Classic Motorcycle Mechanics November 2015

YAMAHA FFZS600 ZS600 FAZER

SUZUKI S SUZUKI SP370 P370

Multi-task k marvel!

Buyer’s gui Buyer’s guide ide

400RR SP

Pocket rocket ridden!

Knowledge:

Stan Stephens Yamaha RD tricks

Skills:

Engine build top tips

Project:

GSX-R1100L brake build

ISSUE N0.337 NOVEMBER 2015

Th he original adventurer

PROJECT BIKES YAMAHA RD1200LC V6, RD350, TX500, HONDA SS125, PROJECT RICKUKI, ❙ COMING CLASSIC SUZUKI TL1000R

November 2015 Issue 337 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: Martin Freeman mfreeman@mortons.co.uk Tel: 01507 529538 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: November 18, 2015 Advertising deadline: October 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

Independent publisher since 1885

Having trouble finding a copy of this magazine?

Why not Just Ask your local newsagent to reserve you a copy each month?

We want YOU! Oh yes, you!

Yes, we want YOU, the person putting oily fingerprints all over these pages. We want you to have a bigger input in your favourite magazine.

In this month’s mag we have two readers featured and we want to see more of you all.

You may have a collection of bikes like Dan Mawson, or want to tell us a nostalgic tale, like Martin Kirk, or perhaps – like John Purnell and his Moto Guzzi – you have an amazing machine to show us.

Times they are a-changing and that’s why the magazine needs to reflect more of what you want and what you get up to. So, we want to hear from you. Tell us of your weekly rides, pub meets, favourite bikes, club meetings: anything and everything. Modern technology being what

it is, you can mail us words and pictures for articles and you could find yourself in these very pages. If you’re planning a trip for next year, let us know and report back when you get home. If you want some publicity for your club events, let us know. C’mon. What have you got to lose?

And don’t forget – if you’re web or computer literate find us on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. We are always uploading fun content that never gets into the magazine and we want to give your clubs and events the publicity they deserve, so join us!

Bertie Simmonds editor

Bertie Simmonds

Paul Berryman

Ralph Ferrand

bertie@classicmechanics.com Diet, a month off the booze AND sorting the FireBlade’s suspenders.

editorial@classicmechanics.com PB loves things just a little left-field, like one very special Moto Guzzi Le Mans this month. See page 26.

editorial@classicmechanics.com The man behind bikerstoolbox.co.uk gives us all some handy engine build tips.

Steve Cooper

Mark Haycock

John Nutting

editorial@classicmechanics.com Scoop reports on small sports Yamahas from two eras: his RD350 and an FZR400!

editorial@classicmechanics.com Mark is still in a mass of wires as he tries to sort out his Yamaha TX500’s electrics.

editorial@classicmechanics.com Our own Nutters heads back in time to sample the delights of the iconic XT500.

Mark Forsyth

Dan Mawson

Martin Kirk

editorial@classicmechanics.com MF tells us that going to the Classic TT to ride your 1990s sportsbike is a blast.

editorial@classicmechanics.com CMM reader Dan tells us why he came back to biking and why he loves modern classics.

editorial@classicmechanics.com CMM reader Martin sent in a lovely nostalgic yarn about his YR5.

Decision made!

Older/nicer stuff editor

Performance bloke

Joe Dick

Chi-centring vegetarian

He’s still wired!

South coast collector!

Fine, fettling man…

The Master of MIRA

Nostalgia trip!

Top snapper!

Lord of the Piston Ring

Stan Stephens

Sam Dearie

editorial@classicmechanics.com Not content with providing us with lovely FZR shots, he also made Bertie look svelte on the Fazer.

editorial@classicmechanics.com A double helping of Stan as he reports on the 1200cc V6 and helps air-cooled RD owners.

editorial@classicmechanics.com He’s the man to go to if you want your goods or services seen in CMM!

Top ad bloke!

www.classicmechanics.com / 3

67

❙ WORKSHOP NEWS

70

❙ Q&A

74

❙ HONDA SS125

78

80

Contents

What’s hot in the workshop?

This month you give us some tips.

Scoop tells us what’s happening with the chassis.

❙ PROJECT RICKUKI

Steve again on his café racer project. Where is he at?

❙ JAP4PERFORMANCE

06

ARCHIVE

08

1998 YAMAHA FZS600 FAZER

Last call for Stafford! And a Laverda Jota!

Bertie Simmonds is reunited with an old friend.

84

❙ YAMAHA TX500

13

❙ YAMAHA RD1200 V6

18

CALENDAR

86

88

❙ YAMAHA RD350

20

FEEDBACK

94

❙ SUZUKI GSX-R1100L

98

Come here for the best bits for modern classic Jap bikes.

Mark Haycock has more wiring issues! What a to-do!

Stan Stephens nears the end of the engine build.

OK, so we’ve got a few Yams in this month…

Suzuki Apprentices sort the anchors out.

❙ ENGINE BUILD TIPS

Ralph Ferrand dishes out top tips.

110 ❙ SUZUKI SP370

Buyer’s Guide on a super Suzook.

122 ❙ RD ENGINE TIPS!

Stan again on the 350 and 400 twins. Listen up!

22

NEWS

Plenty happening out there.

Find out what.

Remember, remember to ride in November.

More on modern classics and serial bike-buying!

SHOW US YOURS

Some super work of yours!

Come see!

26

MOTO GUZZI LE MANS SPECIAL

30

YAMAHA YR5

One CMM reader’s take on a very special machine.

38 42

READER’S COLLECTION

CMM reader Dan Mawson’s lovely collection.

TESTED YAMAHA FZR400RR SP

Steve Cooper rides last month’s reader’s resto!

50

CLASSIC TT

56

MIRA FILES: XT500

64

Mark Forsyth on why you should go.

John Nutting on the classic Yamaha trailie.

RETRO REBOOT

Kar Lee on today's GPz1000RX.

129 NEXT MONTH

Suzuki’s RE5 ridden and much more!

130 PARTING SHOT Barry and Kenny in conversation.

For some, the Seventies were super thanks to this.

127 ❙ COMING CLASSIC

Bertie on the Suzuki TL1000R.

www.classicmechanics.com / 5

READER’S SPECIAL

LEAN, MEAN,

CAFFEINE MACHIN MACHINE Reader John Purnell loved love wan his British bikes, but wanted a change. He didn’t turn Japanese though; he wen went for an espresso.

WORDS AND PHOTOS: PAUL BERRYMAN

W

e’re probably all aware that th the café racer scene has gotten a little out of hand of late. You must have seen them, the bikes I mean? Fifteen metres of ill-fitting exhaust wrap, a plank seat and turning the bars upside down ca cannot make every long-forgotten 1980s motorcycle motorcy model into a head-turner worth upwards of o £5000. Oh no, despite what its creator says. sa But just because bikes like that are all too easily found on popular auction sites, it d doesn’t mean we should spurn the genre just yet.

CMM’s foray into café culture with our event at the Super Sausage near Towcester was al all the bait we needed to lure John Purnell’s gorgeous gorgeou Moto Guzzi into our grasp. As café racers go, this th one is as punchy as a freshly drawn triple espre espresso.

It started life in 1982 as an 850 Le Mans M Mk.3, although you’d never guess. Instead of th the linear and clunky angles on the original bike, his h s beautiful beaut u machine has softened the original hard-edged styling with a combination of generous curves and minimal componentry. The look and feel of the bike is very organic; from the sweeping arc of the three spokes on the gorgeous period cast CMA wheels to the exquisite sculpting of the handmade aluminium tank, this bike arranges its lines in a way that is much easier on the eye than the original.

There is real flow in its form and it’s all going in one simple direction – parallel to the ground along the length of the bike. It’s very long with a wheelbase of 60in (1524mm) it’s also very low, and yet has very good ground clearance. All this combines to make a bike that achieves the look of travelling incredibly fast, even standing still. In fact, it has the demeanour of a very pretty torpedo.

26 / classic motorcycle mechanics

John is the kind of owner most of us will probably never be – rather than experiencing the world of motorcycling by constantly buying different bikes, he’s doing it in a much more pragmatic way. He’s had the Guzzi for 12 years and patiently whittles away almost constantly at making the changes he wants, so the bike adapts more and more to his tastes as time goes by. John was a serial British bike owner and when he eventually fancied a change he didn’t look to Japan but to Italy.

He bought this bike when it had already been through a serious amount of modification. He says: “The engine had already been reworked to 950cc, the front end had been upgraded, the CMA wheels were

Prefer a fresh espresso to dried instant from a jar?

This bike could be for you!

fitted and the aluminium tank was already on board.

Because the guy I bought the bike from wasn’t the guy that had done any of the work, the history of the bike was passed on in good faith, rather than being from the horse’s mouth – but time has revealed that everything added up as originally relayed.”

The engine was built by Guzzi stalwarts Raceco, and features barrels from a Spada 1000 model (which is actually 949cc) with Cosworth pistons and a lumpier camshaft. Carbs are Dell’Orto PHM40s from a 900SS Ducati, running through open alloy bell-mouths. The choke on these is the good old-fashioned ‘tickler’ type where the extra juice required to start the motor comes from something

we may well call ‘manually provoked flooding’, but they’re up to the job and the motor has been 100% reliable barring one weak battery episode during winter many years ago.

It’s not often you’ll hear the positive attributes of French engineering over German, but this Guzzi is testament to the fact that it can happen!

The original Bosch starter motor needed a rebuild early on in his tenure and then eventually became tired again after John really does hop from a few more years, so café to café at the weekend a French Valeo item – three on the day we met! www.classicmechanics.com / 27

READER’S COLLECTION

N O I T C E L L O C H S KENTI AWSON OTOS: DAN M SIMMONDS PH IE RT BE : DS WOR

n, et Dan Mawso e M . n o ti c e ll o an of Kent’s c ung dad and Well, more a M quit when he became a yo de, a man who ro ck on years later. ba then got right

Not a bad line-up, we think you'll agree!

Crowded House.

I

t’s fair to say Dan Mawson from the charming seaside resort of Deal in Kent has made up for lost time. Now, while many of us may have a break from bikes when the kids arrive, for 44-year-old Dan this happened when he was still a bit of a nipper. No, nothing illegal, he was 18. But from 18 until about the age of 30 he was bike-less, until the humble Yamaha Diversion 600 turned his head and got him back onto two wheels. But let’s start at the beginning. It was dad Dave’s fault.

38 / classic motorcycle mechanics

Dads are often to blame – and so it was with Dave Mawson, who plonked son Dan onto a bike fairly early on. Dan recalls: “My dad was a keen biker and still is so I basically grew up with bikes. At the end of the garden in the garage, the first bike I remember him having was a T500 Suzuki. He owns another one today as he’s got four bikes now and he’s always been a keen BMW man. I remember I was about 12 or 13 and he had a 100CS and he took me on the back to various BMW meets and it was great being pillion.

“He also taught kids at the school both Part 1 and Part 2 of the bike test and he was an advanced instructor. I was the youngest so I had to take up biking – I’m proud of my dad and his bikes. At the time as a kid I remember his Beemers being huge and all my mates coming round on their BMX bikes would just look at his bikes and go ‘WOW!’” Dan’s own first bike was a C90 Honda, donated by his late-great uncle Bernard. “We went to Ashford in dad’s Type 2 camper, which he wishes he still had, and this thing just had a top box and all the normal commuter stuff on it. Soon as I was home the top box was off, the leg-shields had been hacksawed off… normal kids’ stuff. Then I was out in the marshes on it and on the local golf course! The Old Bill never bothered us then and we had common sense and pushed it around on the road and always wore a crash helmet.”

1

More bikes followed: a TY80 and “…a Kawasaki of some description, but it was at least a decade old in the mid-1980s and it was off-road styled.

It was knackered, but to me it was a flash KDX!” With Dan’s 16th birthday beckoning, dad Dave bought him a CB50J, which the pair sorted out. The disappointment was palpable. Dan says: “Of course I took it out before my 16th when the parents were out, but it was so slow I had to get shot of it, for a profit of course. I guess that’s why I became a second-hand car dealer.”

Dan’s first road bike then was a Suzuki TS50X: “It was B530 AKE if anyone has it? The feeling of freedom was amazing. I did so many miles on it even if I didn’t have it for long. I was 16 in the June and the TS was bought for £600 and I borrowed from my parents, but then I bought a couple of old Fizzies – one I kept, dad sold the TS, and I had a Fizzie on the road for the following eight months of my 16th year.

“I think this is where I got my passion from for older bikes. It was a hound – but it was my hound!

Most of the lads I rode with probably thought that going from the TS to the old Fizzie was like going from a Sierra Cosworth to a 1.6 Sierra, but in comparison it had a five-litre motor under the bonnet! The Fizzie was quick and I got £120 for it when I sold it.”

As Dan turned 17, in came a Suzuki GP100 for £30 as a non-runner. He spent time with dad Dave 3

2

1/ Yamaha RD is one of the jewels.

2/ But Dan still uses it.

3/ Pleased as punch with his YZF-R1.

4/ Quirky Honda was a lucky find.

to fix it up – then attacked it with red and white aerosol cans. Again people took the mickey – but he was proud of it. Then came a life-changer.

“I became a dad at 18,” says Dan. “I’m now a grandfather at 44! So in came cars and I passed my test in an Allegro.”

It was to take until he was 30 for Dan to get the bug once more and by then he ran his own car sales business, so bikes would often come in as part-ex too. He says: “I did a deal with a car for an XJ600 Diversion and the-then new laws meant I could ride it. So, I did some training, took my test, passed and then went straight out to buy an RD250E for £375…” Yup, Dan was back and still ploughing his own unique two-wheeled furrow!

With access to fast cars, faster bikes had to come too. The Divvy soon went, a 350 Powervalve 31K came and went when it proved to be cantankerous, then came a 1995 Honda CBR600F-S. Dan recalls: “I turned up on the Divvy and you could see the bloke knew he’d got a sale. I got off the CBR and was still grinning. He knew I couldn’t bid him down.”

Since then, Dan has made up for lost time, aiming to buy bikes that he always wanted back in the day, or ones that really meant something to him. “Bikes came and went, R1s, Gamma 250s, RDs. I bought and sold, sometimes regretting it, sometimes not.

I’ve had my RD400 for 12 years now and it really brought back my passion for them.

“The Yamaha RZ500 I bought about nine years ago for £2500, which was a bit rich. I had a UK one too and doubled my money on it, selling it for five grand. I’ve since seen it up for £9500. It’s the way prices are going. My 350LC I’ve had for five years and it’s my lairy bike – complete with fork-brace, Allspeeds and blue-spot brakes. It’s my fun bike!”

For Dan, it’s also been about tiddlers – bikes that reminded him of his time as a nipper on two 4

www.classicmechanics.com / 39

NOSTALGIA

Mark Forsyth takes his R1 to the Classic TT and puts forward the case for us all to give it a go next year.

S

ince the early Triassic period I’ve been making my annual June pilgrimage to the Isle of Man for the TT. I’ve tried it as a foot passenger on the ferry and used public transport when I’ve arrived (a bit rubbish, but cheap), I’ve flown there and hired a car (nose-bleedingly expensive) and I’ve travelled from Liverpool and Heysham with a bike or a van stuffed with bikes and people (cost effective). I’ve even been smuggled away in the boot of a Vauxhall Astra because I couldn’t afford the ferry ticket (not advisable for legal reasons).

Unlike one of the TT greats, I have yet to commandeer a fishing boat and sink just offshore but, hey, never say never.

Accommodation-wise I’ve tried it all, from dossing in the back of a Luton van to camping, B&B, hotels and home-stay. The right or wrong accommodation can make or break your visit. But last year my love/hate relationship with the TT swung the wrong way and I opted to go to the Classic TT instead. Up until 2011 I’d never, ever pre-booked a ticket for the ferry, instead opting to turn up in the stand-by queue. This tactic, since 1984, had never failed

50 / classic motorcycle mechanics

me. But several events put paid to this last-minute arrangement.

I blame, in no particular order, Paul Phillips for doing too good a job promoting the event, extensive film exposure and amazing TV coverage and the fact there are only 3000 hotel beds for hire on the whole island. The TT has almost become a crowded victory of its own success. But at least you can watch it all on TV and keep abreast of the racing via internet radio and live timing.

You might still be able to get there and back on the ferry (perhaps not on the dates you want) but I’m not staying in a tent. I’d rather stab myself in the eye with a rusty R-clip than suffer the verrucastrewn floor of a public shower block or be kept awake by an Austrian ‘enthusiast’ holding his GSX-R on the limiter at 1am. It must be an age thing… So instead, last year I went to the Classic TT and that pattern looks set to continue.

Apart from more accommodation, for me the main draw in 2014 was Bruce Anstey aboard the Valvoline YZR500. I rode a YZR500 once. I’ve also raced the TT once. But I’d never consider combining the two experiences on the basis that a 500GP bike is

Sadly not a scratch and sniff pic...

1998 Yamaha YZF-R1 I have a theory.

If a bike changes the world when it arrives, it is guaranteed future classic status. History is the proof of this. Vincent Black Shadow? It was the daddy of its day. Being old doesn’t make a bike an automatic classic. Being really, really good does.

That’s why I bought myself a tidy 1998 R1 on the basis that it will always be worth more than I paid for it. The R1, when it arrived, was top dog on the road and on the tracks.

It changed the world. The pessimist in me half expected this 17-year-old bike to feel old and slow in 2015. Far from it! It feels light and aggressively fast with heaps of torque and a strong top-end rush. The steering’s sharp, the brakes are up to the job and the suspension is surprisingly capable.

As one of the last CV-carburated superbikes, the throttle response is beautiful. Sharp, snappy and predictable. And it’s easily fast enough to hold its own around the TT circuit against brand new bikes. It’s a keeper. I love it.

Mark Forsyth or ‘Lord MF’ to his friends. A legend.

Ex-Battle of the Twins champ winner and former editor of Performance Bikes. www.classicmechanics.com / 51

RD1200 V6 part 4

The ultimate two-stroke He’s not been idle has our Stan, but building the best, by the best, takes time.

T

his is the latest instalment of the designing and making of what I hope will be the ultimate two-stroke engine, it’s a 1200cc V6.

Those of you with long memories will recall that the project started when I built a 750cc version of the RD500LC engine using 350 YPVS barrels and long stroke cranks. I wrote about the building of the engine in CMM and when I finished the project and wrote the final article on the RD750 V4, at the end of the article I put “now for the 1200cc V6”. It was meant as a little joke but a customer, Ian Buxton, persuaded me to build one for him. With the lovely Retro Reboot on the RD shown in CMM in January 2014, I think he now wants to go with that as a home for the bike, too. The shot here is the lesser-seen Kenny Roberts replica, but if you want to check out the work done so far, then the previous CMM articles on the project have been issue 327, issue 328 and issue 333.

With the crankcases welded and machined and the cranks built, the barrel 86 / classic motorcycle mechanics

spacer plates made and the barrels welded and modified, it was time to do a dry build to make sure it had all turned out as I had expected/hoped. Thankfully, there were no unexpected problems.

Up to this point everything was planned and were variations of what I had learned with the RD750LC engine build. The next part of the project was the inlet manifolds. On the standard RD500LC the inlet rubbers have a right-angled bend in them so that the carbs come out two

Here we have the crankcase inlets blanked off.

on each side. Also the inlets on the front cylinders go straight into the crankcase and the rears go into the barrels. However I was using six Yamaha Banshee barrels which have all the inlet reed blocks and manifold rubbers in the barrels. As I had found with the RD750LC project there is no way that you could fit all four carbs into the V between the cylinders. It would have been possible to use the angled RD500 manifolds but the customer was building a YZR Grand Prix replica so he insisted that all the carbs were in the V. I tried many different ways but it was impossible, Ian (the customer) and I made a compromise and I made two inlet manifolds each which fed two cylinders, each with one big carb. They were a nightmare to design and make and here I was looking at making manifolds for a six cylinder!

The RD750 V4 manifolds took a long time to make and I wasn't that happy with them. I think it is important when taking on a project to know when it is time to admit that a certain part of the job requires farming out to someone who would make a better job of it. The six

Now the V Force reed blocks fitted.

The next few shots show the manifold.

cylinder inlet manifolds was just that job!

The difficulties of the manifolds was that each manifold would be for one carb into a two branch manifold, but as you can see from the photos, the inlets in the barrels are very close to each other, also the angles into each bank of three inlets was at a different angle and height to the other bank. With one carb feeding two cylinders, each port in the manifold would have to be at the same angle or the inlet charge would be biased towards one cylinder in each pair. Another small-sounding problem was that with the manifolds fitted I still had to be able to fit and tighten the four inlet manifold bolts on each barrel.

Over many years I have learned who you can trust to do a difficult job, a long time pal of mine Jeff Hatts was the man who I turned to. I worked out and sketched what I wanted and went to see Jeff. He was trained and did his apprenticeship at the local RARDE, (Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment) and is a very skilled engineer. Younger readers will have to have it explained to them what an apprenticeship was!

If fate had worked out differently 50 years ago ‘Stan Stephens Tuning’ would have been ‘Stephens and Hatts’ because

when we were young, Jeff and I were going to start a motorcycle and engineering business together. However the premises that we tried to get planning permission for was turned down because, “It is in the Green Belt area”. Strange, because Sainsbury’s and Homebase are on that site nowadays. I wonder how that happened?

Anyway, I took the dry-built engine and my sketches around to Jeff, we talked about the problems and how to solve them and I left it with him. I knew he was going on holiday to visit his daughter in America, after a few weeks I had a phone call, Jeff had been taken critically ill in America!

Apart from myself and everyone else being very concerned about him, my V6 engine was locked up in his workshop!

My customer, Ian, was very understanding and all we could do was wait on Jeff’s recovery and return. It was worth the wait as after a few months when Jeff came out of hospital, the first thing he did was get out in the workshop and get on his Bridgeport mill and start the manifolds. You should have seen Jeff, fitted with his pipes and wires and bags, winding the handles on the mill: no CNC machining here, just pure skill and experience.

And now the manifold with carb rubbers: note both inlets are equal.

Rather than me try and describe the inlet manifolds it will be easier for you to look at the photos. The inlet ports are fitted with V Force reed blocks from Hardcore Racing. The inlet rubbers are TZ350 and from Fondseca and the carbs are Keihin 39mm PWK from Allens R&D. I made some plates and blanked off the RD500s crankcase inlets.

I think I have everything now to finally start building the engine and I will cover the engine build in my next article. You’ll love the result! cmm.

Here we see the manifolds fitted.

These are the TZ 350 carb rubbers.

These are the Keihin 39mm PWK carbs. www.classicmechanics.com / 87

WOR D PHO S: S TEVE TOS: JOE COOP ER DICK

BUY E GUIDR’S E

Suzuki’s first four-stroke trail bike is now hugely overlooked, reckons Steve Cooper.

TANK

Often f ffound dented, rotted out or missing. i i

STAR RTING

Like ma any larger four-stroke singles, starting is an acquired art. Goo electtrics, battery, timing and points gap all help.

PA ANELS & GU UARDS

Easily damaged and offten missing, some may still be e av ilable.

EXHAUSTS Pattern systems now the only option; OEM unit long since out off stock.

CAM SHAFT/HEAD Low oil levels and/or infrequent changes can take out either or both.

110 / classic motorcycle mechanics

I

f anyone tells you they ride i any off the first series i of Japanese four-stroke single trail bikes off-road hard they are one of two things – a liar or a hero.

Si i Simply put, most – if not all – were either too heavy or fundamentally compromised to be the preferred weapons of choice on anything other i trails. i And this i was their i true than smooth dirt purpose in life; to give folk a taste of riding off-road without being too ‘brain-out’ yet still retaining a f i degree off practicality i i and Tarmac usability. i i We fair tend to claim Yamaha’s seminal 1976 XT500 as the watershed mark for Japanese four-stroke singles, yet i reality i Honda’s XL250 2 0 Motorsport was arguably a in more usable machine off-road..

i i Between them Honda and Yamaha revitalised a segment of the bike industry that had lain dormant from the days the last BSA B50 rolled out of Small i was only a matter off time i Heath. Of course, it before the other two Japanese players joined in.

Suzuki’s first four-stroke single for more than two d d started d the h company on a road d that h would, ld decades ultimately, prove to be a real revenue generator with the likes of the DR350 and 400 plus countless S i SP370 S 3 0 was, if anything, i others. The Suzuki a tentative toe in the water. Many who rode one when they first came out questioned whether the company i i was truly committed to the concept simply because the bike fell between two stools.

CARBS

This can wear if ussed without a decent filter.

ELECTRICS

Six volt system needs all the help it can get. Good earths and clean connectors mandatory.

UNDERSEAT TRIM

Often now totally unobtainable.

www.classicmechanics.com / 111

Next month ROTARY RAMBLE: Steve Cooper rides Suzuki’s RE-5.

TIDDLER TIME: Suzuki’s AS50.

KAWASAKI Z1000R: John Nutting rides a super-cool special.

QUICK SPIN: Yamaha’s TRX850.

RETRO GSX-R: CMM reader Ben Jones and his Brit-style Suzuki.

PLUS!

WORKSHOP: Mark Haycock examines electrical connectors, we finally do have Pip Higham and Stan Stephens’ top tips and Scoop looks at issues with two-stroke injection systems.

NOVEMBER PROJECT BIKES: Bertie introduces us to his Honda CBR900RR FireBlade and Alan Dowds gives us part 256 of his Kawasaki ZRX1100!

AND MUCH MORE! DON’T MISS IT!

ON SALE: NOVEMBER 18

*The editor reserv rves v the right to be a fool and throw features up in the air and see where they land in a desperate attempt to bring you the best mix of 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and some 1990s metal. Lovely! mechanics