KAW WASAKI B8S 60s
Ridden & rated!
20
KAWASAKII Z1A Buyer’s guide
YEARS
70s
ON
YAMAHA YZFHow to buy and improve Yamaha’s peerless sportsbike!
K C A TR S Y A D
eap, h c e h t on t ikes! i g n i Do db on ol
FIVE DECADES OF MODERN CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE MECHANICS:
Sorting old forks. forks 90 90s: Honda CBR1000F CBR1000F, Aprilia RS250 resto. 80s: Suzuki GSX-R1100G, Yamaha FZR600. 70s: Yamaha CS3C, Kawasaki Z1300 and Z1325 Special. Also: Allen Millyard column, Q&A: Your questions answered, your bikes and your memories!
Years of CMM know-how at your fingertips!
September 2018 Issue 371
September 2018 Issue 371 Publisher: Dan Savage, asavage@mortons.co.uk Contributors: Kev Larkins, Joe Dick, Kris Jones, Alan Turner Art editor: Justin Blackamore Picture Desk: Paul Fincham, Jonathan Schofield Production editor: Dan Sharp 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 40 for offer): (12 months 12 issues, inc post and packing) – UK £51.60. Export rates are also available – see page 40 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: September 19, 2018 Advertising deadline: August 30, 2018 © 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
Doesn’t time fly by? Looking at the content of this issue I cannot believe that the Yamaha YZF-R1 is 20 years old this year. I still recall my first ride on one: a brand-new red and white 4XV test bike from Yamaha. I couldn’t get my head around just how fast it was and how quickly those numbers on the oh-so-cool LCD speedo would rise at the merest whiff of your right wrist. Little wonder then that Yamaha has lots planned for this year to celebrate and the fact the 4XV is ridden and dissected over many pages in this month’s CMM. Hell, even Niall Mackenzie wants to buy one as a project… We’re also looking at track-days on classics, with Mark Forsyth saying how to do it on the
Member
Ralph Ferrand
Mark Haycock
Scoop is the engine room of CMM! He’s given us a Z1A guide, sorted his forks on the CS3C and reckons he’s nearly there!
Ralph gives us two Zed helpings this month, with the Z1300 and the project Z1325. He also pops his track-day cherry!
Mark will be back with his projects next issue, but for now he’s answering Q&As for the benefit of you all.
Older, nicer bikes editor
As we write this, he’s off to the Salon Prive but in the meantime, read on about the amazing RC374 build.
Pip Higham
The man, the legend… Pip rides the Banbury Run on a 1929 Prester, watched by proud brother Bill. Rest in peace Bill, from all at CMM.
Having trouble finding a copy of this magazine? Why not Just Ask your local newsagent to reserve you a copy each month?
www.twitter.com/cmmmag
Steve Cooper
Engineer extraordinaire!
The Professional Publishers Association
Editor
BSimmonds@Mortons.co.uk
www.facebook.com/ClassicMechanics/
Allen Millyard
Independent publisher since 1885
cheap and Ralph Ferrand doing it for the first time on his road bike. Pictured above is me on my old ZX-7R back in 2001. I used to do lots of track-days back then and the old Kwak was a cost-effective way of doing it. It looked like a British Superbike, but was just dressed in ex-Steve Plater bodywork – it even had a side-stand! Recently, this bike (more battered and bruised than ever) has come back into my life. What should I do with it, I wonder?
Big Zed lover
Mark Forsyth
Q&A king
EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH!
Professional Cumbrian What can be said about the legend that is MF that hasn’t already been said in a court of law? Lord MF is a top-level former racer (Battle of the Twins champ), ex-Performance Bikes editor and master of ‘the Cumbrian ring’ where you ring someone long enough for them to see it’s you calling, then ring off, allowing them to call you back at their expense.
Olly Crick
R1 4XV expert
We’re proud to get Olly’s expertise on making Yamaha’s R1 even better. He’s owned and modded his for years. Page 56.
Jeff Ware
Two-stroke lover! Jeff finishes the Aprilia RS250 this month but the smell of two-stroke oil is soon replaced with that of nappies. Page 122.
Scott Redmond
Robert Bee
Martin Child
Does our Scottie actually have a soft spot for Yamaha’s YZF-R1? Will he break his, or will he ride it?
Big Bad Bob is the main man to book YOUR advert in CMM. He’s a lovely chap, so ring him and say ‘hi!’
Dare we say that this curious mix of 2008 GSX-R and 1986 GSX-R1100 is starting to take shape? Page 114.
Breaker, breaker…
Ad GOD!
Cupid Stunt rider
www.classicmechanics.com / 3
Insurance solutions* for classics and more. Did you know with FJ+ you can tailor your policy from a range of cover options, including; breakdown, agreed value and salvage retention?
Call our friendly UK team for a quote.
0333 207 6029
or visit: footmanjames.co.uk *All cover is subject to insurer’s terms and conditions, which are available upon request. Footman James is a trading name of Towergate Underwriting Group Limited. Registered in England No. 4043759. Registered Address: Towergate House, Eclipse Park, Sittingbourne Road, Maidstone, Kent ME14 3EN. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Telephone calls may be monitored or recorded. FP ADGE.1084.5.18
62
❙ Q&A
64
❙ KAWASAKI Z1325
68
❙ YAMAHA C3SC
72
❙ ALLEN MILLYARD
76
❙ HONDA CBR1000F
78
❙ WORKSHOP: OLD FORKS
Contents
Mark Haycock with a page of tips.
Ralph Ferrand gets on a lathe… Scoop reckons it’s on its way!
This month Allen gets frame building!
CMM reader Dave Brooking is blessed from above.
06
ARCHIVE
08
CMM MARKETPLACE
Dave Jefferies and the R1 at the 1999 TT.
What’s hot to trot with 1990s sportsbikes?
40 42
SUBSCRIBE!
Subscribe and save cash!
CMM EXTRA!
Subscribe and have 10 million CMM words at your fingertips!
10 12 14
CMM STUFF
NEWS
52
BUYING AN R1
110 ❙ KAWASAKI Z1300
20
FEEDBACK
56
IMPROVING AN R1
114 ❙ SUZUKI GSX-R1100G
22
SHOW US YOURS
27
KAWASAKI B8S
32
TRACK DAYING A CLASSIC!
82
94
Scoop tackles both his Yammy’s gammy legs.
❙ YAMAHA FZR600
Paul Brookes on cutting and shutting his racing homage!
❙ KAWASAKI Z1A
Steve’s guide to buying this Kawasaki classic! Ralph gets further on with the mighty six. Wildy puts pen to paper to sort his rear-end out!
118 ❙ YAMAHA YZF-R1
Niall Mackenzie returns and he’s looking for an R1 project.
122 ❙ APRILIA RS250
Jeff Ware gets the two-stroke finished.
Subscribe & have 10 million CMM words at your fingertips!
36
New kit, tools, tyres and stuff.
CMM TESTED We try stuff out.
Events, news and what’s happening. WIN Bridgestone tyres for our star letter! WIN S-Doc cleaning kit and Tamiya kits! Steve Cooper falls in love with a little gem!
44
YAMAHA YZF-R1
Mark Forsyth on the 20-year-old sports legend. Scott Redmond on what to look out for. Olly Crick on how to improve the 4XV.
60 RETRO REBOOT 129 NEXT MONTH
Suzuki’s GSX1000 Katana…
What’s happening in the October CMM?
130 PIP HIGHAM
Pip has a mountain to climb in honour of brother Bill.
How to do it on a very tight budget!
TRACK DAYING 2
Ralph Ferrand pops his track cherry on a road classic!
PAGE 42
www.classicmechanics.com / 5
6 / classic motorcycle mechanics
Dave Jefferies
and the R1
Allan David Jefferies 18 September 1972 – 29 May 2003
WORDS: BERTIE SIMMONDS PHOTOS: MORTONS ARCHIVE
T
his may seem a bold claim, but it could be argued that the talents of just one man and the prowess of a new sportsbike combined to destroy the Honda V4’s grip on the big Isle of Man TT races. Even in its recalcitrant RC45 form, the Honda V4 was almost unbeatable around the island, until Big DJ’s skill was combined with the tuning talents of Jack Valentine and Steve Mellor at V&M Racing. The time was ripe for change. Firstly, this would be the last TT of the millennium and secondly, V&M had previously worked closely with Honda and split with them at the end of 1998. With Yamaha UK also wanting to big-up their new flagship sportsbike, the scene was set. DJ was ready to win – he’d debuted on the Island in 1996 – so many thought a win was coming and come it did. He won the Formula 1 race at the fastest-ever average speed: 121.35mph – by 15.8 seconds from Joey Dunlop. The Production TT turned into a Yamaha
R1 battle between Iain Duffus, DJ and Phillip McCallen – also R1-mounted. Jefferies would take the win when Duffus’ race ended prematurely in retirement. The Senior TT showed some positives for the Honda RC45, when Jim Moodie destroyed the sevenyear-old absolute lap record from a standing start in 18m 11.4s – 124.45mph on the opening lap. But the tyre cried enough on lap two and DJ’s second lap at 123.69mph gave him the lead. He would win the race, becoming one of the few riders to win three TT Races in a week. Interestingly the V&M Racing R1 was about 170bhp – just 20 up on stock – and retained many road parts, including the forks. The bike itself cost around £20,000 all-in, compared to the ultra-exotic RC45s rumoured to be worth £400,000… The following year Honda would go to the TT with a FireBlade and a modified SP-1 twin. Moodie would slate the Blade while Joey Dunlop would score his final and perhaps best TT win on the Honda VTR. www.classicmechanics.com / 7
cmm
Marketplace
1990s sportsbikes
As the YZF-R1 turns 20, we check out why 1990s sports machines offer plenty of bang for your buck. Scott Redmond shows you what is available.
A
decade ago the thought of discussing 1990s motorcycles within CMM wouldn’t have gone down too well, but these machines offer some real bang for our buck and now some are marked as bona fide classics. Britain was sportsbike mad in the 1990s and they were the big sellers, which means if you are looking for one now, there’s no shortage still on the used market. Some will be official UK bikes and some will be ‘parallel imports’ from other countries, which at the time were much cheaper than UK bikes. On the surface they looked identical, other than a headlight that dipped the wrong way and a km/h speedo, but some produced less power than UK-spec bikes. In the end UK importers had to reduce their asking prices and parallel dealers almost disappeared, but fast-forward to 2018 and the parallel issue is back in play. Buyers at the top end of the 1990s classic market are mostly focused on pukka UK machines and these set the benchmark for prices. The kings of the Nineties Japanese sportsbike pack are the CBR900RR FireBlade and the Yamaha R1. To complicate matters prices then get model sensitive, a 1992 RR-N Blade can command price tags of over £7000 if bog standard and point perfect, yet the first thing we did back in the day was to fit a Micron can, Dynojet kit and tinted screen, so finding a minter is hard. Later models (like the RR-W and RR-X model of 1998-99) are superior machines to the 1992 original in every way but not as ‘wanted’ and can be had for less than £2000.
8 / classic motorcycle mechanics
20 years on and its still a looker.
Strangely, the 1994 second-generation Blade CBR900RR-S ‘Foxeye’ is highly desirable, but only if they are finished in beige! Yup, the Urban Tiger is a cult bike. Good Tigers are rare, minters are non-existent and prices boil down to what someone will pay for one. The prices for 4XV R1s are leaping up, but if you want a red and white 1998 R1 you will pay a premium over exactly the same bike that’s finished in blue. And beware if you want a red/white one. The lovely metallic white paint used by Yamaha is hard to copy – that’s why a fair few that I’ve seen of late are finished in a flat gloss white. So, go and look at the bike you’re buying – not just at a picture. When a mate was looking for a 4XV in red/white, our own Andy Bolas had some wise words, suggesting he was better off buying a 1999 model in blue! Why? There are more about and for less money… Another Yamaha from the Nineties that falls into this honey trap is the YZF750. An original model in pink and white is a highly prized find (around the £3000 mark) yet a later model with its better suspension and bigger radiator can be snapped up for around £2000. The 1990s is the last decade to offer us genuine bargains on emerging classic bikes. Everything from disposed kings of speed like the Kawasaki ZZR1100, Honda Blackbird and Suzuki Hayabusa were ‘hot’ back in the day, but not-so-popular bikes now make bargains. Bikes like the mighty ZX-9R. 1994-1997’s B model hasn’t aged too well, a mix of iffy build quality and not much of a following, yet the 1998 C model is a cracking bike. Prices for either the B or C are very sensible, with plenty of choice from around £1500. It would be rude not to remind you that the YZF1000 Thunderace uses the best bits from the FZR1000 EXUP (engine) and a YZF750-ish chassis. It’s looks have never been its strong point, but there’s plenty of choice and good honest machines out there for around £2000. So what about Suzuki? Let’s look at the GSX-R750WT SRAD: some people hate the looks, while others love them. Maybe that’s why prices are still pinned back on the whole. Fancy a twin? Due to the success of Ducati’s 916, the Japanese briefly flirted with twin-pot race-reps towards the end of the decade. The Honda VTR1000 FireStorm was a bit plain and it wasn’t until the SP-1 was born that anyone took Honda too seriously. Prices for the 916 clan are only going one way. It’s not a bike that everyone can afford or live with, but it's desirable. Prices are dependent on spec/history. Meanwhile, Suzuki’s TL1000S (and the uniquelooking R) and Storm are residents of the bargain basement, selling for less than £2000. cmm
www.classicmechanics.com
www.facebook.com/ClassicMechanics/
www.twitter.com/cmmmag
ANDY BOLAS’ TOP TIPS! O
ur Andy is a serial bike-buyer and has an eye for a good bike and a great deal. He doesn’t want to lose money on a bike, so here are his top tips.
attention. If an owner claims to have spent money on servicing or restoration work without a receipt it’s hard to believe them. Old MoTs and even out-of-date tax discs show that the right kind of person owned it in the past.
■ Originality: An original bike is always a good starting point – it doesn’t have to be in stunning condition, it’s more about it being complete and unmessed with.
■ Avoid the obvious models: Bikes like the CBR600F are a great example. For over 10 years Honda improved the original F-H model into the last steel-framed F-W model. They all appeal to different people. Buy the model that you maybe wanted but never got. If it isn’t the earliest or latest so what? It’s YOUR money!
■ Must-haves: The very things we might have changed in our youth are the parts that help to make a tidy classic. Items like original indicators, screen and an uncut rear mudguard. These parts can be found for sale but more often than not finding NOS items can be time consuming – you’d be amazed how many screens are no longer available direct from the manufacturer. ■ Mileage: Finding low mileage bikes gets tougher with every year, but they do appear. Always check the MoT history to find out if it’s correct. ■ Paperwork/history: A brimming file of receipts and paperwork always gets my
Buy Now Buy Now
■ Alarms: I’m not a fan! Though lots of Nineties bikes had them fitted to satisfy insurance companies’ needs. Old alarms are a pain in the chuff and removing them isn’t much fun either. Budget to have one removed before doing any deal.
■ UK origin: On the whole a UK bike is more desirable when you’re talking about immaculate examples, sadly our climate means most UK bikes end up looking pretty average. I was recently offered just shy of £10,000 for my show-winning UK Honda VFR400R NC30. Obviously I declined! ■ Grey imports: Japanese grey imports are the only way to get your hands on desirable models that we never got officially and even now many shops specialise in shipping bikes from Japan. I always try to buy anything I’m interested in when it first arrives. It allows me to see the bike before workshops get to work.
■ Datatag: Another (not so) great idea! Etch all panels with a code and ruin your bike! Some bikes carry more than one unique code if they’ve been fixed with breaker’s yard parts from another Datatagged machine. It looks ugly and adds little.
■ Parts availability: We assume that you can buy any part new over the counter – wrong! Recently, I went to buy a stunning R1. The only flaw was some brake fluid stain on the screen – otherwise it was a pristine bike. The dealer agreed to supply a new genuine Yamaha screen, but within a few days he called to say he couldn’t find one anywhere for sale and even Yamaha had stopped making them! Always check availability of parts before you buy! cmm
Buy Buy Now
Buy Now Buy Now
Some 1990s machines are still cheap: but not an Urban Tiger!
www.classicmechanics.com / 9