Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2017 i Classic Bike Guide

WHEN HONDA’S CB750 arrived in 1968, despite all its technical advances, it wasn’t really a rider’s bike. However it opened the door for subsequent developments which, in 1972, came in the shape of the dohc Z1. Kawasaki’s inline four was a massive improvement on the sohc CB750 and simply light years ahead of the British ohv-engined competition. Kawasaki, the well known two-stroke triple manufacturer had appeared, apparently from nowhere, with a four-cylinder four-stroke 900 complete with a five-speed gearbox, electric start and front disc brake – with twin discs an optional extra. The development of the Z1 is the stuff of legend. In 1968 Kawasaki were ready to launch a bike that would shake the world; a four-cylinder four-stroke 750 developed in secret under the code name N600… but Honda…

PRICE GUIDE £1000 for a restoration project, to £4000 FAULTS & FOIBLES The single downtube frame should be checked for corrosion at the base where it splits into two to form the engine cradle as it can be a rust trap. Camchains can slip out of adjustment and the camchain adjuster is prone to seizure and snapping. Primary chain tensioners can fail. The front brake caliper needs regular attention. The oil filter bolt can round off easily, and over-tightening will crack the housing. Exhausts are prone to rot. ALSO CONSIDER The Honda CB400 Four is more plentiful than the 350 and has better spares availability, while the 500 Four is tougher. Honda’s 350 twins are faster and more substantial but less glamorous. Kawasaki KH400 triples and Yamaha RD350s are great…

Britain has always had a tradition of building bitzas, aka specials. This was especially popular during the Second World War, when production of civilian bikes essertially ceased, leaving ever more ingenious ways of concocting basic transportation, which moreover used less of the scarce petrol rat on to get you about, to become common practice. But it was in the postwar aftermath that special-building really took off, thanks to the ready availability of ex-War Department (WD) equipment, ranging from spare parts to complete motorcycles, which could be bought for rext to nothing as war surplus hardware, often however in pretty poor condition. ce the export drive dictated that precious ces of metal and plastics had to be ed towards earning money overseas, y from America, to rebuild the UK’s finances –…

THEY SAY THAT you never forget your first love – and that applies to women too. For me and one or two others, when it comes to their first great bike it’s the Suzuki GT750 every time. This is no great surprise for those of us who remember the 1970s, because the Kettle is one of the iconic bikes of the age. When I bought my red kettle in 1978, it was so wonderfully different from all the Brit bikes I had owned before. It had colourful lights on a proper dash – green for neutral and red for the gear indicator – an electric start that never failed, with a little black button to push. It had a radiator, just like a car, which in that day was a…

THIS MONTH’S KICKBACK Motorbike Show & Workshop Fair is at Birmingham’s Custard Factory and pre-bookers can attend free of charge. The event, sponsored by Allstyles Motorcycle Insurance, takes place on Saturday, July 15, at the Gibb Street Warehouse at the Custard Factory. There will be more than 50 customs, café racers and classic motorcycles on display as well as around 20 suppliers providing parts, accessories, equipment, engineering services and clothing, making it a perfect mid-summer destination for all custom bike lovers and builders. The Custard Factory, located on the site of what was the Bird’s Custard Factory in the industrial district, is now home to a thriving community of creative and digital businesses, independent shops, cafes and bars. The show’s open from 10am until 5.30pm and to qualify for free…

MOTO GUZZI’S BIG V-twins should, on paper, be an unsuitable base for a performance sports bike. The original air-cooled 90-degree transverse V-twin with a longitudinal crankshaft and a big shaft drive is more akin to BMW’s flat twins than anything with sporting pretensions. The engine was designed in the early 1960s by engineer Giulio Cesare Carcano, creator of the legendary DOHC Moto Guzzi V8 Grand Prix racer that wowed the world in the 1950s. The V-twin was less outlandish and began life as the Moto Guzzi entry in a competition sponsored by the Italian government. The authorities wanted to find a big purposeful bike to use as an alternative to the BMWs that most European governments issued to their police forces. That the design won was unsurprising as the Italian…

PRICE GUIDE £3500-£10,000 FAULTS AND FOIBLES Bonneville engines are robust but watch out for overtuning and cracked heads. Frame cracking near the centrestand mount and oil leaks from the frame near the oil filter were early issues and bodges by unsympathetic previous owners are common. Pay close attention to engine and frame numbers – an original engine should have Triumph embossed behind the engine number. Not a great bike for the short of stature ALSO CONSIDER The 71-72 BSA A65 Lightning is the bike the frame was designed for and has a similar twin carb pushrod twin engine. The Royal Enfield Interceptor 2 is considered by many to be the pinnacle of British twin development, and Norton’s Commando has a more sophisticated feel OWNERS’ CLUB Triumph Owners Motorcycle Club tomcc.org…

RIDINGLIFE WRITE NOW! We always want to hear your views about the bikes you ride and the bike tales you read. Mail us at: editor@classicbikeguide.com CHROME-PLATED CONNIE YOUR LAST EDITORIAL significantly caught my eye as I found myself in a similar position three years ago when I was offered an Enfield basket case which needed major TLC. It looked like it required a significant investment of time and money. However, along with many teenage Brits from the 1950s, this model was the one I lusted after but could never afford – hence the attraction. There was a Constellation that was frequently ridden down Clapham Park Road outside my parents’ flat, and it always looked and sounded just right. I purchased the basket case with its matching engine and frame numbers,…

E ver since the 1970s there have been regular calls from classic motorcycle buyers for a new, simple, straightforward motorcycle to use rather than a flood of whizzy hi-tech offerings. There’s also been much discussion about whether people would actually buy such a motorcycle if it were available brand-new. The SWM Gran Turismo could have been designed to fill that apparent gap. It’s powered by a simple single cylinder engine and built by reborn Italian brand SWM on the shores of Lake Varese. Just a few miles from MV Agusta and with the Moto Guzzi factory over the next mountain, it’s in Italy’s motorcycle-making heartland. The SWM Classics are Italian-built from Italian, Chinese, Taiwanese and Japanese-made parts and SWM are keen to emphasise their Italian heritage. The Gran Turismo has a…

FOR MANY OF us the concept of electricity is something of a black art. Yes, most of us get V=IR and the basics thereof we learned at school, but beyond that it often all gets a wee bit messy. Now add in a serried panoply of coloured wires, decaying insulating tape, several decades of road dirt, oil and heaven knows what else and the harness fitted to your old classic can be a something of a challenge. Most motorcycle wiring looms were never intended to have the life spans we presume upon them; 10 years, 15 at most. Vehicles of the previous century were supposed to be scrap. Yet here we are, nearly two decades through the next century still expecting corroded connectors, decrepit copper and intransigent insulation to do…

EVENT SHOW REPORT The next Classic Motorcycle Shows event is the 24th Carole Nash Eurojumble on Friday, September 1 and Saturday, September 2, at Meadowmead Farm Ringwood Road, Netley Marsh, Between Cadnam and Totton, Hampshire. The next Kempton Park Autojumble is on Saturday, July 22. Gates open from 9.30am-4pm THE LEGENDARY KEMPTON PARK racecourse usually echoes to the thunder of hooves, but every few months it’s thundering motorcycles that are the focus in the leafy suburbs of west London. In May, the hall below the main stand was the home of the one-day Southern Classic Motorcycle Show, which has been using the venue for nearly 30 years. Dozens of club stands and private entries were present, showing off machines that were painstakingly restored, well-used daily transports as well as a sizable number…

TRIUMPH SET THE STANDARD with their Speed Twin, leaving other manufacturers scrambling to grab a share of the market with their own 500cc twin offerings. Enlisting Bert Hopwood, who had worked on the development of the Speed Twin, to design their engine, Norton unveiled their first twin, the Model 7 in 1949. With this launch of their Dominator dynasty, Norton announced their twin as a ‘leader of multi-cylinder contemporary design with roadholding qualities and smooth urging power which had to be experienced to be appreciated’. Dimensions of 66mm bore and 72.6mm stroke gave the first Dominator 497cc. The pre-unit twin came with a cast iron barrel and head; light alloy alternatives were available at extra cost and later Model 7s had an alloy head as standard. Roadholder forks were fitted,…

PRICE GUIDE £3500-plus FAULTS & FOIBLES Components and information very hard to obtain and info needs translating, but period British spares can be used as substitutes ALSO CONSIDER British side valve singles more plentiful and easier to maintain, like the BSA B23 or Triumph 3S/3SC/3SW 350s. For Continental chic, try the BMW/EMW R35 rugged shaft-drive singles SPECIALIST INFO sarolea.cz BUY IT NOW If you’re determined to own a Sarolea then you’ll probably need to go shopping in EuroLand to find one. This 1929 350 sidevalve single is from the previous generation to our feature bike. It’s an older restoration, up for €8950 at Yesterdays in the Netherlands SAROLEA ARE KNOWN today for their electric motorcycles while the original factory’s motorcycles, manufactured from the early 1900s, are rarely encountered. In a…

T o understand the fame accrued by what, in the final analysis, is only a modified street motorcycle, it is important to remember just how important production racing was in the late 1960s and early 1970s. At the same time as enthusiasm for racing road bikes was at its peak, interest in mainstream GP racing was at an all-time low ebb, with spectators becoming weary of an endless stream of twin-cylinder Yamaha two-strokes in the smaller classes and the legendary Giacomo Agostini giving high speed demonstrations with the bigger MVs. By contrast, production racing had a plethora of factory-entered bikes of all sizes, shapes and capacities. Production racing also offered a huge publicity return for every pound invested. The top bikes were comparatively cheap to make and the leading riders were…

GUZZI’S 750 SPORT V-twins combine the leaping stance of a greyhound with serious mechanical bravado. Their muscular mix has always been extremely attractive on paper, but a ride on one will deepen your perspective. Thin-waisted, the shaftie drops its seat to under 30in when rocked off the stand, making it easy to sit astride. Two cylinders rise up, one on each side, positioned across the frame – unlike Ducati’s twins, which orient their cylinders lengthways. Twisting the key opens the automatic fuel tap – engage the starter and you’re good to go. Competent for sports or touring, the chassis gives reliable feedback when leaned hard, or when you’re hard on the brakes. It’s a long reach to those adjustable clip-ons at their furthest position, but it all makes sense when…