Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2017 i Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

The good, the bad & the ugly When it first broke cover late in 1999, the Triumph TT600 was considered the most important British bike of all time. Why? Well, John Bloor’s Hinckley Triumph had spent the best part of the previous decade improving model-bymodel and here they were, taking on the big boys. Back in the 1990s, the Supersport 600 class was one of the big sellers and Triumph wanted a piece of the action. To do so they built the TT600 with which to take on the Japanese. Looking back, the TT600 was maybe a bit ‘too much too soon’ for the Hinckley firm. It may have been the first mass-produced 600 with fuel-injection, but it suffered badly from poor fuelling and a gutless power delivery, meanwhile the…

Products The most useful gear we’ve found this month BULL-IT JEANS Now coming in three styles (slim, straight and easy – these are straight) are the Bull-It SR6 Jeans. They have a Covec SR6 liner inside for extra abrasion resistance and pockets for knee and thigh armour. Waist is 30-54 length 30-34, there’s a cargo-style too. The price is £149.99. Visit: www.oxfordproducts.com OXFORD HOLTON GLOVES Classically-styled pair of gloves in tan, black or dark brown: double-layer palm, adjustable Velcro p made fro 00% premium aniline leath ev ered when in ed together and m y from 10 even be popper ! Sizes S to rdp 4XL dproducts.com o cro strap eather and can e hen not in use! Hu £39.99. Go to Hurrah! to: www.oxfordproducts.com DEADPOOL HELMET Apparently Deadpool -cracking…

PIP HIGHAM ‘The avoidance of art (sorry) the art of avoidance!’ It’s nice to razz around the back lanes a few miles, exhaust barking back off sundry bridges and the smell of pretty flowers mixed with a bit of Ferodo and Avgas. Then we encountered Cheshire WAG and a few tons of purple Cayenne being driven (well, checking her nails and/or texts) at a lively pace... but on our bit of Tarmac. She was fine: a mix of ABS, CIB, CAS, EDA and many other TLAs saved our day with only the slightest scratch to her nail varnish. Bill and I on old bikes plus Col on his Yam and Paul on his KTMwere zotting over to The Leigh Arms at Acton Bridge on the A49 for a bike night…

The way we were … Send us your nostalgic snaps of you back in the day with your steed! Either send to me at bsimmonds@mortons.co.uk or via our vibrant Facebook page. C’mon! www.facebook.com/ClassicMechanics/ www.twitter.com/cmmmag Andrew Stemp says: “This was my pride and joy and my first proper bike back in 1980, a Gilera TG1 125. It was rare even back then, only ever seen one other, and it was the bike I passed my test on. “That’s my little bro’ on the back who is now a good four inches taller than me. It was purchased from G D Brown in Godalming and I recall seeing old Graeme Brown riding his Douglases on the Pioneer Run. I also had a Jawa Babetta that the Gilera replaced, which was my introduction…

The boxer twin GS family “Don’t expect eye-watering performance, you work for it on the Urban and that’s the fun. This is a bike you feel in charge of and because the chassis and handling are so good you can squeeze every last pony out of the Urban.” The daddy of all the adventure-sport machines was 1980’s R80 G/S, upon which the R nineT Urban G/S is based. This was the original Gelände/Straße (or Strasse) meaning ‘off-road/road.’ The engine was a 797.5cc boxer twin two-valves per cylinder of 37bhp output, shared with others in the BMW range. In 1987 the name changed simply to GS now meaning Gelände/ Sport) and the Monolever was replaced with a Paralever rear swingarm the engine was now 980cc 60bhp) a called the were few…

Kawasaki two-stroke triples After offering 250cc and 350cc disc-valve two-stroke twins (the A1 and A7 models) in limited numbers from 1967, Kawasaki launched itself fearlessly into the superbike age in 1969 with the 500cc three-cylinder h with 60bhp barely harnessed in its chassis was the oice. This was followed in 1972 by the 750cc Mach IV H2 bhp, and the 350cc S2 (Mach II) which with 44bhp was ea ess y t Mach III whic hot-rod of cho triple with 76 pretty hot. The UK’s learner market, a smaller 250cc S1 was offered. e 350cc timeline, the S2A was launched in 1973 with a disc nstead of the drum. This was replaced by the bigger-bore 974 using a softer 42bhp engine and wider tyres. It was softer for the first…

WORK SHOP News The Shed... New tools for sale, old tools rated, watch out for the dog It’s The Shed… www.haynes.com New tool sets from Kamasa Kamasa has just released two wonderfully comprehensive, tool and screwdriver sets! Tool kit 56105 has an excellent selection of screwdrivers, bits and pliers and makes a great addition to the tool box. The kit includes six screwdrivers: three flat, 6.5mm x 38mm, 5.5mm x 100mm, and 6.5mm x 150mm; and three Phillips, Ph2 x 38mm, Ph1 x 75mm and Ph2 x 100mm. The useful magnetic bit driver comes with 19 bits: flat 3mm, 4mm, 5mm, 6mm, and 7mm; PzDrive Pz0, Pz1, Pz2 and Pz3; Phillips Ph0, Ph1, Ph2, and Ph3; Star T10, T15, T20, T25, T30 and T40, plus an adaptor for ¼in drive…

Alternative options and caveats There are obviously alternative finishes to rattle cans. Powdercoating has come on in leaps and bounds over the last decade (and Ralph will show us how to do it at home next month). Where once any powder-coating was thick and heavy the technologies used by the powder suppliers means thin, heat resistant coatings are now perfectly viable. Even four-stroke cylinder heads are now being successfully powder-coated. If you go down this route establish a dialogue with your intended supplier to ensure they know what you want, where it’s going to be used and the temperatures the parts are likely to encounter. Also be crystal clear about what needs to be masked and which surfaces MUST NOT be blasted with any form of aggressive media. One technology that…

NEWS & events She’s electric! So, the current government reckons that by 2040 they will have in place a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel engine cars? After the last few years of political and national instability, do they really think that looking that far ahead actually works considering the unpredictability of current politics? Do they think that – at a stroke – we can rid ourselves of the internal combustion engine? Okay, so motorcycles were not specifically mentioned, but it all sounds like a far-fetched face-saving move by the Environment Secretary Michael Gove, you know… that bloke who told us all to vote Brexit before deciding that he wanted to take over the Conservative party, then realised that no-one really liked him. In our two-wheeled industry…

NEWS & events ABC News! The newly-formed Andy Bolas Collection is already eyeing up classic events for 2018. Andy Bolas is no stranger to running events at bike shows and getting bikes ready for displays. Over the last few years he’s been fronting the VJMC presence at many of the major and minor shows that they’ve attended. For 2018 Andy is planning a few shows under his own ABC banner. Andy explained to CMM what ABC is all about: “I’ve been working with MotoRcom who are often approached for motorcycles that can be used for media work, after a few conversations we hatched a plan to create the ABC stable. This will be an opportunity for me to take my bikes to events that the VJMC aren’t attending. I will…

Feeling pressured It might be interesting to run a small piece about what tyre pressures to use – from the bike manufacturer or the tyre manufacturer? This is pertinent as the tyre manufacturers seem to have standardised on 36psi front / 42psi rear, yet this is considerably higher in many cases than bike manufacturers’ own recommendations from the 80s/90s. Surely the frame and suspension are designed for a certain amount of tyre pressure; just because the tyres are a bit different nowadays doesn’t alter required pressure? 42psi today is the same as 42psi 30 years ago and too high. I use Pirellis and they have recommended pressures for each tyre/bike combination on their website. My 1994 ZXR400L4 has Kawasaki recommended pressures of 32/36psi and this is also what Pirelli recommends…

NOSTALGIA A real ‘Classic’ Our Ian‘Shroom’ Burgess does the Project Bandit videos on Facebook, so we decided to let him enjoy The Bikers’ Classic at Spa Francorchamps. WORDS AND PHOTOS: IAN ‘SHROOM’ BURGESS After being at the Endurance Legends event at Donington Park in May and being blown away by the sheer number of motorcycles look at and the friendly and relaxed attitude of everyone attending, people started telling me I should try the Spa event. fter being at the Endurance Legends event This event is The Bikers’ Classic, held at the famous Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. I got talking to Rob Scott from Classic Bike Trackdays and he said that if I liked the Endurance Legends event I should really make the trip out to The Bikers’ Classic.…

READER’S RESTORATION Honda’s HIT SINGLE WORDS AND PHOTOS: MATT BRENNAN AND JENNIFER WILLINGHAM What happens when you find an old Honda trail iron under a tarp? Hand it to the experts to restore. Well, some people do. Honda’s XL500S: a legend which is still (seemingly) undiscovered to many. It could be argued that the XL was either a logical descendant from Honda’s successful range of Elsinore off-road models, or – perhaps – just a knee-jerk reaction to Yamaha’s superb XT500. Bit of a long knee-jerk though, taking a full four years for the XL500S to finally make it to showrooms. History shows that the XL500S was perhaps a little more complicated than the XT, using a four-valve head rather than a simpler two-valves per pot layout. It had a 498cc…

WORK SHOP Q&A Our very own wizened sages, Messrs Mark Haycock and Steve Cooper are here to answer all of your woes, be they mechanical or spiritual. Every month we will be giving advice, as well as some general tips. Don’t forget to sent in your own tips too. Yamaha XJ600S Diversion Q:Dear Mark, I own the above & require a replacement exhaust system. It came with a Motad system but the silencer was scrap. To keep costs down I would like to use a pair of universal silencers with the Motad downpipes. The carbs will be rebuilt as it has been standing. Hope you can help me. Raye Randal A:I am a little confused here as you want to fit a pair of silencers but Motad offer a four-into-one…

Painting angst You’ll never get a good finish with a rattle can if the metal you’re painting is dirty or greasy. Obvious yes but these are the two primary candidates for nafffinishes. Next on the list is a damaged surface; grasp that most paints are only a few thousandths of an inch thick and it’s easy to see why every blemish is replicated in the finished article. Dirt, dust and insects are next on the hit list – any and all of these will ruin any paint job. Finally patience, you can never have too much of this precious quality. Allow each coat to flash off before applying the next or you are extremely likely to get runs in the paint. If this occurs there’s no real way of remedying the situation…

INDUSTRY VIEW Neil McAllum The early 500 triples are more nervous to ride than the later models due to the spindly front forks and typically oversprung and underdamped rear shocks. Modern tyres and shocks dramatically improve handling. Many riders went off the road due to the then radical nature of the H1. It was 20mph faster than anything they’d previously ridden and this (with no engine braking) made for a scary ride. The early motors and exhaust are beautifully free-flowing but later models were stifled by noise emission measures. The early CDIs are the bikes’ Achilles’ heel relying as they do on a distributor which is cursed with a small weak bearing. In my opinion the points system as fitted to the B models was actually a significant improvement. In the…

SCOOPERMAN! The sunny side of the classic world, with the VJMC’s Steve Cooper www.vjmc.com | 01324 410519 Have you committed crimes against motorcycles? What stylistic horrors are you guilty of? My own confessions centre around that abomination that is actually damn useful – the top box. How can a cube of fibreglass or thermoplastic moulded resin look so hideous yet be so undeniably practical? When a motorcycle was my only way of getting about back in the day I used the said-repugnant resin receptacle to carry tools, waterproofs, a puncture repair kit and God knows what else. The logic was if it rained or I broke down it should, in theory, have the correct requisites to hand. I also told myself that I couldn’t see the damn things when piloting…

FEED BACK Post to Mechanics, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6LZ or email your pictures to editorial@classicmechanics.com WIN a Scottoiler bike care pack Every month we’re giving away a Scottoiler Bike Care Pack to the writer of the best submitted letter we receive. The pack contains two litres of Scottoiler FS365; giving you the ultimate in summer and winter corrosion protection. Simply get in touch by sending emails to: letters@classicmechanics.com or post your letters to the normal address, giving contact details just in case you are that lucky winner. Fab Ferrand First of all let me say how much I enjoy reading the magazine. It’s entertaining and informative and exactly what I need. I have been prompted to email by Ralph Ferrand describing using Phillips screwdrivers on Japanese carbs. He described exactly…

Show us yours We want to see YOUR pride and joy in our pages, so you can share what you ride and restore with fellow readers. Email your hi-res shots to bsimmonds@mortons.co.uk or mail in some photos to the address at the front of the mag. Let us know what you’ve done and how you’ve done it and send before and after shots if you can. Do get in touch. Bertie. We’ve teamed up with The Hobby Company www.hobbyco.net which distributes Tamiya plastic motorcycle kits in the UK to give our favourite restoration one of its amazing motorcycles in miniature. So, send in your pictures of your bikes and you could win the chance to indulge in a miniature motorcycle restoration of your own. Remember to send your name and…

What else is in the shed? Allen’s latest project (as of the end of June, because he’s likely to have started another since then) has been a Kawasaki H1 triple with the engine converted to accommodate two sets of Yamaha RD250LC twin cranks and cylinder blocks. Completed in time for the Salon Privé show at Blenheim Palace at the end of August with Allen’s trademark stainless-steel exhaust system, the H1 500LC was carefully tuned on a Dynotec rolling road to get the carb settings and ignition optimised. Allen doesn’t only have Japanese bikes in his shed. Alongside the Honda V-twins, the 250cc Kawasaki-powered SS50 Honda and a YL100 Yamaha twin is a twice-restored 250cc Velocette MOV once owned by his dad, next door there’s a clean 700cc Royal Enfield Constellation…

Cagiva – a potted history Brothers Claudio and Gianfranco Castiglioni used the name originally coined by their father, Giovanni, who’d set up a metalworking business in 1950. Syphoning off key letters the name Cagiva came into being – CAstiglioni GIovanni VArese. The brothers acquired the old Aermacchi-AMF/Harley-Davidson Company in 1979 with a view to establishing an alternative, viable, Italian motorcycle manufacturer. The company initially sourced engines from Ducati before acquiring the company in 1985. Allegedly selling similarly engine machines with different names and styles as both Ducati and Cagiva seems to have confused the public’s view of the latter. The growing portfolio was enhanced in 1987 and again in 1989 with the acquisitions of Moto Morini and Husqvarna. And while all this was going on the brothers found time, resource and…

Paint choice For many years American PJ1 was the default paint of choice for anything black and many things silver. Shipping restrictions and the inevitable Health and Safety saw it absent from shelves for several years but it’s recently returned, reformulated, but still viable especially where high temperature applications are involved. The Sperex brand, once well known, seems to now be sold under the VHT banner but there’s a raft of alternatives on offer nowadays. The likes of Tool Station and Screwfix offer their own versions as do companies such as RS Components and Wurth, not forgetting the Halfords, B&Qs etc. of this world. Almost without exception high temperature paints are applied directly to bare the metal but more decorative finishes are generally applied over an etch primer which chemically bonds itself…

What to buy and how much to pay Do not buy any H1 without expert input unless you want a mongrel. The parts of many 500s are readily transposable so if authenticity is your thing it’s better to rivet count before you hand over the cash. Officially there is no H1-C according to the factory yet they turn up. Running a drum brake and front end from the H1-A along with exhausts from the same the H1-C carries the same Pearl Orange as the previous H1-B. Allegedly running the original CDI ignition it’s quite probable Kawasaki’s stock taking went awry and they found a convenient way of offloading older parts. Note – H1-Cs do not command a premium. A rough but complete example is the best bet if you are purchasing…

Next month DUCATI 996: Now it’s finished, Jim Lindsay rides one of the most beautiful bikes ever made. HONDA CL160/175: Buyer’s Guide MOTO GUZZI NF500: Steve Cooper rides this single-cylinder Guzzi. HONDA GL1800 GOLD WING: It’s big, it’s beautiful and it now counts as a classic… BMW R NINET: Blank canvas retro bike with more than a little R1100R DNA… AARON SLIGHT: We profile our special guest at this year’s Carole Nash CMM Stafford Show! AND: We have the inside line on a Honda MT50 that has become an electric bike, a Honda VT1100 Shadow becoming a café racer and one man’s lovely Yamaha RD350LC. WORKSHOP: Tuning two-strokes with Stan Stephens, DIY powder-coating (you can do it yourself) and seat covering. PROJECT BIKES: Ralph Ferrand rides his Yamaha DT175 MX…