Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2023 i Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Magazine deadlines being what they are, I’m sat here on Christmas Eve 2022 writing my ‘Hello’ for a magazine marked ‘February 2023’! You think I’d be used to it now… thinking I’m a month or so ahead! Looking back, 2022 has been another tough year for us all, hasn’t it? One thing I can happily celebrate is an anniversary of sorts: My first issue at the helm of CMM was January 2013 so this one sees me over the 10-year mark – an honour which I don’t take lightly. But let’s look forwards. What bike birthdays do we have in 2023? Stuff that’s 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 and even 55 or more years old… thanks to our wide-ranging contributors, we will try and keep every base…

Still the best way to get your classic on track – without racing it – is with CMM friends at Classic Bike Track Days. Rob, Darin and the team provide a number of events during the year to ride your pre-2000 (or later, if in the spirit of the term ‘classic’) machine around some of the UK’s most challenging and beautiful tracks. They always put on a well-run event, with limited numbers in each group (novices and experienced alike welcome) and they are often backed with plenty of supporting clubs and specialists as well as on-track tuition should you need it. PREORDER YOUR CMM! Want the next issue of CMM? Of course you do! Then it’s simple. Subscribing is best but, failing that, why not preorder? Simply scan the fuzzy…

CMM BIKE OF THE YEAR The premise was simple enough – at least initially… CMM regularly gets reader input in the form of ‘Show Us Yours’ submissions and many of these are SO expansive or the bikes so interesting we get in contact and try to find out more: that’s where our reader restoration features come from. They’ve always proved popular with our readers and we welcome reader content in what is YOUR magazine, so the idea that we could reward one lucky winner with some goodies courtesy of Bridgestone – our kind sponsors – was a good one. Then, of course, we realised that we couldn’t just give away ONE prize as many of our readers’ builds weren’t just straight restorations: some were specials and some were VERY special…

Well, I have to admit I have a ‘thing’ for modified naked 1990s machinery so I was really pleased when reader Richard Gibbons offered us his ZRX1100R to test. Rich has a reputation for building modified bikes and manages to do it on a tight budget, so this isn’t a cheque book special! The base bike for this project was taken in part exchange for his modified Yamaha TRX850 a couple of years back. The big Kawasaki was all original and untouched. However, it had been badly stored for a while so was suffering surface corrosion and pitting on various parts and a rotten radiator to boot. Initially, plans for the bike simply saw a quick tidy-up and a new radiator; the bike lasted around two weeks in this form…

Last time I’d got a very basic rolling chassis put back together, so it was time to start adding the other parts with the aim to enable the engine to be fired up, checked and readied for the rolling road. Up to this point progress had been steady and thankfully everything had gone back in place without any grief. I hoped that as I’d been relatively careful in the ‘dry build’ this would continue, keeping in mind there would need to be some fettling along the way. I turned my attention to the engine, having laid various parts on the bike ramp that I intended to fit; the clutch was first on the agenda. The new clutch plates were put into a ‘sealy’ bag full of fresh oil and left…

It was all going so well. Inspired by lockdown skint-ness, my plan to thin out the herd of rusty trip hazards (sorry, rapidly appreciating modern classics) littering my garage was proceeding nicely. The BMW had gone; the Ducati 400SS had been wakened from its slumbers and was being restored by a friend; the Suzuki GSX-R1100 slabbie had gone off to a new life as a classic endurance race bike; and my Honda CX500 project had finally made it as far as the ramp, if not quite as far as work having actually started on it. Still not sure whether to keep the big-bore Honda SS50, but at least it doesn’t take up much space. The one thing I definitely wasn’t going to do was take on another project. Nope, no…

The motor in question has turned out better than I could have hoped for so I turned my attention to the cylinder. Lifting the cylinder off the pistons they’re all quite nice, just with a soft, flaky carbon coating; to me this indicates excessive richness or oil passing the rings or, of course, a mix of both. I didn’t have a head with the motor but examination of the rings helps to explain the position: they’re knackered. And by that I mean the ring end gaps are way too big at almost one millimetre. The bores are pretty good, though. I give them the lightest hone with my solid stone hone and I can see that apart from a few minor scuffs all is well. But checking the ring cost…

We’ve got plenty of super-cool naked big-bore bikes in this issue: two versions of Kawasaki’s pretty ZRX11/1200R and a look at Honda’s CB900F Hornet, as well as a Retro Reboot on 2023’s Hornet 750. But, isn’t the Bandit 1200 better than all? Suzuki’s Bandit family began life as a Japaneseonly model in 400 and 250 format in 1989 before the ubiquitous 600cc version came along in 1995. It became a best-seller, proving that a parts-bin special could be better than the parts used. It was, pretty much, a GSX600F ‘Teapot’ motor in a painted and rust-prone steel frame. But, the GSF600 was better fun than the donor bike and the oil/air-cooled motor was simply brilliant in the very simple chassis. The bike’s design was genius: it was (like the later…

BMW begins celebrations of its centenary in 2023 – and these two retro bikes are just the start. Way back in December 1922, BMW chief designer Max Friz began work on the firm’s first motorcycle. At its heart was an air-cooled, four-stroke, boxer-twin engine. The first BMW motorcycle, the R 32, was presented in September 1923. This heralded the beginning of BMW motorcycle production. BMW Motorrad is now presenting the R nineT Roadster and the R 18 Cruiser as 100 Years edition models. In keeping with the year in which BMW Motorrad was founded, both models are limited to 1923 units each: can you see what they did there? Doubtless they’ll sell out. The new R nineT 100 Years has many special chrome features along with black details (mirroring many…

Funny story time. It’s 2001 and we’re at a Honda new models shindig in Paris. We’ve just been shown the bikes for 2002 and one of them is the firm’s CB900F Hornet. Some-time CMM contributor Chris Moss has his Dictaphone out and is circling a shiny new Hornet and recording some words of wisdom for posterity. He’s five minutes into his virtual description of the bike, and me and the other assembled hacks are giggling when the penny finally drops and Mossy says into the recording device: “I am so surprised how similar the 900 is to the 600 Hornet. In fact they are identical…” (Does a double take.) “Oh I am actually looking at the Hornet 600…” Funny as this is, it shows how similar the 900 was in…

After a 10-year absence, Honda is bringing the Hornet brand back for 2023 in the shape of the Hornet CB750. The Hornet name conjures a motorcycle with a certain playfulness, agility, and ability to cut the mustard in the corners or be a fun commuter hack. With a successful marketing campaign that teased artists’ impressions of a bike that boasted edgy KTM-esque lines and even a trellis frame in one concept sketch, expectations were high for the new machine. There was a real ‘buzz’ in the air (ahem). Then one teaser video in particular gave the game away with audio of the engine revving… the Hornet was a parallel-twin. A nicesounding 270-degree crank twin, but a twin nonetheless, not a four like the 600 and 900s of old (to see…

Last month was a milestone for me: I had successfully applied a 1970s-style metal flake using up-to-date techniques. In the glory days of Pink Floyd, Monty Python and The Good Life, metal flake was the finish to have on a custom vehicle; the heavier the flake and the louder the colour, the cooler the wheels. For the custom 1976 Z900 I’m building, I am looking for some 1970s sparkle, but not red or green (why are all custom Zeds those colours?). Instead I’m going for ‘Deep Purple’, not the awesome 70s rock band headed up by Ian Gillan, but the colour. I had many ideas, but due to the complexity my friend and paint mentor Jak advised me to dig out an old tank and side-panels to experiment on and…

Well, I was waiting for the deliveries of the connecting rods and gearbox items before I did any more work on the bike, hoping that the used parts were good enough to get this project rolling again. The gearbox parts came first and I set about cleaning them before measuring and checking over everything. I keep a notebook with all my measurements, etc., (Photo 1) as there is nothing worse than losing scraps of paper with information you need later for reference. It wasn’t perfect (it’s a 40-year-old bike) but it was better than the original I had, so I chose all the best parts and made a good gearbox. Most important were the grooved bearings that were in great condition and the layshaft that was good, with no pitting…

Last time we got the Hornet ready to take a look at the various fuel-injection system sensors so without further ado, if you glance at Photo 1 the first thing I want to discuss is the knob at the bottom which looks like an old-fashioned choke control. The owner’s manual describes it as such, but why would you need a choke on a computerised fuel-injection system? It is really a fast idle control which I have never used as everything works perfectly well without it: strange. Just above and slightly to the left is the cam-position sensor. This is used to determine the timing for the sequential operation of the fuel-injectors. The test for this one without the Honda gear I described last time is probably going to be limited…

HJC RPHA 1 SENIN £699.99 The RPHA 1 is a pukka track and race lid, coming from feedback from HJC’s riders in MotoGP and WSB. Of course, it hits all the latest ECE 22.06 regulations for safety, has a carbon/carbon glass shell, so it’s shock-resistant, as well as all the inner features you’d expect. These include a removable anti-bacterial lining, which wicks away moisture; grooves for riders who wear glasses; a top venting system; emergency release cheek pads; a quick-release (and Pinlock ready) visor; and a five-year warranty. Best of all (we think) are these simple colourways. Sizes from 2XS (52-53cm) up to 2XL (62-63cm). www.oxfordproducts.com GAZZINI PARTS FROM £25 If you’re building a classic special, then you could take a look at these little beauties. Louis Moto’s exclusive aftermarket…

If you went to the Classic Motorcycle Mechanics’ Show at Stafford in October (and we know a few of you did) you can’t have helped but notice our editor on a 1990s-2000s stand… We had road bikes from the era as well as some pukka race machinery and replicas, including a former Yamaha Motor France endurance racer (now in Nori Haga colours) and a Yamaha OW-01 replica of Carl Fogarty’s lap-record-taking race machine. Now, while we realise that some eras aren’t for everyone, it was a bit of an experiment. With this in mind we contacted our friends at Duke Video to see if they could help us with some DVDs showcasing some of the best bike racing of that era. And they certainly came up trumps! Over the whole weekend…

They do things differently, the Japanese, and it’s the cool quirkiness captured from one of their domestic race series that has shaped this beautiful new build from Lucky7’s Steve Adams. Steve’s sparkling metal-flake blue Kawasaki ZRX1200R has wrapped up more Japanese coolness int one place than all of his previous builds combined. He explains why: “It’s inspired by the Taste of Tsukuba race series, a championship home to bikes that blends old styles and new parts into something really quite unique to Japan.” Steve’s bike starts with the DNA from a 1980s AMA superbike, mutated into a track-ready Transformer that drips in expensive trinkets from a Tokyo tuning shop’s race department. You could also drizzle that in a little Wasabi, if you think there aren’t enough metaphors to be convincing…

SIDE-PANELS Very early use of plastic by Suzuki; top mount can fail but replica GRP panels are available. OIL PIPES Typical pre-moulded plastic lines with valves to stop oil tank draining through. Air bubbles in lines are normally due to failure of pipe/banjo junctions. GEARBOX Fourth and fifth gears can sometimes still wear even on later models that run 1400ccs of oil. Noisy ‘box means engine strip, big bills and bike off the road while parts are tracked down. TRIM Replica tank badges are available, ditto side-panel badges, but not the chrome trim unique to the J model. The more trim that’s missing the more worry… CARBS Early Cobras have fuelhungry 34mm carbs, later models are all 32mm. Expect mid 30s mpg for early bikes and no more than 40-45mpg…

Sometimes old bikes are simply ungracious, churlish and downright egregious. Having fed the ‘tiny terror’ a new right-hand-side crankshaft oil seal, did it solve the problem of pressurised gearbox? Did it my arse! And to further register its total disgust with me meddling inside with its giblets it also decided that its clutch was now going to slip. When you 1 get a double whammy back in thanks for trying to get an engine to run properly you can understand why Basil Fawlty thrashed his car with that rose bush. “YOU VICIOUS B*STARD! IF YOU DON’T START…” Having simmered down, post-test ride and in cogitative mood over a brew, there was only one solution I could draw regarding the pressurised transmission. Somehow the primary compression was leaking internally past the…