YAM MAHA RD200 AIR-COOLED Buyer’s guide SUZUKIS 80s
Club
Cl lass!
PREP FOR ZINC PLATING. 90s: YAMAHA FAZER 600, TRIUMPH CRK CAFÉ RACER. 80s: YAMAHA TZR250 RACER. 70s: KAWASAKI Z650, HONDA CL350, KAWASAKI HYBRID. Also: ALLEN MILLYARD COLUMN Q&A: YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED AND YOUR BIKES AND MEMORIES!
UK off-sale date – 17/07/2019
Meet the 1980s’ Peaky Blinders!
FIVE DECADES OF MODERN CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE MECHANICS INCLUDING:
No.381 July 2019
£4.30
Yamaha’s rare RZV500R!
July 2019 Issue 381 Publisher: Tim Hartley, thartley@mortons.co.uk Publishing director: Dan Savage, asavage@mortons.co.uk Designers: Charlotte Fairman, Jake Sidebotham, Michael Baumber Picture Desk: Paul Fincham, Jonathan Schofield Production editor: Mike Cowton Divisional advertising manager: Zoe Thurling zthurling@mortons.co.uk Tel: 01507 529412 Advertising: Robert Bee rbee@mortons.co.uk, Tel: 01507 529575 Subscription manager: Paul Deacon Circulation manager: Steven O’Hara Marketing manager: Charlotte Park Commercial director: Nigel Hole Editorial address: CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE MECHANICS MAGAZINE, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6JR Website: www.classicmechanics.com General enquiries and back issues: Tel: 01507 529529 24 hour answer phone help@classicmagazines.co.uk www.classicmagazines.co.uk Archivist: Jane Skayman jskayman@mortons.co.uk, 01507 529423 Subscription: Full subscription rates (but see page 42 for offer): (12 months 12 issues, inc post and packing) – UK £51.60. Export rates are also available – see page 42 for more details. UK subscriptions are zero-rated for the purposes of Value Added Tax. Customer services: Tel: 01507 529529 Lines are open: Monday-Friday 8.30am-7pm Saturday 8.30am-12:30pm Distribution: Marketforce UK Ltd, 5 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HU. Tel: 0203 787 9001 Subscription agents: CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE MECHANICS MAGAZINE, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6JR Printed: William Gibbons & Sons, Wolverhampton Published date: CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE MECHANICS MAGAZINE is published on the third Wednesday of every month Next issue: July 17, 2019 Advertising deadline: June 20, 2019 © Mortons Media Group Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage retrieval system without prior permission in writing from the publisher. ISSN 0959-0900 CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE MECHANICS magazine takes all responsible steps to ensure advice and technical tips are written by experienced and competent people. We also advise readers to seek further professional advice if they are unsure at any time. Anything technical written by the editor is exempt – he’s rubbish with spanners. CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE MECHANICS (USPS:729-550) is published monthly by Mortons Media Group Ltd, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6LZ UK. USA subscriptions are $60 per year from Motorsport Publications LLC, 7164 Cty Rd N #441, Bancroft WI 54921. Periodical Postage is paid at Wisconsin Rapids, WI. Postmaster: Send address changes to CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE MECHANICS, Motorsport Publications LLC, 7164 Cty Rd N #441, Bancroft WI 54921. 715572-4595 chris@classicbikebooks.com
Turbo time and peaky blinders There’s something so cool about the way a power delivery can brighten your day… This issue sees Jeff Ware get under the skin of the best of the 1980s Turbo bikes and it’s interesting to read the comparison of the types some 35 years or so after they first saw light of day. I recall my uncle – a mechanic for Dave Fox Kawasaki (now, sadly gone) – explaining how the GPz750 Turbo had the same performance as the GPz1100 and how it bucked out of control on him on a test ride when the turbo spooled up as he hit a bump on the A2… Fast forward 15 or so years and this was in my mind when I finally managed to have an hour on the 750T myself for a magazine. Fun? you betcha. Scary? Well, even back then the power output wasn’t all that – it was the WAY it kicked in. See, we may love the smooth, linear power pumped out by a V4 four-stroke, but the
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Steve Cooper
Jeff Ware
Mark Haycock
Once more he’s been busy booking 101 holidays this year: This issue he’s got an RD buyer guide and is prepping for zinc plate!
Down Under’s Jeff gives us a top read on the Turbo bikes of the 1980s. He will soon return with an RZV500 restore and an RM80X!
Mark helps you all out with queries and gives us the latest on his current project: the Honda CL350: again!
Older, nicer stuff editor!
John Nutting He’s returning to 1984 this month with the beautiful Yamaha RZV500R and also carrying on with his lovely CRK café racer Trumpet. We like!
Allen Millyard
Engineer extraordinaire! We are still knocked out with how this amazing bloke makes what he does: Go to page 76 for the latest.
Having trouble finding a copy of this magazine?
Editor
BSimmonds@Mortons.co.uk
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Master of MIRA
Independent publisher since 1885
two-stroke addict in us also loves the punch you get somewhere – anywhere – in the rev range. It’s why people love the Yamaha V-Max. This mighty V4 would use the V-Boost system, where butterfly valves would kick the oomph up to 11 at 8000rpm. I spent my first ride watching that tank-mounted rev-counter to see if the difference was noticeable. It was, sadly I wasn’t looking where I was going and mounted the pavement. Lesson learned… we will visit the mighty V-Max soon in CMM… What characterful motors spin your crank? Let us know at the normal address.
Turbo trier!
Jake Sidebotham
Q&A wizard
EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH!
Wet behind the ears He’s young, he’s new and he’s one of the wonderful team who help make the pages of CMM look as good as they do. So far he’s stolen all the biscuits, can’t find the kitchen in order to make the coffee and suffered numerous tantrums from the pathetic excuse for a human being that we call the editor. Contributors and staff have already had a whip-round and bought Jake some ear-plugs.
Alan Dowds
Workaholic Jock
He’s busy stripping down his Fazer 600 project and finds some horrors – but also had time to visit manual masters Haynes (page 114).
Pip Higham
Communication expert Our Pip regales us with more tales of the past – this time, word flow and fuel flow. More on the latter soon!
Scott Redmond
Tony Greenslade
Robert Bee
Scottie is breaking bad again this month: are you listening Alan Dowds? It’s a Yamaha FZS600 Fazer…
How on earth will our Tone get the power for his Frankenstein’s monster of a TZR? Page 122.
Big Bad Bob the ad legend needs more of your money to get your beautiful advert in this wonderful, majestic organ.
Breaker, breaker…
Team Allspeed
The main man
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RT VE AD L IA OR
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and/or specialist vehicles are particular specialties. RH offers a bespoke approach to underwriting your motorcycle’s insurance policy with no hidden fees and charges which means you’ll never go through the process of handing over your details, getting a quote, and then discovering to your considerable disgust that with all the additional charges it’s suddenly become more expensive than some of the other quotes you got in the first place. With RH it’s simple and straightforward – the price you’re quoted is the price you pay. It’s as simple as that. And that’s not all. RH are also specialists in underwriting those future classics we keep telling you about here at CMM. Providing you have one or more motorcycles registered prior to 1991 insured with RH, they will consider covering your entire fleet under a discounted multi-motorcycle policy. You will also receive automatic cover for attending club rallies, cover for dismantled parts up to the value of the motorcycle, subject to being kept in a locked garage or building, and‘cherished salvage’: unlike other insurers, RH offers free and automatic return on all motorcycles over 20 years old. If you’re looking for an insurer who understands what you need and who’s going to be completely open and honest with no hidden fees, look no further than RH.
hen you buy a classic motorcycle – whether it’s a minty fresh white 1980 Yamaha RD250LC or a seen-better-days Honda FireBlade in the timeless red, white and blue livery – choosing the right insurer is vital. The last thing you need when you’re anxiously stripping down your new pride and joy to see what horrendous bodges have been perpetrated against it by previous owners is to discover that your new insurer has tacked on a few little extra fees for‘administration’and ‘document handling’. It’s important to have confidence and trust in your insurer – that they are going to understand the giddy highs and (occasional) bolt-shearing, paintwork-ruining lows of owning a beautiful classic machine from an era when manufacturers and owners did things rather differently. They also need to understand that although you might need cover for a bike you ride every day, you might also need cover for a bike that’s going to be spending a lot of time being worked on in the garage. It’s this knowledge, understanding and up-front approach to the cost of insurance that sets RH Specialist vehicle insurance firmly apart from the rest. They will never demand extra payments for renewing, policy adjustments*, document duplication, cancellation or posting. What’s more, underwriting performance
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ees for policy adjustments. In fact, * No fe only a material change in risk, such as an increase in value will potentially have an effect on your premium.
This quote has been based on: 1996 Ducati 916 value £13k. Policyholder: Male aged 55. Clean licence. Occupation: teacher Member of a recognised motorcycle club. Mileage: 3,000, DE4 4DL, SDP use only. Comprehensive cover £162.05 + Insurance Premium Tax. Subject to £50 excess and must be kept garaged, whilst at its usual address, between 10pm and 6am.
4 / classic motorcycle mechanics
62
❙ Q&A
64
❙ TRIUMPH CRK CAFÉ RACER
76
❙ ALLEN MILLYARD
80
❙ WORKSHOP: ZINC PLATE PREPARATION
Nutters sorts out some wiring… More on his Velocette V-twin!
Scoop tells us what to do
84
88
92
Contents
Mark Haycock with a page of tips
❙ YAMAHA FZS600 FAZER
Alan Dowds strips the bike down. A bit…
❙ KAWASAKI HYBRID
Scoop again – getting the motor in. Or does he?
❙ YAMAHA RD200
Steve Cooper with a buyer’s guide
108 ❙ YAMAHA FZS600 FAZER Scott Redmond breaks one!
110 ❙ KAWASAKI Z650
Ralph with part two of this clutch swap for the wife!
114 ❙ HAYNES
Alan Dowds visits Haynes Publishing
122 ❙ YAMAHA TZR250
Tony Greenslade needs more power! For the lights…
126 ❙ HONDA CL350
Mark Haycock strips CL bits
06
ARCHIVE
08
CMM MARKETPLACE
10
CMM STUFF
Mick Doohan still owns this special machine
The latest look at an aspect of the classic scene
New kit, tools and tyres and stuff
14
NEWS
20
FEEDBACK
22
SHOW US YOURS
26 32
Events, news and what’s happening. WIN Bridgestone tyres for our star letter! WIN S-DOC cleaning gear! Win Tamiya kit for ‘The Way We Were!’
SUZUKI KATANA
First (wet) UK ride on (wet) British roads!
YAMAHA RZV500R John Nutting rides this special ‘RD’…
40 42 44 46 50 60
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EVENTS GUIDE
What’s on during July
AIR-COOLED SUZUKIS
We meet the coolest bike club ever…
TURBO BIKES OF THE 80S Jeff Ware rides the bikes of boost!
RETRO REBOOT
Kar Lee with a V4 Yamaha two-stroke
129 NEXT MONTH
What’s happening in the August 2019 CMM
130 PIP HIGHAM
Pip on communication
www.classicmechanics.com / 5
Mick and the RZV
â– Want to get hold of pictures from the Mortons Archive? Then head to: www.mortonsarchive.com 6 / classic motorcycle mechanics
PHOTOS: MORTON’S ARCHIVE, VIA DOOHAN ARCHIVE
W
ith this month’s test on the rare Yamaha RZV500R, we figured we’d show this as-rare shot from Mick Doohan’s own archive of the time he rode one. In the mid-1980s and with Mick’s riding raising a few eyebrows, the young Aussie hooked up with Jon MacGillvray, who owned a Yamaha RZV500 that he ended up putting Doohan on. The two would become firm friends and Jon would later become Mick’s manager. In 1985 they had a great idea: paint the bike in camouflage, make Mick ride in leathers with camo overalls on (‘I’d puff up like the Michelin man’) and erect a military-style tent where the team could hang out and enjoy some beers with a barbecue. A year later the camo was gone and instead the team got some backing and became ‘Gaythorne Yamaha’, now complete with an RZ250 (think RD350 F) with which
they would enter whatever races they could – including the Surfers 3-Hour endurance race. In Mat Oxley’s superb biography ‘Mick Doohan – Thunder from Down Under’ Mick talks about his riding style on the proddie RZs: “I’d get the thing sliding with the momentum, then have it bouncing around. All the top guys were passing me on the straights and I’d be passing them back in the turns. I was leaving black lines, hanging it out.” Michael Dowson – a handy Aussie racer himself, of the time recalls: “Even on the RZ250 he had this crazy style he’d got from dirt riding – all the emphasis on the front. He just let the rear look after itself!” The Haynes book ‘Mick Doohan – Thunder from Down Under’ can still be found on Amazon. For more on Haynes, go to page 114 and for Mat Oxley’s latest book, see page 11.
www.classicmechanics.com / 7
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Marketplace
Importt-a ant
With this issue seeing a test of the rare RZV500R, we ask about the relevance of imports and why two-strokes are going up in value. WORDS: PAUL JAYSON PICS: GARY D CHAPMAN
I
s the Japanese-market RZV500R – and other imports – less valuable than the home-market models? The RZ with its ‘hand-crafted’ aluminium frame, restricted motor, gold wheels and self-retracting sidestand, is the holy grail of road-going Yamaha two-strokes. Yes, there’s an irritating red light that confuses the rider when it comes on at 55mph, eliciting fears that your two-stroke oil tank has run dry, but this can easily be disarmed and the bike can be derestricted so you can enjoy the full (claimed) 90bhp. There are conflicting stories about how many of these particular 500 fours were produced, but it seems that fewer than 2000 ally-framed, Japanesemarket machines left the factory, which makes them very rare and very desirable. The RD500 and RZV500 are derived from the track bikes that Yamaha pioneered in the 1970s. The RZ is surely the pinnacle of this story, as it has that aluminium frame and is rare. But so many 8 / classic motorcycle mechanics
ABOVE: Base model V4 is still a beauty!
people will cry out: “But it’s an import! It’s not a UK bike!” So what? They’re all imports. They came from a factory in another continent. All of them. The fact that these particular motorcycles weren’t imported by Yamaha UK makes no difference to their desirability and they have never built higher specification motorcycles in the Yamaha factory solely for the UK market. They are the rarest of the 500cc Yamaha two-strokes. Many collectors have discussions with me about two-strokes, as they are wary of them. Contrary to popular belief, they do like to ride their motorcycles. Also, leaving a two-stroke standing and not running during the wet weather is not best practice if you want to maintain healthy crank seals. However, modern fuel and that devilish ethanol just loves to destroy crankshaft seals when your pride and joy is racking up the miles. A full engine rebuild is a bit off-putting when you’ve tied up your pension money in your RZV500R. This ‘fuel for thought’ creates an anxiety we never grew up with in the days of four-star fuel and this is putting a lot of people off: until you ride the thing and get the needle spinning to over 7000rpm… The adrenaline provided by a two-stroke makes you feel young again, conjuring up the music of the time, cider-tasting kisses and buying rubber johnnies. It’s all about nostalgia: two-strokes were as much a part of growing up in the 1970s and the RZ500 was as close to a factory race bike (even alongside the RG500) as any of us were ever going to get close to getting a leg over. These sorts of machines are appealing as they also had the kudos of reflecting the glory of our heroes, like Barry Sheene and Kenny Roberts.
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