Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2019 i Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Colour me bad! “I want one, but I want it in THAT colour.” How many times have we heard or even uttered that statement? This month’s main test and buyer’s guide subject is a perfect example. Surprisingly, Honda UK’s Dave Hancock confessed to a Stafford Show audience in October that the now-classic ‘Urban Tiger’ colour scheme was considered ‘a bit of a risk’ compared to others coming in back in 1994. Yes, it’s now 25 years since that most celebrated of colour schemes was launched. Time has shown that – not only the CBR900RR FireBlade itself – but the paint scheme as well have truly endured. Think of other paint jobs you’ve lusted after or loathed. Was there ever a better colour than a ‘Jaffa Orange’ Z1? And GSX-Rs should…

Tested Riding kit worn, tools twirled & tyres turned SEALEY AK623 3/8IN TORQUE WRENCH A torque wrench should be in every serious mechanic’s tool box because you can do as much damage by over-tightening a nut as under-tightening it. By using a torque wrench, you’ll always tighten to the optimum tightness for that particular size or strength of bolt/stud. This is Sealey’s AK623 3/8in square drive micrometer torque wrench. It came in a moulded plastic case that protected the tool from accidental knocks that may easily upset the calibration. The instruction leaflet gave operating and safety instructions, together with a copy of the calibration certificate. The wrench looks well made, it’s finished in silver/black and covers a setting range of 20-80lb-ft (27.1-108.5nm) which although it doesn’t cover many lower settings,…

News THE 39TH BRISTOL BIKE SHOW! For two-wheeled fun and frolics of the classic variety come frosty Feb, you can’t beat the 39th Carole Nash Bristol Classic MotorCycle show. Taking place over the weekend of February 2/3, the show once more takes place at The Royal Bath and West Showground, Shepton Mallet BA4 6QN. The show debuted in 1980 and has grown and evolved into Britain’s greatest annual celebration of all that is best about the motorcycles of yesteryear. The event is a magnet for enthusiasts, club members and traders alike. It features the finest themed club displays and there is fierce competition for the much-coveted ‘best stand’ award and cash prize every year. Many owners offer up their pride and joy for public scrutiny, including everything from immaculate showroom-condition…

News CLASSIC COOL AT MOTORCYCLE LIVE! More than 100,000 mad keen bikers came through the doors at Brum’s NEC to witness the annual spectacle that is Motorcycle Live! Of course it’s all about brand-new metal at this motorcycle show, but – once more – the classic and retro/ classic element was strong and there for all to see. One of the highlights was a replica Spitfire on the CCM stand to push the (not so pretty) two-wheeler of the same name. A number of European manufacturers such as Triumph, BMW and Moto Guzzi showed their current retros range, but for us we felt that Kawasaki and Suzuki nailed it once more. Not only did Kawasaki have a number of versions of the oh-so-sexy Z900RS on display, but also an example…

** Prize winner****** Ride retro better with Mackenzie! Dear Bertie, Niall Mackenzie and all at CMM. I think I’ve got a really good idea for you. I stress the word think in that sentence! Okay, here goes. I’d not ridden a bike in quite a while when I threw a leg over my ‘new to me’ 16-year-old Honda CBR900RR FireBlade back last summer. I’m in my 50s, by the way. In my ‘previous existence’ before the old bag left me for someone else, I’d ridden bikes most of my life until the previously mentioned witch decided that ‘we couldn’t afford’ for me to have a motorcycle. As many of us do, I wanted to keep her happy so I had a lay off. That was back in the early 2000s,…

CLASSIC RIDE The single life Scoop takes out one of Ducati’s less common singles for a pleasant ride: Ducati’s 350 Sebring. WORDS: STEVE COOPER PHOTOS: GARY D CHAPMAN There is no dispute that the vast majority of CMM’s classic motorcycle fans have had it easy either for most or all of our lives when it comes to two wheeled transport. If you’ve grown up on a diet of Japanese machinery I’d tentatively stick my neck out and say – we’ve been spoilt from the day we first rode a motorcycle. Why you ask? Quite simply, if you are a fan of all things oriental and on two wheels you’ve had one key facet of bike ownership served up to you on silver salver via a spoon of the same origin.…

Info at your fingertips with... Want access to issues of CMM going back to 2005? Want to find that road test before putting down your hard-earned cash, or perhaps you’re after a particular workshop article to help in the restoration of your latest project? Then CMM EXTRA can help! If you’re a subscriber you can have all of the last 210 issues of CMM at your very fingertips… Roughly, we reckon that’s 10.5 million words at your beck and call and around two thousand tests with around 2500 step-by-step workshop guides or project bike articles ready to be plundered. Want to know what Niall Mackenzie thought of his restored RD350LC? Dead simple: enter 350LC into the search engine and every issue it’s mentioned in will pop up – so you…

HAYNES PRINT & ONLINE Kawasaki Z1325 part 15 Catch (tank) 22 Ralph moves on with more jobs on the big-bore Zed: this month a catch-tank and footpeg holders. WORDS AND PHOTOS: RALPH FERRAND Last month I was fabricating custom parts for this indomitable 1325cc colossus of a Kawasaki based on a 1978 Z1000A2. The bike had been previously attacked by an amateur sporting considerably more enthusiasm than competence and the frame and running gear had to undergo some serious surgery to make this bike as safe as possible, considering the increase in engine power. One of the problems often associated with mono-shocking a motorcycle originally designed for twin shocks is that there is nowhere for the air-box to go. In this instance, even if there were,…

HAYNES PRINT & ONLINE What a bore! When a cylinder gets worn the only sensible fix is a re-bore, but what is that, asks Steve Cooper. WORDS AND PHOTOS: STEVE COOPER We may be heavily into our classic bikes here at CMM and cover many topics but you don’t often see something that was once fairly commonplace for motorcycles – re-bores. Prior to the arrival of Japanese machinery with its innate levels of sophistication, most bikes in regular use were run without air filters. A daily ingestion of microscopic dust was a sure way to increase bore, piston and ring wear. And back in the day oils weren’t exactly cutting-edge so bore wear was generally endemic even well into the 1980s. Nowadays it’s generally only the worn out engines of…

BUYER’S GUIDE HONDA FireBlade CBR 900RR Our focus bike this month was a world-beater – but how has it fared over the last 25 years? WORDS: BERTIE SIMMONDS PHOTOS: GARY ‘D’ CHAPMAN BODYWORK Hard to find now in the colour you want. Tanks are the same/have the same bolt/ brace set up from RR-N/P/R/S (1992 to 1995) and changed from RR-T/V/W/X (1996-1999.) ELECTRICS Typical Honda: regulator/rectifiers are a pain and go pop. FRAME That great big beam frame is unprotected in spills: beware carbon-fibre frame protectors as they often hide dings in the frame… HEAD RACE BEARINGS Power wheelies and bad landings mean these take a hammering: check for a notchy feel when applying the brakes. EXHAUSTS Downpipes can rot, but you can get stainless replicas. End-cans that are original are…

Archive So sharp! PHOTO: MORTONS ARCHIVE Honda’s FireBlade was a revelation when it was launched in April 1992. With a single stroke, Honda’s CBR900RR had cut the opposition down to size and Yamaha’s FZR1000 EXUP, Suzuki’s GSX-R1100M and the smaller-capacity 750cc sportsbikes had been pushed back a whole generation. In this issue we cover the later RR-R/S model in both a road test and buyer’s guide – all celebrating the ‘Urban Tiger’ colour scheme which has become legend. If there’s a colour scheme that also defined the first versions of the Blade, it was the original 1992 launch colours of white/red/blue and this one – the black/gunmetal version, which was also later seen on later models. Depicted here is a legendary shot, originally published in our sister title Fast…

News Wonderful winter classic! It’s quite simply the best way to kick-start your motorcycling year: the Carole Nash Classic Bike Guide Winter Classic! Taking place over the wintry weekend of January 5-6 in 2019 at Newark Showground, the event offers a welcome respite from the hectic holiday season and a chance to get lost exploring, while checking out the hundreds of stunning classic bikes and scooters on display. Got some Christmas money left over? Then you’ll have plenty of opportunities to spend it at the mix of traders and auto-jumblers! Don’t forget that the popular Scooter World hall is a major part of the show, too! With many local and national clubs taking part. The show organisers are hoping to top their 2018 showing, which was the best Scooter World…

I want that one! I’m subscribing presently to CMM and always enjoy it for a good read. At the moment I am running a Honda VFR800F from 1998: I’ve had it 20 years from new and also a 2011-reg VFR1200F. I want to change the fork oil of the 1200 and I read in Ralph Ferrand’s column that he used a plastic non-marking spanner to undo the top nuts of the forks on his Kwak Z1300. Could you ask him perhaps where he got his spanner and does he, or any of you other guys, know where I can get a similar spanner? The top nut size of the 1200’s fork is 24mm thanks! Oh and this is the 800 on a ride up to Pas de la Casa in…

The Eddie Lawson Replica No racing series is as cool as the AMA series. From its roots in 1973, ‘Superbike Production’ covered capacities from 250 through to 1000cc and soon the big-bore class came to the fore. The first AMA Superbike championship came about in 1976 and was won by Reg Pridmore on a BMW R 90 S. Soon the Japanese wanted a slice of the action… Fast forward some years and the likes of Suzuki and Kawasaki are battling for wins and titles – honour was at stake. Tuner Rob Muzzy, who had been hired to build and tune Lawson’s Kawasaki when the rider joined the team in 1980, saw what happened when you put decent power through narrow tyres trying to control lots of weight through the flexi-frames…

RETRO REBOOT Yamaha GTS1000 R If Yamaha revisited the GTS, we can only hope it would be like this. WORDS AND IMAGES: KAR LEE @KARDESIGN In 1993, Yamaha gave us a glimpse of a possible future in the shape of the sports-touring GTS1000. Powered by a detuned FZR motor it is best remembered by the RADD front swingarm which separated suspension and steering tasks, along with an eye-watering initial purchase price that left little change from £10,000. It wasn’t a big seller, though one chap showed the bike’s true potential by racing it at the IOM TT (take a bow Steve Linsdell). Yamaha must be applauded for taking such a bold move in giving us the first mass-produced bike to feature such technology, as well as throwing ABS, a catalytic…

HAYNES PRINT & ONLINE PROJECT RICKUKI part 9 Rickuki’s return! Scoop pokes a sharpened stick at his long term project and waits for it to bite him on the… WORDS AND PHOTOS: STEVE COOPER If perchance you were wondering what might be happening with Project Rickuki then you’re not the only one! I’ve occasionally rediscovered the rolling chassis as I’ve gone looking for stuff around the garage and made a mental note that I really need to get back on it again. However, as I seem to be blessed with the retention span of a fish these days I often quickly then forgot about it. The fact is my good mate Dave, who volunteered to make the reed-valve carriers, has (over the course of several months) moved workshop, waited forever…

HAYNES PRINT & ONLINE Kawasaki GPz900R Scott Redmond once more looks at real-world spares prices from the bikes he breaks. This month, he buys a classic Kwacker… WORDS AND PHOTOS: SCOTT REDMOND I feel slightly awkward standing before my latest victim in the MotoRcom workshop. The Kawasaki GPz900R is one of those motorcycles that moved the motorcycling game on when it arrived in 1984 – but you have to remind yourself that at the time it was launched it sat alongside the last of the air-cooled monsters in the Kawasaki range. This leads me nicely into introducing this ‘mucked about with’ GPz900R. The previous owner stayed loyal to Kawasaki when looking for parts to aid his upgrade plans. The original front-end is long gone, replacing it is a set of…

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. Pete Felters’ Honda CB25T and CB550F Here are some pictures of the fruits of my labours over the past couple of years. My first venture was a Honda CB550F that was in fair condition when I bought it. The previous owner had fitted a new Motad exhaust and downpipes and the wheels were in very good nick. Unfortunately the…

READER RESTORATION V4 Victory! CMM reader John Digby has finally done it: he’s finished his second Honda V4… WORDS AND PHOTOS: JOHN DIGBY Those of you with long memories should remember John Digby and his brace of Honda VFR400 NC24s… John is a former two-stroke addict and former racer and off-road rider. His engineering background is impressive, having worked in the Formula One/ motorsport arena for almost 40 years, with teams such as Brabham, Honda and Red Bull, mainly in research and development. Around three years ago (and with the fullest blessing from the missus) he got back into motorcycling, but would it be a two-stroke? He says: “I really wanted another NSR400, which is a bike I had back in the day, but I soon realised that they are…

HONDA FireBlack CBR 900RR-R/S Urban, Timeless Honda’s seminal FireBlade rewrote the rules when it came out in 1992. For 1994/95, the bike was refined still further – and given a legendary coat of paint. Bertie Simmonds goes back in time… WORDS: BERTIE SIMMONDS PHOTOS: GARY D CHAPMAN I’ve always wondered why we are so caught up in time, our perception of it and how it changes the way we view things. Apparently, time is all relative according to physicists and the higher you are, the quicker you age. Which (for me at least) makes me wonder if the further up the ladder a motorcycle is when it is released, does this mean it becomes unfashionable more quickly? The reason I ask is here before me (and before you in pictures).…

The runts/pick of the litter… Without doubt the ‘original and best’ version of the Honda CBR900RR FireBlade is the one we would plump for – with the RR-R/S a close second. But what about the other versions of this seminal sportsbike? Well, we rather fancy that the 2002-2003 954cc FireBlade is a real coming classic. Not only was this Tadao Baba’s last hurrah as a chief designer, but the bike itself is a really well-balanced machine between power and handling. Despite giving away some cubic capacity to the-then 2002/03 model Suzuki GSX-R1000 K2 and 3 as well as the stunning Yamaha YZF-R1 of the same era, it often won road tests thanks to the fact that it wasn’t ‘too much’ on the road. Today you can get a 954 for…

HAYNES PRINT & ONLINE Project Yamaha YZF-R1 part 2 Now we R1! The three-time British Superbike champ and former 500cc GP legend Niall Mack said he wanted one: and he found one! WORDS AND PHOTOS: NIALL MACKENZIE. When it comes to anniversary hype the Yamaha R1 has to be up there with the best. And rightly so, considering the original format of producing a front-runner in the constantly evolving world of superbikes is still working well 20 years on. Even the mighty Fireblade had a few capacity changes over the years and there’s no hiding that it’s been far from successful in its most recent guise both in the showrooms and on the racetrack… Congrats also go to Yamaha UK who were on the ball anticipating this celebration by wheeling…

What to buy and how much to pay With the early models of FireBlade now rightly considered classics, prices of low-milers/clean machines have risen steadily in recent years. Bertie bought a rough one for under a grand back in 2010 which eventually turned out to be a French machine! Always check. Today the only machines you’ll get for around that amount of wonga will be horrendously butchered ‘streetfighters’. And by that we mean ones not tastefully or well done… The last of the 918.5cc models the RR-W and RR-X are perhaps the cheapest of the 16in Blades, and will start around £1500 for a good, complete one, which is still (just) the starting price for a similarly turned out RR-T/V, which is the improved version of the RR-R/S we see…

HAYNES PRINT & ONLINE Project Kawasaki Z1300 part 9 Fans, shims ‘n’ fings Ralph works on the Z13 again and provides us with the sort of verbose opening paragraph that even Steve Cooper would be proud of… WORDS AND PHOTOS: RALPH FERRAND I am here again at the altar of ‘sixual’ exuberance, providing a laying-on of hands to the immoderate beast hewn by those masters of ebullience, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and no machine they ever built fitted their full moniker more aptly. The superlative six has always been a Marmite bike and while I was always one who craved ownership of the sextuple beast, many detractors made much noise about the shortcomings that were inevitable with such a colossal contrivance. Love or hate the Z1300, no one ever called it…

HAYNES PRINT & ONLINE Project Honda CB750 K2 part 17 Tanks, mate! The slow process to completion continues as ‘Captain’ Mark Haycock makes his final ascent on his K2! WORDS AND PHOTOS: MARK HAYCOCK When looking over a prospective project bike, you will probably take a quick look inside the fuel tank and perhaps be slightly horrified by the unappealing sight. After years of storage the inside surface will be rusty and dirty, with possibly the remains of old fuel or at least deposits from it. This need not put you off as it can be sorted out, by applying a new lining. You might have heard a lot of stories about the fuel currently available from pumps damaging tanks and among the nonsense there is a small amount of…