July 2015 Issue 333 Publisher: Steve Rose, srose@mortons.co.uk Contributors: Joe Dick, Kevin Larkins, Ralph Ferrand. Art Editor: Justin Blackamore Reprographics: Paul Fincham, Jonathan Schofield Divisional advertising manager: David England, dengland@mortons.co.uk Advertising: Sam Dearie, Lee Buxton sdearie@mortons.co.uk, lbuxton@mortons.co.uk Tel: 01507 524004 Subscription manager: Paul Deacon Circulation manager: Steven O’Hara Marketing manager: Charlotte Park Publishing director: Dan Savage Commercial director: Nigel Hole Associate director: Malc Wheeler 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 36 for offer): (12 months 12 issues, inc post and packing) – UK £50.40. Export rates are also available – see page 36 for more details. UK subscriptions are zero-rated for the purposes of Value Added Tax. Distribution: COMAG, Tavistock Road, West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7QE. Tel: 01895 433600 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: Wednesday, July 15, 2015 Advertising deadline: Tuesday, June 30, 2015 © 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
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Get out there and have fun! It’s a obvious truth about our favourite hobby, but often it’s a singular one. Think of the amount of times you’ve worked alone in your shed or your garage. Sometimes for hours at a time. It’s perhaps a ‘bloke’ thing (apologies to the ladies reading) but we often like to indulge in things that may result in us having hours alone to come up with a finished product, be it a bike or homebrew! Sure, the classic motorcycle scene is thriving and it is full of friends, groups, forums where we can hook up and meet like-minded individuals. And then there’s the internet which makes the whole world – and therefore the people in it – feel closer together. Even when you go for a ride, often it’s alone on the bike, shut off from the realities and pressures of life,
encased in helmet and riding gear. I guess it’s just how I’m seeing things following the most excellent Welsh Classic Festival at the end of May. For too many months I’ve been around bikes on my tod. Not because I’m billy-no-biker-mates, but just because – as a single parent – my time to fettle, fiddle and clean my steeds normally comes when the precocious daughter is asleep or ‘not being understood’ by me. Yup, the Welsh weekend was a winner. I had a great time riding, chatting and drinking with like-minded mates. I guess we all need to get the balance in life right, but I realise I need to get out there on two-wheels more often and have some fun!
Bertie Simmonds editor
Bertie Simmonds
Jon Bentman
Chris Moss
bertie@classicmechanics.com ...done it again. I’ve bought more bikes and sold others. Well, it’s my money. I loved Anglesey, by the way!
editorial@classicmechanics.com In his penultimate test for us (sniff) JB goes for a walk on the wild side with Kawasaki’s snarling H1 two-stroke.
editorial@classicmechanics.com Mossy finds that a second-rate 1990s bike, the Kawasaki ZX-7R, makes a first-rate modern classic.
Steve Cooper
Mark Haycock
John Nutting
editorial@classicmechanics.com At last Scoop has found the bits that were his Suzuki Stinger! He’s also been sorting fuel taps.
editorial@classicmechanics.com He’s back with a spread of answers to your queries and he’s bought another bike. Cool or crud?
editorial@classicmechanics.com John recalls the story behind a bright orange missile rumoured to top 140mph! How times have changed.
Stan Stephens
Richard Lindoe
Niall Mackenzie
editorial@classicmechanics.com Stan is back to his best, repairing a damaged head and continuing with the amazing RD1200LC V6 project!
editorial@classicmechanics.com ‘Filth’ as he’s known spins some yarns from his past. If you can do the same, you can be here too. Contact us!
editorial@classicmechanics.com Niall hit the track at Anglesey where a great time was had by all. More events are coming soon. Coming?
Don Morley
Alan Dowds
Sam Dearie
editorial@classicmechanics.com This month, Don shows us the majesty of Anton Mang and when feet-forward was the best way forward.
editorial@classicmechanics.com Yup, he’s still putting his Kawasaki ZRX1100 engine together. It’ll be obsolete soon!
editorial@classicmechanics.com He’s the go-to guy for all of your advertising needs. We need to keep Bertie in abject penury.
The idiot in charge has...
Older/nicer stuff editor
Lord of the LC
Ledgendary photographer
Road test editor
The Q&A King
King of Kettle!
King of Kwak!
Quick Spin Queen
Master of Mira
Welsh invader
Ad sales gent
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Contents 30 38
SUZUKI TS 185 ER
44
KAWASAKI H1
52
FAST ORANGE
FEEDBACK
58
LAVERDA 3C-E
22
SHOW US YOURS
66
MIDUAL
25
NOSTALGIA
06 08
ARCHIVE
Anton Mang – the master of the 250.
2000 KAWASAKI ZX-7R Mossy on a mid-1990s missile.
13
NEWS
18 20
CALENDAR
New kit for your delectation and Popham! July: it’s summer at last! A reader queries Bertie’s taste. Fair shout. Some awesome bikes from your sheds. The mad world and mad bikes of Richard Lindoe.
129 130
Enduro icon.
WELSH CLASSIC Amazing bikes and top track action.
Jon Bentman on the Kawasaki classic stroker. An amazing homage to James Whitham. John Nutting recalls a very fast Italian triple.
69
❙ WORKSHOP NEWS
72
❙ Q&A
76
❙ YAMAHA RD125DX
80
❙ STAN STEPHENS
82
❙ PROJECT STINGER
87
❙ YAMAHA TX500
90
❙ DERESTRICTING A
Honda’s VT500 and Kawasaki’s S1.
PARTING SHOT
When feet-forward was all the rage!
Your questions answered. Let’s get this thing back together. The awesome RD1200LC V6! At blooming last it returns! Mark Haycock has daftly bought yet another bike!
POWERVALVE
Andy Bolas on what to look for if you import an RD.
94
❙ PROJECT KAWASAKI ZRX1100
It’s that man Alan Dowds again on his beefy build.
We waited 16 years for what? This is better.
NEXT MONTH
New metal bits.
98
❙ REPAIR A DAMAGED HEAD
Stan makes do and mends.
100 ❙ COMING CLASSIC
Yamaha’s awesome YZF-R1
108 ❙ BRAKE FLUID
How bad is yours asks?
110 ❙ SUZUKI TS50X Tiddler trail tearaway treat.
122 ❙ FUEL TAPS
Often ignored – best not says Steve Cooper.
127 ❙ COMING CLASSIC
Suzuki’s RF600/900 is one.
Better than the thing we waited since the 1990s for...
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8 / classic motorcycle mechanics
2000
Mossy rides a second-rate 1990s sportsbike and finds it makes a first-rate modern classic. WORDS: CHRIS MOSS PHOTOS: MIKE WESTON
B
ack in 1996 when I rode the ZX-7R for the very first time, I felt a bit sympathetic towards it. It was a big year for superbikes with the new GSX-R 750, Thunderace, and revised FireBlade all coming out. While I whizzed around the south of Spain on the 750’s launch, after having already ridden the opposition, I reckoned it was going to fall a bit short. And so it was back in the UK when we got them all together to see what they were made of. A bit short of capacity to give it the grunt of its 900 and 1000cc rivals, it was also out-handled by the other 750. But, and this is why I felt sorry for it, the ZX-7R was still a bloody good bike. It’s just that in the supercompetitive world of superbikes back in the 90s, also-ran status was a damaging label. Thankfully, despite this and lack of real racing success that can help a model to generate fame, the 750 still went on to become a bit of a cult bike, gaining a healthy and loyal following. Today, its status is arguably better than ever and any discerning fan of superbikes from the Kwacker’s era can appreciate its current credibility. I know I did when I had a quick blast on this 2000-spec minter. It took me right back to my earliest times with the Kawasaki. Just like I did back in ’96, I rated it. These days though, my approval is boosted by other factors. For starters it’s got real rarity value. Okay, you don’t see too many Blades, Aces, or Gixxers from the mid-Nineties running round the streets these days. But apart from classic shows, I just can’t remember the last time I saw a ZX-7R. Plus point number two is the way the Kawasaki looks. Judged to be pretty when it first broke cover, it’s stood the test of time really well. Those bodywork shapes www.classicmechanics.com / 9
WORDS: JON BENTMAN PHOTOS: JOE DICK AND KAWASAKI UK
Suzuki may have played it safe with its two-stroke range in the late 1960s. But not Kawasaki, the green team went for broke with a succession of fast and furious strokers. Their first triple, the H1, took the biscuit though. Properly mental, you could say.
B
ack in 1969 the H1 (aka Mach III) certainly was big news. Not the biggest news because it arrived at just the same time as Honda’s CB750 and without a doubt a 750-4 trumped a 500-3, at least in terms of magazine headlines. However, there was no denying that a 60hp motor in a 174kg chassis was a potent brew – offering a better power-to-weight ratio than the Honda. In fact it blew the Honda off the road – or at least the drag strip, being good for a sub 13-second quarter mile, better than the CB750 by around half a second, while matching the top end of around 115-120mph. If you could keep it out of the hedges – not an easy task – it was a giant slayer. Kawasaki – who’d only stepped into motorcycle production seriously in 1959 (when they established their works at Akashi, then acquired rival Meguro) – came to the H1 via the A1 and A7 (that’s the 250cc Samurai and 350cc Avenger) twin-cylinder roadsters. These two had similarly been the proverbial bluetouch paper, but unlike the triple were disc-valve motors – as was being used on Kawasaki’s twincylinder then V4 grand prix 125cc road racers. With all the Japanese manufacturers stepping up the capacity categories in the late 1960s, the H1 was effectively Kawasaki’s first ‘big bike’, or high performance big bike at least, the earlier W1 650cc twin – based on BSA’s 650cc A7 – being a little, well, flaccid. But if the W1 was leisurely, the H1 was simply manic. Kawasaki, like Suzuki, had considered upsizing their twins to 500cc – and if that had been the case they would have kept the disc-valve induction, but their project engineer, Yukio Otsuki, also investigated the triple option – and liked what he saw. With a 120º crank the triple was better balanced than a twin and with three pistons the engine was pumping less torque through each of the cylinders which meant a lighter clutch and transmission could be used. Of course the layout meant forgoing the disc-valve induction, but even with 44 / classic motorcycle mechanics
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READER’S SPECIALS
People are starting to love the 1990s it seems, but while we may draw the line at baggy flares, curtain haircuts and another Oasis album, we do rather like these 1990s lovelies.
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WORDS: BERTIE SIMMONDS PHOTOS: DON MORLEY AND BERTIE
We’re pretty sure that James Whitham is onboard. Somewhere.
R
ose-tinted retro-specs are amazing things. Take Yamaha’s YZF750 of 1993. Back in the day this thing was hot-poop for probably about a year or so, but even then it was in the shadow (performancewise) of the Honda FireBlade. Successive models of ZXR750, the GSX-R750 SRAD and its own YZF Thunderace made it look old, gawky and irrelevant: especially in ‘shell suit pink’. Now it seems that the times they are a-changing. Thanks to the YZF ageing perhaps more gracefully than the FireBlade and ZXR, prices are solid and stiffening up – and the garish pink cocktail is the colour of choice… Back in the day on the racetracks the YZF did okay. In World Superbikes no-one could win on it – let alone get near the title – until a certain Noriyuki Haga turned up and started kicking butt on it at the end of 1997 when the bike was very long in the tooth. At national level it did plenty of damage though, especially in the hands of our own Niall Mackenzie (three titles on it 1996-97-98) and a certain James Whitham (1993.) In fact, as you can see, what we have here is a replica of James’ own 1993 championship-winning Fast Orange Yamaha YZF750. Fast Orange was a Loctite product – hand cleaner – giving the bikes a unique colour scheme. This bike – and the Suzuka 8-Hour replica next to it are the genius work of YZF/OW01 specialist and CMM friend Peter Day. The Fast Orange bike has been a couple of years in the making (eagle-eyed readers will remember it from the Jan 2013 issue) but now it’s complete. Both this and the 8Hour bike would set you back around £25k each. Ouch. Yes, that much. Mind you, isn’t that what Ducati wants for a topof-the-range Panigale? The Fast Orange bike is for a good customer of Pete’s who shall remain anonymous, save to say he wanted a ‘proper’ replica of Whit’s bike. So, the frame is from a pukka YZF750 SP with adjustable swingarm pivot but with the motor from an R – but given all the full SP’s goodies (the road SP
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Before Laverda’s legendary Jota, which established the Italian factory’s production racing reputation, there was the 3C-E, which 40 years ago this month was tipped to top 140mph at MIRA. John Nutting was on the bike.
58 / classic motorcycle mechanics
WORDS: JOHN NUTTING PHOTOS: GARY CHAPMAN
T
he big Laverda 3C was glinting in the setting sun in a rural Northamptonshire lane, its signature orange tank and side panels blending artistically with the chunky castings of the three-cylinder doubleoverhead-camshaft 981cc engine. A beautifully restored example of Italian engineering, it was almost identical to a similar machine that I had tested 40 years ago on MIRA’s timing straight at almost 140mph. Owner Andy Powell chuckled as I babbled on about the experience. Just then a Land Rover rolled up and stopped. Its driver glanced across admiringly to the bike. “I used to have a Laverda back in the Eighties,” he smiled. “It was a 152 combine harvester I used on the farm. I bought it for £5000 and it was so good I sold it seven years later for £8000.” Laverda owners have long been the butt of jokes about their bikes being a bit agricultural, but it’s true that the factory in northern Italy was making combine harvesters while developing its superbikes. Long after the original motorcycle concern went bust in the late 1980s, the
Laverda brand continues on harvesters produced as part of the US-based AGCO Group. Fact is though, as racing car engineer Andy will testify, having meticulously rebuilt his 3C, Laverda’s twins and triples were as robust in their precision assembly as they appeared. Such has Andy’s care with the bike been in the 4000 miles he’s used it that he didn’t want to run the engine until he’d sorted out a small problem with one of the followers in the valve gear. There were signs of galling in the bore of one of the bucket followers and the honing hadn’t been completed. That’s why I didn’t get the chance to ride the bike so that I could recall just what it’s like to power one of these beasts through a series of fast bends. Not that it mattered. Laverda triples have left such a lasting impression over the years that it’s hard to forget the off-beat response of the 180º crankshaft, the mansized controls, huge 8in Bosch headlamp, the slim bodywork and, in the case of the ‘English’ higherperformance model, the thunderous and barely-legal bark from the twin exhaust pipes. Then there’s the rock-steady steering, generous cornering clearance and what was novel for the time,
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Next month
KAWASAKI S1A 250: Steve Cooper on one of the most gorgeous bikes ever… QUICK SPIN: Bertie Simmonds on the 1997 Honda CBR900RR FireBlade. V-TWIN VIRTUOSO: We say goodbye to Jon Bentman and wave him off on the Honda VT500. FRIEND REUNITED: Reader Andy Longley gets back with his Honda MT-5. SPANISH INQUISITION: CMM reader Eduardo Sanz Muñoz and his amazing collection! HASLAM HAS IT: Why riding a modern bike makes you ride a classic better. TYRES: Alan Dowds on the history of round rubber and why we’ve never had it so good!
PLUS! WORKSHOP: Stan Stephens should be back on his RD1200LC V6, Pip Higham will be serving up a double helping of Suzuki GSX1100 EFE info and valve-timing tips. AUGUST PROJECT BIKES: Steve Parrish (when back from the TT) should be telling us what’s the score with his Yamaha FZ750 Superstocker, Paul Berryman tells us more on his Suzuki DR600 and idiot Bertie has bought something else he’ll do nowt with. Can we sack him?
AND LOTS MORE
DON’T MISS IT!
ON SALE:
JULY 15 All subject to change. Feel free to complain to the editor (sometimes it’s not his fault!)
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