Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2021 i Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

cmm Tested Riding kit worn, tools twirled & tyres turned NITRO N2300 UNO SATIN BLACK HELMET Nitro has come up trumps with the N2300 full face helmet at a remarkable price for a quality product. I have been wearing a whole range of helmets of late, some extremely pricey, so it is interesting how the Nitro has become an easy choice when popping out. I will tell you why. The custom designed multi-poly tech constructed shell features twin integrated front air vents with large contact points being particularly beneficial for ease of operation with gloved hands, and triple rear exhaust ports, so you are guaranteed ultimate heat dissipation. The comfort lining is removable and washable, and I like the micrometric buckle which offers easy adjustability. The quick-release visor comes pinlock…

STAR LETTER Those were the days! Ah, your article ‘Nifty Fifties’ in September’s issue took me back so vividly to some good times. I cut my teeth on a Puch Maxi ‘mashup’ and various denuded Honda Dogs (Cubs to give them their correct moniker), which we thrashed around the local park and open fields. Once legal, I hit the mean streets of Coventry on an AP50 that sported Kawasaki AR50 wheels, bikini fairing and tail piece. The AR donor bike was acquired by a previous owner in somewhat shady dealings. Alas, I only have one fuzzy picture of the black and red AP. However, even with a K&N air-filter, it was only good for 45mph! Yet, I never did get round to buying a Micron, which would have really finished…

RETRO SPECTIVE YAMAHA FJR1300 Lasting almost two decades in Yamaha’s line-up, the FJR was a quick and capable mile-muncher which now can be had for peanuts… WORDS: BERTIE SIMMONDS PICS: MORTONS ARCHIVE How time flies: the FJR – which only disappeared from Yamaha UK’s line-up last year – is 20 years old. I recall a very jolly jaunt on the first model to Tipperary and I loved the range, power, shaft-drive and the metal/plastic you got for your £9895. Oh, and especially the electric screen. I do, however, remember feeling that the seat wasn’t as comfortable as it could have been. Later models did get better, I have to say. Released at the end of 2000 for the 2001 model year, it was basically a replacement for the venerable and…

WORK SHOP cmm Project Ducati 400SS part 1 Dilapidated Duke! Kev’s Ducati 400SS project dragged on longer than Brexit, but with the BMW gone to a new home, the baby Duke is about to get some attention… WORDS: KEV RAYMOND PICS: CAROLE AND KEV RAYMOND Ever really wish you hadn't started something? I do. I've just realised that the little Ducati has been languishing in bits on the bench for over four years. And it's many more than that since it's been on the road. In fact, I've just found the last tax disc – from 2005… How did that happen? It's not even as if it needs all that much doing to get it up and running again. But there always seems to be something more important to do, keeping…

WORK SHOP cmm Project Yamaha TX750 part 13 Balancing act! Cheap and cheerful some of his tools may be (but they work), Mark is almost at the end of an exhausting process… WORDS AND PICS: MARK HAYCOCK Before I started the TX750 engine overhaul, I had noticed something wrong with the exhaust connection (Photo 1) and you can see the joint appears to be loose at the bottom, though it was not possible to tighten it further. This became an issue when removing the engine as the fixing would not loosen either, so the only way was to force it and this is the result (Photo 2). On each side, one bolt snapped off. Getting the remains of a bolt or stud can be tricky. The method which has always worked…

WORK SHOP cmm Project Yamaha TY80 part 2 Trial and error! Young Taylor, son of Niall, is moving forward with his trail-iron restoration. Here’s part two! WORDS AND PICS (HA, YEAH, RIGHT): TAYLOR MACKENZIE I finally got my hands on my original Yamaha TY-80. It’s almost untouched since the last time I rode it 15 years ago. Bizarrely for me the bike looked so much smaller than what I remembered of it. At the age of 10 I always pictured it as a big, heavy, smoky beast, but now back in my possession I can really appreciate it for what a cute little bike it is. When we arrived back in Ashby with the bike, Dad pulled it out and said: “Watch this,” as he tried to impress me with how…

cmm Archive CANADIAN COOL! WORDS: BERTIE SIMMONDS PICS: NICK NICHOLS/MORTONS ARCHIVE Two wheels, four wheels, skis: as long as it had an engine, Yvon Duhamel would race it hard – and win, too. This is why the super-cool French Canadian was the 1970 World Championship Snowmobile Derby winner and took part in NASCAR, AMA, ice racing, world endurance and dirt-track events, winning in most of the disciplines he entered. Of course, he will be most remembered as one of the men in green, batting with the fast and fearsome green Kawasaki triple two-strokes in AMA and Formula 750 races during the 1970s. Often Yvon would be finishing races or even winning them despite either injury to himself or even damage to his machine. Even more than most racers of his…

cmm News MOTORCYCLE LIVE RETURNS! Motorcycle Live, in association with Bikesure Insurance, will return to the NEC, Birmingham in 2021… and we can’t wait! Taking place from Saturday, December 4 to Sunday, December 12, the UK’s largest motorcycle show will welcome back the very best of the industry to delight, entertain and inform bike enthusiasts of all ages, and that includes lots of classics too! Motorcycle Live is going to be a spectacular nine-day event. There will be numerous opportunities to get on two wheels, interact with new features, technologies and displays, as well as see the return of the much-loved Custom and Classic Zones. Motorcycle Live is set to spread joy to showgoers of all ages. Race fans will also be able to meet their racing heroes, as stars…

the classic motocycle mechanics show Rising Sun shines on at Stafford John Wyatt, a legend in the restoration and Honda CB750 world, sadly passed away on June 22, but he will be remembered at Stafford with a superb award, Last year, before he passed away, John wanted to sponsor an award for the best restoration carried out by a young person, which was to be chosen by the concours judges at last year’s Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show. Clearly Covid put paid to that, but not the award – which will be a fitting legacy for John and his company, Rising Sun Restorations, at 2021’s show. So, the Rising Sun Award (named after John’s restoration company based in Wetherby, north Yorkshire) will be putting up a £300 prize for the best…

CLASSIC RIDE The Honda CB-1 400 story This bike owes its existence to the full-fat, race rep, Honda CBR400RR machine. Both the Tri-Arm NC23 (1987-1989) and the later Gull-Arm NC39 (1990-1999) became proven legends in Japan where the 400cc class was both ultra-competitive and decidedly cut-throat. For many Japanese riders the 400 class was the limit in terms of capacity. Japan’s notoriously difficult to pass 400cc+ bike licence meant the majority of enthusiasts stayed with the middleweights. This in turn meant there was a massive market potential for all the manufacturers to launch a wide range of models from existing platforms without all the attendant new-bike development costs. Taking the 400RR motor as a starting point changes were made to the race rep’s exhaust, ignition, camtiming and carburation to deliver…

WORK SHOP cmm Project Kawasaki ZRX1100 part 1 Tyrannosaurus SEX! Bertie’s been buying again… this time it’s a naked Jap muscle bike that really tugs at his heart strings! WORDS AND PICS: BERTIE SIMMONDS Losing a few friends recently has given me a changed outlook on life: live for today, do (almost) what you want… Agree? I’ve had some lovely bikes in the past, and sold them due to financial constraints – including project bikes for CMM, but a windfall has meant I’ve gone chasing what I’ve lost before: I want my modern classic ‘dream garage’ back. Of course, I have the lovely Italian Aprilia V-twin Tuono R, and now I’ve got this Kawasaki ZRX1100R. So it’s just the sports bike and tourer to buy… Back in 2006 I had a…

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WORK SHOP cmm Project Triumph Daytona 1200 part 4 The grand finale! Our Andy seems to be on an all carb diet! But when he’s got the Trumpet sorted he gets shot of her! WORDS AND PICS: ANDY BOLAS The bike is together, we have had it on the road, the painter did an excellent job on the bodywork, and I’ve even managed to get a single seat cover in the right colour! While we were road-testing the big Daytona a few issues were highlighted. The cooling system ejects water out of the expansion tank and the fueling isn’t good higher up the rev range – possibly down to the corrosion in the one carb body. I had suspicions regarding the thermostat so that was where I started and, sure enough,…

STAFFORD IS GO! Don’t plan anything for the weekend of October 9-10 as you’re going to The 28th Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show. After a year’s grace (thank you Covid) we are back on, at an event that promises to be bigger and better than ever. We will celebrate the popularity of modern classics from the 1970s, 80s, 90s and even the early noughties – following as we do the VJMC’s 15-year rule. Taking place at the Staffordshire County Showground (ST18 0BD in your sat-nav) the event features special guest Michael Dunlop, the 19-times TT race winner and member of the legendary Dunlop dynasty. He will be quizzed by compere Steve Plater throughout the weekend. For more on the weekend, go to page 30 and www.staffordclassicbikeshows.com Remember, tickets are on sale…

the classic motocycle mechanics show Super Stafford! We can’t wait – and it’s about ruddy time. We can finally invite you all to the biggest modern classic motorcycle event in the UK and it promises to be a Covid-free corker! WORDS: BERTIE SIMMONDS PICS: GARY D CHAPMAN, PACEMAKER PRESS Empty your diaries for the weekend of October 9-10 as you’ve got somewhere to be: The 28th Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show… After what seems a lifetime away (okay, it’s only since 2019) we are BACK and going to bring you the best of modern classic motorcycling. We celebrate the growing popularity of emerging and modern classics from the 1970s, 80s, 90s and even the early noughties – following as we do the VJMC’s 15-year rule. Taking place at the superb Staffordshire…

CLASSIC RIDE FOUR-ZA HONDA! We ride a rare grey import middleweight that’s descended from a full-on (small) sports bike that almost has an exotic air. Welcome to the Honda CB-1! WORDS: STEVE COOPER PICS: GARY D CHAPMAN It’s not been long since we’ve been let out to play post lockdown and we have a delightful Japanese middleweight to ride and photograph before the ominous-looking clouds begin to empty. However, we also have a very enthusiastic 50-something who wants to tell us about his bikes that “looked exactly like that but were Suzukis – or was it Yamahas?”. He’s desperately well-intentioned but hasn’t a clue about social distancing or the bikes he’s owned, so now seems like a good time to press the button and warm up the motor. The subtly…

MAIN TEST ch-ch-ch-ch-changes Ti mes, theywere a-changing back in the late 1960s and into the1970s as European brands were taken on by those pesky Japanese motorcycles. Howdo they compare today? We ride BMW’sR90 Sand Norton’sCommando 850 against Kawasaki’sH1500 Mach III and Honda’s revolutionary CB750 Four allon Bridgestone’snew BT-46 tyre! WORDS AND PICS: COURTESY OF BRIDGESTONE The idea is fascinating. Take two examples of traditional European engineering and technology from the 1960s and early 1970s and bring them face-to-face with a pair of revolutionary Japanese bikes from the same era. You might think the outcome is a simple one, reflecting traditional motorcycling history: the difference between ‘Old School’ and ‘New Wave’ approaches to motorcycle design and manufacture. The almost stagnant thinking of European factories against the innovative dynamism of manufacturers from…

cmm Moto marvel! Award-winning motorcycle engineer! Allen Millyard It’s been great to go to some shows since the coronavirus restrictions have been relaxed, and it is particularly nice to be able to actually talk to people face to face for real rather than in the virtual world on a computer screen. The first few have been at Sammy Miller’s Museum in the New Forest. Firstly I took the RC374 for the Honda Owners Club day and then I was invited to the grand opening of the new museum extension by the Duke of Richmond a few weeks later, both times riding the RC374 with Sammy on a short track in the car park. I was pleased when the engine fired up straight away, especially because I can’t really run it…

WORK SHOP cmm Project Kawasaki Hybrid part 9 In the firing line! It’s all getting rather dangerously close to being sorted, sayeth the Scoop: famous last words, we reckon! WORDS AND PICS: STEVE COOPER It’s an ill wind that blows no one any good as the saying goes and throughout the 2020 lockdown Ian Bird, staunch fellow that he is, made substantial progress on the 250/500 Kawasaki hybrid. The embargo on unnecessary travel, cessation of social interaction and the generally hermit-like existence we’ve all had to experience hasn’t been fun. However, when I wasn’t allowed out to play Ian didn’t have me getting under his feet, looking in all the wrong boxes for stuff he already had to hand, asking stupid questions and/or generally getting in the way – every cloud…

BUYER’S GUIDE Laverda SF750 Welcome to this lovely latino! Steve Cooper introduces us to a 750 twin like no other! WORDS: STEVE COOPER PICS: GARYCHAPMAN Throughout the 1950s Moto Laverda built stunning, small capacity motorcycles that were well respected as being both reliable and quite fast enough. Having grown off the back off the parent company that made agricultural machinery the two-wheeled side was doing well. However, it was obvious that larger-capacity machines were needed in order to grow the business on. Massimo Laverda had been in the USA studying and had been intrigued by American motorcycle culture, in the land where ‘there ain’t no substitute for cubes’. The young Italian had witnessed first-hand the apparent obsession with large-capacity motors. Harleys and big Brit twins were the machines of choice…

WORK SHOP cmm Project Kawasaki Z900 Stocker Part 3 Stripping yarn! He’s a bit back-to-front this month, is our Ralph, but please hang in there, as he will be stripping at the end… WORDS AND PICS: RALPH FERRAND This month I am kicking off by preparing the rear wheel hubs for their visit to Manchester last month. Yes, I am slightly out of synch, but despite a common belief, in my own personal world, I do make mistakes. I’d be grateful if you would be kind enough to forgive me while I indulge in a spot of time travel… First up I pulled the sprocket carrier from the rear wheel and skipped the elderly and hard cush-drive rubbers. They hadn’t had an especially arduous life and the drive wasn’t sloppy, but…