Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2019 i Classic Bike Guide

BSA ROCKET GOLD STAR factory prototype ‘985 FOC’ will be sold at the next H&H Classics auction at the National Motorcycle Museum on July 30. This piece of motorcycling history was built at the BSA factory in Birmingham in January 1962 and was used for the development and evaluation of the Rocket Gold Star. Copies of the BSA factory despatch records show the bike was first used by Motorcycle Sport for a road test and following this the factory replaced the frame. The bike was then used by BSA factory racer Chris Vincent at the TT as his personal transport. Other despatch entries show Worcester County Constabulary testing the bike for possible police use and to Mr G Harding, a BSA dealer on the Isle of Man. Finally, the factory…

TRIUMPH MOTORCYCLES HAS teamed up with the Ace Café to create a limited-edition model of its Bonneville T120. Only 1400 Bonneville T120 Ace machines will be sold worldwide. The Ace models come with a matt storm grey paint job with a contrasting Ace Café stripe and dedicated Ace Café and Bonneville T120 graphics. Ace Café has become a global brand, with branches in Barcelona, Lucerne, Beijing, Orlando and Lahti in Finland. The new Bonneville T120 Ace builds on the success of the Thruxton Ace produced in 2015, with a stripped-back and blacked-out take on the first generation of cafe racers, designed to echo the ‘head down, hold on’ teenage ethos of the day. Mark Wilsmore, managing director of Ace Café London, said: ‘’Triumph and the Ace Cafe go hand in…

THE CLASSIC EXPERTS at Draganfly have completed their online Triumph spares catalogue. All the Triumph sections are online, with the catalogue including exploded diagrams and original Triumph part numbers. The Triumph shop contains 10 sections ranging from 150cc Cubs to 750cc Triples. You can also access lots of useful information to help with your order and the further restoration of your Triumph on the website. Use the original Triumph part numbers to search stock, check prices and order securely online. Visit www.draganfly.co.uk…

Arai SZ-R VAS helmet I’VE SPENT MOST of my life riding in full face helmets, and more recently in open face lids. I always disliked the flip-up types as they were neither one thing nor the other, but I appreciate they have their uses. But full faces don’t give the classic experience, while open face lids do, but also with flies, dirt and if it rains, riding gets a little unpleasant. Oh, what to do… I’d seen our friend and regular contributor Alan Cathcart wear this Arai SZ-R and liked the idea, but until this year Arai had not imported them to the UK for some time. Now they do, and I think I’ve found my new favourite helmet. It works for my modern Triumph Scrambler just as easily as…

ENGINE: Air-cooled ohv twin BORE/STROKE: 70mm x 84mm CAPACITY: 646cc POWER: 46bhp LUBRICATION: Dry sump IGNITION: Magneto CARBURETTOR: Amal Monobloc TRANSMISSION: Chain GEARBOX: Four-speed foot change FRAME: Twin downtube duplex cradle FRONT SUSPENSION: Telescopic forks, hydraulic damping REAR SUSPENSION: Swinging arm. Twin three-way adjustable shocks FRONT BRAKE: 8in/203mm sls drum REAR BRAKE: 7in/177mm sls drum TYRES: 3.25 x 19 Front 3.50 x 19 Rear WHEELBASE: 57in/1432mm GROUND CLEARANCE: 6in/152mm SEAT HEIGHT: 30 in/762mm WEIGHT: 415lb/188kg…

IT HAS TO be at least 30 years since I last rode a big Yamaha single, the XT’s sibling, the SR500 roadster. That particular bike was a bit of a pain to start, so I must admit the idea of kicking over the XT was a bit intimidating. Back then I was less bulky than I am today, when I have more weight available to push the kick-start downwards. Mark, the owner of this fine example of an early XT, one of five in his stable, admitted that the bike could be a bit hard to start, especially if its tiny 6v battery was low on juice. After Mark kicking it a few times failed to bring the beast to life, it was clear the XT was in a bit…

“I then asked him what’s the most miles he’d ridden in a day – 1600 was the reply.” AS RIDERS, I THINK IT’S FAIR TO SAY WE ARE perceived by the great washed as being a trifle odd. Why dress up in all that smelly bike gear they ask, getting cold and wet (or very occasionally hot and bothered), when you could be in a nice car with heated seats or air conditioning? Why, in a car you can even chat to your significant other for hours on end about upcoming DIY projects you still haven’t done (because you’re always too busy with that blimmin’ bike!) and eat travel sweets as Snooze FM plays another floor filler. Bearing in mind the likelihood of even one of those scenarios being true,…

Make and model: Kawasaki Street and Café Price: Street £8399 Café £9099 Engine: 773cc air-cooled parallel-twin SOHC 8v Power: 53bhp & 35kW @ 6000rpm Frame: Steel Double Cradle Wheelbase: 1465mm Brakes: Front – Single 320mm discs, two piston caliper. Rear, 270mm disc, twin-piston caliper Transmission: five gears and chain final drive Suspension: 41 conventional telescopic forks, non-adjustable. Rear twin shocks, with pre-load adjustment Wheels/tyres: Front 100/90x18 130/80x18 Rear, Dunlop k300 Seat height: Street 770mm Café 790mm Fuel capacity: 15 MPG: 55 (est) Weight: (dry/wet) Street 221kg Café 223kg Warranty: two years free with optional four-year Roadside assistance: Free for 12 months Service intervals: 600 miles then 7600, 15,200, 22,800 Contact: Manufacturer www.kawasaki.co.uk…

IT’S AN OFTEN-HEARD COMPLAINT THAT the rubber fork gaiters you can buy these days don’t last very long. Whether or not this is because the cheap rubber is just poor quality, or because the current materials legislation stops gaiter makers from using the nasty stuff in them that made them tougher isn’t clear, but if you own and run an old Brit bike, the chances are you’ll need to change the gaiters regularly. If you own a mid-to-late Sixties Triumph or BSA, the job is surprisingly simple, thankfully. The original 50-year-old gaiters on my BSA Starfire gave up the ghost over the winter, so a replacement set was sourced at the Bristol Classic Show, and I fitted them in less than an hour, using only a ½in AF spanner and…

MORE than 200 bikes dating back to 1911 will be on display at the Stroud Vintage Transport and Engine Club’s show this summer. The event at South Cerney Airfield in Cirencester, Glouc over the weekend of August 2-4 is now in its 45th year and is one of the biggest steam, vintage transport and countryside events in the UK. The sprawling show site covers around 200 acres of an ex-wartime airfield and one of the largest display areas is the motorcycle section. Among the marques on display are Honda, Cotton, Meteor, Yamaha, Harley-Davidson, Moto Guzzi, AJS, James, Triumph, Royal Enfield, Rudge, Baker, BMW, Norton, Velocette, Panther, Francis Barnett, Matchless and Greeves. There will also be a selection of Lambretta scooters and the welcome return of the BSA Bantam Club. Cotton,…

BIKE PARTS SPECIALIST Wemoto has launched a new range of T-shirts to raise money for the Manx Grand Prix Supporters’ Club. With the help of generous bikers and famous names in the biking industry, Wemoto has managed to raise £65,000 over the last four years by designing and selling Festival of Jurby T-shirts to support the MGPSC charity. The 2018 fundraiser brought a total of £16,590, which was handed over to the club at this year’s official TT opening. The money helps the club to fund its life-saving helicopter ambulance, used during practice and race days of the Manx Grand Prix. The MGPSC also supports injured riders and their families, such as Royce Rowe, who received their help back in 2017. The 2019 T-shirts are available from Wemoto for £10.…

Whilst at Stafford show this year I visited the Triumph Owners’ Motorcycle Club stall and expressed concern at the lack of events in the North West. There are very few motorcycle jumbles in that area, other than the British Preservation Society event, which we have been hosting at Mochdre near Colwyn Bay for the past 30 plus years and there is one other annual event down at Oswestry. The flyers above are events we have arranged for this year. These type of events provide a very valuable source of parts for collectors of older bikes. Our annual show started in Erias Park Colwyn Bay in the Seventies then moved to West Shore Llandudno, but now a new event has been created alongside the Blind Veterans’ Association on North Shore, Llandudno.…

THE SEVENTH YEAR RUNNING OF the best UK custom bike show was bigger and better than ever. And the classic and vintage theme was everywhere. The Bike Shed started as an internet blog, following a modern sportsbike rider, Dutch, through his change to custom bikes and the scene that he found. It gained momentum, (as many others were finding modern bikes not to their taste anymore), grew to a show a few years later, then gained a permanent base in London with somewhere to meet, eat and enjoy bikes; London style. The show is continually morphing, each year getting bigger, better and of a higher quality. Gone are the days of stripping airhead BMWs and fitting nonsense tyres – the quality of the bikes this year was truly inspirational. Whether…

“The money thing deserves note, because the joint is dripping with it, and cash has changed the collecting game in a big way over the past 20 years.” IT’S A CURIOUS THING, BEING A JUDGE AT A Concorso d’Eleganza, like the one at Villa d’Este. The perks are incontestably fab: a flight to Lake Como, a very nice hotel, every meal catered, drivers at your beck and call, extravagant parties, and rubbing elbows with the swells, some of whom are very interesting indeed. We’re second-tier celebs as judges for the Concorso di Motociclette, and something of an amusement to the zillionaire collectors who litter Villa d’Este’s expansive verandah with 50 extravagant and extremely valuable cars. The 50 or so motorcycles to which we moto-judges are assigned are also quite valuable…

JUNE 2019 28-30 Summer Solstice Rock Fest Rally: Southam Rugby Club, B4451 Kineton Road, Southam, Warks CV47 2DH. Email: solsticerockfest@hotmail.com. 28-30 Pistons and Pints 2: Breighton Ferry Inn, Breighton, Selby, N Yorks YO8 6DH. www.bracanmcc.co.uk. Tel: 07951 653195. Email: info@ bracanmcc.co.uk. 28-30 British Two-Stroke Club Annual Rally and Annual General Meeting: Henlow Bridge Lakes, Henlow, Beds, SG16 6LN. Tel: 02392 460014. 28-30 Thunderbird Rally: The New Broom, Uttoxeter Road, Checkley, Shrops ST10 4NB. www.watoc.info. Tel: 01952 299018.Email: ken.talbot@sky.com. 28-30 VMCC NI Section Antrim Coast Weekend: based at the Halfway House Hotel, Ballygally, Co. Antrim. Tel: Ian MacDougall 028 2582 2356. vmccni.wordpress.com 29 Armed Forces Family Fun Day: The Old Springs, 126 Spring Road, Orrell, Wigan, Lancs WN5 0JJ. Email: brigantiarebelsmcc@gmail.com. 29 VMCC (Dorset section) Breakfast Meet: Henstridge Golf and Leisure,…

Q. What are the differences between the old W800 and new 2019 engine? The biggest change is the fuelling and exhaust to make it Euro 4 compliant. The internals, like the piston are slightly different, but this wasn’t for performance reasons. It’s essentially the same as before. Q. You’ve remained air-cooled with gear driven cams, why? You could have achieved more power with water-cooling and conventional chain driven cams. The engine needed to be aesthetically pleasing, it was important to remain air-cooled and the bevel gear driven cams are simply for show. The air-cooling fins on this bike are like the original, we will keep the bike air-cooled as long as possible Q. The wheels have changed from 19in front to 18in, did you ever consider a conventional 17? No…

The big end is the large end at the bottom of the con rod, which pivots around the crankshaft. The little end is at the top, where the gudgeon pin fits through to hold the piston. Many people use the term ‘big-end’ when referring to the crank, or big ends or anything in that area of the engine. Our ES2 has a three-piece crankshaft; the two webs (sides) and the crank pin. Some engines, mostly multiple-cylinder engines, have a one-piece crank, where the crank pins and webs are one part. The big ends are two piece and bolt together around the crank pin, or journal. The big end and crank pin would wear each other away so some engines use bearings, while others use shells of a hard-wearing material.…

A UNIQUE EXAMPLE of one of the greatest late British bikes is up for grabs in the National Motorcycle Museum’s summer raffle. Following the success of the winter raffle for an unused Norton Commando, the summer offering is for an as-new 1977 Triumph Trident 750. Museum director James Hewing stated: “We have a stunning prize for our summer raffle by offering another brand new/old stock machine. “This time it’s a 1977 Triumph Trident T160V which has never been run or registered and is showing just nine ‘push’ miles only.” Second prize is a Sealey retro style 10 drawer combination tool chest worth £850, while third prize is a luxury hotel break at the Manor Hotel, Meriden and dinner for two at the hotel’s Marco Pierre White Steakhouse. The winning ticket…

IT’S PROVING FAR from ‘last orders’ at Monty’s Classics, as the supplier of British spares to the enthusiast is now firmly in place at its new premises, a former pub on the border between Devon and Cornwall. Bar staff at The Cross House in Metherell, near Callington pulled their last pints more than a decade ago and after a lot of work the bar and restaurant are now a Mecca for British bike fans hunting for elusive parts rather than thirsty locals after a pint. Monty has an encyclopaedic knowledge of Triumph, Norton and BSA parts and worked for 20 years at Terry Hobbs’ shop in Plymouth. For two decades now he and wife Ann have been building their own business. Monty makes a point of only stocking the best…

CADWELL PARK WILL echo to the howl of 120° triples at this year’s Beezumph rally on July 25/26. Organisers at the Trident and Rocket 3 Owners’ Club are celebrating their 40th birthday and are pulling out all the stops. There will be a Doug Hele Centennial area with the prototype P1 Trident on display. Other bikes there will include the reproduction Hailwood Rocket 3, Boyer Trident race bike, P&M Trident, and either a space frame or monocoque works Norton Commando. Beezumph is a two-day rally, with camping available from Wednesday night until Saturday. Thursday will see an organised ride out around Lincolnshire , including a stop off at the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre at East Kirkby. In the evening, there will be an autojumble of triple and other parts followed…

MANUFACTURED: 1976-1989 ENGINE: Air-cooled ohc single BORE/STROKE: 87mm x 84mm CAPACITY: 499cc COMPRESSION: 9:1 POWER: 32bhp@5,500 rpm LUBRICATION: Dry sump, oil in frame IGNITION: Coil and points CARBURETTOR: Mikuni 34mm TRANSMISSION: Chain GEARBOX: Five-speed foot change FRAME: single downtube cradle FRONT SUSPENSION: Telescopic forks REAR SUSPENSION: Swinging arm, twin shocks FRONT BRAKE: 6.3in (160mm) drum REAR BRAKE: 6in (150mm) sls drum TYRES: 3.00 x 21 front 4.00 x 18 rear WHEELBASE: 56in (1420mm) SEAT HEIGHT 33ins/840mm DRY WEIGHT: 319lb/145kg…

“A significant proportion of us tend to inhabit fringes many never venture anywhere near; let alone to.” FOLLOWING HOT ON THE HEELS OF SUCH TRITE TV trivia as Cash In The Attic may we suggest a new show called Shit In the Shed. Apologies for the profanity but if you have cable/satellite TV then you already know that junk sells; where there’s muck there’s brass as the saying goes. I’ve now had my suspicions confirmed that the classic motorcycle scene is spinning spectacularly off its axis. Folk will buy the most bizarre, careworn, damaged or even ruined ‘stuff’ and yet there’s a tautological truism to most of this. We are all unquestionably classic bike fans but a significant proportion of us tend to inhabit fringes many never venture anywhere near;…

THE BURBLE FROM THE TWIN EXHAUSTS resonates across the stunning Japanese countryside, as the bevel gear driven cam 783cc engine effortlessly propels me along the road. To both sides of the road are endless meticulously kept rice fields, and ahead the dramatic, snow-capped mountain region of Kirigamine, which is home to Mount Fuji. I can feel the heat of the mid-morning sun upon my face. I’m in no hurry. I’m simply taking in the delights of Japan and the Nagaro region and Kawasaki’s all-new W800 is proving to be the perfect combination of style and comfort to explore this stunning, jaw-dropping area of Japan. “The old W800 was loved by many. It was simple and straightforward, which appealed to a generation who remember when bikes had kick-starts. Equally a younger…

IF MOTORCYCLE WIRING SCARES YOU witless, then you can take some comfort from the fact that you’re not the only one. For many owners, bike electrics seem a black art form but they don’t need to be – in fact, given the right kit it’s actually hugely rewarding to sort out your bike’s electrical poltergeists. WHAT YOU NEED First on the list of must-haves is a multimeter. It doesn’t have to be expensive either, but get one that has a readout and not simply lights, so you can see how much current or voltage you are getting somewhere. The cheapest start from under £5, a £10 unit will get you well on your way and £25 will get you everything you’ll ever need and more. In fact, the more expensive…

“Because I know more than any sane individual would want to about postwar AMC machinery and rotary Nortons. None of this knowledge is currently much use, as I have neither make nor model on the road.” ONE OF THE FEW GENUINE PERILS OF A LIFE lived with a strange focus on elderly motorcycles is Death By Anorak. I doubt it’s happened very frequently, or the sensationalist tabloids would be rammed with headlines demanding Immediate Action, and sundry sage souls would declaim sombrely on the BBC Home Service about the undoubted perils to the nation’s youth, public morality, and things like that. But… anoraknophobia is almost a recognised psychological condition. The risk is of course to the anorak, rather than the phobic, because as the will to live fades away, so…