooded to a depth ofseveral inches and the small cliffbehind the cabin had become awaterfall. I could understand why Boydhad become despondent during his firstdays in this area if he had had to putup with these conditions.
The rest of the day was spenttravelling to the farm where mydaughter Lianne was living and working.While staying with Lianne and her familywe visited Oslo and went to the Kon Tikimuseum, which is pretty amazing. It ishard to believe that those men wouldbe prepared to trust that little raft andthe ocean currents just to prove atheory.
Soon it was time for me to head off,and once again I had a change of plan.I had decided to avoid the ride backthrough Sweden by taking an overnightferry from Oslo to Frederikshaven innorthern Denmark. I figured this wouldsave between 150 and 200 miles andthe cost of the ferry would be offsetagainst the bridge tolls I would pay onthe other route. In fact the cost of theovernight ferry with cabin worked outcheaper than the tolls would have beenso it was a major result. On the ferrydown the Oslofjord I was treated to asuperb sunset and moonrise and anostalgic wave from Lianne and Ben asthe ferry passed Storsand about anhour down the fjord.
The ride south through Denmark wasuneventful and after camping at apleasant site in Brauel betweenHamburg and Bremen I returned toLambert’s house so that we could rideto the Monotreffen together. Five other‘Thumper Club’ members from the UKwere also there and all agreed it was afirst class event.
All in all I had a great four weeks andcan’t wait to do something similar againonce I have finished paying for this trip.Since returning I have bought anotherSRX. That’s great; now I have two bikesthat need to be sorted out.
Some of my Dutch friends haveexpressed surprise that I went toNorway and back on an SRX. I can onlysay that it proved to be well up to thetask, although I am not so sure I wouldfancy it with the original clip-on bars.
showstoppers > suzuki gt750j
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Show SUZUKI GT750JPOWERENGINE three-cylinder water-cooled two-
stroke triple
BORE X STROKE 70 x 64mm
DISPLACEMENT 738cc
COMPRESSION RATIO 6.7:1
CARBURATION 3 x 32mm Mikuni VM32
IGNITION contact breakers, three ignition coils
CLAIMED POWER 67bhp @ 6500rpm
LUBRICATION CCI injection to main bearings, big
ends and cylinder walls
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 280w generator, electric starter
CLUTCH multi-plate, wet
CHASSISFRONT SUSPENSION telescopic fork
REAR SUSPENSION swingarm, twin shock absorbers
FRONT TYRE 3.25x19
REAR TYRE 4.00x18
FRONT BRAKE double-sided four-leading-shoes
200mm drum
REAR BRAKE sls 180mm drum
OVERALL LENGTH 2214mm (87.2in)
OVERALL WIDTH 864mm (34in)
OVERALL HEIGHT 1125mm (44.3in)
GROUND CLEARANCE 140mm (5.5in)
DRY WEIGHT 219kg (482lb)
PERFORMANCECLAIMED TOP SPEED 118mph
STANDING START QUARTER-MILE 13.87sec
FUEL CONSUMPTION 44mpg
PRICE NEW IN 1972 £766.50
SPECIFICATION
At the end of the 60s, the world of
performance motorcycles was
changing fast. The three cylinder
machines from BSA-Triumph had
ushered in a new era, but were
almost instantly eclipsed by the
Honda CB750. Kawasaki was
setting the pace with the
astonishing Mach III two-stroke
triple, and neither Yamaha nor
Suzuki wanted to be left behind.
Suzuki’s strategy was to trump the
Kawasaki triple with another
three cylinder bike, and up
the stakes by not only
increasing the capacity to
750cc but also adding water-
cooling.
The GT750 was first ushered out
for public view at the Tokyo Show of
November 1970, the first prototype
then being flown on a whirlwind tour
of the USA and Europe, landing in
Britain on Christmas Day 1970 for a
star appearance at the London
Olympia Show. But it took until 1972
for the first production bikes to
appear in UK showrooms.
With a launch price of £766.50, the
new GT750 was more expensive than
either the CB750 or the Kawasaki H2,
and a massive £101.50 more than a
Triumph Trident. The bike had to be
something a bit special, and it didn't
take riders long to realise that it truly
was. Porting technology learnt from
the T500 gave the new bike a
surprising amount of torque, and it
delivered not only high revving
performance on demand but docile
manners in traffic.
Water-cooling – a first for a mass
produced Japanese motorcycle –
allowed close engineering tolerances
and scored a bullseye in the
showrooms, where the punters were
wowed by the high technology.
Another marketing bullseye was, of
course, the close family resemblance
of the GT750 to Barry Sheene’s
TR750 race bike, on which he won the
FIM Formula 750 Cup series in 1973.
The first GT750 was designated the
J model and had several novel features
that didn't make it to later revised
versions. Principal among these was
the double-sided four-leading-shoe
OWNER: BOB CLARK
Bob Clark rebuilt this GT750J to showroom condition over a nine-month
period. All nuts, bolts and washers were replaced and the bike is as close to
original spec as is possible. The bike was manufactured in December 1971,
which makes it one of the first batch of bikes to reach the UK. Bob is a
member of the Kettle Club and rode the bike to last year’s Blue Haze rally in
Wales from his home on the Isle of Wight.
front brake, a controversial design that
needed careful setting up to work well.
Once it was set up it was an excellent
brake, but it soon became so unpopular
with owners that it was rapidly
superseded by a twin disc set up for the
1973 K model. Disc brake conversions
were offered for owners of older Js, and,
paradoxically, some Ks were supplied to
overseas markets with the four-leading-
shoe drum.
Early exhaust systems (easily spotted
by their 'black caps' on the silencers)
carried balance pipes linking the three
front pipes together. Dubbed 'ECTS' (for
Exhaust Coupler Tube System), this
feature was intended to boost low-end
torque but proved so troublesome to
seal it was dropped from later models.
The GT750 proved to be a comfortable
and flexible tourer, and was even capable
of reasonable fuel economy if ridden with
restraint. Cycle World managed to
achieve a 44mpg average over an
extended road test, and on the drag strip
found the bike could cover a standing
start quarter-mile in 13.87 seconds, with
a terminal speed of 93.55mph. Modest
by modern superbike standards, but
impressive enough for 1972, though
Motorcycle Mechanics Charles Deane
found it difficult to coax the bike above a
genuine 110mph. Testers also found the
bike incredibly smooth, Cycle magazine
even calling it a "breakthrough in quiet,
fast motorcycling."
The GT750J made quite an impact in
the showrooms and sales were strong,
leading to subsequent models (the K, L,
M and A models were to follow)
becoming a familiar sight on roads
across Europe and North America. But
to purists, the styling of the later models
was toned down, and it will always be
the original GT750J that remains the
favourite of the serious collector.
Show
stateside scene > club class
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Winter is a big season for vintagemotorcycle auctions. The VJEMC makesit a policy to be a vendor at most of themajor vintage auctions, including thoseheld by Mid-America Auctions out ofMinneapolis, Minnesota, and the world-famous Jerry Wood and CompanyAuctions from Florida.
Jerry Wood is one of the mostpersonable vintage auctioneers youwill ever meet, and is extremely well-versed in the field. Perhaps thiscomes from his days in motorcycleracing, and his associated wrenchingskills. His annual auction held inDeland, Florida, each March drawsover 200 motorcycles and buyersfrom around the globe. Again, we feelthis ‘hobby’ is all about good peopleand camaraderie, and this descriptionexemplifies Jerry. He promotes thegood works of the club at his
96 per cent of the motorcyclesconsigned were sold, and over $1.2million in sales were realised. Withouta question, Japanese bikes are hotright now. Perhaps most amazing arethe prices being drawn by the smalldisplacement machines, the popularityof bikes like Honda 70s and 90s, andmotorcycles with displacements ofunder 250cc. Is it because of the risein gas prices here in the USA? Or is itsimply because people want the bikesof their youth? I think it is some ofboth. Yet I constantly tell people thatcompared to all of you folks acrossthe big pond, our gas is still a bargain,at less than $3 per gallon. Perhapsthat explains why so many morevintage motorcycles are being riddenin Europe, while we insist on getting inour Humvees and sport-utility vehiclesand tow our bikes from show to show!
auctions, and we support him as well.It has been a win-win situation, as
he was chosen in 2006 to be theauctioneer for the annual auction tobenefit the world-famous BarberMotorsports Museum in Birmingham,Alabama. If you haven’t been there,plan a trip. It is best described as‘motorcycle sensory overload’. Fivefloors of motorcycles in a $20 millionfacility, complete with a race track,that goes unparalleled in the UnitedStates. Jerry is also the hostauctioneer for the largest vintagemotorcycle event in the USA, VintageMotorcycle Days at the Mid OhioSports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.Proceeds from this auction benefitthe AMA Motorcycle Museum inPickerington, Ohio.
The VJEMC attended Jerry’s 2007Deland event on 8-9 March, in which
62 www.classicmechanics.com
Vintage Japanese and EuropeanMotorcycle Club of North America, Inc
Joking aside, the Japanese marketcontinues to soar. I just sold a nearperfect 1989 Honda GB500 from mypersonal collection for $7000. Thesebikes wouldn’t draw even $3000 just acouple of years ago, but now seem tohave drawn a following with theinterest in café racers. The popularrare bikes, like Honda 750s, KawasakiZ1s, H2s, and Yamaha 650s, continueto have a high demand.
Our state chapter of the VJEMCheld its state meet at Shopko Hall inGreen Bay, Wisconsin on the weekendof 20-22 April. The number of fineJapanese bikes that have come outof the woodwork just in our ownregion has been extraordinary sincethe founding of the club, and ourdisplay showcased everything fromCBXs and Z1s to Honda 50s andvintage customs. A dinner for clubmembers and their ‘significantothers’ took place on Friday nightbefore the meet, and a perfect near80-degree Sunday brought membersout for a 100-mile ride from GreenBay to Shawano and back, with apizza stop halfway along the route,and many fine curves along some of
the local rivers and tributaries on thereturn trip.
As I have found, it helps a lot ifyour ‘significant other’ also enjoysmotorcycling. In my case, Patriciaenjoys it from the seat of her ownbike, as well two-up with me. Weenjoy the closeness we share as wewhisk through the curves as one withthe bike, as well as the smiles weshare as we pull up alongside eachother at the next light when riding ourown. Now, the only thing I need tofigure out is how to get all of myfavourite bikes out of her garage! Atleast she’s getting pretty good withthe wrenches!
Next month, I hope to introduce youto some of the small, local vintageevents that we attend in the earlyspring, and tell you about the VJEMC’sown International Vintage MotorcycleShow and Swap Meet, which will beheld on 17-19 August 2007, inSeymour, Wisconsin. It is the second-largest vintage event in the USA, andmany enthusiasts join us each yearfrom around the globe. Happy riding,and make sure you wipe up your oilstains from your friend’s driveways!
NEW VJEMC PICKS UPThe Vintage Japanese and European Motorcycle Club of North America, Inc,
was founded in September 2006. While Japanese clubs of various size and
stature had previously existed, many of them did not encompass the needs
and wants of many collectors, riders, restorers, and investors. So few clubs
existed here for the European/British enthusiasts, we saw a need and tried
to make a niche.
Now, with the help of many fine sponsors, a huge International vintage
event, and people in all 50 states, Canada, and the United Kingdom, the
VJEMC has a mailing list of over 13,000 who receive information and service
from the club, with this growth happening in less than two years. The club has
a toll-free phone number, which is staffed Monday through Friday.
Field representatives for the VJEMC are found in many major cities
throughout the US, many of whom hold rides, shows, swap meets, and rallies
that promote the good works of the club as a whole. Our own full colour,
bimonthly magazine, the VJEMC Scrambler; our annual Comprehensive
Vintage Motorcycle Price Guide, and the annual Comprehensive Vintage
Motorcycle Dealer Guide, are also the base of the club, which provides us
with much positive press.
But of course, it is mostly about the people. Over the next few months in
‘Stateside Scene’, we will be taking you on-site to various vintage motorcycle
shows, swap meets, auctions, and even barns across America where the rare,
unfound vintage motorcycle may remain, waiting to be rediscovered. At the
VJEMC, we strive to connect parts sellers with parts buyers, bikes with new
owners, and people with the technical advice they need.
John DeBeck,
Director,
Vintage Japanese and European Motorcycle Club of North America, Inc.
When does ‘wear’ become ‘worn out’? While professional restorers may simplyreplace all consumables with new parts, in the real world we have to strike a balance
between reliability and economy. Mark Haycock shows how to tell the difference.
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When starting the rebuild of an old bike, it isinteresting to consider that once upon a time itwas new, pristine and immaculate but what wesee in front of us is often no more than a heapof junk –at least as far as our partners areconcerned! So what happened between thenand now? The answer is usually a combinationof general wear, corrosion, breakages anddeterioration of materials. I want to look at allthose points to see how best to deal with them
over the next few months, so let us start withthe topic of wear.
When we say that something is worn out, it isoften a subjective assessment. The simpleapproach adopted by some restorers is toreplace practically everything with new or ‘newold stock’ items. A more considered method isto determine objectively whether or not an itemis in serviceable condition. Then we need toestimate how much more life there is in the
item before it will become increasinglyunreliable, inconvenient or dangerous in use. Todo this we need to measure how worn the itemactually is and this measurement process isoften a fairly specialised procedure.
Sometimes it is necessary to own, or perhapsborrow, special tools and we shall take a look ata few in future articles. At other times verysimple tools (as shown in Pic 1) are quitesufficient when used with a bit of brainpower…
This old chain is a bit
of a mess, but is it
actually worn out?
A MORE CONSIDERED METHOD IS TO DETERMINE OBJECTIVELYWHETHER OR NOT AN ITEM IS IN SERVICEABLE CONDITION.THEN WE NEED TO ESTIMATE HOW MUCH MORE LIFE THERE ISIN THE ITEM BEFORE IT WILL BECOME INCREASINGLYUNRELIABLE, INCONVENIENT OR DANGEROUS IN USE.”
I shall turn to some more safety-critical areas on thebike: tyres, suspension and brakes.
NEXT MONTH
EXAMPLE CHAIN WEAR CALCULATION
as we shall see later on. I want to start withcycle parts and later move on to enginecomponents, so why not finish off what welooked at last month: chains?
We saw how a chain was composed of anumber of small pins and bushes, and a littlethought will show that because a chain has a lotof links, just a tiny amount of wear in each onewill make quite a difference to the chain as awhole: it gets longer as it wears. This issometimes referred to, rather misleadingly, aschain stretch but the metal itself is not beingdistorted.
The lengthening is usually taken care of bymoving the rear wheel (and hence also the rearsprocket) backwards within the swingarm. Whathappens when it has moved as far as it will go?The clever Japanese manufacturers thought ofthis many years ago and provided safety marks,as shown in Pic 2, which are exceeded longbefore the axle reaches the limit of its travel.
In the Neolithic era when I startedmotorcycling as a schoolboy, the solution forexcessive chain wear was to remove a link toshorten the chain again, but this is NOTrecommended. The chain is then dangerouslyworn even if it is the correct length.
There are a number of ways of measuringchain wear. A simple one is shown above: bendthe chain at 90-degrees to its normal flexingdirection to make a curve. The tighter the curve,the more worn is the chain. The trouble is indetermining how much curvature is acceptable.Possibly a better test is to try to pull the chainoff the rear sprocket as in Pic 4. A simple rule ofthumb is that if you can see daylight through thegap between chain and sprocket, then the chainis worn out. The best method though, is shownin Pic 5. Using the ‘special tool’ illustrated in Pic1, I am measuring the actual length of a chain.
To get the true length, it is easiest to hang itfrom a nail (Pic 6) with a heavy weight on theother end to squeeze any grease out of the wornareas. The measurement does not have to beexact to get a usable result.
Now we need to do some simple sums. Youwill probably find it easier to work in metric unitseven though chains are still measured inImperial. First, count the number of links (it isprobably a good idea to compare this with themanufacturer’s standard figure) and multiply thisby the pitch of the chain (effectively the lengthof each link) then you have the theoreticallength of the chain. Compare this with theactual length you have measured and using acalculator, divide the actual length by thetheoretical length. Subtract one from youranswer and then multiply by 100 to get apercentage difference.
It is normal for chains in general to use afigure of two per cent as a maximum but for amotorcycle one per cent is recommended forsafety. The spreadsheet shows the calculationfor the chain I measured for Pic 5. You can seethat the sums show it is about half worn out,so there should be quite a few miles life yet.Good news!
What would be the consequence of using aworn out chain? To answer this, first thinkabout what happens as the chain wears. Eachpin must be slightly further apart than it shouldbe so you would think that the chain would notfit properly on the teeth of the sprocket. Infact, this is taken care of by the chain riding upon the teeth slightly so that it automaticallytakes up the wear and this allows each link onthe sprocket to take its fair share of the load.There is a limit to this, however, and apart fromoverloading the tips of the teeth, the chainbecomes more prone to falling off thesprocket, which is of course not justinconvenient but dangerous. Pic 7 shows anattempt to prevent this.
The sprockets (Pic 8) also wear, thoughusually more slowly than the chain and so theyshould last for the life of several chains. Wearmeasurement is difficult, so it is usual to justcompare the shape of the teeth with those of anew item. A worn sprocket will quickly damage anew chain, by the way.
5. Just hang the chain from a strong nail. Hammer it in
pointing upwards to maximise its holding power. At the
bottom end of the chain attach the heaviest weight that
the nail will support to squeeze out the grease to get an
accurate result.
4. Measuring the scientific way, using the special measuring instrument we saw earlier.
6. This shield outside the sprocket is meant to stop the
chain jumping off, but it should be unnecessary if you
follow the CMM guidelines.
7. The sprocket can be checked visually by comparing both
sides of the teeth.Teeth form into a hooked shape when
the sprocket is worn out.
No of links 95
Chain pitch is _ in or in decimal 0.625 inches
Chain pitch, mm: 0.625 x 25.4 = 15.875mm
So nominal chain length is 95 x 15.875 = 1508mm
Actual measured chain length = 1515mm
So percentage wear [(1515 ÷ 1508) - 1] x 100 = 0.46per cent
Nigel Woods, aftersales manager, and all staff at Thunder Road Motorcycles,
Tremains Road, Bridgend, CF31 1UA
Steve Hambling and all staff at David Silver Spares Ltd, Leiston, Suffolk IP16 4JD
Dave Harding, Digger Custom Motorcycle seats, Newport NP19 7AY
Charlie Newton, Pro-speed Exhausts, Roath, Cardiff CF24 3BN
After all the problems Idiscovered last month had beendealt with I could finally beginthe rebuild. Steve at thepaintshop had worked miracles,the re-finished parts wereabsolutely immaculate. The firstof the tricky jobs involvedremoving the rotor and statorfrom the engine. But how tostop the rotor spinning so that Icould undo the bolt holding itonto the crankshaft?
I contacted Nigel at ThunderRoad Motorcycles, Bridgend, whosuggested fabricating a deviceusing steel and bolts.Fortunately, I had some shelvingsupports, which looked likeangle iron, already in the garageand was exactly what I needed.It was about 10ft long and withthe bolts attached looked like
something constructed byScrapheap Challenge! However,it worked and out came the bolt.To pull the rotor I eventuallycame up with a large bolt that Icould screw into the centre ofthe rotor. As I screwed the boltinto the rotor, the end of the boltpushed against the end of thecrankshaft and the rotoreventually displaced itself fromthe shaft. Hooray!
We managed to get theengine in with little difficulty,along with the exhaust, whichhad been brought back tocondition by Pro-Speed exhaustsin Cardiff. Pro-speed specialisein stainless steel systems andso repaired a small area on theHonda stainless steel exhaustand polished out some smallmarks.
The only real problem that weencountered during the rebuild wasbleeding the front brakes. I justcouldn’t get any brake fluid to passfrom the master cylinder. My localHonda dealership said that thisproblem can occur on certain modelsand they use a compressor to suckthe fluid through the system from thenipples on the brake calipers. Thiswas a problem we simply couldn’tsolve and it needed professionalexpertise and equipment.
For the MoT I needed to put all the
lights on, which of course meant thenose cone fairing and rear fairingsgoing back onto the bike. The originalseats looked tired and the pillion seatstrap had worn through. I had the seatsrecovered by Dave at Digger MotorcycleSeats, Newport and they returned inpristine factory condition. With all thebike’s electrics working, including all thelights, the bike was transported toThunder Road for the brake problems tobe fixed followed by the MoT. I alsoasked if they could check the VFR400Rover just to ensure that all my torque
settings etc, had been correctly applied,as well as for peace of mind.
After the brakes had been sortedthe NC30, along with MoT, arrivedhome and the rest of the panels couldfinally be fitted. However, it was toocold to finish off the work in thegarage. So the middle and lowerpanels were fitted in the warm andthere sits my NC30 VFR400R3N inthe living room. I justify it as artwork!Now I’ve started looking for anotherbike that I can start taking out all yearround. Oh those best laid plans!
Despite all the new pistons and seals the rebuilt brakes simply refused to bleed.Complete at last, and ready for action.
HURRICANELIKE ABenelli’s 650 twin was a radical take on the British paralleltwin design. But the Italian BSA beater arrived as theBritish industry went into terminal decline, and it soonbegan to look dated against four-cylinder Japanese exotica.Rod Gibson found an original example.
The Benelli concern has a long andillustrious history, but like many Italiancompanies it has courted financialdisaster several times, and frequentlyonly survived by the skin of its teeth.The latest incarnation is bankrolled bya far-eastern parent and the latest900 Tornado is an impressivecompetitor in the sports bikeshowrooms, but it was not alwaysthus. Founded in 1911 in Pesaro, thecompany came about when therecently widowed Teresa Benelli waslooking to provide gainful employmentfor her six sons. She invested all hercapital into founding the Benelligarage, which repaired both cars andmotorcycles.
By 1920 the brothers had puttogether a 75cc two-stroke engine,adapted to fit a bicycle frame. Thefollowing year the engine grew to 98ccand powered the first Benellimotorcycle, and by 1923 ToninoBenelli was racing the brothers’ bikes,with some success. Tonino won fourItalian championships over the nextfive years – a 175cc sohc four-stroketook him to victory in 1927, 1928 and1930, and the 1931 championshipfell to the company’s first dohcdesign. It was a brilliant but tragicallybrief racing career for young Tonino,which came to an abrupt end with abad crash in 1932. He lost his life ina road accident in 1937.
The surviving brothers continued tobuild racing bikes, and Benellis scoreda spectacular success in the 1939lightweight 250 TT. Their four-cylindersupercharged 250 went on holdduring the war years, to re-emerge in1949. The post-war demand forlightweight transport saw Benelli roadbikes offered in capacities of 98, 125,350 and 500cc. By 1962 Benelliemployed 550 people and wereproducing 300 motorcycles each day.
LUCRATIVE EXPORTSWith lucrative exports to the US,Benelli sought to modernise its rangeof four-stroke singles, and with oneeye on the massively successful BSAand Triumph twins the companydrawing boards were commissioned toproduce a four-stroke vertical twin.The brief was to produce a bike thathad all the seductive qualities of aBonneville or Commando, but with agreater degree of reliability, a highbuild quality and less vibration.
The resulting 650 twin debuted atthe Milan Show in Autumn 1967. Withan undersquare bore and stroke of 84x 58mm the engine displaced 642.8cc,and promised a high rpm limit. Despiteonly having a single 30mm Dell’Ortocarburettor with 30mm inlet tracts, thefactory claimed a power output of 50hp
THE FLYWHEELS ARE LIGHTAND THE ENGINE REVS WITH
SURPRISING EASE, THOUGH ARELATIVE LACK OF LOW END TORQUEMEANS SOME CLUTCHSLIPPING IS REQUIREDTO GET UNDER WAY.
at 7000rpm. Horizontally splitcrankcases supported a massivelystrong crankshaft in four rollerbearings, and a single camshaft, drivenby gear, operated conventionaloverhead valves through pushrods.
The idea of using two overheadcamshafts had been rejected at thedesign stage as dohc engines weredismissed by the factory as a merenovelty – the recently released HondaCB450 was not considered by Benelli tobe a serious rival to the well-establishedpushrod British twins. The cycle partsand frame had a decidedly British look,and rumours that the tubular frameclosely echoed a Rickman Metisse werehotly denied by the factory.
It was three years before the bikewas released for sale and designatedthe 'Tornado', by which time it had put
on weight. At 220kg it was heavierthan the comparable British steeds of200kg or less, and had been fullyrestyled with a 12 litre fuel tank andlonger seat. The front brake was adouble-sided 230mm drum affair witha total of four leading shoes, andstarting was by kick-start only.
Sales were promising but not asgood as the factory hoped, so for1972 the bike received a makeoverand gained an electric starter,mounted behind the barrels anddriving the crank by a chain.Compression was raised from 9:1 to9.6:1 and a second carburettor wasadded, but claimed power actually fellto 45bhp at 6500rpm. This was theTornado S, and was to remain thefinal production version of the bikeuntil its demise in 1976.
(incidentally) that was recently adoptedby the American Victory concern withtheir large V-twin engines.
But Benelli had misread the market.The British twins that the Tornado wasdesigned to take head-on were indecline, and the Japanese bikes thathad been so easily dismissed asnovelties a few short years earlier werebeginning to dominate the market. TheTornado was now in showroomsalongside the Kawasaki Z1, the HondaCB750 and the Suzuki GT750, againstwhich it looked decidedly dated. By thetime it was dropped in 1976, Benelli,now under the ownership of Argentinianentrepreneur Alejandro DeTomaso, hadembraced multi-cylinder designs andwere producing unashamed copies ofthe Honda 500/4, ultimately with twoextra cylinders shamelessly added tomake the 750 Sei six-cylinder machine.The Tornado is now a rare and largelyignored bike, though it has its ownstrong following of dedicated owners.
STRONG AND STABLEThis example belongs to MalcolmPowley, who has been slowly bringing itback to full roadworthiness over aperiod of years, out of sheer curiosityafter it came his way at a bargain price.
As is the way of such plans, on theday we visited Malcolm to ride the
A DIFFERENT BEASTOwners soon discovered that the lusty650 twin was a rather different beastto an old Brit. The engine thrived onrevs and only really began to deliverpower above 4500rpm. The right footgearshift caught out those unused tomore traditional designs, and causedfurther confusion by its ‘one up, fourdown’ change pattern. And while itwas smoother than a British twin,some degree of vibration hadremained with the engine layout,acknowledged by the factory’sextensive use of rubber mountings forelectrics, silencers and sundrycomponents throughout the bike. Thefactory insisted that an amount ofvibration had been retained to give thebike a more authentic feel – a strategy
bike it had decided to throw afrustrating carburation strop, whichmeant any test riding was restricted toshort runs up and down the lane,punctuated by long periods spentenergetically pumping away at thekick-starter. In that sense it didremind me of a Bonneville, but that'sperhaps a little unfair on a bike thatwas clearly suffering the teethingtroubles of a recent reawakening.
We were able to get it running longenough to have a taste of the Tornadoexperience, and it's not what youmight expect. The flywheels are lightand the engine revs with surprisingease, though a relative lack of lowend torque means some clutchslipping is required to get under way.To compensate, the factory have fitteda very low ratio first gear, resulting ina wide gap to second.
Out on the open road, Malcolmreckons top gear is effectively anoverdrive. The bike steersexceptionally well, as you'd expect.It's big, strong and very stable, and insome respects feels over-engineered.But it sounds truly gorgeous. TheTornado might have missed its callingin life, but if you're looking for a funalternative to a British twin and wantsomething a bit different there arestill a few to be found.
The Wolds Run is one of those rareevents that is such a good idea itmakes you wonder why no one elsethought of doing it. Originallyconceived by former Mortonspublishing director (and now editor ofClassic Racer) Malcolm Wheeler andhis wife Julie, the run was initially littlemore than a mates ride out. But overthe years the Wolds Run has gainedits own momentum and now attractssome of the very best classic bikes ofall eras and types from all over thecountry. And what makes this eventmore or less unique is its focus onactually riding the bikes. Sure, there isa bike show and trophies are awardedin a variety of classes, but the WoldsRun is all about going out there andactually riding the bikes.
Around 650 bikes attended thisyear’s run, and riders were treated toa planned route around 60 miles ofthe Lincolnshire Wolds, surely some
Yamaha XT500 project bike waspressed into service by JamesRobinson, editor of our sister title TheClassic MotorCycle, taking a changefrom his usual vintage British mountsand looking quite happy about it too,once Rod had given him a few tipsabout starting the oriental single.Leaving Mortons Publishers (home toMechanics and our sister bikingtitles) at 11am, the run returned formid-afternoon and the traditional pig-roast, followed by a raffle draw andprize giving.
Each entrant pays £15 to join therun, with all profits going to theLymphoma Charity. With the help of atop-up from the National Lottery Fund,at the time of writing it looks like theamount raised will this year breakthrough the £10,000 barrier. A superbachievement by all involved, and if youmissed this year’s run be sure to putit in your diary for 2008.
of the most picturesque and biker-friendly roads in Britain. Riders travelat their own pace on the marshalledcourse, and the faster, more modernclassic bikes were able to makesatisfying progress while lovers ofancient Brits or classic two-stroketiddlers could bumble along at arelaxing pace, taking in the sights andsounds of the countryside. A pause atThe Green Man at Scamblesby for arefreshing glass of traditionalbeverage was another opportunity forriders to admire each others’ bikes,and featured the rare sight of vintageflat tankers parked alongside modernHarleys and mod-era scooters in fullregalia.
Of course Japanese classics arenow well represented on the run, andincluded everything from daily-riddenHonda 250G5s to showroomcondition Kawasaki triples andsandcast Honda 750s. Our own
76 www.classicmechanics.com
Charity run on course to make £10,000Record numbers of classic
bikes from all eras descendedon Horncastle, Lincs, on
6 May to raise money for the Lymphoma charity.
Left: Paul from Old Leake with
the very tidy Kawasaki Z1A he
has owned for the last three
years.The bike is a very clean
unrestored example and
continues to deliver powerful
performance with challenging
handling.
Paul Jaques from Scunthorpe
has owned this lovely Suzuki
GT750 for seven years. A
mechanic at Rusty's
Motorcycles, Paul had wanted
a Kettle for 25 years before he
finally found this bike, which is
in regular daily use and real
credit to its owner.
What makes the Wolds Run unique is its focus on riding the bikes, as well as
simply showing them. Most bikes, like this Honda 500/4, were ridden in for the
day; but even the minority of trailered bikes were unloaded and fired up for the
BSA Bantam andSuzuki GT750: two-strokes from radicallydifferent philosophiesand times. But if it’sa black Kettle, thelittle Beesa must befrom the same pot…
James Robinson,editor of our sistertitle The ClassicMotorcycle,masters the kick-starting techniquerequired by ourproject XT500.
Above: Eric Buckley with the
Kawasaki H2B which shuffled away
with the trophy for Best Japanese
Classic.The bike was featured in our
Showstoppers section in the April
issue, and it goes as well as it looks,
despite the squealing front brakes!
Kawasaki triples were well
represented again, with variants in
at least four different capacities in
evidence.This is Brian Screen with
his very tasty H1E.
The Green Man at Scamblesby provides a welcome
halfway break on the route, and gives an opportunity to
meet the riders of radically different classic machinery.
SEND YOUR BIKE BASHES TO:CLASSIC & MOTORCYCLE MECHANICS,PO BOX 99, HORNCASTLE, LINCOLNSHIRE, LN9 6LZOR E-MAIL [email protected]
> If you have a rally, jumble or bike night planned, send us the details and we’ll include it here.Email: [email protected] or post: Classic Motorcycle Mechanics, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6LZ. Please send info early to catch our deadlines.
And always phone ahead before going to any event - just in case!
EMAIL YOUR QUERIES VIA THE LINK ON WEB SITE ATWWW.CLASSICMECHANICS.COM OR POST IT TO:PROBLEM SOLVER, CLASSIC & MOTORCYCLE MECHANICS,PO BOX 99, HORNCASTLE, LINCOLNSHIRE, LN9 6LZ.helping hand
MEET THEEXPERTS
BOB HUSBANDTechnical officer ofthe Suzuki Owners’Club, experiencedwith both two-strokesand GS, GSX andGSXR series.
CHRIS PEARSONF a c t o r y - t r a i n e dYamaha technician,former bike shopowner andexperienced racer.
DAVE BARTONVice-president of theHonda Owners Club(GB). He has workedas a mechanic,partsman and shopmanager.
ROD GIBSONWorked in Kawasaki,BMW and Triumphdealerships beforestarting his ownrestoration business.
Mechanics isthe magazinethat keeps youon the road. OurTechnical ExpertsCan help youwith most ofyour problems. Sorry, we can’tsolve problemsover the phone.
SEND US YOURPICTURESA picture is worth a thousandwords. If you have a problemwith a part of your bike, whichwill show up in a photo, takea couple of digital snaps andsend them as jpgattachments with your queryto [email protected] Itmay help us diagnose aproblem, as well as showingother readers what has gonewrong!
This is the drive chain lube system I havedevised and put into practice on my 1990CBR600. I have used a security fuel cut-offvalve, which opens by an electro-magneticswitch when a current is passed through it. Anignition switched live feed is fed to the valvevia a fuse and a two-way relay. When theignition is on, power runs to the valve. Anotherlive feed is run though a fuse to the switch ofthe relay and then connected to the neutralindicator lead, between the lamp and theswitch. The result is that when the gearbox isin neutral the relay switches the power to thesecond pole, which is unused, and shuts thevalve. Put the machine into gear and the valveopens so oil only flows with the ignition onand the machine in motion.
The relay and fuses are mounted in the
We're giving away a set of Sealeycombination metric spanners for eachmonth’s Top Tip submitted by a reader.Send us your best workshop tips or gadgetdesigns, tips to work around special toolsor modifications that have improved yourbike’s performance or efficiency. The bestidea each month wins this Sealey 11pcDeluxe Combination Wrench Set:
WIN A SEALEY SPANNER SET
THIS MONTH’S TIP COMES FROM NICK HONEYBOURNE OF PERSHORE, WORCS
Assembled onto the bike the reservoir tucks neatly upto the battery.
Electrical cut-off valve fitted to chainguard. Oil delivery to chain is by Scottoiler dual injector.
• Sizes: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14,15, 17, 19mm
• Unique WallDrive ring that gripsthe hex wall, not the corners,giving up to 30 per cent moretorque
• Supplied with wall hanging rack• Model No AK630/S• List price £49.95 plus VAT.
Please include a full descriptionand some clear, hi-res photos [email protected], or by postto the usual address. And don'tforget to include your land address!
Rod Gibson
toolbox, which is part of thebattery box under the seat. A remote reservoiris mounted on a homemade bracket in thetool box. The reservoir has a float switch, so awarning lamp is connected and mounted bythe dash, which lights up when the oil is low.A Scottoiler dual injector was fitted on theswingarm. I found a small brass fuel tap at anautojumble and soldered it to the exit nippleof the valve with a short piece of brake pipe.The valve was fixed to the chainguard/huggerand connected to the reservoir with a lengthof 8mm fuel hose. The valve was adjusted togive three/four drops of oil per minute, andcan be adjusted to suit conditions.
I have not yet covered a lot of miles, but itworks! This is what blokes/sheds/machinesis all about!
Taking the head gasket off my GPZ550 Inoticed it was made up of three layers – is thisnormal? Although the gasket looks in goodcondition should I replace it with a new one?And should I use a sealant even though themanual says not?
Steve Powroznyk, by email.
Always, always, always use a new head gasketwhen you rebuild an engine. Modern compositehead gaskets are frequently made up of multiplelayers that are bonded together and sealed atthe combustion face with a flame ring. The headgasket takes a lot of stick in service, and it's nottoo surprising that, when stripping an oldengine, the gasket may start to delaminate.Mutter a short prayer of thanks over it forproviding such long and faithful service andconsign it gently to rest in peace in the bin. Yournew gasket will look a lot healthier. Headgaskets should generally be assembled dry,though there are sometimes recommendations
to apply a thin smear of gasket sealant aroundoilways. Consult your manual, and follow itsadvice. RG.
Composite head gaskets can delaminate on removal, but it
doesn't indicate a problem.
84 www.classicmechanics.com
problem solver > your questions answered
FLASH CODESI’m the proud owner of 1983 GPZ KawasakiZX1100 A2. I replaced the EFI control unitback in 1986 due to the silly way the unitwas mounted in the rear of the bike; thevibration and bounce ruined theelectronics.
My problem is that the bike will start andrun for about a kilometre, then the bikedecides to shut off and come back onagain repeatedly. Sometimes my fuel gaugegoes off as well, which tells me the bike isnow completely dead.
After stopping on the side of the roadI've noticed the control unit flashing code(one short, one long and two short) but myDFI warning has been doing this for thebest part of 12 years, it comes and goes.
One mechanic suggested I remove thefuel injection and fit 1000J carbs, but thebike has been going fine until now.
Budgie Burgess, Cape Town, South Africa
Kawasaki’s DFI system was controlled by acomputer control unit mounted in the tail hump.Any problem with any of the fuel injectioncomponents would result in the unit flashing a‘morse code’ type signal from an LED, which couldthen be interpreted to identify the fault. In your casewe suspect the engine temperature sensor fitted to
the back of the cylinder head. Dave Marsden at ZPower tells us that this is the component mostlikely to fail, and corrosion at its electrical connectionwhere it plugs into the harness could be causingexactly the kind of intermittent fault you describe. ZPower can supply a sensor and you can order onlinethrough their website (www.z-power.co.uk). RG.
Kawasaki EFI system relies on a central computer (left) to
monitor and control the injectors. Any fault with the
sensors results in a flashing code on the control unit.
BARREL BLOCKAGEI'm restoring a Yamaha XS1100, and want toremove the cylinder head and cylinder block toassess the condition of the engine. I havemanaged to remove the head, but now cannotmove the cylinder block off the crankcasemouth. I have tried tapping the block with arubber hammer and using penetrating oil on theexposed cylinder studs and even tried removingthe studs by unscrewing them, but I was indanger of breaking the stud off. Anysuggestions?
I also want to find out if the engine has beenrebored. When I checked the pistons for anyoversize marking all I could find was the letter Kstamped on the piston. Does this mean that theyare the original pistons as fitted by Yamaha?
Brian Scott, by email
This is a common problem on many Jap bikes, andI've come across it before on XS11s. The problemis usually caused by 30 years of salt spray fromthe front wheel, which penetrates between thecylinder fins and rusts the two front studs solidlyto the barrel casting.
Depending on how bad it is you may get awaywith continued and determined application ofbrute force until it shifts off the crankcase mouth.As soon as you have a gap get in with a hacksawblade and cut through the cylinder studs so theycome away with the cylinder barrel. You shouldthen be able to tap the cut sections of studupwards through the barrel to remove them. Toget the old bits of stud out of the crankcase trywelding a nut onto the remains of each one, thenunscrew it from the crankcase while its still hot.
Be careful not to damage the crankcase mouth;if in doubt you'll have to strip the crankcases andsend the top half away for spark erosion. Inextreme cases I've had to resort to scrapping thebarrels to save the crankcase; on one GS750 I hadto cut the barrels into sections with a hacksaw andtake it off in bits. Hopefully yours won't be as bad.
Oversize pistons would normally be stamped onthe piston crown (.025; .050 etc). If yours have nooversize markings they're probably standard.Good luck with it, a mixture of carefully appliedbrute force and patience will usually get aresult. RG.
DELAMINATED GASKET
FADED SWITCHGEARThe handlebar switches on my Honda CB550Fhave gone a grey colour all over with age. Arethere any tricks to make them black again asoriginal?
Tony Richardson, Norwich, Norfolk
In the past I've taken the lazy way out withHonda switchgear and simply had the castingspowder coated in gloss black. It looks smart butit's not original and the thickness of the powdercoating means it's almost impossible to re-letterthem. I reckon the originals were anodised, and itshould be possible to strip the switches andsend the castings away for re-anodising. We'veyet to try this out, but will be pursuing the ideathe next time we have Honda switchgear torecondition. RG.
UNLEADED THUMPERWill my old XT (currently in traditional pieces inthe shed) run on unleaded fuel withoutreplacing the valve seats? And if so, should thetiming be retarded a little to suit?
I used to run my Yamaha TR1 V-twin (surelytwo XT500 engines bolted back to back) on
unleaded with some ‘lead substitute’ additivejust in case. This worked without a problem, butthat was a 1984 model – I'm wondering if thesomewhat older XT500C might need a littlemore tlc?
Ivor Benjamin, by email
The XT engine, like most Japanese four-strokes,was designed to meet incoming stringentlegislation for vehicles sold in the Californiamarket. As such, the manufacturers pre-emptedEuropean thinking by using high-grade valve seatsfrom the outset. While there are some exceptionsto this (racing bikes and non-US options should betreated with care), almost all Japanese four-strokes manufactured from the late 60s onwardscan be safely run on lead free petrol – we used toadvise the use of two-star fuel when the bikeswere sold new. You may, however, find someevidence of pinking on modern fuels – not a resultof the lead free composition, more to do with thepoor quality of modern petrol. A couple of degreesretardation might help, but we prefer anoccasional splash of Millers octane booster toevery other tankful of fuel. Our XT runs fine onthis. RG.
KEEPING IT SHINYI'm just embarking on my first project, a verysorry Elsie that last ran in 1994. I'm on a tightbudget and want to do the best I can to keepanother old bike on the road. I'm intending topolish up the alloy parts, is it practical tolacquer them afterwards?
Richard Isley, Peterborough.
There are two schools of thought on this –applying a good quality lacquer to polished alloyshould, in theory, prevent oxidation on the metalsurface and consequently keep the shiny bitslooking shiny. However, in my experience,lacquer can discolour over time and can flake off,and water penetration can even cause whitetracks under the lacquer. My preference is toleave the polished alloy in bare metal, andinstead use a specialist spray polish to keep thealloy looking good. We've had excellent resultswith MotoLux Metalux spray from Flexsan UKLtd, call them on 020 8686 9247 to find a localstockist. RG.
A good protective polish will keep polished alloy
looking good.
PAINTING AND DECORATINGI would like to paint my FJ1200 enginewithout removing it from the frame. Canyou advise on a paint?
ES Johnston, Newcastle upon Tyne.
There are a number of good qualityengine paints on the market; to duplicatethe original black finish we've found PJ1Satin Engine Enamel to be one of thebest. However, getting a really goodfinish depends on good preparation. In anideal world you'd be stripping the engineand having the parts vapour blastedbefore painting them. If you'redetermined to leave the engine in theframe the finish will always becompromised, but spend as much timeas you can cleaning and degreasing theengine before painting and the resultsshould be presentable. RG.
I bought my 1981 Kawasaki Z250A3 as a non-runner with a genuine 3900 miles on the clock. Itcame with a Motad two-into-one exhaust but isotherwise totally standard and unmolested, thoughcosmetically very rough. I have almost finishedrestoring it and mechanically I have gone as far asa top end strip down, lapped the valves, whichwere slightly pitted, and cleaned up the head as ithad heavy carbon deposits. The carbs were totallystripped and cleaned out as they were heavilygummed up.
I am getting a healthy spark and the engine firesup but runs rough when cold and really roughwhen warmed up, blowing smoky exhausts andeventually the engine dies – probably to do withthe plugs which come out sooty black, obviouslyrunning extremely rich. The float height/fuel levelis correct. The carb has the correct specificationjets fitted. The vacuum diaphragm is fine and Ihave cleaned out the carb several times using
solvents and compressed air. The symptoms arethe same with or without the air filter connected.
Martin Speak, Oulton, Leeds.
This sounds like a typical case of gummed up carbs,and it's quite possible you simply haven't been ableto remove all the varnish deposits from their internalairways. You could resort to ultrasonic cleaning, butit's probably easier to find another set of carbs at anautojumble, preferably from a healthy running bike.While the usual strategy of soaking the carb bodiesin cellulose thinners frequently reaps rewards, badlyvarnished up carbs can resist even the mostdetermined efforts to clean them out adequately.We'll be running an in-depth Z250 engine series inthe near future, but in the meantime here's a tip forall Z250 twin owners – next time you change the oilremove the clutch cover and take off the oil pump.You can then pull out the small gauze oil filter tubefrom the crankcase and scrub it clean. You may besurprised to find out how badly gunged up it is. RG.
GUMMED UP
This crankcase oil strainer should
be removed and cleaned regularly
on the Kawasaki Z250 twin.
SANGLAS SPARESI'm looking for spares for my Spanish-builtSanglas 500 single. Do you know anyone whocan help?
Alex, by email
To our knowledge there is no one in the UKwho currently carries stocks of spares for thisbike, so you may have to resort to internetsearches to track down what you need. Thebikes were imported in small numbers in thelate 70s, and none of the original dealers arestill involved with the marque. Incidentally oursister title The Classic MotorCycle has anexcellent feature on the Sanglas singles in thecurrent (July) issue, which might yield a fewuseful tips and contacts. RG.
PULL BACKSI would like to change the handlebars on myYamaha 650 V-Star to a pull back style. Will Ineed to change risers as well? Will this changethe length of my cables?
Gail Thompson, USA.
How long is a piece of string? Seriously, though,there are a vast range of aftermarkethandlebars, risers and cables for Japanesecruisers available from specialists like theexcellent Highway Hawk. The first thing to do isto choose the style that suits you. It might bebest to hunt down an accessory dealer in yourneck of the woods and try some handlebarsagainst the bike to find a set that suits you. Ifthe stock cables and hoses don't reach, thesame dealer may well be able to supply theextra parts you need from the catalogue tomake it all fit. If the worst happens you can getnew cables and hoses made to suit, but itshouldn't be necessary. RG
LONESOME TWINI am restoring a 1982 Kawasaki 750 twin 'US import'.The bike and engine is in a poor condition. Can youhelp with the part number for a factory manual for thebike, and tell me where I can get one?
Mark Slocombe
Only two versions of the 750 Kawasaki twin weremarketed in the UK; the Z750B1 and the Z750B2. Theyare more or less identical apart from colour schemes –the right-hand side panel on the B2 had a small recess toclear the top of the kick-start lever that wasn't present onthe B1. However, production continued for other markets,and if your bike is a US import you may have a later B3or B4. There was also a factory custom version; theZ750Y (badged '750 LTD Twin'). All models should becovered by the factory manual part number 99997 74404, available from Z Power at £40 plus carriage. You canorder online at www.z-power.co.uk, or call on 01942262864. RG.
CUTTING IT UPI have an old bike that I'm planning to modify,but not so much that it needs single typeapproval – I'd just like to take it for its MoT asusual. Basically, I'm going to cut some bits ofnon-structural bodywork down and paint it adifferent colour. The main frame would not beaffected, though the rear subframe might getcut back a little, and the engine and gearboxwill remain as they are now.
What changes can be made to a motorcyclewhile still being able to get an MOT as usual?And what modifications might require lots ofpaperwork and approval (eg change of exhaust,carburettors, lights, mudguards, fuel tank etc).
Jonnie Godfrey, London
None of the modifications you propose wouldrequire the bike to be re-registered, so youwouldn't have to get involved with any kind oftype approval or inspections. Provided theregistration details, the frame and engine numbershave remained unchanged the bike can simply bepresented for MoT as usual.The MoT tester would, of course, have to besatisfied that the bike still met the legalrequirements; and would have a duty to refuse anMoT certificate if, in his opinion, the bike wasunroadworthy or unsafe.You also need to advise your insurance companyof the modifications, and make sure you notifyDVLA of any changes to the details on your V5C,such as colour scheme. RG.
UNDER THE BUCKETI seem to remember that it was a commonmod to old Z900s and Z1000s to modify theshims to underbucket to stop them spittingout at high revs. Do you think it’s possible todo it the other way round, as I don’t want tobe taking my cams out every time I have tore-shim my bike? I’ve got a set of bucketsfrom a Z1000J, if they are the same o/d willthey be OK to fit or will I need to swap camsas well?
Mal, by email
The original Z1 engine design had its valveclearance shims fitted above the bucketfollowers. Under hard racing conditions therewere a few reported instances of shims beingspat out by the action of the cam lobe, and onKawasaki’s next engine design (the Z650,followed by the 400, 500, 550 and 750variants) the shims were relocated beneath thebuckets to prevent this. This modification madeit to the larger engines when they wererelaunched as the Z100OJ series. On the later,underbucket design, the shims clip intorecesses in the top valve spring collars. If youfit early type buckets with overhead shims, youmay find the buckets are operating onto theridge around the valve spring collar instead ofdirectly onto the top of the valve stem, whichhas implications for loosening the valve cottersat high revs. Don't risk it. RG.
A GREENISH TINTMy latest project is a tatty but mostly complete1972 Honda XL250 Motosport. Can themagnesium engine cases be vapour or gritblasted to clean them up without problems?What kind of finish would you recommend Iuse on them? The original colour seems tohave a greenish/gold tint. For the head,barrels, and rocker cover, would Sperex do thejob?
Secondly, I have invested in a parts washerfrom Machine Mart.
Can you recommend an alternative supplieror brand of cleaning fluid?
Tom Mayle, by email
The engine covers on your Motosport shouldvapour blast without any problems, and webelieve that the tint you describe is simply thenatural colour of the alloy after it's been polishedand lacquered. A good silver engine lacquer suchas Sperex will be fine for the head and barrels.Our preferred fluid for parts washers is MillersMillsol Green, a solvent-based fluid that ispowerful but kind to both hands and theenvironment. Millers Oils can supply, but weunderstand that posting it out is tricky becauseof the metal cans it has to be stored in. Call JeffSmith Classic Lubricants on 01430 828453 foradvice. Alternatively the Clarke fluid fromMachine Mart is pretty good, and might beeasier to obtain. RG.
STARVING VIRAGOMy 1995 Yamaha XV535 has an irregulartickover. It backfires, and the choke has to bekept on for longer than normal.
Ron Houghton, Llandrindod Wells, Powys.
Any number of faults could cause thesesymptoms, but our instincts are pointingtowards the fuel pump relay, which could be onthe way out. It's a known weak point on the 535as it picks up road muck and corrodes. As thefuel tank is under the seat the engine dependson the fuel pump system to keep petrol fed tothe carbs, and it sounds like you're describingthe early stages of fuel starvation. Service thebike, checking the obvious things like valveclearances and air filter before assuming theworst. RG.
My 1990 BMW R100RS is a poor starter,usually churning over for about 10 secondsbefore starting, often accompanied by a veryloud backfire from one of the exhaustsbefore starting. Sometimes the engine cutsout momentarily when responding to athrottle input at low revs, and strangely whencruising at low revs ie at 2500rpm the revcounter fluctuates up to around 4000rpm, atthe same time the voltmeter drops into theminus zone. This happens occasionally at asteady throttle at about 40mph under noload, with no increase in engine rpm. Theengine normally runs very well, I keep thecarbs balanced, the mixture judging by plugcolour is fine. The timing and advance/retardare good, compressions are fair to good. Any
help would be greatly appreciated, aselectrics are not my strong point.
Stuart Giles, Oxford.
We think you're right to suspect the electrics;the strange behaviour of the tacho andvoltmeter points strongly in that direction.We've had similar symptoms on a boxer witha fractured battery lead – take off the startermotor cover and carefully check both crimpedends of the main power lead from batterypositive to the starter solenoid. Check themain earth lead from battery to gearbox too. Ifboth leads are sound you'll have to do someelectrical trouble shooting. Start with thediode board in the back of the headlamp shelland the starter protection relay under the fueltank. RG.
YAMAHA SR400 & 500 1978-onwardsSomewhere deep in the psyche of every biker there is a need to ride on a bike like the
one your Uncle Burt banged on about when he used to drop round. For many ladies andgents of ‘a certain age’ we know from either bitter experience just what the last true
British singles were really like. Tired and worn out Velos with badly set up clutches, BSAunit singles with valve guides rattling like two skeletons copulating on a tin roof, Royal
Enfields grenading gearboxes or the A1 or Matchless heavyweights haemorrhaging oil onyour mum’s new drive; dear god what sort of aspirations are those?
that just happened to be the very real andspiritual home of the one-lunger or big twin.
The rest of the world, however, took to the SR500like chain lube sticks to a numberplate; theycouldn’t get enough of them. Allegedly the bike isstill on sale in Japan, which a pretty neatachievement given today’s obsession with built-inobsolescence. The SR500 does take some gettingused to if you’ve come from a backgroundimmersed in British iron. It doesn’t have theapparent drive and grunt of a 500 push rod motorthat was a new design when petrol was a couple ofold pennies a gallon. The reason for this is simplythat the bike’s flywheels are much lighter and thusa large amount of stored energy or inertia simplyisn’t there. No way does an SR500 plonk up asteep gradient like a Cleckheaton Panther.
The plus side is that the engine is able to revmore freely, simply because there’s relatively lessrotating and reciprocating mass, the motor isslightly over square and it benefits from anoverhead cam. By being over square the enginearchitecture is such that piston speeds are keptdown and although the slogging ability of a longstroke motor is lost there’s every chance it won’tself destruct the first time you take near the redline.
The SR400 is simplistically a smaller enginedversion of its bigger brother designed for theJapanese market which has a licence limit cut offat 400cc. With the same bore but shorter strokethe 400 variant is likely to be a bit more revvy innature and a tad slower but with all the same style
and charisma. A big part of the SR’s appeal is thatit is easily upgraded and modified; there are wholeindustries in Japan, Europe and the USA that havesprung up to support the models and theirmodification.
The motor is a tough old brute, given a bit of TLCin the service department, and seems well capableof coping with fair bit of tuning. People like VDClassics and Smith Kanrin will help release vastamounts of money from your bank in the pursuit offaster, better, bigger etc. 600cc conversions areavailable plus cams, big valves and even a bolt onmega flywheel so you can gduf, gduf gduf your wayup the side of a house!
The bike has been marketed in many countriesand has a truly awesome following, just like its bigbrother, the XS650. Yamaha were obviously keen tocash in on the bike’s mass appeal and, in agesture almost unheard of in Japanese factories,produced retro-look versions by offering the bikewith a drum front brake.
As the bike is still in production for the Japanesemarket most parts are likely to be available for aconsiderable time, providing you can supply yourlocal dealer with the appropriate numbers. Whatbetter argument can there be for buying one? In anamazing reversal of fortunes and irony the bike thatinspired a generation, the BSA Goldstar, was backin production for 1999. Made by the BSA RegalGroup you could, and probably still can, order onevirtually handmade. The motive power was suppliedby Yamaha’s SR400/500 engine, sold to the groupby the Japanese. It’s a funny old world, isn’t it?
96 www.classicmechanics.com
buying bikes > yamaha sr400/500
YAMAHA SR500ENGINE four-stroke air-cooled single
cylinder, dry sump, five-speed
gearbox, kick-starter
DISPLACEMENT 499cc
BORE X STROKE 87 x 84mm
CARBURETION VM34SS MIKUNI
COMPRESSION RATIO 9.0:1
MAX HP 39 @7500rpm
MAX TORQUE 3.8kgm@ 7000rpm
IGNITION SYSTEM CDI
DRY WEIGHT 163kg net
TYRES 3.50-S19-4PR (F), 4.00-S18 (R)
PERFORMANCE approx 90mph
SPECIFICATION
“”
PART OF THE SR’S APPEAL IS THATIT IS EASILY UPGRADED; THERE AREWHOLE INDUSTRIES IN JAPAN,EUROPE AND THE USA THAT HAVESPRUNG UP TO SUPPORT THEMODELS AND THEIR MODIFICATION.
When Nikki Silverman rode her Suzuki GS550 into communistEast Germany in 1982 it caused quite a stir.
www.classicmechanics.com 109
In 1981 I bought a brand-new GS550E. It wasblack with blue flashes on the tank, sidepanels and tailpiece. It was beautiful. My firstholiday would be Leeds to Venice/Pisa in Italyvia Belgium, West Germany and East Germany.Back in those days the Berlin Wall was stillstanding and the old Communist state was stillgoing strong. Everything had to be arrangedthrough the East German Travel agency basedin London – accommodation vouchers, (eitherfor camping or hotels) and visas.
The first taste of East German bureaucracywas at the transit crossing between WestGermany into West Berlin. After waiting for agesin a huge queue we finally got the permission touse the transit road to West Berlin. There werecameras along these roads, and you were timed,so if you took longer than you should the EastGerman police would come looking. We then hadto ask directions to Check Point Charlie – ourborder crossing into the Eastern sector.
The East German border guards were waitingto ‘welcome’ us. It was deathly quiet. We hadto unload all our luggage for inspection, thebike was looked over, we were looked over andour documentation was checked. Next came anhour and a half’s grilling by the border guards.After handing over cash for ‘road tax’ andcompulsory purchase of East German currencywe were allowed to drive through.
East Berlin seemed so old fashioned, fromthe two-stroke Trabant and Wartburg cars to the
grey and drab apartment buildings, peopledressed in old-fashioned clothing in bizarrecolours. When I stopped to ask directions thelocals kept their heads down and scurried past.They were so scared of the secret police andinformers that they didn’t want to be seentalking with foreigners from the West. The hotelwas superb, but the whole city seemed to shutdown at 9pm. Across the road from the hotelwas the Palast der Republik – a hideous affairput up to house the seat of the government in1976. It was built after the half-destroyedBerliner Stadtschloss (Berlin city palace) wasdemolished by the authorities in 1951.
Leaving Berlin we rode past endless awfulgrey apartment blocks. Virtually every vehicleseemed to be powered by a two-stroke motorkicking out thick clouds of blue smoke.
We hit the old autobahn to head south. Theseroads were in an awful state of repair and theSuzi was struggling with the unexpectedpotholes. Bridges spanning the road wereadorned with banners proclaiming ‘Friendshipwith Russia for ever’, and ‘Lenin is our hero’.Sometimes the highway just seemed todisappear and a quick manoeuvre to changelanes was required to avoid falling over the edge.
The InterTank filling stations would have beeneasy to miss if it were not for the huge lines ofTrabants and Wartburgs waiting patiently in line.We had to fill the bike every time we saw onebecause we never knew when we would get
another opportunity. The quality of the fuel wasdreadful, but the Suzi never let me down.
Arriving at Dresden, we parked up andchecked in to our hotel. Coming out to unloadthe bike, we found it swamped by a huge crowdof admirers anxious to see a ‘futuristic’machine. Evidently the shyness of the EastBerliners was not an issue here.
Dresden was almost completely destroyed bythe bombs of WWII and only a tiny section ofthe old town remained. We were surrounded bythe shells of once magnificent buildings wherethe downstairs was being used but the upperfloors were ruins. Incredible to think that it was35 years after the war ended and yet buildingswere still in this state. We walked around thewreck of the Zwinger Palace down to the banksof the river Elbe, and saw the remains of theonce-majestic Frauenkirche. Our finaldestination was Leipzig, and Colditz castle, animposing building which looked impossible forprisoners to escape from.
Leaving East Germany brought another rigmaroleof questions and document checking, and after aweek eating ‘communist food’ in East Germany Iwas pleased to reach Italy for a good blowout.
One of my strongest memories of that time isof the number of fans my bike had. The onlybikes the East Germans could get were thehome-grown MZs, Simpsons or Jawas fromCzechoslovakia. Anyone on a Suzuki 550seemed like an alien from another planet.
Cold War chiller
WO
RD
S/P
HO
TO
S:
Nik
kiS
ilverm
an Suzi fully loaded prior to setting off.
The once-grand Palast Hotel partially demolished
(photo taken in 2001).
Left (with bronze windows) is the Palast der Republik.
Hello boys and girls, are you sitting comfortably?Good, then I’ll begin. Long, long ago in a far offland, near where the sun rises, a wise old manwas sitting looking at some very shiny pieces ofmetal piled high in special containers. This wiseold man and his family were famous for makingamazing machines. When he was a young man hehad made small machines that had astoundedthe world and gradually he and his little helpershad produced multi-coloured monsters thatbelched out blue smoke. Then, as he grew olderand wiser, the old man, his helper and his familymade even more amazing machines thatproduced strange and deep growling sounds; andthey moved like the very winds that swept acrossthe eastern seas.
The wise old man thought long and hard thatday about the pieces of metal and how he mightbest use them to make another wondrousmachine. He thought so hard that his head hurtand, to ease his poor aching brain on the wayhome, he bought a flask of special medicine froma shop. He drank the golden elixir and his ideasand plans took on magical proportions; he wouldproduce a special machine. As he drank moreand more of the medicine, he realised he mustsend this new and special machine to a small,mist covered green island at the top of the world.Unfortunately, when the wise old man woke upthe next day in a gutter in downtownHammamatsu, he went to work with the motherand father of all sake-induced hangovers andsent us the Suzuki SB200!
Yeah OK, perhaps this is an over
dramatisation, but you get the picture. You onlyhave to look at an SB200 up close to see it’srather less than the sum of its parts. With amotor taken from Suzuki’s incredibly cute X5200cc twin, it should have been a winner straightout of the box – but unfortunately, it wasn’t.Agreed, the Japanese can occasionally come upwith a styling disaster, but usually, at least, bikesthus afflicted have their ardent supporters (thinkCX500, XN85, Z750 twin et al). Anyone know ofan SB200 support group? Exactly. Somehow, thelithesome appeal of the donor X5 was lost andwe got a sort of GP100 on steroids-and-pies typelook. Add a pair of silencers that look like theymight well have been sold as aftermarketfitments for a small four-stroke and you have anugly ducking par excellence. With the deletion ofthe X5’s electric foot, the poor bike had littlegoing for it.
Around the world there were, doubtless,markets where a 200cc twin cylinder two strokecommuter might sell – but the UK wasn’t one ofthem. With the looming 125cc learner law, thebike was launched at the wrong time into amarket that wasn’t prepared to accept it. If Suzukithought they had a modern day Bantam on theirhands, they were cruelly mistaken. The bike soldto a few middle aged gents who wanted a ride-to-work type bike, but that was it. It was never goingto set hearts a fluttering nor send the massesinto their local dealer pleading for an SB200.
No data can be found as to whether the portingof the X5 was modified to better suit the bike’sintended purpose but, like all multi cylinder
strokers, the motor needed to be revved to getthe best out of it. Old chaps who bought SB200sto potter about on tended to plague dealers withperpetual problems regarding poor running, errantmisfires and the like; all of which could be putdown to the oiling of spark plugs. There were twoavailable options for the mechanics. Either givethe bike a damn good thrash down the localbypass or install hotter plugs to burn off the oil.The former was only a temporary fix but the latterwas pretty much a cure. Well it was until theowner forgot to change back to the B9s beforehe went for that one long ride to the seaside hedid every year with his missus on the back.Result? A nice neat spark eroded hole in one orboth pistons; oh how absolutely wonderful.
Being targeted at the commuter market, thebike was built down to a price and an oldfashioned British winter would soon have thepoor Suzuki looking sorry for itself. Two or morewinters would normally see the mudguardsrotting away and, when the front guard’s integralbrace rotted out, the already loose handlingwould take on a ‘marsh mallow on the cooker’quality.
The chances of finding an SB200 now are fairlyremote. Realistically, the 200 twin was ananachronism from Japan, a bike looking for amarket that simply didn’t exist. If you want a sub250cc stroker from Suzuki, you’d be better offwith the exquisite X5 or its grandfather, the T200Invader. Thinking about it, there’s a missing linkin this chain, the GT185. Icon of lust, or citronsupreme? What say you dear reader?
biking lemons > suzuki sb200
...THERE WERE,DOUBTLESS,
MARKETS WHERE A 200CCTWIN CYLINDER TWOSTROKE COMMUTER MIGHTSELL – BUT THE UKWASN’T ONE OF THEM.
