Saturday October 4th 2025
Saturday October 4th 2025…
I was not able to attend this session owing to feeling unwell. However I was able to compose this blog entry with the aid of a huge amount of info and pictures sent to me during the session by our club chairman Phil McAthey and using images and info posted by our members on our Facebook pages.
Yamaha Majesty…
Work was done by the team to prep and spray the panel that had been repaired with Gareth's amazing superglue and Baking Powder mixture and staples from our new plastic repair kit. The panel would be fitted beneath the running boards, bringing the whole thing another step closer to looking ready to ride.
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| Peter helping Andy as he works to prep the Majesty panel for spray painting. |
Kawasaki Z250 Scorpion…
AJ and Peter Davies worked to flat down the bike’s tail piece and side panels in preparation for them to be resprayed.
Honda CBR1000F…
Not a lot was done with the bike today but a new club member mucked in and worked to smarten up the bike’s otherwise rather well worn looking top box.
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| Brightening up the CBR1000F's tired top box |
Member’s bikes…
Honda 650 Vigor.
More work was done by various members of the club including Mechanic Phil. This included removing the rear tyre ready for new front and rear tyres to be fitted once new inner tubes had arrived. It also included replacing the rear disc and I believe the new speedo cable was fitted to. The battery and inner tubes had yet to arrive, so completing work on it would have to wait for another week or so.
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| Don working on the 650 Vigor real wheel with the tyre changer. |
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| Don working on the rear of Mal's Vigor before the wheel was removed. |
Armstrong MT500...
Heinz was assisted by Don, Karen and Dan, as he installed a gleaming blueprinted 500cc engine. I am sure he engine was supplied to Armstrong by Rotax. If I am wrong I am certain Heinz will correct me in due course. The bike was created by Armstrong for military use. To watch an amusing review of the Armstrong MT500 that purports to have been made by the Canadian army, follow the You Tube link lower down the page.
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| The Shiny blue printed Rotax engine ready for instalation. |
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| Even Heinz has to resort to reading just occasionally. |
Review of the Armstrong MT500 by the Canadian army
Suzuki DR125 (Parts bought in
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| Suzuki DR125 Swinging arm (Upside down) and associated bearings. |
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| Suzuki DR125 rear shock absorber probably going in the bin, |
Guy bought in a number of parts from the Suzuki DR125 he was in the throws of restoring. He had already done a lot of work on various components from the bike at home. Today he bought in the rear swinging arm and shock absorber with the intention of sorting out replacement of the various bearings fitted to its Suzuki Full Floater monoshock rear suspension. Assisted by club mechanic Phil and AJ he use the club's induction heater to help remove the remants of the various roller bearings from the swinging arm ready to install new components. Our good friend ChatGPT tells us that an induction heating tool is a device that uses electromagnetic induction to heat electrically conductive materials (usually metals) without direct contact. It's commonly used in industrial and workshop settings for applications like: Loosening seized bolts; Removing adhesives or decals; Heat-treating metal parts and brazing, soldering, and welding. The shock absorber itself seemed fit for the scrap yard, so would Guy be buying a very expensive 2nd hand item from Ebay, or a much cheaperbut brand new pattern part? We shall have to wait and see. Guy also stripped the bike’s carburetor. Needless to say it was pretty rough inside with lots the remnants of stale fuel adhering to the float chamber and no doubt blocking the tiny holes in the various jets that had been in contact with the fuel as it decomposed.
This publicly available video that I have borrowed from You tube gives some explanation of why petrol goes bad. How long it lasts and things you can do to prevent problems caused by old stale petrol. So it was off to Uncle Phil’s Ultrasonic cleaner for this carburetor. Lets hope they remembered to remove the jets so they got cleaned as well. I will let you know in a future blog.
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| Guy ponders what to do now that he has got his carburetor apart and found all the gunge. |
Suzuki GSF1250 Bandit
Allen bought in his Suzuki GSF1250 Bandit for help replacing his left hand front indicator. On an unfaired bike this is a pretty straightforward job but Allen’s model came with a fairing part of which needed to be removed, in order to install the new indicator replacing one that had been broken. A small group helped Allen remove the fairing, a small crowd of onlookers watched the process and mechanic Phil gave the group the benefit of his extensive knowledge of the various fasteners that were used.
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| Club Mechanic Phil helps Allen to replace his front left indicator. |