Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2024 i Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

I guess the classic side of motorcycling can be looked at by some in the motorcycle industry as a bit of a backwater, but maybe not for long. The reason is thanks to the many retro machines that are being built that reflect the bikes we used to ride. More and more are jumping from drawing boards to showroom floors and we love it. Clearly our main thing is the original classics, but with manufacturers aiming to sell these modern replica/retro bikes to people who remember them the first time around (that means you, the CMM reader) we often ask if we can have a go on them, to let you know what they’re like. Suzuki have been spot on: we had a Suzuki Katana for the best part of…

ABBA SKY LIFT Most of us in the motorcycle world are familiar with the award-winning Abba Superbike Stand, that red steel frame that gets your wheels off the deck by plugging into the swingarm pivot points. The Sky Lift takes this (literally) to a whole new level. If you’ve ever worked on your own bike, you’ll know that taking your wheels off, particularly the front wheel, has never been the easiest of operations. Yes, a centre-stand, or rear paddock stand, makes life easier and the job quite do-able. I’ve never really been a fan of front paddock stands, they always look a bit dodgy to me. The bike never seemed that stable when on both and always felt it was a mistimed nudge away from becoming part of the garage…

We were sent this superb picture just before deadline – and it’s the perfect accompaniment to the launch of the Yamaha XSR900 GP (see page 38). We’ve not got much apart from what we can see – it’s a Yamaha XJ600 Diversion on steroids! We think the frame is standard, but at the rear it looks like a Thunderace swingarm, maybe the same model’s forks, but weirdly Divvy (twin disc as the later model had) brakes! We reckon it’s the 600 motor in there but it does seem to have a cool pipe. Bodywork is right outta the 1980s/1990s in Marlboro red/white. If anyone has any more info on this lovely bike, we’d love to hear more. And don’t forget to tell us about YOUR specials that you’re working on.…

By early 1983 the 250 learner market was no more than a memory and the then current 250cc machines were not worth much at all. While many mourned their passing, you could see where the Government was coming from as 17-year-olds were throwing their almost 100mph-capable two-stroke RDs, KHs and X7s up the road and often injuring themselves in the process… This ban on 250cc learner bikes coincided with Suzuki launching the RG250 Gamma Mk.1, which was the first production bike to utilise an alloy frame, and also looked like a proper racer for the road thanks to its half-fairing. This bike was a real yardstick for the class and it could be argued that this was where the 250cc tech race began. As the years rolled by each manufacturer…

It’s been my pleasure to have a close association with the big Japanese factories and manufacturers over my long and blessed racing and road testing career. Suzuki gave me my first break in grand prixs back in 1986; Honda gave me my first factory contract in 1987; and when I started road testing with Two Wheels Only magazine in 2001, I was lucky enough to go on some amazing Kawasaki lunches, sorry, launches… And then there’s Yamaha. Their seminal RD350LC truly got my career going on the race track in the early 1980s (I will always own one) and there’s the little matter of the three back-to-back British Superbike titles for the Cadbury’s Boost Yamaha team on the mighty YZF750 in 1996, 97 and 98. And, of course, there were…

Well we’re there or thereabouts and out on the winding roads of rural Bedfordshire. The Apache has seriously impressed me with its grunt, flexibility and general behaviour. That said, I’ve not rattled it across open fields or laboured it down muddy green lanes. The reason for swerving both is (A) I am pants on anything except Tarmac, (B) I’ve invested far too much time, money and effort to risk wrapping the bike around a tree and (C) if I fall off these days it bloody well hurts. The seat is super-comfy; the wide bars make perfect sense; and it puts a huge grin on my chops each time I ride it. The only slight fly in the ointment was getting used to a 19-inch front wheel allied to the bike’s…

Last month I started telling the readers of CMM the sad story of the abuse of Donna’s 1988 two-wheeled micro missile so I’m back on with it. Oh my word… Having established that the carbs had survived being stored for six years in the antithesis of museum conditions, it was time to dig out the crimpers, strippers and cutters and raid Biker’s Toolbox’s stock of ‘thin wall wire’ and terminals, etc. I dug out an eight-foot long offcut of 12mm plywood that was left over from my workshop build, which I thought would be a perfect layout board for building a new wiring loom on. As I wasn’t expecting to fit any tyres before the wiring was finished, I used the tyre machine’s wheel clamp to grip one end, making…

Wherever possible, I refer to the manufacturer’s workshop manual for the recommended steps involved in reassembling an engine, but this time I find the Haynes book far more helpful. It is arranged as a complete assembling process, whereas the Honda book is a collection of separate operations. The parts diagrams are similar to those produced by Honda and are very useful. The only fly in the ointment is that my book is not actually for an ST70 but for a general range including C50, C70 and C90, though the first two are very similar to the ST. The 90 engine differs in quite a few places. Last time we looked at the new cylinder head and valves I bought and after fitting them I was pleased to see that the…

Pat Hennen, who passed away in April, was the first American to win a Grand Prix, so he was a trailblazer for the American invasion that followed in his wake. No less than 15 championships eventually came the way of riders like Kenny Roberts, Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, and Kevin Schwantz. These names went on to dominate 500cc Grands Prix throughout the 1980s and into the early 1990s, while Kenny Roberts Junior became world champion in 2000 and the late Nicky Hayden became America’s last premier class world champion in 2006. And the first win came from Hennen in Finland in 1976. A win that was so unexpected it caught the race organisers off guard. “When I won the race, the FIM didn’t have the American anthem to play…

This year marks the 25th anniversary of both the legendary Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa and the V-twin SV650. Both launched in 1999 to do very different jobs, their birthdays will be celebrated at Suzuki Live, which takes place at Cadwell Park on June 22-23. Suzuki is inviting owners to bring their bikes along to the event, with dedicated parking and display areas in the paddock reserved for ‘Busas and SVs. The show-and-shine style display areas will be sponsored by Dunlop, with a free pair of tyres up for grabs for the owners of the best examples on display. Also on show will be a number of Team Classic Suzuki race bikes, plus stands from the likes of the Air-Cooled Suzuki Club, the Kettle Club, and the Suzuki Owners Club. Talk shows…

Vic Shield says: “Back in the 1980s none of us had a pot to piss in. I was an apprentice coachbuilder and my mates were slaves on YTS (Youth Training Scheme). My Dad’s shed was a meeting point, clubhouse, garage and workshop. Many hours were spent rebuilding two-strokes and chilling late into the night with the sounds of Madness and Ska to keep us awake. I had a few bikes and the old 350 Jawa and chair was one of my daily runners, used as a transporter for fishing gear, bike parts and beer. Only the wealthy had a car! We would meet up at the weekend and every ride was an adventure. When one of us broke down it could usually be repaired road-side as the Jawa outfit was…

Of course, there are other ways to get your retro-kicks with a modern Yamaha as a base. Back in the February issue, John Nutting rode the Velocity-Moto XSR700 twin-cylinder RD350LC-a-like and the XSR900 three-cylinder RD500LC-a-like. Costs on top of the base bikes would be a couple of grand for the bodywork – unpainted – and then you can really go to town with selecting updated suspension and exhausts. VM’s founder Hag Hughes is a specials-building legend from the early days of Fast Bikes magazine (CMM’s sister title) and when I rocked up at the Velocity-Moto stand at the NEC show, I have to say they looked the part! Little wonder Yamaha are doing it themselves. Velocity-Moto are at: Velocity-Moto.com And what of Yamaha’s XSR900 GP? Well, I do think that other…

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*and FB Marketplace, and Gumtree, and anywhere else we spot something we like… 1996 Kawasaki ZX-7R Asking: £795 1990s superbikes are making good money now in tidy, original condition, but tatty or modified ones can still be picked up for much cheapness – in this case from Chris Tombleson of Grumpy 1260, all-round good egg and a friend of the mag. This ZX-7R has suffered the common streetfighter treatment but it should be pretty easy to put it back to more or less standard – clocks, headlights, front sub-frame, bars and front plastics needed here, as well as a replacement for that nasty, stubby exhaust can. Because the 7R was produced for so long (from 1996 to 2003) and with so few changes, it’s not too hard to track down standard…

Right then, where were we? Oh yes. The last time the KDX graced these pages (back in the December 2023 issue) I'd just stripped the whole thing down to a bare frame and a load of sub-assemblies, more to get it on a shelf and out of the way than in the hope of actually getting anything much done to it. I fully expected it to be summertime before I found time to blast and paint the frame, which was the first thing on my list. But late January we had a spell of reasonable weather over here in France and I had some other stuff that needed blasting, so I dragged the frame out into the light and got on with it. I needed reasonable weather because although I…

In the bad old days I spent considerable lumps of time trying to convince the suits at Suzuki GB that it might be beneficial to their operation if I received a bit of assistance, either parts or money would be nice. This would then justify me spending even more cash (that I definitely didn’t have) on a couple of hungry drag bikes. The response was generally along the lines of: ‘Drag Racing? Huh?’ In the interim I was passed over to a company called Brandmark who were handling Suzuki’s PR account. In a chance conversation with a Mr. Taylor at BM he mentioned that it might be a good idea if I pitched up at Suzuki’s trade bash at the Royal Garden Hotel in that London with my bikes and…

Honda’s evergreen classic – the CB400F Four – turns 50 this October and The David Silver Honda Collection aims to celebrate in style with a huge open day. The Collection wants to get many owners together and take part in an awards event on September 28 which will aim to find the following: ■ The best original bike ■ The best restored bike ■ The best customised machine ■ Judge’s favourite 400 Four ■ Highest mileage machine ■ The 400 Four that’s travelled the furthest to get to the event. The event promises to have live music, food, free entry to the museum for attendees, and a CB400F cake is already being made in preparation for the event, which will be at the collection hall at Unit 14, Masterlord Industrial…

The XSR900, a modern-day triple-cylinder café racer from Yamaha using their impressive CP3 engine, has been a familiar face on the showroom floor since 2016. With naked neo-retro styling, the XSR looked great, but it also had the performance to match with a torquey 847cc churning out 113bhp. 2021 saw an update with capacity up to 889cc, a jump to 117bhp, and a new frame helping to bring weight down from the previous generation. All good so far with sales ticking over nicely, then at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2023 Yamaha revealed their DB40 prototype – essentially the bike you see here with all new bodywork and clip-ons. It was met with much nodding of approval and early 2024 saw the bike officially launched as a production machine…

1983 KAWASAKI AR125 Q:I have bought a 1983 Kawasaki AR125. It is the restricted version. Is there a way to increase the power? Bengt Knutsson A:I think you must have an A1A model and you are right that it would be possible to convert the engine to increase the power output from 12.2 to 21bhp – a very significant boost. This would involve changing the cylinder head, cylinder barrel, disk valve, carburettor and probably other parts, too. The parts you would need are not very easy to find so although it might be an interesting project to carry out, I cannot help feeling that buying a bigger bike would enable you to go just as fast with a lot less work! However, if you wish to press on, I recommend…

I guess its okay doing all the fancy bits – they do give quite a mental boost as they are slowly fitted and the ‘look’ of the project emerges. However, there are also all the parts which have a safety implication that require attention over and above their aesthetic rejuvenation! This brings me to the front brake system. If we start with the front disc on this bike: it’s a big lump of stainless, wasn’t the greatest stopper in the dry and less so in the wet! Couple that with a sliding caliper that generally slowly seized up even from new and we do not have the most modern of stopping systems! I have heard there are some companies that make pattern discs and pads which are of different materials…

So the saying goes: Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be – yet this month’s subject matter proves it’s pretty damn close! The Kawasaki ZRX1200R pays homage to the mid-1980s Eddie Lawson replica Z1100R and the 1100 was effectively an upgrade of the Z1R. That’s an awful lot of family lineage going on there, most of which stems from the original Z1… Kawasaki is big on heritage, so it would seem. Eddie Lawson’s exploits and successes on the 1023cc air-cooled four during the early 1980s are still a huge draw for fans of the marque and many fancied a road-going replica. However, no one was going to be able to drag a design based on early 70s technology through post-millennium emissions regulations; Kawasaki’s boffins are clever but there are limits,…

G’day everyone. This issue, as you can see in the pictures, will tell you that the BS90 Trail restoration is starting to take shape, and what a pretty sight it is! I must admit, the more I work on this bike, the more I appreciate the engineering. There are lots of small design elements that would have been way ahead of their time back in 1969. More on those another time, but I will say that just about every nut, bolt, shaft, or component on this motorcycle serves a dual purpose. Nothing is wasted, and the quality is way ahead of current quality when it comes to fasteners. The fact that I have been able to save just about every nut and bolt from being rechromed, just by wire-wheeling and…

She’s pretty much done – is old Doris – and she’s looking mighty fine, we think. Okay, so she isn’t resplendent in pink, but – on the whole – I think perhaps Gavin Anderson who bought the bike from me has done a stonking job and perhaps keeping her as the lady in black actually works better. So, moving on from last time, Gavin got the engine going and was looking to get things sorted for MoT time – and that meant the dodgy brakes, but more of that later. First he wanted to unleash some of that three-cylinder howl. Gavin says: “Looking on eBay I wanted a good quality – but competitively priced – end can and came across the GRmoto brand. They did a stunning-looking carbon effect/finish can,…