Seeing this Triumph being serviced in the workshop this morning made me think of the Wacky Wednesday offers some takeaway restaurants do, don’t ask me how I know, and it gave me the idea of a Workshop Wednesday Roundup.

So first off is this Triumph Street Triple, and its not as bad as it looks, just undergoing a regular service, the diagnostic PC can be seen on the red trolly to the right. On the bench next to that is a Suzuki GSX1000 also having a regular service, not sure why the guys are peering so hard at what looks like the exhaust servo, but what this picture illustrates rather nicely is the amount of stuff that must be removed to do a routine service.

On the opposite benches we have two Honda CB1100Fs. The blue was supposedly running ok but when we tried to start it up for last Sunday’s run it only wanted to run on about two and a half cylinders so it’s awaiting a carb clean, think we’ll use the ultrasonic clearer on it this time, that will teach it not to start! The red is being brought back to life after standing, unloved, for an indeterminate number of years. It’s now running, surprisingly smoothly, and final cosmetic work is being completed, mainly this consisted of straightening the handlebars, which we did using our fly press, and refurbishing the instrument binnacle. The exhaust is unfortunately not the original four into two, but a four into one Cowley which is at least a period type upgrade, indicators are not correct, close, but not original. As an aside I am amazed by how many different indicators Honda designed for their bikes, must have had a full department just designing indicators, really surprised they didn’t standardise a bit to save costs.

Outside we have Chief cleaning a batch of spare CBX parts we recently acquired, that’s a battery box he is currently working on. These parts will then be tagged and stored away for future rebuilds.

Inside the classic workshop is a Honda CX500 also being brought back to live, after standing for many years. If you look closely the carbs are off, being cleaned, and a new battery was purchased today, so fingers crossed it should be running very soon. The bike is very original, apart, of course, from the exhausts and in relatively good condition so the next step is a good deep clean which we hope, will work wonders for it cosmetically. The other bike under the yellow cover is a secret project, can you guess what it is, answers on a post card to the usual address.

Lastly is a bank of Honda CB750F1 carbs in for a clean, rebuild and calibration. ~Bob

The original RV125 monkey beach bike was made by Suzuki between 1972 and 1982, launched in California it was aimed at cool surfer-types wanting to cruise the breach front streets in t-shirts and board shorts, bikinied flower child on the back. California Cruising by the Beach Boys kind of vibe. The balloon tires, light weight and low double seat making it easy to ride over the dunes to the best surfing spots. The name in Japan, I think, means keep on going so its sort of Japanese for the saying keep on trucking, maybe.

That scene kind of expired mid-70s, but like a lot of things from originating from that time the RV125 has been reintroduced, cashing in on the nostalgic view people now have of that era. This RV125 is a 2016 model, now having a six-speed gear box instead of the original five and fuel injection, but otherwise being the same as the 1970s models. Basic, fun riding has always been at the heart of the RV125’s outlook on life, styling being far more important than performance, and I think Suzuki have got it ‘right on man’, this modern RV125 pulls off the retro charm with consummate ease, white and gold paint scheme, wide brown seat, balloon tires and tall bars, you can smell the sea air and suntan oil just by looking at it, a true 1970s survivor.

So cool looking it is, the RV125 is also a laugh to ride. Ok its only a 125 so no denying it’s slow, but providing you avoid freeways and major roads it’s great. I would see the best use being cruising around the City, Sea Point, Camps Bay, out to Hout Bay, or as a beach house run around, based in Kleinmond or Betty’s Bay for instance. Sunny day, half face helmet, shades, and nowhere particular to go, you can relive the 70s, and being a 125 it’s fugal, so even at today’s fuel price it will seem like the 70s, almost.

What with Top Gun at the movies, Kate Bush in the charts again, nostalgia is the thing right now, and it’s in our shop, right now. The bike has only done 611Kms, actually two kms was me going around and around the block, said it was fun. So practically brand new, at R45,000 or reasonable offer it’s your chance to be cool again, plus I believe this bike has all the right criteria of becoming an investment bike. ~Bob

Our Classics ready for Sundays Ride

Nearly all our classics checked over, fueled up and already for Sunday’s ride. I say nearly all, the CB1100F decided not to run properly this morning, seems we will have to clean out the carbs, again, and the 85 Goldwing also did not want to play first thing, then changed its mind and started fine, but by then we could not be bothered to get it out, bit heavy.

There is also a bit of an interloper in the line-up, can you identify it, answers on a postcard to the usual address.

Hope to see you and your Classic on Sunday. ~Bob

A few weeks ago, I was feeling guilty about not having ridden my V-Max for a few months; actually, anxious is a better word, carbs and fuel systems gumming up is a continual problem with modern fuel in old motorcycles. Sure enough when I tried to start it, it turned over slowly with not even a hint of firing, then the battery went flat. So as the battery had given trouble before, and I had no idea of its age, I assumed, hoped more like, new battery required, and everything will be fine again.

Last Sunday first thing, acquired new battery, is put it on charge for the recommended 4 to 5 hours before fitting it into the bike. In the meantime, I go for a morning ride with the IMOC guys. The route was around the Cape Peninsula and for once it was a great ride, very little traffic and cool but dry weather. Over Ou Kaapse Weg to Kommetjie, Misty Cliffs, Scarborough we then turned right out to the Cape Point Ostrich Farm and The Hatchery restaurant where, invigorated by the cool air, we stopped in need of breakfast. The farm is almost opposite the Cape Point Nature Reserve entrance, and presumably in peak tourist season very busy, but not last Sunday, in fact the owner seemed quite surprised to see customers, especially eight of them all together. Nevertheless, and despite her making apologies for not having enough bacon, she cooked us up a fantastic breakfast buffet: bacon, ostrich steaks, scrambled eggs, sauted potatoes, fried tomatoes, chili sauces and lots of toast and coffee, all for a very reasonable sum. Highly recommended if you are going that way and the reason for this part of the story.

Right, back home and back to the V-Max. Battery in, not quite as easy on the V-Max as most bikes, first the seat must be removed, four bolts, then the rear ignition coils must be disconnected and removed, another three connectors and two bolts. Only then can the battery be disconnected, lifted, dropped and crush finger, sworn at, then finally lifted out. New battery dropped in, reconnect everything and try starting. Disappointed, motor just turns over but again but no firing. Ok squirt some Easy Start into the airbox and it fires and runs momentarily, but does not continue, beginning to look like my worst fears are coming true. I can hear the fuel pump running but there does not seem to be any fuel reaching the carbs, disconnect the pump from the inline filter put my finger over the pipe and I can feel it sucking, but is it sucking enough? Next I give the filter a quick suck and get a mouth full of fuel vapour, more swearing, time to go inside and have a cup of tea. While having tea I read the manual about removing and checking the fuel pump and carbs, not a trivial job. Also nagging at the back on my mind is the idea that the bike has run out of petrol, although it rode into the garage and the fuel light is not on, so there must be fuel, surely. Anyway, not having any spare fuel handy, I abandon the job for the afternoon and go and fix a spotlight switch on the Himalayan.

Youth Day Thursday, after running some errands in the morning, I purchase some petrol, and I feel I need to use the word purchase, as R250 for what was just 10 litres of lawn mower fuel really is a purchase and not just a buy. Fortunately I don't have lawns anymore, just rocks, so it's 5 litres into the V-Max. New battery had been on charge so try starting again, lots of turning over as before, then just as I'm about give up, a small futt from the exhaust, ooh. Try again and a couple of cylinders start making more persistent futting sounds then the other two cylinders join in, and it staggers into life. Big relief.



Warm it up to a steady tick over, switch off and pour the other 5 litres of petrol plus a half litre of fuel system cleaner into the tank. On with the riding kit and up to the petrol station, wanted to see how much fuel was needed to fill right up, almost another 5 litres. Now that's interesting, the manual states the V-Max fuel capacity as 15 litres and I've just put in just over 15 litres so it must have been very empty, a bit embarrassing that. So to get over my embarrassment I take the bike up the N7 and then do Ride Number 1. Nice ride, bit overcast but with the late afternoon winter sun coming in low I managed to get some nice pictures of the V-Max with a very clear Table Mountain in the distant background, picture below, or above.

Back home again over a cup of tea I read the manual to try to understand how the fuel system works and why the bike didn't go on to reserve. After digesting the wiring diagram for twenty minutes turns out there is no actual reserve on the V-Max, its all fake.

You must remember that the V-Max came up in 1986 where the norm was still that the fuel tank sat on top of motor and the carbs where gravity fed through a simple fuel tap and when the main tank ran dry the bike started spluttering and you simple reached down and switched the tap to reserve to get the last few litres in the tank. With high V-Max motor the fuel tank is down under the seat necessitating a pump to bring the fuel up to the carbs, there is no fuel tap. So to simulate the same sort of low fuel warning, Yamaha designed a system whereby a low fuel sensor turns on a low fuel light and at the same time sends a signal to the fuel pump relay to switch off the pump within 30 seconds, the reserve fuel switch on the handlebars overrides this signal. So if the rider spots the fuel light straight away and switches to reserve the bike just carries on, if he doesn't spot the light the pump stops and hence so does the motor, creating an out of fuel situation, he then switches to reserve and restarts. Either way the bike has warned the rider that there are only 3 litres of fuel left.

All very clever except my low fuel sensor doesn't appear to be working, so I must have run the bike completely out of fuel just as I entered my garage, some might say that was lucky, I'm not so sure.

BoB

A very original 1998 Honda FireBlade came into the shop last week for consignment sale, and, having owned two different models in the past, sparked my interested in them again. This one, pictured below, or above, is a 1998 model which was the first year of the 919cc motor.

The first FireBlade was launched on an unsuspecting world in March 1992 and instantly became a motorcycling game changer. While the other big Japanese manufactures were chasing more and more horsepower at the expense of light weight, Honda came in with a smaller motor, only 900cc, but more importantly, contained within a significantly lighter package, and overnight power to weight ratio became top priority, not just outright power. The competition’s larger and heavier machines were totally eclipsed, and by the end of 1992 the FireBlade was the sports bike to own.

Tadao Baba is the Senior Chief Engineer behind the design of the FireBlade. In 1987 he was given lead position of a project design team tasked to create an FZR-beating 1100, but his racing experience had convinced him that lightness and manageability were more important than engine capacity. By the end of 1989, with a 900cc prototype, he’d won his case, Honda being so impressed they let him create a team of about 40, including three European test riders, a very usually move at the time, to take the design to production. His overriding ethos was lightness above all else, every component had to be as light as possible, apparently later, he would sometimes go onto the production line and sign the inside of the top fairings with his name and ‘Please enjoy this light feeling’. Also innovative, the characteristic holes in the fairing, supposed to aid turn-in, and the 16in front wheel are all his ideas, as was the motor. The initial motor may have been only 893cc but from the onset it was designed to be increase to 918cc, 929cc and finally 954cc for what, as we now say, future proofing the design for many years. Baba-san officially retired in 2004, and to acknowledge that FireBlade was change to Fireblade for future models, he continued in a consulting roll until the 2009 model.

The FireBlade we have on the floor is a 1998 model, 919cc motor giving slightly more poke, redesigned tail, headlight, and sharper looking top fairing than the earlier models. As an example of the continuing obsession with lightness, the clocks were fully redesigned to all electronic making them much slimmer, and weighing only 380gm instead of 760gm. However, despite all these ongoing upgrades, the other manufactures were catching up, case in point being the Suzuki GSXR750 and Kawasaki ZX-9R both hard on the FireBlade’s heels. Then the very new Yamaha R1 and, slight left field, the Ducati 916, both extremely focused sports bikes, fast and light, almost making the FireBlade appear a bit lardy, and maybe, pushing it off the number one sport bike slot.

The classic sport bike scene is growing in the UK and US and this FireBlade, being more than 20-year-old, falls right into that desirability category. A quick look of similar bikes for sale in the UK gives R60k to R70K as a price range, that is apart from Urban Tiger, the most sought-after paint scheme, where the asking price is R100k plus. Here is SA this scene has not gained quite so much interest and good bikes can still be had for not too much money, our bike being an example at R51,500.

As I said at the beginning, it sparked my interest, all it needs to get back to super original is to replace the aftermarket indicators with Honda originals, or reproductions, found some on UK eBay for R500 each, could probably get some locally and cheaper with a little more effort. The top fairing has a crack on the right-hand side that has been patched, but not great, so a more professional fix and respray, about R4000. Then new handlebar grips, remove the tank protector and rim tapes, result, for less than R60K all in, you have an original FireBlade, looking as it came out of the showroom all those 24 years ago.

Damn, now I’ve gone and nearly talked myself into purchasing it, someone else had better buy it quick. ~ BoB

The subject for today is tires, or more specifically tire pressures, I know, boring, but it could save you money, so let’s see how much I can waffle on. The idea was spawned, and I use that word deliberately, by my Cagiva V Raptor, pictured below or above. This is another one of my interesting motorcycles, hardly any in SA, I only know of one other and mine is decidedly not standard.

The Raptor 1000 was produced by Cagiva between 2000 and 2005 in three variants. Standard Raptor, Cagiva frame, suspension, bodywork with a 1000cc Suzuki TL motor, and Brembo brakes. V-Raptor like the standard bike but with straighter, lower bars, 7bhp extra, carbon cans and a small wacky fairing. Then the Xtra-Raptor same as V-Raptor but with lashings of carbon fibre and superior Marzocchi suspension, different rear linkage, and a steering damper. Created to compete with the Ducati Monster, the motor was torquey, quick, and reliable, possibly better than the Ducati’s, but the suspension struggled to contain it and this, along with Cagiva’s uncertain future doomed it to a shortish production life. Like Ducati, Cagiva also produced a smaller 650cc version, again using a Suzuki 650 V Twin motor.

I’ve got the V-Raptor, the one with the horns and claws, take a close look at the exhaust hangers. When I acquired it, the original red paint had already been changed to flip tone purple, the wheels sprayed white, the rear mudguard removed and short, very loud, cans replaced the originals. So, rather than return to original, I decided to go ever further, sprayed everything other than the frame black, wrapped the exhaust, changed a lot of the body work to carbon fiber, straight bars, airbox upgrade and, of course, lots of shiny gold alloy bits.

Ok, back to tires, small light frame, short wheelbase, and low steering angle should enable the Raptor to flip from side to side without any effort, mine didn’t, it did handle ok and was stable, but required, instead of just thinking about, actual effort to get it to turn in. Now I had a similar issue with my BMW R1200S but attributed that to the BM’s unusual Telelever front suspension, that is until I had to replace the tires because of ware, wow, new tires, and much improved turn in. Based upon that experience I assumed I needed new tires for the Raptor and showed then to Gino for advice on what to buy, he looks at them and says, ‘don’t need new tires try pumping them up’. Now I am very pedantic about tire pressures and frequently check them, so rather peeved I reply, ‘they are at the recommended pressure, 2.2bar front and 2.5bar rear, I checked’, well sort of, my real words were not quite that elegant. ‘No, no you misunderstand me’ say Gino, ‘pump them up more than the recommended, try 2.5 in the front and 2.8 rear’ again the real words not so elegant. So, I did, and guess what, no more effort, I just think, and the bike turns, brilliant and zero cost.

As I said earlier that experience got me thinking about tires and, sorry for stating the obvious, how important they are to how a bike rides and feels. If that 1 to 2 cm square patch of tire on road is not correct then regardless of suspension setting or fancy new sky hook, Ducati speak, electronic type suspension systems the bike is not going to handle at its full potential and that translates into less enjoyment for the rider. We get bikes coming into the shop, with tires 0.5bar to 1bar under inflated, not sure how the owners ride them, the front end is very heavy and imprecise, totally ruining the handling and feel of the bike. Worse still it’s dangerous, I recently rescued an elderly biker who had toppled off his BMW 100RT at a stop street, turned out the front tire was half flat and the heaviness of the steering cause him to lose balance and fall, fortunately with no damage to either him or the bike.

So, to conclude, check your tire pressures frequently, when I started riding on the road a wise old biker, and old is the key word here, advised me to check tires, pressure, and condition, at least once a week, very out of character, I stuck with that advise. A good standard is 2.2bar front and 2.5bar rear for solo riding but check the manufactures recommended pressures, online if you don’t have the manual, then if the bike still does not feel good go up a couple, as in two, tens of a bar at a time until, as they say, improvement is felt. I have a Gold Wing that needed 3bar in the rear to correct a low-speed front end shake, despite Honda stating the rear should be 2.6bar. Two points of caution here, first don’t go above 3.5bar, if the there is still a problem at that pressure, then it’s something other than tire pressure. Second, it could be interpreted that the simple solution is to run the tires at high pressure but will cause them to wear unevenly in the middle shortening the life of the tire, the tire needs to be at the right pressure for a particular bike tire manufacture combination, and often this can only be found by a bit of trial and error.

Well, 900 plus words of tire pressure waffle, if you got this far, well done, and thank you. Lastly, off road riders, if you had read this without giving up in disgust, please ignore all the above as your requirements are completely different. ~ Bob