Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2023 i Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

I can’t help but feel all nostalgic this month about a certain class of machine – the 750cc four-cylinder sports bike. I’ve owned a few, lusted after many and seen them race, and still get a tingle down my spine when someone just says ‘SEVEN FIFTY…’ Just typing that has had the same effect. Before I was a glint in my father’s eye, the modern 750cc sports bike was born – Honda’s CB750 – and, like many other times in the future decades, sometimes the balance tipped from the 750 to something bigger (like Kawasaki’s Z1 in 1972, or Honda’s CBR900RR FireBlade in 1992), or even to a 650 (Kawasaki Z650) or 600, or even Triumph’s Daytona 675 – which came out in (are you ready for this) 2006… Time…

£159.99 WEISE GATOR JEANS You remember your fave pair of jeans? The ones you actually mourned for when you split the crotch on ‘em, outgrew them, or they just couldn’t be patched anymore? I had a few pairs over the years – they went from flared, to drain-pipes to boot cut, snow-wash, bleached and back again. When I got into biking I used to wear jeans but was always fearful of falling off, even if they were probably safer than my knock-off, iffy ‘biker’ leather jacket from Ramsgate market. Since then, people have come out with Kevlar/bike/ super-strength jeans, often with armour that are CE-approved and the like, but – I’ve NEVER found any that were comfortable enough to wear on the bike for any great length of time. At…

Hilary Musson, a trail-blazing racer at the TT, has passed away, aged 76. She became only the second female to race around the Mountain Course on a motorcycle in 1978, following Beryl Swain who rode at the 1962 event. Swain’s participation led to a reban of female riders until Hilary entered the Formula 3 TT race that year. Hilary went on to finish a highly credible 15th out of 22 finishers at an average speed of 74.77mph. Better still, she was just one place behind her husband, John, who averaged 77.68mph, who was also making his debut. It was the first time a husband and wife team had ever competed at the TT, let alone in the same race. Hilary would continue racing at the TT for the next six…

David Hardy’s collection Here’s a photo of my 1980 Honda CB250N Super Dream I’m doing up. It’s my first project bike and I’m thoroughly enjoying it. I bought it in September last year. The previous owner had rebuilt the front caliper but hadn’t put any fluid in the system. The first thing was to buy a new master-cylinder and get it working. That was easy to do. It didn’t have a battery so with one fitted I got it started, albeit with a leaking carb. With the floats adjusted (and the use of a carb rebuild kit) that was done. I managed to get it registered as historic so it is all legal now: £60 a year insurance and that’s it. As I said, it runs but needs a bit…

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Dream Machine has to be the longest-running ‘only painting motorcycles’ firm going. Established around 1977, the company has been based in the Midlands since then and churned out many beautiful bikes. From one-off specials to factory paint jobs for the big UK distributors to replica paint for modern classics, race bikes and everything in between, the guys there have done it all. Remember the famous Marlboro Yamaha RD500LCs? Dream Machine did those and they’ve worked with manufacturers and importers, such as Triumph, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, Laverda, BMW, Norton, Honda, Kawasaki and Royal Enfield. Enjoy watching top-level racing? Chances are Dream Machine painted those too as they’ve painted for UK-level teams (think Duckhams Nortons/Ducatis) World Superbike (Castrol Honda) as…

1986 Kawasaki GPX750 Should have, could have. That’s the GPX. Like the GPX600, here was a great all-round performer – it was a 150mph, 100bhp, 195 dry kilo bike and cost £4299 – but it was fighting lots of other 750s – and that was just in Kawasaki’s range (GPz750R, GPz750 Uni-Trak, GPz750 Turbo, GT750). The full-fairing should have made it a rival for the GSX-R and it wasn’t as peaky; matched to a steel frame it did suffer from some camshaft failures. It was gone by the end of 1988 to make way for the ZXR. If you can find one, prices are low. 1989: Kawasaki ZXR750 H Prices are really starting to come alive now with the original H1, H2 models of Kawasaki’s late 1980s race-replica hitting as…

It’s time to get out and about on the legend that is the Kawasaki ZX-7R; this bike has been around for just over a quarter-of-a-century and it still looks fast even standing still. I mean, just look at those timeless lines… Bikes like these are from back in the days when winning races at the weekend meant selling bikes from first thing on the Monday when the dealership opened and the 750 section of the market was hugely popular with all those wannabe World Superbike and British Superbike heroes! And let’s face it, Kawasaki’s seminal 750 filled out both paddocks – often in green, of course. While Suzuki was trimming off the fat with its offering to the sector the GSX-R750 WT SRAD (179kg) after the WS water-cooled model, Kawasaki…

The late 90s and early 00s were an incredible period for people of my age because the music and the bikes were brilliant! I’m sure we all feel the same about ‘our’ era. But for us all, these were times when we didn’t know what ‘mortgage’ meant and the biggest worry was whether we could get served in the off-licence. In the 1990s bike racing (be it 500cc or WSB) was cool and the paint schemes on bikes were fabulously OTT! For me, a 750 back then was a dream – but there were other options. Some from the East as grey import 400s, others as direct UK imports. One of my faves was Kawasaki’s ZXR400. Sold as a UK bike, the little Kawasaki didn’t have the same 112mph limiter…

WIRING/ LOOMS Never made to the highest of standards, switchgear can be a bit flaky. Looms are often bodged or tampered with. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls – you see before you the thin edge of the wedge. Here in metal, rubber and plastic is the motorcycle that helped history repeat itself. Back in 1961 the government of the day was concerned about the rise in accidents caused by learners riding fast machines of any capacity. The result was the introduction of the 250cc learner law. Then, just over two decades later, Suzuki’s X7, together with Yamaha’s RD250LC, heralded the establishment of the similarly ‘less-than-effective’ 125cc restrictions. Truth be told, the X7 was but another silver bullet fired at the heart of the teenage liberty. As far as Her…

It was the best advert for a new motorcycle – ever… It’s March 16, 1986 and it’s the annual Transatlantic races taking place at Donington Park. For the first time the race was held at the-then recently extended circuit, complete with new Melbourne Loop section. The UK team featured legends such as ‘Rocket’ Ron Haslam, Rob McElnea, Keith Huewen, Steve Parrish, Roger Marshall, Roger Burnett, a young Kenny Irons and Paul Iddon. While the US team seemed pretty weak in comparison, apart from a young Kevin Schwantz on a GSX-R750 F (a knackered UK one, once used by Tony Rutter), and Fred Merkel on his V4 Honda ‘Interceptor’! With many of the Americans having shipped over their factory superbikes for the event, the Brits were also on some fast tackle…

Disconcerting news broke back in February that many events in Northern Ireland would be cancelled for 2023, including short-circuit racing, trials and road-racing events. Cancelled events included the Cookstown 100; Tandragee 100; Armoy Race of Legends; the Ulster Grand Prix; and the Sunflower, held at Bishopscourt. Right from the start the organisers of the fantastically popular North West 200 race said they were working hard to ensure the races held in May would go ahead. So why were they cancelled? Money. The cost of public liability insurance at such events is now some way north of almost half-a-million pounds – and that’s the tip of the iceberg as race organisers would be expected to pay out many hundreds of thousands of pounds on any claim made against them. The outlook…

The modern classic sports 750 – agem of a motorcycle, the ‘Three Bears Bike’ if you will. It’s not too ‘hot’, it’s not too big, not too crazy (like an 1100, a 1000 or even a 900), but then not too small or frantically revvy, like some 600s. It is ‘just right’… When the Suzuki GSX-R750 F first came on to the scene in 1985, it proved to be a revelation. It may not have been as technically advanced as, say, it’s Yamaha rival the FZ750, but its focus, performance and styling (a full fairing) meant it would herald a new type of machine – the ‘race replica’. You can argue the GSX-R was ‘born on the race-track’, coming as it did from Suzuki’s successful endurance racers and, of course,…

1985 Suzuki GSX-R750 F The original race-replica known to many as the ‘Slabbie’: 100bhp @ 10,500rpm; 176 kilos; race-replica bodywork; endurance-style twin-headlamps; double cradle ally frame; 18-inch tyres. The 750 features a longer (20-25mm) swingarm (now 1455mm wheelbase); 65/50W bulbs up from 45W; slotted end-can heatshield; two fasteners on the top fairing, not three; some air ducts remodelled/altered, too. The USA got the GSX-R750R which had single-seat; radial tyres; uprated NEAS front suspension; amber headlamps; full-floating discs; steering damper; lighter sprocket cover; and cable clutch. 1987’s GSX-R750 H model takes many of the improvements on the USA-only 750R of 1986 (forks, damper, brakes) and adds thicker front wheels spindle, wider tyres/rims, new mudguard, ‘humped’ design on the fuel tank. Don’t expect cheap Slabbies anymore. Some shops are now asking between…

There was a time you couldn’t move for Hondas with V4 engines and single-sided swingarms. Swanning around like they owned the roads with their complex water-cooled powerplants, all bulging with useable mid-range delivered in a rev-happy-but-user-friendly manner. ‘Deceptively fast’ was the overused term that was mandatory in every road test review from the sporty but pint-sized NC30 to the long-legged VFR800, it was an engine configuration that Honda had mastered after the original camshaft and camchain woes of the original 1983 VF750F flawed gem. The year 1986 saw the arrival of the first geardriven cams and a return to form to rescue a tarnished reputation. The VFR750F was a big success – my favourite memory was watching Ron Haslam piloting a near-standard dark blue bike round Donington Park in the…

WORDS AND PICS: JEFF WARE G’day. Sorry it has been quite a long time between updates, friends. I’m still injured from my Guzzi stack back last March, you see, and I’ve been relying on my buddies Tim and Todd to help me out, plus I’ve been time poor lately, but we did manage to make a lot of progress over Xmas and January… So, a reminder: this is my third ‘Slabby’ and it will be a keeper. Let’s start with the oil-boiling, high-flowing, long-stroke of genius 749cc motor. Last update I had stripped the bottom-end down and inspected it. A few tell-tale signs told me this was an ex-racebike. The gear dogs are undercut, the sump plug drilled for lock-wiring and the clutch basket absolutely smashed from race starts. In…

WORDS AND PICS: MALC SHAW My CMR TR fired up! The garage echoed to the sound – no, music – of those three lovely expansion chambers crackling away. Beautiful! The rev-counter worked... great. Tick-over cold was a bit poor but it did pick up on the throttle really well. By now the garage had filled with two-stroke smoke and breathing was getting difficult! I killed the ignition and left the area to clear. On returning I quickly checked for leaks, oil and water... none. Happy days, and I wheeled the beast outside. Firing it up again to introduce my neighbours to the joy of two-stroke aural godliness, it got a proper heat cycle; oh, and editor Bertie and various mates got a WhatsApp video! As it was coming up to…

Assumption, best laid plans, that’ll polish out: all concepts that raise their ugly head whenever a restoration hoves into view; there may (will) be trouble ahead. After the Sting Thing I started to hanker after a bit more of the same. The T200’s sibling, the T20, or Super Six as it’s generally called, had a slightly mucky brother (or sister… just sayin’), the TC250, ever so pretty and I have to be honest I did consider one. But whilst looking at pics of TC250s, as you do, I clocked a TC305. Now that looks interesting. Based on the next Suzuki 250cc incarnation, the T250, the 305 was sold in reasonable numbers in the USA in both road-going (T305) form and street scrambler (TC305) form. I dunno what it is about…

WORDS AND PICS: WILL HOLMAN Yamaha were a bunch of clever clogs back in 1968. While most two-strokes relied on oil mixed into the petrol to keep things moving freely, the guys at Shizuoka identified this as a cause of engine seizures while travelling downhill – no throttle, no oil. This didn’t seem to bother a lot of European manufacturers but it certainly upset plenty of riders who, having travelled down a long incline, experienced their back wheel suddenly stopping, quite often resulting in them getting spilled into the hedge, or worse. The answer, the Japanese engineers realised, was to make the oil feed independently of the throttle position. Yamaha’s system had a separate tank for the oil – no more mixing it in with the fuel every time you…

Want to ride some classic 1990s racereplicas on your favourite tracks? Then uprated and modernised brakes, refreshed but Ren Racing is The bikes are all track prepared with riding kit for the day check out Renaissance Racing. and/or replaced suspension, and the currently working on a Renaissance Racing has a five-bike fleet motors sing like they always did. Tyres are partnership with an for 2023: the Ducati 996; Suzuki track-oriented Dunlops, using warmers to equipment supplier to be able to offer GSX-R750 SRAD; Yamaha YZF750; Honda maximise enjoyment time. Bike-wise, boots, leathers, gloves, etc. Cost for the SP-1; and Kawasaki ZX7-R, offering everything is taken care of; riders just ride, day’s hire is £450 plus the track-day enthusiasts the chance to experience these as ‘full factory’ as most of us…

Nicely done, CMM A touch of class should never go unnoticed in any editorial, but when I opened the pages of this month’s CMM I couldn’t help but think that there was an abundance of charm, respect and humility in your piece in reference to the demise of your competitor and much-respected Practical Sportsbikes. Now, if I’m being honest, I bought both publications, but I have to say I was always slightly more excited to read Practical Sportsbikes (just saying), because I think it evoked something of the teenage hooligan in me which has long since been lost, and replaced by the abnormal behaviour of buying classic bikes and sitting and looking at them over the winter in a cold and inhospitable garage. So, now you have a responsibility, as…

Basile Sepsakos only meant to sell a bike part, not pick up a project in the process. A VJMC member from Melbourne, Basile was trying sell a café racer-style handlebar on eBay. The potential buyer wanted the bars for a 1970 Honda CB100 that needed a lot of love and mechanical work. The pair talked for a while, the buyer explaining its history and incredibly low genuine mileage of 538km. Basile convinced him not to buy his handlebars and keep the bike true to its genuine condition. As he says: “I did myself out of a sale!” Basile even offered to buy the bike but the owner wanted to keep it. Fortunately Basile did manage to get a gentleman’s agreement that he’d have first dibs on the little CB if…

1986: Honda VFR750 F-G Coming off the back of the flawed VF series of the early 1980s and the ‘Chocolate Camshaft Crisis’, Honda finally hit the nail on the head with the first version of the VFR. This bike pushed out around 105 ‘claimed’ bhp at 10,500rpm from its gear-driven cam motor. At the launch was future MotoGP commentator Julian Ryder, who admitted that he’d wobbled the bike around Jerez and was amazed: “How could they build it for the money? (It cost around £3500-£4000.) And why wasn’t it a race-rep like the GSX-R or FZ?” In 1988 the bike was updated with a 17-inch front wheel (original had 16-inch front, 18-inch rear) 41 not 37mm forks, faired-in indicators and a number of other changes including to the motor to…

1985 Yamaha FZ750 Despite a lack of a full-fairing on launch, it’s still a part of the sports 750 revolution of the 1980s. It was the first machine with a 20-valve head; it started the fashion of canting the engine forward to get the carbs to breathe easier; and it didn’t do too bad in racing. It led to the race-ready OW-01 of the late 1980s and is the grand-daddy of the YZF-R1, so it demands respect. Many feel the same way, with a number of specials out there taking advantage of that sweet 100bhp powerplant but with upgraded running gear. Today, projects still sit around £1500 but decent ones hit as much as £4000-plus. 1993: Yamaha YZF750R With the FZR750R OW-01 of the late 1980s being a popular racer…

How does somebody decide to take a 1997 Triumph T509 Speed Triple racing? I started racing some 20-ish years ago, racing primarily with Bemsee in MiniTwins, then Thunderbike Sport and on to Thunderbike Extreme. I’ve also done some land-speed record stuff and had a goat classic endurance racing. However, over the last few years with a growing family, money, etc., my racing has been put on the back-burner. I now find myself in a position where I have a bit more free time and some disposable income so I can think about getting back into racing. I’m not planning on doing a full season to start with, hopefully a handful of rounds throughout the year and see how I get on. The most fun I had racing was when I…

After waiting a few weeks after the gearbox parts came, the con-rods arrived from The Cycle Barn in the US. I got the measuring tools out straight away and checked the little-end sizes, one was borderline, but the other three were very good, so, using the only good one from the original set, I have a great set of rods. What a relief! (Photo 1). The internal measurements were done as shown in Photos 2 and 3,using expanding internal bore gauges, which are clamped when the gauge is parallel and central to the bore, this is then measured with a micrometer. Note that all this must be done when all components and tools are at a standard room temperature (about 21 degrees C), otherwise false readings will be made. I…

We’re making progress on the Apache front and, by working slowly and methodically, things are variously being repaired, replaced or rectified. Whenever you buy someone else’s restoration project there’s always an element of uncertainty as to how far the former owner has gone with the job. Has the bike been subjected to a 100-per-cent, point-perfect restoration or is everything you see only superficially okay? There’s a worrying trend in this classic world of ours for machines to receive a glorified cosmetic makeover which delivers a bike which isn’t fit for use rendering it ‘suitable for display purposes only’. Fortunately, the previous owner has done a much better than just an okay job, leaving me to go through the bike as I would any new acquisition. Knowing the guy was actually…

WORDS AND PICS: MARK HAYCOCK Although this little project bike was actually (or perhaps I should say nominally) in working order, there were a few items that needed looking at. I have only ever owned one bike which needed no work and that was because it was only a year old. It was a Kawasaki Z1B and yes, it has occurred to me that I should have kept it in storage but… I needed the money then and that’s life, isn’t it? Anyway, back to reality and here is my list so far: ■ The engine is running but clearly needs some fettling ■ The wiring system does not seem right but it does work, with a few questions to answer ■ Iwould feel a lot happier with working indicators…