Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2019 i Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Copycat or quirky cool? This is what’s been going through my head this month while putting together CMM. This month’s main test is the – perhaps – undervalued and overlooked Suzuki GS750, a bike many claimed was a bit of a Kawasaki rip-off, replicating many of the Big K’s then-current features from the likes of the Z-series and yet building something special of their own. Whatever you think of the bike and its origins, it is the grandsire of the likes of the GS1000, GSX-series, Katanas, GSX-Rs and modern Suzukis all… Then there are those bikes that go their own way, either from a technology point of view or from a styling perspective. Enter, stage left, Aprilia’s Moto 6.5. Here was a machine with humble Pegaso-based running gear, but with…

WIN Duchinni D501 helmet TO BE IN WITH A CHANCE OF WINNING, HERE’S HOW TO ENTER: 1. Go to www.classicmechanics.com 2. Fill in your details 3. Press enter 4. Sit back, relax and wait Competition closes: 11/09/19 Good luck! We’ve teamed up with our friends at Duchinni to offer you the chance to win a Duchinni D501 helmet worth £69.99. This classic shape open-face shell is made from ABS, with a traditional-looking stitched trim and goggle strap at the back. Inside are a thoroughly modern removable and washable textile lining, internal sun visor and chin strap secured by a quick-release buckle. Find out more at www.thekeycollection.co.uk There are no cash alternatives available. The winner will be the first name drawn at random. Terms and conditions apply. To view the privacy…

STOP PRESS! COMBE CALLS! After the sun-fest that was Cadwell Park (page 47) Castle Combe was wet. Editor Bertie braved the elements on two wheels on Friday to find some hardy souls going out in naff conditions. So it was left to our very own Andy Bolas to get winners over both the CMM and the VJMC day on the (much better) Saturday. So, the winners were: Best in Show was Nathanial Mann’s Aprilia Tuono Factory. Best Restoration was a Yamaha FZR1000RU, owned by Reverend Grant Jeffery. Best Special was Yamaha TDR250 with Greg Reid. This beastie had a modded frame, FZR250 swingarm, Paoli inverted forks, carbon-fibre panels, YPVS 421cc motor and 85bhp! Best 2000s was Andrew Napier’s sweet Aprilia RS250 Mk.2. Best 1990s went to Nick Hurst and his…

RETRO RIDE TWIN PEAKS With a lineage going way back to the 1960s, the W-range of Kawasaki parallel twins is a staple of the retro scene. CMM rides the latest incarnation. WORDS: ADAM ‘CHAD’ CHILD PICS: CAPS ASSOCIATION The burble of twin exhausts resonates across the stunning Japanese countryside of the Nagano Prefecture as the bevel gear-driven cam twin effortlessly propels me along the road. Ahead is the dramatic, snow-capped mountain region of Kirigamine – home to Mount Fuji. I can feel the heat of the mid-morning sun on my face and am certainly in no hurry. I’m simply taking in the delights of Japan's scenery 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 the country.…

I’m restoring one: Chris Parkin I bought my GS750 a year ago; it was a friend’s bike almost from the start so I’ve known it for 35 years of its life. Recently my friend had a car accident and couldn’t see himself riding it again, so he sold it to me for £1200. It was in nice condition, but due some work, and as a serial bike restorer – this was project number 16 – I had to decide whether to go concours or some other way. In the end I decided on what I call a ‘nice resto’, not a full nut  and bolt job, and not to total originality, but a good clean-up with a few changes I would have made back in the day, such as the…

HAYNES PRINT & ONLINE Clutch control Decent clutch operation isn’t just about cables and plates. Scoop is on about clutch actuators! WORDS AND PICS: STEVE COOPER It’s often only when they’ve run out of adjustment at the handlebar that some riders will look at the adjuster down at the other end of the cable. And yet, truth be told, both ends of the clutch cable should be set up in unison at the same time. Unfortunately out of sight isn’t necessarily out of mind. If your clutch action isn’t all it should be then, very possibly, you’ll be needing to look at the grubby end. Many period bikes utilise a helix or Archimedes screw mechanism to operate the push rod that separates the clutch plates against spring pressure. It’s a…

HAYNES PRINT & ONLINE Suzuki RM80X part 2 Small matters! Jeff’s 1981 RM80X might be small, but it has a huge heart. This month the bike is stripped bare and the frame repainted ready for assembly. WORDS: JEFF WARE PICS: JEFF AND HEATHER WARE G’day! I’ve made some good progress on my RM80X since last issue. It’s mid-winter here as I write this up and cold (for us Aussies anyway), so shed time has been mostly on weekends and the warmer nights. So far, so good: I’m happy with progress. I have completely stripped the bike down to the frame and listed all of the parts I need to complete the resto of this little air-cooled screamer. I just can’t wait to fire it up…

Classic Superbike TT machines So here’s the gen: you can have ‘Up to 1300cc, liquid or air-cooled four-stroke machines 01/01/1973 to 31/12/1986’, or ‘700cc -750cc four-stroke, four cylinder machines 01/01/1987 to 31/12/1992, or ‘Up to 1000cc four-stroke, two and three cylinder machines and Norton rotary-engine machines 01/01/1987 to 31/12/1992. Finally, there are ‘351cc - 750cc two-stroke machines 01/01/1968 to 31/12/1992.’ You can see clearly where the Kwaka fits! Rules include the following: ■ Presentation: The motorcycle must be presented in period condition. ■ Wheels: Modern wheels that closely resemble what was used on the bike in the period may be used. ■ Tyres: Slick tyres may be used. Tyres having a moulded tread pattern will be permitted. Free choice of size with no maximum tyre size requirement. ■ Brakes: Free…

Archive Kawasaki W1 WORDS: BERTIE SIMMONDS, ADAM CHILD Japan is now known for innovation in all things two wheels, but there was a time when really all it could do was copy what went before. Take, for example, the original Kawasaki W1 of 1965. Here was a machine that – if it was parked up anywhere today – you would almost swear it was a beautiful British twin-cylinder motorcycle. And yet the chrome-plated tank says Kawasaki on it, but the exhausts are the same shape as a Brit twin too… This was a Kawasaki production bike that ran from 1966 through to 1973, by which time that innovation we were mentioning had been in full force with the likes of the Honda CB750 and Kawasaki’s own Z1… You’ll see on…

News Guests galore at Stafford! The kings of two and three wheels will be the joint special guests at this year’s 26th Carole Nash Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show. For two wheels, our very own Allen Millyard will be guest of honour, while 10-time World Sidecar champ Steve Webster will be our three-wheel guest. Both will be quizzed at the show – which takes place once again at the Stafford County Showground – by master of ceremonies Steve Plater. Allen is a monthly contributor to CMM and has long been known as perhaps the best specialist builder in the business. Over more than 25 years he’s produced dozens of Kawasaki fours, fives, little Honda V-twins, V8 and V12 Kawasakis, the Viper V10, the Flying Millyard five-litre V-twin and the six-cylinder RC374…

CMM TRACKDAYS CLASSIC FUN! Our June event with Classic Bike Trackdays was a hoot and a very warm hoot, too! WORDS AND PICS: BERTIE SIMMONDS Well, if you attended our CMM days in June then thank you very much indeed… Our June day followed on from the scorching hot Classic Suzuki Trackday and Show on the Saturday 29th. To say it was hot, hot, hot was an understatement! Stars such as John Reynolds, Steve Parrish and Terry Rymer hit the track on a raft of very special Suzukis. By the Sunday (thankfully) the temperatures were lower and lots of fun was had by all! Our winners were happy to receive their trophies, too. Our best 1960s bike was Les Dawes’ Triton. The motor was from 1959 and the frame…

HAYNES PRINT & ONLINE Project Triumph CRK Café Racer part 4 Damn and blast! Almost halfway through his CRK Triumph 1200 project, Nutters pulls the bike apart to ready the frame and engine for respraying. WORDS AND PICS: JOHN NUTTING You know what it can be like. Leave a decision to the next day and chances are you’ll wake up in the middle of the night with a start and can’t sleep until you’ve wrestled with the problem. After a part dry build of the Café Racer Kits (CRK) 1200 project, I’d reached the point where I had to arrange for the frame and engine repainted so that it would eventually arise transformed phoenix-like from its sad touring past. I didn’t want to do…

HAYNES PRINT & ONLINE Project Suzuki TS400 Apache part 1  Chasing shadows! Scoop gets a hankering for yet another bike and this time he’s going left field for his biking kicks. We trace his (lack of) thought process… WORDS: STEVE COOPER PICS: SKUNGHEENEY HARRISON There’s a supposed formula that suggests the ideal number of motorcycles anyone can own is n+1, where n is the current number of two-wheelers you have, but you always aspire to ‘just one more’ machine. It’s a fair enough arbiter, but I’d argue there are two other factors that also need to be deliberated. Surely disposable income has to be taken into consideration and after that storage capacity has to be a factor? Perhaps worryingly, far too many of us seem to be…

BUYER’S GUIDE Puch VZ50 This month we’re looking at one of the first ‘sixteener’ mopeds sold in the UK. WORDS: STEVE COOPER PHOTOS: GARY ‘D’ CHAPMAN CHASSIS Check all the sheet steel for signs of heavy corrosion. GEARS When properly set up gear selection should be simple. If it’s playing up, adjust as per the factory manual and don’t just randomly fiddle with the adjusters. EXHAUST SYSTEM Almost certainly clogged with carbon and/or oil from period premix so will benefit from a proper clean. TANK Well made and not especially prone to rust unless it’s sat with the filler cap off. Costly to re-chrome though! ENGINE This is a tough little cookie and nothing inherently wrong here, other than being ragged via teenage abuse. BRAKES The front is straightforward,…

HAYNES PRINT & ONLINE Kawasaki Z650 part 4 Clued-up clutch Here is Ralph’s final foray in sorting and softening ‘She Who Must Be Obeyed’s’ Kawasaki Z650 clutch! WORDS AND PICS: RALPH FERRAND And I am back in the workshop this month for the final part of the story of easing my wife’s clutch woes. If you haven’t reached that age when your joints start to hurt then you’re very lucky. Sometimes this is a result of crashing when you’re younger, meanwhile while the current Mrs Ferrand did not repeatedly use her body as an unofficial crash test dummy, sadly the advancing years have not been kind to her digits. Pulling the clutch in on her Stinky (the pet name for her Z650) was causing…

HAYNES PRINT & ONLINE Yamaha RZV500R part 1 Area 51 Our own Down Under Jeff rolls a rare RZV500R 51X on to the bench for a good work over. WORDS AND PICS: JEFF WARE G’day, I hope you are having a good Summer over there, with plenty of miles under the wheels on your chosen classic! It’s Winter here, not that it really matters that much, we get still get fried. However, I still tend to spend more time in the shed than on the road in the cooler period, and that is exactly what I plan to do this Winter. Just when I was ripping into my RM80X (see page 84) and another Slabside (1985 GSX-R750, possibly a streetfighter project) my mate Chappy…

Marketplace Seminal Suzi The GS750 spearheaded an amazing family of four-strokes from Suzuki – but what is its standing in the marketplace? WORDS: PAUL JAYSON, PIP HIGHAM PICS: MORTONS ARCHIVE, PIP HIGHAM Launched at the end of 1976, in the US, while the UK was wondering why that summer had been so hot (hindsight is a wonderful thing), the GS750 marked a historic turn for Suzuki. Prior to its launch, Suzuki had nearly bankrupted itself with the Rotary-engined RE5 and had offered a great stable of two-strokes from 50cc to 750cc. The UK Suzuki sales brochure had the two-stroke sniffers in a state of constant arousal with the AP50, GT125, GT250, GT380, GT550 and GT750. There was not a four-stroke to be found in the world of Suzuki and they…

******* Prize winner******* Bigger garage needed! I have just discovered your magazine as my previous read has gone over to the dark side! I have just read your May edition and it’s just what I want so will be signing up for a subscription. I too have the resto bug and am running out of storage and workshop space. I have a 1975 Yamaha DT250C. I built it in 2014. Several other projects have been sold on, including a Yamagamma, KH250 and Honda XL250. For years I have been searching for a Harris project and was lucky to pick one up from Northern Ireland last year. It had been café raced up by the owner, who also had the old fairings. Once delivered I slapped on all the old kit…

CLASSIC RIDE CHANGING VROOMS In the 1990s, Aprilia got a lamp designer to make a motorcycle: Scoop rides the Italian oddball that is the Moto 6.5. WORDS: STEVE COOPER PICS: GARY D CHAPMAN, WIKIPEDIA What do you get when an Italian motorcycle manufacturer asks a French designer to style a motorcycle that runs an Austrian engine? This month’s classic ride, of course: the Aprilia Moto 6.5 aka the Aprilia ‘Starck’. And before you all start firing off emails and letters to poor old Bertie asking why we’re featuring such a weird machine within the pages of CMM, get this. Some people really get Phillippe Starck’s handiwork and there’s actually a section of the Aprilia Owner’s Club dedicated to this rather wacky, left-field motorcycle. Whether you love or hate the looks…

DIARY DATES See you there! Welcome to our NEW updated section for the best of the classic events across the UK and the globe. Send your events/info/flyers to: bsimmonds@mortons.co.uk FOWLERS BIKE NIGHTS Friday, September 6 will see the latest Bristol Bike Night that is proving popular down in the southwest. Hosted by Fowlers Motorcycles on the first Friday evening of the month, Bike Nights are a warm and friendly opportunity for riders of all types to meet. There is food, drink, prize draws, music and also ‘Bike of the Night’ awards. In May Pete Sprague won with his Yamaha RD500; in June it was Steve Gardiner’s Honda Express; and in July, Scott Harvey won with his home-built 1981 Honda C90, with a 140cc Stomp engine. So, get on your bike…

MAIN TEST Suzuki GS750 Humble hero! Suzuki was in a difficult place near the end of the 70s for various reasons – what they needed was a machine upon which they could form a whole new range of four-stroke motorcycles: enter the GS750… WORDS: JON BENTMAN PICS: GARY D CHAPMAN You have to wonder who worked out the strategy. It had been seven or eight years since Honda had introduced the game-changing CB750. Four years since Kawasaki had blown our minds with the Z1. BMW, Guzzi et al had responded with litre bikes of their own, but with Kawasaki the 1000cc four-cylinder four-stroke was well established and the benchmark for performance. So what better way to announce your (late) arrival into the four-stroke superbike segment than with an, erm, 750?…

RETRO REBOOT Suzuki RG250 Gamma Arguably the prettiest Gamma ever built, we reboot the RG250 Mk1 and Mk2. WORDS AND IMAGES: KAR LEE Being the successor to the X7 was never going to be an easy task: Suzuki had to come up with something good to replace the popular air-cooled twin. Instead they built something that not only moved the game on from Yamaha’s mighty RD250LC, but ushered in a new generation of race-replicas. Featuring a lightweight box-section aluminum frame (a first on a production bike), water-cooled powerplant and styling with clear Katanaesque styling influences, plus rising-rate rear suspension at the back with anti-dive forks married to Deca-piston brakes, it was a technological marvel. Unfortunately, Yamaha came back with the more powerful RD350YPVS, landing at the same time and with…

HAYNES PRINT & ONLINE Kawasaki H2C part 2 Engine out! This month, Ralph tears the heart out of the Purple Penance, which masquerades as his H2C WORDS AND PICS: RALPH FERRAND I’m back again with my triple nemesis, the pestilent purple pain in the wallet. You’ll recall from last issue, I had only just become corrupted into the satanic coven of triple smokiness, when I got tucked up like the proverbial smoked herring with an uber expensive investment with more faults than a drunk show jumper. Never mind, if I’d bought a decent one I wouldn’t be writing this! The crazy triples from KHI (Kawasaki Heavy Industries) first hit the streets in 1968 in the form of the Mark III H1. It was a…

HAYNES PRINT & ONLINE Yamaha FZS600 Fazer part 4 Feeling flushed! Our Dowds is on with getting the Fazer MoT’d and ready for the road… what’s next, Al? WORDS AND PICS: ALAN DOWDS The mighty Fazer 600 is up and running – though not quite as smoothly as we’d hoped. One of the tips I picked up early doors when working on bikes is that 95 per cent of the time running problems are down to electrics, and the ignition system in particular. That was certainly true back in the early 1990s, before properly sealed connectors and super-reliable components became par for the course. Back then, water, corrosion and old tech like frame-mounted coils with their sprawling HT leads and plug caps caused no end…

Racing the early Yamaha twins Yamaha have always taken racing seriously and with good reason. As early as 1955 the company was tuning their very first machine (the YA-1 125cc single) for competition work. They competed in the third Mount Fuji Ascent Race in July 1955 and again in the first Asama Highlands Race four months later, beating many established names. Tuned versions of the YD1 twin, known as YD-A and YD-B, were equally successful on the volcanic ash-surfaced tracks used in Japan at the time. Star rider Fumio Itoh then competed at the 1958 American Catalina GP on a YD2 derived bike and finished sixth despite suffering plug fouling and racing against machines with twice the capacity. This was the first time a Japanese bike had competed in America.…

WORK SHOP HAYNES PRINT & ONLINE Project Kawasaki ZXR750J Classic TT racer part 1 Vac-packed! CMM welcomes Mike Booth from our sister title Fast Bikes. Boothy wants to go to the classic TT with a ‘Hoover-pipe’ Kawasaki ZXR from 1991… WORDS: MIKE BOOTH PICS: BOOTHY, GRAHAM ELLIS, MORTONS ARCHIVE It seems to me that the constant urge to buy more and more motorbikes is like an incurable disease, and it doesn’t get any better with age. And I’m too poor to have a garage so every time I buy a new bike they end up in my old man’s workshop, which is getting more and more bunged up with bikes as we speak. Between him and I, there is a bike in there for…

HAYNES PRINT & ONLINE Honda CL350 part 6 Detective work Private dick Haycock looks at the clues as to why some things on his CL are a little bit damaged. WORDS AND PICS: MARK HAYCOCK Welcome back! By this stage I had the engine in the frame so it was time to look at the wheels. Starting at the front, one point I had noticed was that the brake did not work because there was far too much slack in the cable, though that was simple enough to diagnose as the adjuster was missing (Photo 1). I did have a spare in my oddments collection and the cable was in good shape; after a bit of lubrication it worked perfectly. One interesting design point…