Innehållsförteckning för September 2018 från Classic Bike Guide

Iain Cameron has been into motorcycles pretty much for as long as he can remember and has a thing for tweaking them into how he thinks they should look; so his job as a sheet metal worker comes in rather handy. Having started at the age of 18, Iain was one of the last to serve a traditional apprenticeship which delivered the necessary arcane skills. When the 9-5 ends if he’s not riding he can generally be found in his home workshop making everything from tanks to fenders, either for his own projects or for his mates locally. In additional to your normal home mechanic tools there’s an array of dollies, slappers, mallets and spoons along with bigger boys’ toys such as an English wheel and a shrinker. This little…

IN THE LAST issue of Classic Bike Guide we ran a road test for Italian manufacturer SWM’s Seventies ISDT inspired Six Days 440. In the article we reported that the engine was produced in China by the Shineray Group. We got it wrong; sorry. The engine is manufactured in Italy. In fact, only its crankcases are made in China – but they’re actually then sent across to Italy to be machined. SWM makes a point of sourcing as many parts for its machines as possible in Italy. Sorry for any confusion caused.…

MOTORCYCLE LIVE is back and bigger than ever for November 17 -25 at the NEC Birmingham. More than 35 manufacturers will be showing off their wares, suppliers will be bringing the latest kit and accessories and there will be non-stop live entertainment. Tickets are on sale now from the Motorcycle Live website, and if bought in advance will save £5.50 and a further £6 on parking – alongside the opportunity to get a golden ticket, which offers the chance to win hundreds of on-the-spot prizes donated by exhibitors such as BSB passes. Tickets cost 19.50 if bought before November 16 , and children under 10 go free. Pay a little extra for your advance ticket and get an Oxford HD MAX disc lock worth £25 thrown in for good measure.…

ENGINE: 7 4 0cc air-cooled transverse dry sump OHV three-cylinder. COMPRESSION RATIO: 9 .5: CARBS: Three Amal Mk1 Concentric carbs, bored out to 27 mm. POWER: 58 bhp @ 7 ,500rpm TRANSMISSION: four-speed right-foot shift gearbox, single plate diaphragm clutch FRAME: Double cradle with integral rear sub-frame SUSPENSION: BSA telescopic forks with two-way hydraulic damping. Swinging rear fork with three position Girling shock absorbers BRAKES: 8 in front/ 7 in rear hubs ( Full width on Mk1 , Conical Hub on Mk2 WHEELS/TYRES: 3.25x1 9 Mk1 ) or 4 .1 0x1 9 in front and rear ( Mk2) ELECTRICS: Lucas 20w 1 2v alternator with Zener diode. Three coils with contact breakers 7 in headlamp DIMENSIONS: Wheelbase 5 in ( 1 4 50mm) , ground clearance in 8 0mm ,…

ENGINE: 24 3cc air-cooled two-stroke single COMPRESSION RATIO: 9 .5: CARB: BV F 28 mm POWER: 1 9 bhp@ 5,000rpm TRANSMISSION: four-speed left-foot shift gearbox, multiplate clutch FRAME: Spine frame with aluminium front tube and rubber engine mountings SUSPENSION: earles type front forks, swinging rear fork with two position shock absorbers BRAKES: 6 in front and rear hubs WHEELS/TYRES: 3.25x1 6 or 3.50x1 6 in front and rear ELECTRICS: 6 V , 6 0W dynamo, points ignition, 6 in headlamp DIMENSIONS: Wheelbase 52in ( 1 325mm length 8 2in ( 209 0mm) , width 33in ( 8 6 2mm) , height 4 1 .7 in ( 1 06 0 mm) , ground clearance 7 in ( 1 7 0mm , weight 335lb ( 1 52kg)…

There’s two options when it comes to RE5s; the original 1975 M models with the sci-fi dash set up or the more conventional looking, duller, 1976 A models. Some suggest there’s also a 1977 B model, but these are really only A models that failed to sell the previous year and were left unloved in dealer’s showrooms. Prices vary wildly almost to the point of insanity even in this ‘infl ation proof investment’ world we currently inhabit. Ignore chancers asking £ 13 ,000 or more for an RE5 because they simply aren’t worth that sort of money. A slightly tired example, running fine but careworn can be had for as little as 4500 from a dealer, and slightly less privately. For around £ 7000 you should find a decent example…

“Motorcycle collectors are a particular breed, and excellent keepers of history, who in the best case also possess the riding urge, or even the generosity to let others ride their machines – a quality deserving of sainthood. So let’s talk about them: the lenders.” RIDE ‘EM DON’T hide ‘ em, use them as the maker intended, and no trailer queens, please. It’s easy to taunt collectors whose motorcycles collect more cobwebs than miles, especially when they have dozens ( or hundreds to choose from, or just a particularly delectable machine you’d surely ride the wheels off if only you owned it. While collectors are the lifeblood of the vintage scene, they’re also the deathblood, taking motorcycles off the market for potential riders, simply because they can afford to pay top…

SCORPION BELFAST LUXE HELMET It’s amazing how a helmet will suit one person but not another. I tried this Scorpion for a couple of weeks through a variation of temperatures and on a number of different bikes and speeds. I liked the fit, the interior made from a leather-style material, the weight and the usefulness of the drop-down lightly tinted visor. I then gave it to my friend Neville, who couldn’t get on with it as the slot for that useful visor made too much wind noise. We then realised I wear earplugs whereas Neville doesn’t – it all made sense. Altering the cheekpads – easy as they are all detachable – we had a happy rider with an easy-to-use strap and a nicely finished helmet at a really good…

Steve The shed pixies put this six-bolt alloy sprocket in the used parts box of my latest project, which runs a four-bolt rear cog. I don’t own any bikes that it fits and have no idea where it came from. How does stuff like this happen? Oli This month I’ve been mostly out riding and as nothing has gone wrong with either of my running motorcycles, I’ve not felt the need to get the spanners out! I have fitted a new brake light switch to my Starfire, though undoing two 7/16in bolts and doing them up again was hardly an arduous task. Instead I’ve been helping a mate with his Kawasaki Z650, which has begun to smoke rather badly and is fouling the plugs. We’ve compression tested it and it…

“Would anyone want to buy an AJS built in the Far East? What a daft notion. AJS bikes were built in London or Wolverhampton. Mostly. Then I wondered what had changed since the Harris Matchless – built in Devon, not Plumstead. And I understood. I’ve changed.” HOW’S YOUR MEMORY doing? Spluttering along nicely I hope, as seems to be the way as we all age together. Which we do. Events that should by rights be buried in the happy mists of time suddenly spring into the current consciousness, while what we’re supposed to be doing next can quite suddenly become a complete mystery – like standing there with the bike keys in your warm and damp with no idea what happens next. Only momentary, fortunately, but strange and unexpected. There…

THE OILY RAG CO Festival of Bikes is a celebration and exhibition dedicated to some of the finest classic, custom and modified motorcycles in the UK. On September 8 / Cheltenham Town Hall near the Imperial Gardens will be crammed full of stunning and mouth-watering motorbikes, ranging from café racers, choppers, bobbers, customs, classics, scooters and unique modified sportsbikes. All the customs have been created by some of the greatest award-winning builders, designers and engineers in the UK. There will also be a host of exhibitor booths scattered around the town hall selling apparel, accessories, art, gifts, parts and gear. There’s a licensed bar inside the hall and another in the Imperial Gardens, a coffee bar will be open throughout and visitors can relax inside or outside by the gardens.…

ANYONE EAGERLY WAITING for the new Royal Enfield Interceptor and Continental GT 50 twins to get to the showrooms is likely to have to wait a little longer. The twins, unveiled in Italy last October, were originally slated to appear in April this year, but Classic Bike Guide understands that dealers have now been told not to expect them until March 201 9 at the earliest. Indian motoring press reports indicate that a press launch of the twins will take place in California later this month. Like us facebook.com/classicbikeguide Visit classicbikeguide.com…

MOTORCYCLE HISTORY HAS never been kind to the losers and never more so than in the case of Suzuki’s oft reviled RE5. It was met with initial enthusiasm then furrowed brows before being written off as the late-20th century’s largest two-wheeled white elephant. And the 21 st century hasn’t been any more charitable to the world’s most populous Wankel-engined motorcycle either. With the advent of the internet, forums and social media have allowed countless keyboard warriors to further sully the bike’s reputation. Those with little or no knowledge have effectively dug the bike’s grave, thrown the keys on the coffin lid, then concreted over the tomb. But was the RE5 really that bad? Read on and judge for yourself. THE BIKE It really should be mandatory for every motorcycle rider…

My interest in the rotary first began when I read the test reports in the bike magazines. I collected them all, including the very accurate evaluation in the American magazine Cycle World. I saw my first bike “in the fl esh” down at the Beaulieu Museum, and had to have one. Monty & Ward at Edenbridge was the Suzuki Rotary dealers and I part exchanged an RD 250 for a rough runner. After restoring the bike it took me about two years to get the five cables that control the carb, port valve and oil pump to their correct adjustment! As you approach the bike it looks q uite tall and, if it is on the side stand, you have to haul it upright it is q uite heavy. Once…

“It managed to fire up backwards via the most fearsome kick-back I’ve ever encountered, blew exhaust flames through the rudimentary BVF carb and created a merry little blaze in rural Bedfordshire” IF MY ADULT life were to be identified by three things outside of family it would be thus; history, engineering and motorcycles. Dissecting the latter of the trio, this particular area could be broken down into three sub-sets, all of which, for a variety of reasons, are inter and intra-related. I’ve carried a lifelong torch for Yamaha’s two-wheelers, I’m an unashamed and unabashed lover of East German MZs and remain fascinated by the concept of the two-stroke engine. In a crowd of like-minded individuals both the first and last are variously accepted, acknowledged or agreed, yet the middle element…

RE-SCHEDULED OWING TO treacherous conditions prior to the original April 7 race date, blessedly warm sunshine greeted the competitors for the much-anticipated re-run of Bringsty Grand Prix, an event that originally took place in 9 4 6 and 9 4 7 . So on Saturday, J une dozens of competitors both old and new brought along a variety of pre-and post- 9 0s machinery for what sponsor and co-organiser J eremy Holden rightly referred to as a ‘ grand old scramble’ on private land at Bringsty, just outside Bromyard. The course itself was a challenging mixture of tight, dusty off-camber corners, fast, open straights, steep hills and boggy water-splashes, a mile long in total with plenty of opportunities for spectators to get up close and personal to the action, which…

AUGUST 2018 30 Krazy Horse – Park it in the Market: On the last Thursday in the month Krazy Horse go to Park it in the Market’ at Greenwich Market. London. J oin them for food, music, cars and bikes. Greenwich Market, Greenwich Church Street, London, SE1 0 HZ 7 - 0pm. www.krazyhorse.co.uk 30 – Sept 1 Salon Privé 2018 Concours Motorbike Classes: UK’s most exclusive automotive event returns to Blenheim Palace, presenting the finest collection of motorcycles, supercars, hypercars and classic cars, along with a luxury retail village and exquisite cuisine. www.salonpriveconcours.com Tel: 01 7 53 8 2 06 7 . 31 – Sept 1 The 25th Carole Nash Eurojumble: The biggest autojumble in the south of England is back with a fresh hoard of motorcycling treasures from tyres…

IMAGINE BEING THE development manager at a maker of mobile phones in 2007. There you are, happily turning out straightforward push button phones by the shipload. Your customers can’t get enough of your designs – and then Apple introduce the iPhone and you suddenly discover your entire range is out of date. That’s almost what the bosses at BSA-Triumph found themselves dealing with in the mid-1960s. After decades of turning out solid and sporty, if occasionally unreliable, machines, their market was booming. And then the long derided and scorned Japanese started to come up with bigger and better motorcycles of increasing sophistication, while the Italians wiped out what was left of the lightweight market with nice clean scooters. As managers ran around like headless chickens or buried their heads ostrich-like,…

First and most importantly if you can kick an RE5 over the chances are the rotor seals and/or rotor chamber are worn out. Why Suzuki fitted a kicker to the bike is anyone’s guess, but only the heftiest, muscle-bound, long-legged can get a RE5 to fire up from cold on the lever. Carburettor adjustment/set-up is crucial and Suzuki offered dealers a tool, but many owners know how to do this themselves now and without specialist kit. Some have converted their bikes to SU carbs, but in reality the OEM unit is fine if looked after. Tin ware uniq ue to the bike is just that damn hard to obtain and often expensive. Some GT750 parts transfer across, but not everything, so buyers beware, as they say. K nowledgable owners are…

“Unless this article sparks a revival of interest in smiley face headlamp covers, it’s the hi-viz Sam Browne or the dayglo vest. It won’t make a jot of difference, of course...” REMEMBER THOSE OLD safety ads that used to be seen at the cinema? Whilst munching popcorn and waiting for the feature length Lassie film to start, a B& W film of a motorcycle being ridden, usually too quickly, would roll. A clipped public school accented voiceover would intone warnings to the effect of ‘ look at this young tearaway, oblivious to the danger he represents’ etc. The danger WE represent? Oh please! They usually went on to condemn the choice of riding gear he wore – ‘ black, barely visible’, his bike was always ‘ out of control’ and…

In October 1 9 6 9 the Triumph factory’s Head of Development, Doug Hele, was entrusted with the task of developing a racing version of the company’s new T1 50 Trident three-cylinder Superbike, which had been launched the previous year. For someone like Hele, who relished using racing to improve the performance of his company’s products, as well as demonstrating their worth in the hotbed of competition, this was an enticing challenge with just one drawback: He had to have six bikes on the grid for the Daytona 200 the following March, just four months away! Three of these would be Triumphs, but the other three BSAs, to refl ect the fiercely competitive rivalry between the two principal brands in the parent BSA Group, each of which had its own…

1: This photo of a Yamaha has a nice clean background and foreground, which also contrast nicely with the colour scheme, but if the photographer had held the camera lower it could have been much more dynamic. 2: This Tiger Cub looks really nice and the angle is lower, showing off the bike. But unfortunately the background is so close and so messy you can hardly distinguish the bike. And is that a plant growing out of the fuel cap? 3: Breaking the rules. This Royal Enfield is right next to the background and has been shot with a wide angle lens to fit the windmill in. But the wider lens has helped keep both the bike and background in focus. 4: Even professionals get it wrong sometimes. At the…

Back in 1 9 6 9 , as a penniless student, l lusted after a better form of transport than the Puch 1 7 5 split-single I had just passed my test on. My uncle had a Matchless G8 0 which I greatly admired, but wasn’t available to me. I quickly looked for a similar machine, and being young and headstrong bought the first bike I saw, a 1 9 55 AJ S Model 20. This machine was no looker with its rough paintwork and Avon handlebar fairing, neither was it a mechanical gem as it smoked heavily and leaked oil like the Torrey Canyon ( readers of a certain age will remember this oil tanker sinking in the 6 0s . However it had three great attributes: it was…

1 First put the kettle on. Then tut, scratch your beard and have a good look around the bike, starting from the front and going through to the rear. This will help get a feel for what you’re about to tackle. 2 With nothing apparent wrong save for some perished rubbers and loose levers, we got the bike onto the ramp for a closer look. Both tyres were at, so some air in the tyres 28 psi front, 30psi rear) gave us some time to see if the tubes were leaking. A ramp makes working on a bike so much easier and can be had from around 300. 3 The chain was slightly loose and the brakes a complete unknown. So out with the rear wheel, which on a Matchless…