SM Motorbike thread

Saigon

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Messages
778
Was taken during the practice session. According his daughter Sharon he stopped to do some repairs and forgot to remove the ***. He is 87 and still going strong, and still smoking. Note no rear suspension which must have hurt over Ballaugh bridge where the photo was taken. And the extra protection for his balls. Also early air cooled front breaks, also no ash tray.
 

Needamaser

Member
Messages
1,491
one of my lads ended up dating his sister Margaret for quite a while , i would of had a pop but i never mixed business with pleasure,
She of course married Paul Smart who against the odds won the Imola 200 in 1972 on the Ducati 750 which was a massive turning point in Ducati history. Their son again being Scott Smart who did not too badly on 2 wheels either. Oddly enough one of my bikes was bought by Paul for Scott to start him off in racing. Paul sold it to a friend of mine who put it back to road spec and I have had it now for about 20 years.
 

lozcb

Member
Messages
12,301
Just seen this from a mate in New Zealand and I like it never road a 6 pot but had my 76 Z1000 for many years.
View attachment 70299

God that brings back memories Phil , i had the Z900 fo blatting back and forth to Solingen Germany , back in the day before we were fully in the EU and there were still borders at Aachen , just to prove a point to the younger generation having borders neednt limit european travel .
 

TimR

Member
Messages
2,656
Interesting, I havent seen that air scoop in the rear seat fairing before. That looks standard Gen1 in all other respects...
I built one using a GenII motor, high comp pistons and one off exhaust, modified to run Gen I electrics in the GenI bike ( pre Canbus, so much simpler ). I picked this up for peanuts...Ohlins all round, Brembo brakes and Oz forged rims...Crazy!
Track days have become a crowded melee in recent years, sadly. I havent used it much recently, needless to say...
 

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Hawk13

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Messages
1,471
Track days have become a crowded melee in recent years, sadly. I havent used it much recently, needless to say...

After realising that I was never going to be good enough to race competitively, I started doing trackdays in the late 90s and kept doing them for about 10 years. At the time I was running a (very tuned) TRX850 that I had built for the fun of it and which made just over 100bhp and handled like a proper race bike.

I was more than capable of running in the fast group and actually booked a lot of days that were close to race meets as I knew and trusted guys who were out testing. The problem came with idiots on R1s, Gixxers etc who were fast in a straight line but who had no ability.

I lost count of how many times I got pushed wide or got clipped by idiots sitting the bike up mid corner or going straight on after missing the braking point / turn in. But the last track day I went on that didn't have an ACU or testing group was at Brands Indy with a mate who had never done a track day.

I spoke to the organisers and asked them if I could start in the Novice group to show my mate round and that's what we did - only to be surrounded by very fast and inconsiderate riders who obviously wanted an ego boost by being the fastest in the group. It ended up with 5 red flags and put my mate off for life!
 

TimR

Member
Messages
2,656
After realising that I was never going to be good enough to race competitively, I started doing trackdays in the late 90s and kept doing them for about 10 years. At the time I was running a (very tuned) TRX850 that I had built for the fun of it and which made just over 100bhp and handled like a proper race bike.

I was more than capable of running in the fast group and actually booked a lot of days that were close to race meets as I knew and trusted guys who were out testing. The problem came with idiots on R1s, Gixxers etc who were fast in a straight line but who had no ability.

I lost count of how many times I got pushed wide or got clipped by idiots sitting the bike up mid corner or going straight on after missing the braking point / turn in. But the last track day I went on that didn't have an ACU or testing group was at Brands Indy with a mate who had never done a track day.

I spoke to the organisers and asked them if I could start in the Novice group to show my mate round and that's what we did - only to be surrounded by very fast and inconsiderate riders who obviously wanted an ego boost by being the fastest in the group. It ended up with 5 red flags and put my mate off for life!
Sure...Its pretty disappointing. I have to blame the organisers for a lack of track etiquette too though somehow.
That and noise restrictions...They have become really uptight about it, with meters being electronically patched to council desks directly. Zero discretion from marshals, Ive seen stock standard GSX-R750s , with their boat anchor cans and quiet as a mouse noise levels, getting pinged on drive by FFS !
I can tell you, trying to keep that V-twin under the noise radar is no joke....:(
 

Hawk13

Member
Messages
1,471
Sure...Its pretty disappointing. I have to blame the organisers for a lack of track etiquette too though somehow.
That and noise restrictions...They have become really uptight about it, with meters being electronically patched to council desks directly. Zero discretion from marshals, Ive seen stock standard GSX-R750s , with their boat anchor cans and quiet as a mouse noise levels, getting pinged on drive by FFS !
I can tell you, trying to keep that V-twin under the noise radar is no joke....:(

Agreed. I have had multiple bikes fail noise tests - some deservedly (my KR1 was deafening on full chat) but also 1 with road legal pipes.
 

gb-gta

Member
Messages
1,130
Interesting, I havent seen that air scoop in the rear seat fairing before. That looks standard Gen1 in all other respects...
I built one using a GenII motor, high comp pistons and one off exhaust, modified to run Gen I electrics in the GenI bike ( pre Canbus, so much simpler ). I picked this up for peanuts...Ohlins all round, Brembo brakes and Oz forged rims...Crazy!
Track days have become a crowded melee in recent years, sadly. I havent used it much recently, needless to say...

It’s a standard rear seat on the very early ones. It’s totally original, paint, bodywork etc.
Used as just a road bike, although I did do a few track days on it back in the day, oulton and Caldwell. Not powerful like modern bikes but plenty to have fun With, and very stable handling.

I would imagine yours with less weight and more power Would give more modern stuff a good run for their money.

Having said that, a top rider on a commuter bike would give a lot of trackday super bike heroes a run for their money!
 

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,547
I remember following a marked up Deauville through Epping on my Speed Triple. Well, when I say follow I mean 'Started and stopped at the same point, and he was in front of me'. May as well have been a different day, though....

C
 

Geo

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Messages
616
Latest progress in the garage, engine cleaned and ready for new coolant hoses. I also painted the radiators and fittings which needed tidying.

7034170342
 

TimR

Member
Messages
2,656
Nice...
I will admit to having a stalled project based on the V-four Honda unit..
I really should get to it and try move it on...
 

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midlifecrisis

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16,102
She runs! After probably 10 years this ZXR750L1 will now move under its own steam.
I bought it as a project 6 years ago and have moved twice, changed jobs once, poor excuses I know. But on Sunday, I took it for a few tentative laps of the close.
 

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Hawk13

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1,471
She runs! After probably 10 years this ZXR750L1 will now move under its own steam.
I bought it as a project 6 years ago and have moved twice, changed jobs once, poor excuses I know. But on Saturday, I took it for a few tentative laps of the close.

I love those. I had an H1 back in the day and always promised myself I would build a Team France Endurance ZXR750 replica (with proper flatslide carbs) after seeing them at Le Mans.
 

midlifecrisis

Member
Messages
16,102
I restarted the project late last year, when my brother visited me late last year and noted it under the cover stipped down and said, 'you not got that going yet?'.
I was basicaly stuck on the carburettors, they wouldn't carburate and i was procrastinating. I repeatedly tried to clean them out, rebuild them, take them apart again to adjust the float bowl heights again but with no joy. It would turn over and had spark but no fuel was getting in. The fuel pump was knackered possibly though excessive back pressure of banging it's head against a wall. So I found and fitted a cheap pattern part from eBay but that burnt out quickly too, so got another from a local breaker. I realised that I had fuel going into the carbs but no further and fuel would leak from the pipes under pressure. So I admitted defeat and sent them away to Zen Motorcyles. They stripped them down, ultrasonically cleaned them up, and reassembled them using dynojet stage one kit. He then set them up as best he could on the workbench for a standard exhaust system.
Whilst they were away I reassembled the rest of the bike, just to make sure I had all of the parts. I'm probably missing a few fittings here and there but Cradley Heath Kawasaki will get an order for those parts soon enough. The brakes were re-assembled with new brake lines, pads awhile back but I put in new fluid and bled to my 'middle finger braking standard'. I also changed the fluid in the hydraulic clutch whilst I was in the bleeding mood.

I recieved the carbs back from Zen and reinstalled them mid-June. With fresh petrol in the 'reverse' mounted tank' on the sub-frame and a car battery (from my old 4200) I turned it over. It slowly fired into life but the engine sounded rough and tended to 'race' then stop. I checked all the fittings etc and phoned Zen Motorcycles who asked me if I fitted the airbox, i hadn't, so on it went and it ran a lot smoother. I adjusted the throttle cables so that there is no slack in the action, and that it 'snaps' back when released. I also did the 'MOT favourite' of moving the bars left to right to check that the revs didn't rise. I refitted the tank, but the engine wouldn't start unless I had full choke, it was later found that the new fuel pipes tend to collapse and kink rathter than bend nicely, I cautiously rerouted them and now it runs. I also changed them over so that the resevre IS the reserve and not just 'ON', new pipe clips fitted too. So with it now running well, I treated the engine to a engine oil flush. I had changed the oil when I first bought it, that first oil looked like a disappointing gravy served, all watery and lumpy. I gave it a good 15 mintues of idling with the odd blip as us men tend to do. I changed the oil hot and a more satifactory gravy came out.

One thing that I noted was that the clutch seemed to be seized! With the engine running, I'd snick it into gear but the rear wheel would turn even with the clucth level pulled in. This would be a pain if not a showstopper, so i noted the action of the clutch with the right hand engine cover off and all seemed to work but a friend told me that new oil and 'secret trick' might free it off. So a change of filter and in went some fresh Shell Advance 10w50. Almost four litres despite Haynes and Kawasaki saying 3.5 litres. I fitted a clamp to the clutch lever, got the engine up to temperature again with the new oil and checked that I had no leaks from the filter or sump plug (take note dealers!). I then left the bike overnight with paper underneath it and the clamp still on the lever. Oh, also beofre all of this, the sidestand switch would cut the engine, it's a safety feature but also an embarassment at bike meets that the engine will cut out if you have the sidestand down and the bike in gear, this was diagnosed as a sticking switch plunger, this too was left overnight to soak in lovely WD40 and Lithiun Grease.

So now to last Sunday, after watching the MotoGP and killing the lawn, I thought that I would have another bash at the bike. I refitted the sidestand switch and tested it. All good. I then thought about what next to tackle on this, dreading that the clutch was seized, I snicked it into gear and with the clutch in the rear wheel moved! So, there's nothing else to do but ride it! I tightend all the botls on the tank, refitted the side panels, moved the GT and Swift and took it for a spin. The front brakes seem to have seized on but nonetheless it moved under it's own power for the first time in possibly ten years. I did two laps of the close before a neighbour would object to a motorbike being ridden by a yoof with no helmet on and long hair. I've already had a complaint about the Maserati when I had short hair and was clean shaven. So I left it to idle in the garage whilst noting some oily smoke from exhaust headers and collector. I also noted that the fan doesn't seem to come on so I'll have to check that out.

So what's next? I've got some potion from the motorfactors to clean up the combustions chambers and valves internally. Flush out the cooling system with water before using some proper flushing fluid, then refill with new coolant. I'll check the front brakes to free them off and order those bits from Cradley Heath, fit the fairing and bits from Cradley Heath and then put it in for an MOT.

I think that I will need new tyres though, these are marked 2006! But are not cracked to be fair.