Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2016 i Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

VISION GSX-R750 This comes from our colleagues at More Bikes and we are intrigued! The picture is from Young Machine magazine in Japan and we’re not sure if we love the quirky looks or not! Called the ‘Vision GSX-R’ the bike is a computer-generated image of where Suzuki may be thinking the future of the GSX-R range lies. It’s thought that the idea for this machine stems from a set of patents on a new version of the original bike’s air/oil-cooled motor. Why Suzuki would entertain such a thing in a modern world of Euro 4 and soon Euro 5 legislation remains to be seen, but as a standalone concept it is kinda quirky! ■ For more up-to-the-minute news, head to www.morebikes.co.uk…

RIDE 2 RELEASED! If you’re at a loss as to what to do this winter, we would suggest you steal your child/ grandchild’s Xbox One or PS4 and play this. Ride 2 is a video game with more than 200 playable ‘real-world’ motorcycles Sure, it’s probably the only place you or I would be able to ride a supercharged, £50,000 Kawasaki H2R, but we like playing it for the old, modern classics included in the game. These include some corkers, such as the Aprilia RS250 and 125 from the 1990s, Bimota’s Tesi 1D and V-Due, the Cagiva Mito 125, Ducati 916, Honda’s NS400R of 1985, RC30 and RC45, Kawasaki’s KR1-S of 1990 and ZXR750 of 1989, Suzuki’s RGV250, RG500, SRAD and TL1000R and Yamaha’s OW-01, RZ/D500R, a few TZRs and…

Show us vours 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. John Banks’ Yamaha RD400C Here is my restored Yamaha RD400C, which I purchased from Classic Motorcycles two years ago. Most of the parts were ‘new old stock’, I also had new shocks as the originals had seized solid. I dreamed ofowning this bike in the 1970s. My cousin Tony Meeres had one and at thetimeI went for a Kawasaki…

Yamaha DT175 MX part 3 Powder your nose The DT is coming along nicely, reckons Ralph. Time to powder-coat this trail-iron! WORDS AND PHOTOS: RALPHFERRAND The work on the baby dirt bike carries on apace this month. There’s been lots and lots of prep which is less exciting than putting stuff back together, but just as necessary. The bike came with no rear light and I managed to find a slightly doggy example in France. For some reason there seems to be more DT bits in France and Germany than in the UK, even though DTs were pretty popular here. As with all classic bikes there are lots of bits across the pond, but one has to be careful with US DT parts, as there are quite a lot differences…

Project Ducati 888 part 4 Twin tweaks! MF’s saucy Bologna bullet is really coming together now and isn’t far off completion! WORDS AND PHOTOS: MARK FORSYTH It’s been pretty hectic lately. Good hectic, though. I’ve managed to get so much stuff done to the 888 over the past few weeks it’s hard to know where to start: the beginning, I s’pose. Because I wanted to have a really good look at every inch of the frame I stripped all the old white powder coating off with a heat gun and scraper. It must have taken me the best part of 40 hours. Sat in the middle of a pile of stinking, crispy plastic, the sense of achievement when it was all back to bare metal was indescribable. Or maybe that…

Project Kawasaki ZRX1100 part 14 Two wheels on my wagon… This is starting to have more ‘parts’ than a 747. We’ve told him to hurry up. Alan Dowds on his ZRX1100… WORDS AND PHOTOS: ALAN DOWDS I normally start these pieces by apologising for it being so long since the last update. But I’m sick of starting off on the back foot every month, so no excuses this time. I will give reasons though. I’d promised our esteemed editor, Bertie the Burly Effendi, I’d not send any more words until I’d made some serious progress. And here we are! The ZRX engine is in the frame, the bike is off at the turbo pipe fabricators’ workshop, and as an aside, some old friends from central Europe have sorted me out…

SCOOPERMAN! The sunny side of the classic world, with the VJMC’s Steve Cooper Assumptions can be very dangerous things but most of us make them every single day. The road ahead will be free of loose gravel, I won’t get a puncture, it’s unlikely I’ll need my waterproofs, the bike won’t foul a plug etc. To be honest if you’re into or past your fourth decade on this planet the chances are you can make these calls based on experience. Assumptions are generally only hazardous when our leap of faith is just a little too far beyond what’s reasonable. If you’re telling yourself that there won’t be a broken down car around the apex of that blind bend or that the slack chain won’t come off the sprocket then that’s…

Ralph’s ride Just to help Ralph Ferrand out with his restoration. The reason we extended the swingarm was so the we could fit a 400 section tyre in place of the standard 3.50. You’ll find the engine responds really well toabit of tuning! Geoff Hastings I see you’re rebuilding a Yamaha DT175 MX, Ralph. I have the very same bike in the same colour scheme which has gone through a full restoration. If you’re going to Stafford this weekend, the good news is that my bike will be on the VJMC stand (with Andy Bolas) if you fancy a look round it and a natter on some of the finer points of the work Ihad done. I will be there all weekend so give me a ring. I have included…

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! We’ve all got a picture of the bike we wished we hadn’t sold and Ian Smith is no exception. He wishes he’d never sold his Yamaha XS1100 Martini, the distinctive shaft drive having been sold many moons ago. Now to get him anywhere, anytime and anyplace he’s got a faired Honda CX500 to do the job! ‘Honest Sam’ from Allsorts Engineering says: “Here you are Bertie! A few shots ofme circa 1983 doing the plank on my 1981, gold-rimmed Yamaha XT500! It’s 1973 and Jonathan Heppell liked to add sensible extras to his Yamaha. The…

Model history The 350 twin proved to be the catalyst for a rejuvenated Morini offering both Sports and Strada options with different compression ratios, camshaft, seats and bars. When dealers opined they want more of the same but bigger the factory responded with the physically larger 500 which should have been the answer yet strangely failed to grab the corresponding sales. If Morini had shoehorned the 500 motor into the 350 frame as some devotees subsequently have it might just have been the ideal machine. However, by applying a little lateral thought 250 singles were evolved off the back of the 500 twin and then when a 250 V-twin was offered this logically provided a 125cc single. Subsequent upgrades saw restyling of the road machines, dirt bikes (Kanguro and Camel)…

POCKET POWER HOUSE Almost 20 years ago the supersport 600 class was turned on its head with the arrival of a rip-snorting, rev-happy beast. But how has does the R6 fare today? WORDS: BERTIE SIMMONDS PHOTOS: GARY ‘D’ CHAPMAN, MORTONS ARCHIVE, YAMAHA UK If you have even a passing interest in the current motorcycle scene you can’t have missed the fact that many people are discussing the supposed death of the 600cc supersport class. This is due to Honda deciding not to make any more CBR600RRs, a race and track-focused middleweight which many of us would find too finicky and focused to ride on the road. Euro 4 regulations are such that there just isn’t the money in it to develop a new model, being as developing such a machine…

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 send in your own tips too. Honda CB250RSA Café Racer Q: I’m building a CB250RSA based cafe racer and want to fit a physically smaller battery. The bike has a 12N94B1 as standard – it is the kick start model. What amp hour rating would be the minimum that I could safely use to get a smaller battery? Mark via email A: That standard battery is rated at 12v 9.5Ah, which is quite generous if no electric start is involved. You could reduce the size, but…

Making connections part 3 Block tactics! The Ralph masterclass continues, this time with his take on using those useful block connectors. WORDS AND PHOTOS: RALPH FERRAND Last month I explored single wire connectors, but this month I am going to look at multi-conductor connectors often referred to as multi-blocks. There are numerous connectors out there, but I shall be concentrating on the most common ones which are readily available. Some period multi-blocks are pretty much unobtainable nowadays, though pattern loom makers seem to be able to get their hands on special multi-blocks, for commonly requested looms such as Kawasaki Z1, where they probably get the connectors specially made. Most of the multi-block connectors for 70s and 80s motorcycles are readily available, though getting the different colours can be expensive. When…

Make do & mend! This month Stan gives us three repairs/remedies to three popular two-stroke models. Take it away Stan! WORDS AND PHOTOS: STAN STEPHENS I often have to sort out some pretty horrendous issues with motors before I can even get inside and see what I need to do. Here are three I’ve recently come across. Yamaha RD250LC crankcase repair A customer arrived at my workshop with his son to deliver an LC250 engine. The son had bought the LC for his dad (I wish my sons did that sort of thing!). Dad didn’t sound too grateful though, he said the bike was a dog and the engine certainly looked it. They wanted the engine all rebuilt with genuine Yamaha parts and all the steel parts zinc plated in…

Updating ignition and generator systems New sparks for old? Scoop reckons it could be a good idea. WORDS AND PHOTOS: STEVE COOPER When does common sense take over from authenticity? At what point does practicality out-trump pedantry? What’s more important to you – historical accuracy or usability? Ultimately these questions all revolve around what you want from an old bike. But if the open road is your ultimate aim then surely you give your classic the best you can afford? No-one with an ounce of savvy uses low-rent oil, cheap tubes or tyres etc. So why compromise on key components? Know that our classic machinery is decades old now and marvel that the electrics are still functioning with any degree of reliability. A contemporary British Leyland or Vauxhall car will…

Next month HONDA VTR1000 SP-1: Mark Forsyth rides Honda’s 916-beater! MOTO GUZZI CALIFORNIA: Steve Cooper on this long-lived legend. YAMAHA RD350LC SPECIAL: It’s a fizzy, bubbly beauty… HONDA CB360: John Nutting MIRA Files this Seventies icon, while Scoop gives us the lowdown with a buying guide! YAMAHA RD500LC: Two-stroke legend Quick Spinned! WORKSHOP: Wiring part four, repairing a rusty seat base and much more! PROJECT BIKES: Stan Stephens Project Brooklands, Bertie finally gets his ar… er arms into gear with his Kawasaki GPz900R! Paul Berryman on his Suzuki DR600, Mike ‘Spike’ Edwards reviews the Yamaha FZ600 racing resto, Jim Lindsay gets on with his Ducati 996 and Ralph Ferrand gets close to finishing his Yamaha DT175 MX. AND MUCH MORE! DON’T MISS IT!* January issue on sale: DECEMBER 14 SUBSCRIBE…

Miniature masterpieces! Christmas is a-coming (well, this is the December issue, after all…) so should you be suffering from any major withdrawal symptoms having finished all your restorations and rebuilds, try a Tamiya… These classic kits come in all shapes, sizes and models, with the 1:12 series featuring anything from Honda’s CB750F, Ducati’s 888 racer (sadly in a Doug Polen version, not Mark Forsyth version, see page 82 for more) a Kawasaki ZX-12R (see page 8) Honda RC166 racer, XV1000 Virago, 500cc GP race bikes and Katana and R1 flavours – including the modern Kawasaki H2R. Prices go from £15-£43 depending on where you get ’em, but it’s a great way of spending a few nights away from the Christmas repeats on telly. ■ For more go to: www.hobbyco.net…

PIP HIGHAM Pip reckons the nose knows! As Loudon Wainwright the Third alluded to in the classic Dead Skunk “You can feel it in your olfactory” that’ll be the pong, the niff, stink or just plain old smell, the one sense that’s always awake, even when you’re out cold. It’s okay to have a digital vernier and a fancy ‘Fluke’ meter to wave at your chums accompanied by cries of ‘there you go, I told you it was fried/buckled/toasted/skuttered!’ but personally I prefer my hooter to lead the way. Sniff around in a freshly liberated sump for starters, you might get essence of roasted clutch, generator winding fricassee or possibly just concentrated unleaded; they all leave a unique, er, footprint. Ever since I first vaporised the motor in my Hornby…

FEEDBACK 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. Happy memories! I’ve just been reading about Scoop’s RD and it reminded me of a problem I had a few years back. Having been without a bike for a number of years, due to getting married, I saw a Yamaha RS100…

You fools November 2016 has a few errors in ‘The best of 1979’ feature. The CB900 wasn’t a 902cc engine it was 901cc. And talking of capacity, on Page 58 where the GSX1100 is mentioned, it wasn’t 1072cc, it was 1074cc. Later ones grew to 1135cc. We then get treated to a real anomaly in the workshop article about the CB750 K2 when the article mentions: “The four-into-two exhaust system is very interesting with some crossover pipework under the engine so that cylinders one and three and two and four are joined together, exiting on the right and left respectively”. So, we look at the photo and it pretty clearly shows pipes one and four sharing the right hand silencer and pipes two and three sharing the left hand cylinder.…

That’s my bike – VF500FII owner David Sheppard “It came with a lot of paperwork and all MoTs since 1989. I bought it with just over 3000 miles on it, I’ve only put on just under another 3000. It’s a lovely-looking bike!” If you know David Sheppard, who’s a retired trademark search specialist from Hayes, near Bromley in Kent, it will come as no surprise to find he owns a Honda VF500F V4 among his eclectic collection of machines. Born in Devon – he’s now 68 – Dave is a keen Vespa fan. He was given his first bike, a Vespa Clubman which he restored, then bought another Vespa, a top-of-the-range 1965 SS180 and joined the Crystal Palace branch of the Vespa Club of Britain where he met his future…

Rattle-cans Paint in rattle or aerosol cans is so damn convenient but it can also be truly annoying just when you need it most. New cans are generally fine but part used examples can often fail to work properly even if you cleaned out the nozzle by inverting the can last time. Post spraying, clean out all the residual paint in the top of can with a clean rag, some thinners and a blunt tool. Do not dig around with the can’s valve or you’ll paint your eyeballs! The actuating nozzle is normally the source of most issues and soaking it in thinners will liberate huge amounts of fast congealing paint. Hopefully you’ll never swear at a rattle can again! Oh, and for better coating/coverage when spraying, try warming up…

Project Suzuki DR600 part 6 Sorry for the poor timing This month PB realises he’s just found the lower limit of his mechanical talent, and issues a public apology. WORDS AND PHOTOS: PAUL BERRYMAN Last time out our DR600 had just enjoyed a complete top-end refresh in an attempt to find the colossal amount of oomph missing from its power curve. The big thumper had measured a paltry 26.7bhp on MSG Racing’s dyno prior to the refresh, against an expectation nearer 40. The subsequent refresh involved a re-bore, a 1mm oversize piston to give 13 extra cc and also afailed attempt to set the cam timing correctly. With running-in complete, it’s clear that the DR is a lot better than it was. It was also pretty clear that we hadn’t…

BIKE BUYER Make or Break REVISTED! What’s happened over the last five years to bike prices? Scott Redmond reprises his role as judge, jury and executioner to a range of bikes he used to ‘make or break’. WORDS AND PHOTOS: SCOTT REDMOND It’s funny how things change over the course of just five years. When I started the regular ‘Make or Break’ column, showcasing what I’d bought, why and what I was planning to do with it, it reflected the then-current state of the market. And how it’s changed, or not. It’s interesting now to look back on what I bought, for how much and what these bikes would go for now. Pull up a jerry can, let’s adjust those rose-tinted goggles and chew the motorcycle-buying fat. Suzuki GSX-R7/11 Specials…