Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2017 i Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Money talks, cash shouts! Indeed it does and no more so than in the world of classic and future classic motorcycles. This month Jim Lindsay tests his Ducati 996 Biposto for us. Now, back in January 2014 we tested the original 916 model and said you could get an early one for £3500, probably not any more. But look at this picture… you can’t argue that this is a classic – and now a very usable one. Now go check the free ads at the back of the mag and you’ll see it’s up for sale for £5500.With the work that’s gone into it, it’s worth it… What things are worth is very important to us here at CMM – and doubtless to you guys too. We see that the…

Project Honda VF750F part 2 Hondaway... …to being completed already. But our Jim has a bee in his bonnet about something, eh Jim? WORDS AND PHOTOS: JIM LINDSAY With the forks sorted, the first task this month was to get rid of the old chain. The engine sprocket nut resisted the combined attempt of my wife standing on the rear brake lever and me leaning on my longest breaker bar. I fixed its hash with my electric impact wrench, a rarely used but very handy tool to have around the place. Someday I’m going to treat myself to a chain breaking tool but for now I used an emery wheel in the Dremel to grind the rivets and split the chain. As usual, I draped a welding blanket round the…

Project Big Zed part 1 The big Zed build! Zed expert Ralph on the engine refresh that became a beast of a custom bike build. WORDS AND PHOTOS: RALPH FERRAND When someone asks me if I can build a Z1000A2 motor the answer is: “No sweat, I can almost build ’em blindfold these days!” A Biker’s Toolbox customer rang me and asked me some technical questions about working on Kawasaki’s finest, the Z1000, and I was happy to proffer some advice. I had a look at a very interesting engine he has for a Rickman, which had a huge amount of high-quality period race tuning work done to it. A while later a now familiar South Wales voice rings up and asks if I could build up a Z1000 engine…

BUYER’S GUIDE HONDA CL1620/CL175 It’s another street scrambler but this time it is Honda’s take on the theme. WORDS: STEVE COOPER PHOTOS: GARY ‘D’ CHAPMAN When Honda ‘discovered’ the street scrambler look they embraced it with open arms. It’s quite probable that the chief executives back in Japan struggled to comprehend just how popular the concept was and how quickly the Honda organisation saw substantial returns upon its meagre investment The recipe was fairly simple – take a standard road going bike, fit a ‘Siamesed’ exhaust system made especially for the job, possibly throw in a tank from a similar model painted differently, some rubber fork gaiters, occasionally add in a pair of rubber knee pads, modify the front guard with extra tubing, throw in some braced handlebars and it…

Triple treat! Here is a treat – how to strip, tune and rebuild Suzuki’s three-cylinder two-stroke. WORDS AND PHOTOS: STAN STEPHENS Ihave fond memories of the Suzuki GT550 – 40 years ago I had a 1976 Candy Red GT550A. I did some tuning to it and it was a rocket! Three cylinders, electric start two-stroke, I loved it, I even considered putting the engine in my race sidecar outfit. Over the years I have worked on very few GT550 engines and I have never ridden another one since. Recently a good customer of mine, Nigel Foster, asked me to overhaul, renovate and tune the engine and gearbox on the GT550 that he had bought on eBay. Nigel has a collection of GTs and I have built all the engines. He…

cmm Archive WSB heyday WORDS: BERTIE SIMMONDS PHOTO: MORTONS ARCHIVE/MARK WERNHAM COLLECTION Check this out… it’s a picture from the first lap of a 1994 World Superbike race. If you follow the current championship the difference is striking: an array of different manufacturers and top riders battling it out for the lead. We can see James Whitham on his Moto Cinelli Ducati, Doug Polen and Aaron Slight on their then-new Honda RC45s, reigning champ Scott Russell on his Kawasaki ZXR750 (along with a raft of other Kwak mounted privateers). And then there’s Brian Morrison on the Rumi RC45, Andreas Meklau on a privateer Ducati as well as Paolo Casoli on the Belgarda Yamaha YZF750. The 1990s was THE time for World Superbikes, especially here in the UK. With falling interest…

Brightona 2017 is go! The Brightona Charity Riders show takes place once more on the front at the famous seaside town and it’s going to be one helluva event. This is a one-day charity event, taking place on Sunday, October 1, from 9am to 5pm in support of the Sussex Heart Charity. As well as a custom and classic bike show (where the Classic Motorcycle Mechanics cup is one of the prizes) you can enjoy music, foods, bars, stalls and all manner of entertainment and delights. If you would like to join in the Custom Bike Show call Rachael or Jan on 01273 325522 or email brightona10@gmail.com. Once more CMM’s pals at Harrison BILLET are backing the event so pop along to www.billet.co.uk and download the entry form. Parking for…

NOSTALGIA Super Slight! Super-cool and committed as a racer, Aaron Slight was one of the greats during the golden era of World Superbikes. He’s also our guest of honour at the CMM show this year. WORDS: BERTIE SIMMONDS PHOTOS: MORTONS ARCHIVE/MARK WERNHAM COLLECTION Idon’t like you and I don’t like the newspaper you represent. Keep out of my way from now on.” It’s August 1996 and I’m stood in the sweltering pit-lane of the Sentul racetrack in Indonesia. Aaron Slight is jabbing his finger into my chest as he utters those words. He’s half my size but I’m scared. Scared because those dark, unblinking eyes are boring into my skull and the right hand and forearm that the jabbing finger is attached to are very heavily scarred, courtesy of an…

DUCATI 996 BELLA BIPOSTO! If there’s a better-looking motorcycle out there than the 916-series of Ducati L-twins, then we’ve yet to see it. Jim Lindsay rides his restoration. WORDS: JIM LINDSAY PHOTOS: GARY D CHAPMAN, MORTONS ARCHIVE If riding any of the later desmoquattro variants, 916, 996 or 998, does not stir your soul – consult an undertaker. You are most likely dead. Aprilia tried with the RSV, Honda found World Superbike success with the SP-1 and 2, Moto Guzzi still plugs away with its quirky transverse engines, but nobody, not even Ducati itself in later years, has ever got the V-twin sportsbike as right as the Bologna factory did as the 90s drew to an end. The subject of this test is a standard 1999 Ducati 996 Biposto and as a…

READER’S SPECIAL Bright SPARK! So you’re semi-retired and decide to turn an old moped into an electric moped. Where do you even start? WORDS AND PHOTOS: PAUL PONTIN Over the years I’ve built several one-off motorcycles and, like most of us, lusted after more power, but I was struggling to find the old ‘joy of riding' that I used to have Living in South East England I figured the density of modern traffic had simply extinguished the excitement. I started hankering after the simpler life, something altogether smaller, nimbler and more fun! Crawling to work one morning through the grind of suburban traffic in the car, I’d been overtaken four times in two miles by cyclists. I then had an epiphany: mopeds aren’t such a daft idea! Back in the…

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 wal as some general tips, Dont forgot to send your own tips too. 1991 Yamaha TDM850 Q:I’m having trouble getting my bike to run correctly. It pops and splutters, not in the early mornings though, mainly at idle (12,000 to 15,000rpm when warm). I have been on the TDM forums, changed the emulsion tubes, checked needle heights, diaphragms and fuel filter. I’m changing the exhaust seals next, but I doubt even that will work. What should I consider? The float height is spot on, the choke plunger doesn’t look like it’s leaking and I’ve set…

Seat re-covering Motorcycle seats don’t last forever; here’s what to do and not do! WORDS AND PHOTOS: STEVE COOPER Re-covering a motorcycle’s seat is one of those jobs that, for most of us, can be a royal pain. Ostensibly it should be an assignment that’s easy to accomplish but when you get deeper into it you realise just why it’s very often a specialist task. You find yourself needing more arms than an octopus and the patience of several major saints along with at least half a dozen implements you’d never imagine would be of use. The job becomes a multi-dimensional puzzle which seems to morph shape every time you look away or blink. Even when you’re adamant that everything is correct the end result can turn out looking nothing…

Project Honda CB750 K2 part 5 Forked off! Our man Mark finds out that his K2 is a bit of a bitsa. Does this mean he has a mountain to climb? WORDS AND PHOTOS: MARK HAYCOCK Imust admit I did buy the CB750 K2 on a whim without even seeing it, though I did have a few not-very-good photos to assess it. One thing I had noticed was that the front stay of the mudguard was missing, and possibly there was something not quite right about the brake caliper. When I had got the bike home it became clear. Not only was the stay missing, there were no mounting holes for it and the caliper was definitely not right for a K2 (Photo 1). Then it all added up: the…

Quick Spin 2001-on HONDA GL1800 GOLDWING Honda’s GL1800 was released 16 years ago and Bertie Simmonds wonders whether that original model is £7000 well spent. WORDS: BERTIE SIMMONDS PHOTOS: MORTONS ARCHIVE Seven thousand pounds, seven grand, seven big ones: what can you get for that sort of money? A Honda CBX1000 perhaps? Of course, we’d be talking the Pro-Link here. But what if I told you that you could spend £7k on a 16-year-old motorcycle with the sweetest engine ever placed inside a motorcycle chassis, ride it everywhere for another decade or so and still guarantee to you now that the bike will be a bona fide classic: scout’s honour… Welcome to the Honda GL1800 Gold Wing. Yes, you can just about get one of the first 1800s now for…

CLASSIC RACING MENTAL RENTAL ! Classic racing isn’t cheap but when the Yamaha Past Masters offer you a bike, fuel, tyres and race support for a weekend for just over £500 it’s got to be worth a look! WORDS: CHARLIE OAKMAN PHOTOS: CHRIS SHELBY, GARY CHAPMAN, SUNRISE IMAGES Regular readers of CMM will already know me. lie Oakman, otherwise known as the k currently in the process of building 0 2MA. egu a e I’m Char Fast Berk a 1988 TZR250 My aim is to enter it into a round of the Yamaha Past Masters (YPM) racing series, part of the British Motorcycle Racing Club Championship (known to all as ‘Bemsee’). Unbeknown to me at the time of planning I could have got on the grid and broken my racing…

CLASSIC RIDE Wolf in Wolfs clothing Riding a real Walter Wolf RG is like a dream come true fo red-blooded two-stroke nut. Ju our Aussie contributor, Jeff! Dave Thommo, the owner of this RG500, is one of those guys that is totally pedantic about his bikes – and picky – and among his immaculate collection of RGVs, GSX-Rs and RGs is this very rare RG500WW or, Walter Wolf. The Suzuki RG500 is already one of the most collectable bikes in the world but the Walter Wolf special, in particular this Japanese spec model, takes it up a notch. There were 99 WW specials built for Canada, a handful built for Europe including a silver one for the Singapore market and very few, very special limited edition examples were made for…

RETRO REBOOT Yamaha XT500/660 Forget the pretenders to the scrambler crown, Yamaha just needs to bring back the XT! WORDS AND IMAGES: KAR LEE @KARDESIGN Scramblers are seeing something of a resurgence recently, with Ducati’s remastered version of its 1960s single-cylinder classic (in L-twin format) leading the charge. The one we’d love to see a return of though is the legendary XT500. Classed as an enduro bike, it also sits neatly into the scrambler niche, being a simple, stripped-down concept with a decent performance to get from A-to-B regardless of terrain. The XT built up quite a cult following since its introduction in 1976 before the two-valve motor was replaced by a four-valve engine featuring other modern touches like monoshock rear suspension and water-cooling in the latest 660cc supermoto and…

Project Kawasaki Hybrid part 1 The madness returns! Once again Scoop excavates a giant hole and places himself firmly in it… WORDS AND PHOTOS: STEVE COOPER Ithink I’m on fairly safe ground when I say my credentials as a Class One Idiot are now impeccably well established. I counsel novitiates to only work on one bike at a time, (you mean ‘tell beginners’, Scoop? Bertie) exhort those who have been restoring for donkeys years not buy a bike in boxes, advise anyone who’ll listen to never, under any circumstances, take someone else’s abandoned project and avoid the complete but dog rough ‘cheap bargain’. And yet I have accomplished the following: • Run four projects at the same time. • Purchased a Yamaha AS1 in a myriad of pieces all stored…

COMING CLASSIC Benelli Tornado Tre 900 WORDS: BERTIE SIMMONDS PHOTOS: MORTONS ARCHIVE BERTIE’S BLATHER CMM’s editor may have a very iffy diet and zero fashion sense, but he can sniff out a future classic. The Benelli Tornado: what a marvellously over-the-top masterpiece, borne from a heady mix of washing machine money, a desire to ‘do a Ducati’ and all from the pen of a Brit. Of course, we’re not talking about the original Benelli Tornado parallel twin from way back when here, but a three-cylinder unique-looking beast which was supposedly the start of a brave new world for Benelli but instead it all turned up as too little, too late. The original Benelli Tornado Novecentro Tre broke cover way back in 1999. The bike was the brainchild of Benelli’s new…

Powder puff! Ralph has a try at something he thought was impossible: no, we don’t mean a weekend off from the pub, we’re talking DIY powder-coating. WORDS AND PHOTOS: RALPH FERRAND Back in April at the Stafford Show, I found a stand that was demonstrating a DIY powder coating set-up which tweaked my curiosity: powder coating at home? Sadly at the show their heat source wasn’t working so all they could show was the special gun applying powder, so I couldn’t tell if it was actually any good but editor Bertie was keen for us to give it a go for the benefit of CMM readers. I contacted Electrostatic Magic and told them that I would be interested to test their product out, but would only be truthful about my…