Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2022 i Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Still crazy after 30 years! Remember those bikes that just seem to be – and always have been – crazy and as mad as a box of frogs? They come and go in a generation and can even defy cubic capacity, so they don’t even need to be big-bore machines. I mean – I so recall riding a YPVS for the first time and thinking that it was a completely mad machine with a mental powerband that blew my mind away. But then I also remember riding a Kawasaki GPz900R for the first time in the early 1990s and not being that impressed. I guess it’s all relative, eh? That said, I do recollect having a pop on my mate’s round-headlight Yamaha FZR600. I was still in my teens. It…

cmm Stuff The latest riding kit, top tools, tyres, retro clothing and more! LS2 PIONEER EVO ADVENTURER The Pioneer Evo Adventurer dual sport helmet now comes in Matt Black/Orange and Black/White, reflecting the colour schemes found on many of the popular adventure sport bikes. It comes in three outer shell sizes, to give a close fit across the eight sizes available. For an ultra-clear view of road and trail, the quick-release visor is Pinlock-ready and a drop-down sun visor is also fitted. You’ve got a breathable, hypoallergenic lining and an excellent ventilation system. The Pioneer Evo Adventurer comes in sizes XXS-3XL. www.ls2helmets.com OPTIMATE DUO CHARGERS Motorcycle batteries take a hammering at this time of year, but OptiMate Duo battery chargers automatically detect whether the battery is AGM or Lithium and…

cmm News BSA IS BACK! This legendary marque makes its return in 2022 with a new version of that old favourite, the Gold Star! The last BSA rolled off the production line back in 1973, while the Gold Star itself ceased production in the 1960s, but from March you can buy a brand-new Gold Star 652cc DOHC single-cylinder motorcycle, but one which is thoroughly modern. This retro machine has been developed in the UK but will be manufactured in India by BSA’s owners, the Mahindra Group. The Rotax-derived motor itself pumps out around 45bhp at 6000rpm and 41lb/ft. of torque at 4000rpm. Despite the liquid-cooling, fins on the motor give the impression of an old-style air-cooled lump and is held in place by a tubular steel dual cradle chassis, with…

FEEDBACK Moving on to the end of February, why not head to The Bristol Classic MotorCycle Show over the weekend of February 26-27? CMM’s very own Allen Millyard will be there with some of his amazing machines. Held at The Royal Bath and West Showground, hundreds of classic machines will be on display, as well as the indoor/outdoor trade and auto-jumble and some top club displays. As per usual, for ticket info and to keep up with what’s happening (just in case, you know what Covid-19 is like) go to: www.classicbikeshows.com WIN! EVERY MONTH We’re giving away a brace of top prizes. For the Star Letter, it is a Key Collection bike goody of some description, be it gloves, helmet, jacket, jeans or boots, and for the semi-Star Letter it’s…

RETRO RIDE Going green! The latest in a line of modern-dressed-as-classic is the Kawasaki Z650RS – but can it hold a candle to the original? WORDS: ROSS MOWBRAY PICS: KAWASAKI For many CMM readers, the Kawasaki Z650 represents something very special indeed. The ‘Son of Z1’ was seen by many as the sweeter motorcycle over the original Zed, and – so loved is this four-cylinder middleweight – many readers will baulk at the thought that this twin-cylinder ‘pretender’ can get anywhere near the original 1977 Z650 B1, but please read on… Firstly, retro bikes are clearly big business and following on from the Z900RS of a few years back, it makes perfect sense for Kawasaki to go for a middleweight version based on the capable Z650 platform. The Z650 is…

RETRO REBOOT APRILIA TUONO R Okay, so this is more of a retro repaint than a retro reboot or even a retro-spective, but our Bert needs the help of an expert to choose a scheme for his naked V-twin… WORDS: BERTIE SIMMONDS IMAGES: KAR LEE For my project Aprilia Tuono R, I really do need an historic paint scheme, something that celebrates the history – and perhaps even the racing history – of this prestigious and proud Italian motorcycle manufacturer. I have to say that, even having been in the motorcycle industry for almost three decades, it is surprising to know that Aprilia has been around since the end of World War II. Okay, so the manufacturer built its first proper two-wheeler in 1968 and has only been building ‘big’…

WORK SHOP Any port in a storm! And breathe out – in part two of our two-stroke know-how, we look at how strokers get rid of exhaust gases by looking at exhaust ports! WORDS AND PICS: ROB PEMBERTON WITH STEVE COOPER Firstly, apologies for the hiatus between the introductions to Spa Motorcycles’ two-stroke guru Rob Pemberton and this part two: the Covid 19 pandemic forced us to stop any workshop interaction. We’re on the case again now but still observing the appropriate protocols, etc. We’re back with the ‘man that can’ and looking inside the sooty, carbon-encrusted world of two-stroke exhaust ports. As previously mentioned the apparently simple two-stroke is, in reality, a complex beast with multiple and often conflicting requirements. Altering one facet of its construction will almost certainly…

WORK SHOP Project Honda CBR600F-V track bike part 2 Minion miles an hour! Our man Bolas carries on with his track-day Honda CBR600RR-V, well (ahem) he and his ‘minions’ do! WORDS AND PICS: ANDY BOLAS Simple solutions: Separate parts on strip down in old takeaway boxes. Simple solutions: Wemoto do full brake refurb kits for many models! We now have the 600 in the workshop and outside the workshop too there are bits of CBR everywhere at the moment as you can see in the pictures. Everything has come apart with no hitches; nothing has snapped or broken which is good. We have found the best way to remove the engine from the steel frame CBR is to support the engine on the bike lift and lift the frame off the motor.…

Blade turns 30 We have to hand it to Honda for one of the colour schemes on the latest Honda Fireblade. Now, you’ll see we celebrate 30 years of the FireBlade (cap B until 2004) on pages 6 and 7, but one of the original colour schemes is making a return on this latest version of the CBR1000RR. Being a modern bike, we’re not that bothered about the spec but apparently these modern Blades go very fast and this one has been breathed on for more mid-range and better acceleration: like it needs it with 214bhp – around double what the original 1992 bike came out with… What would almost make us want to buy one is this ‘special edition’ version with paint inspired by that beautiful original. We love…

STAR LETTER Grazzi Guzzi! Hi CMM! It was nice to see an article on the Moto Guzzi V50. It mentioned a variety of versions, but omitted the coolest version of them all – the ‘V50 NATO’! This model was produced for the Dutch Army to replace its aging Triumphs. So that squaddies didn’t get too carried away, it had a lower compression ratio (to run on poorer quality fuel) smaller valves, weedy carbs and a lower final drive. What it got in return were swanky large leather pannier bags, very useful for fetching beer and/or top secret documents (the British Army had to make do with small, smelly canvas ones); convoy running lights; useful for, er, convoys; and a complete absence of chrome (nice green paint job) and a ‘Fisher…

CLASSIC RIDE Delicious delinquent! Hurrah for the hooligan class! Back in the 1980s and 1990s there was only one place to go for the ultimate in sports middleweight fixes – especially if you wanted a two-stroke four-stroke! WORDS: ANDY BOLAS PICS: GARY D CHAPMAN, MORTONS ARCHIVE, YAMAHA UK “Let’s see if this almost 30-year-old bike can still excite! Is it as crazy as it was all those years ago? Oh yes! It still has that delinquency in its DNA!” You know what readers, I can’t actually remember the last time I saw an FZR600 out on the road, at a track day or at a show. Where have they all gone? I guess when you actually think about it, lots of them would have been raced, rallied, ruined and otherwise…

Breaking BAD Honda Hornet 600 Hailed as one of the best of the early naked middleweights, Honda sold a LOT of the first-generation CB600F Hornets – so many have been broken, right Scottie? WORDS AND PICS: SCOTT REDMOND Simple solutions: Check what parts go for big bucks with a simple auction site search… WORDS AND PICS: SCOTT REDMOND Budget biking doesn’t come much more basic than the Honda CB600F Hornet, which means they attract penny-pincher owners who tend to run them until they stop. Will anyone ever restore a humble Hornet? In time I guess anything is possible. This bright yellow Hornet arrived with a current MoT and a full tank of fuel! Its previous owner told me the head gasket was gone, which of course it wasn’t! It had been…

WORK SHOP SHAPE SHIFTERS! Whatever you do, please do not call these ‘Monkey Wrenches’ in front of our Pip! WORDS AND PICS: PIP HIGHAM As a tousle-haired youth in the Merchant Navy two pieces of kit were essential in the engine room on ‘The Southern Cross’. These were a wheel key (used to crack open or tighten down recalcitrant valves fitted with round handles, sometimes hot, always greasy) and a 10-inch Bahco shifter. A Bahco shifter is like the Levi’s of the jeans world, being the best at an affordable price. Back in the day (when you had to enter a red metal box if you wanted to ring somebody up) the selection process was simple. You picked a size, generally in two-inch increments from six inches up, and that…

WORK SHOP Project Yamaha FZS600 Fazer part 7 Silver service! Last time we spoke to him, Al had got his manky old barn find Fazer 600 up and running (roughly), MoT’d and insured – just before lockdown struck! What did he get up to with the scruffy silver Yam while the world fell apart? WORDS AND PICS: ALAN DOWDS Simple solutions: Rattle-can spraying? Warm the can in water pre-shake! Simple solutions: Always check out the main parts suppliers for refurb kits. Simple solutions: Look, just go to wemoto.com as they do so much stuff! Of course, getting the Fazer 600 running and MoT’d wasn’t the end of this job; it probably just about counts as the beginning of the end. Truth is, it might have been running, but it still looked like a…

cmm Archive Firestarter! WORDS: BERTIE SIMMONDS PICS: BERTIE SIMMONDS/MORTONS ARCHIVE Can it really be 30 years – three whole decades – since the first Honda CBR900RR FireBlade burst on to the scene? Way back in 1992, this bike really did set a match to the previous way of designing a big sportsbike. Before the FireBlade, marketing men decided the avenue for the next model and, invariably, it was always a case of ‘bigger and faster is better’! Not so, said engineer, former racer and (eventual) project leader Tadao Baba. For too long, he argued, big sportsbikes were about going fast, more in a straight line than around the corners as a racer; he wanted the thrill of the corner to be the most important part of sportsbike design. To this…

News CANCELLED! Winter Classic Cancelled! We are so sorry, but we had to cancel the Classic Bike Guide Winter Classic motorcycle show. Annually held at Newark Showground, this event was due to be held over the weekend of January 8/9 2022 but the dreaded C-word took hold. Yup, the surge in Omicron variant cases across the UK and Europe, along with a government-predicted tidal wave of infections for the New Year, meant that we had to cancel the event as safety of staff and visitors was always going to be our number one priority. All tickets and trade bookings will be refunded. For visitors, contact our Customer Services team on 01507 529529 or email customerservices@mortons.co.uk. Meanwhile, for trade get in touch with the Shows Team on 01507 529430 or email…

CMM BIKE OF THE YEAR READER’S SPECIAL Snowballing six! CMM reader Andrew Ellis had kept his Honda CBX1000Z for around 40 years, but then decided to get it back on the road. Things snowballed from there! WORDS: ANDREW ELLIS PICS: ANDREW ELLIS, HELEN SARGENT riginally I wanted to write to Classic Motorcycle Mechanics after the ‘Sexy Sixes’ feature in the May 2021 issue. Obviously I wanted to tell the Editor that he does a fine job in the role on such a great magazine, and so I forwarded some words and pictures via my partner Helen’s email on my bike, hoping for some sort of showing in the ‘Show Us Yours’ section of the magazine. But then things snowballed… literally! This would be the first time I had ever written…

CLASSIC RIDE saucy scrambler! Part tiddler, part street scrambler, but wholly cute: we sample a rare Suzuki – the ACC100. WORDS: STEVE COOPER PICS: GARY D CHAPMAN The Japanese motorcycle industry of the mid-60s and very early 70s was nothing if not multifaceted. Make a simple yet structurally rigid chassis, develop a strong engine and then add a large spoonful of strategically engineered artistic licence. The result was a range or panoply of models that all ran the same basic DNA yet, with some aesthetic artifice, they all managed to look surprisingly different from each other. From commuters through to stylish street bikes and on to street scramblers, it was an extremely successful way of maximising returns on a single basic design. This month’s Classic Ride is a Suzuki ACC100…

WORK SHOP Project Kawasaki Z900 Stocker part 6 Buttoning up the box! Ralph’s moving on at pace with his stock restoration of Kawasaki’s Z900: what’s happening this month, Ralph? WORDS AND PICS: RALPH FERRAND After playing with the fuelling of my stock Z900, this month I am going to prepare and nail together the bottom-end. Whatever cleaning has been used on an engine unit, even none, the first, and I have to be honest, fairly tedious job is to clean out all the threaded holes in all the castings. It is not one of my favourite tasks as there are so many of them, but bitter experience in the past has taught me that the failure to do this tiresome chore can lead to considerable gnashing of teeth and use…

BUYER’S GUIDE Yamaha DT360 – RT-1/2/3 Yamaha’s first big bore, two-stroke trail bike breaks cover but what’s it like to buy and own, asks Steve Cooper? WORDS: STEVE COOPER PHOTOS: GARY ‘D’ CHAPMAN It’s a well-established fact that when Yamaha whipped the covers of the DT-1 trail bike at the 1967 Tokyo Motorcycle Show, the bike world was slack-jawed. Here was a purpose-made trail bike from Japan and made for series production rather than being essentially hand-built as were the Spanish and Scandinavian bikes of the time. The 250 single had been in development since 1966 and on American soil but no one had spotted it. Sales of the first genuine Japanese trail bike began in 1968 and Yamaha was inundated with orders. Knowing it was on to a good…

WORK SHOP Project Suzuki S32 part 2 Mouse trap! Part two of the saga of Pip’s S32 Suzuki and the plot thickens, carbs get sorted, things don’t get rechromed, nothing gets repainted, and no polishing mops were injured in this process… WORDS AND PICS: PIP HIGHAM Simple solutions: Use your noddle: sometimes previous fixes will need to be 'redone'. Given the extent of the lacquering in the bottom-end of the motor I’m expecting similar stuff in the carbs. Yup, I’m not disappointed, they are a bit manky, but the good news is they’re all original, no snapped-off float pedestals, no missing jets. With carbs this old and this small it’s important to be very careful to have good-fitting screwdriver blades for any jets or other fragile bits. Don’t be scared…

WORK SHOP Project Honda CB450K5 part 3 Brown Derby! Sadly not the lovely dessert from Wimpy where we used to ride out to, but lots of awful gunk that’s coming out of Mark’s Honda! And still coming! WORDS AND PICS: MARK HAYCOCK Last time we overhauled the carburettors and made sure that we had a reasonable supply of clean fuel, so now we have moved on to the engine’s mechanical condition. I know that the engine does work but to give it a fair test I am going to give it a service to make sure that all the adjustments are correctly set. I shall start with the valve clearances and this is one area which is rather different from other contemporary Hondas. When the CB450 was introduced in 1964…

Next month IN YOUR MILDLY RESTORED CMM! SUZUKI GS1000S: John Nutting on this beautiful seminal Suzuki! Ice Cream anyone? HARLEY-DAVIDSON V-ROD: 20 years on from the launch of a liquid-cooled performance Hog… STORM WARNING: Roland Brown rides a classic Kawasaki Zephyr 1100 special – the Cyclone! WORKSHOP HOW TO: When carbs go wrong! Sorting an EXUP valve! And much more – if we can fit it all in! BRIDGESTONE/CMM BIKE OF THE YEAR: Another one of YOUR restos/specials in the spotlight! PROJECT BIKES: We will be showcasing some of the following (space allowing): Mark Haycock’s Honda CB450, Steve Cooper’s Yamaha C3SC and Suzuki Apache, Kawasaki Hybrid or Rickuki, and Jeff Ware’s Suzuki RM80X. Ralph Ferrand with his project Kawasaki Z900 and maybe his Yamaha YZF-R6, Malc Shaw with his Suzuki…