Kawasaki Z550 Now that he had insurance to ride the Kawasaki,  Keiran finally took it out for a ride on the road. Part way round the route it came to a halt and he feared he might need to be trailered back to the workshop. As you can see from the notes he made on the ride, it wasn’t a complete success. Never the less it was the first time in several decades that it had propelled someone over the tarmac.   One other worrying issue became apparent when it was wheeled back into the workshop and it was time to go home.  Keiran had filled the fuel tank right up for the first time since it had been lined and re-sprayed.  As Graham gave the bike a cursory glance over before moving on to other things, he noticed fuel dripping from the front left corner of the fuel tank.  There was no sign of anything leaking from the fuel tap, so the initial conclusion had to be that the tank itself was not fuel tight.   With Chris to assist him the fuel tank was...

  During a busier session…   Honda NS125F… Following its owner’s first visit to the work for a long while last Saturday, Keiran had fetched the bike back from our storage container. At this session Keiran, Phil R and Dave worked to try and find parts that had been removed from it some time prior to the Covid Pandemic. Once they had been rounded up an investigation began to work out what was what. A very rough looking petrol tank was found along with a variety of plastic components, which the team fitted together to make something resembling a Honda NS125F. The fuel tank was going to need a good deal of TLC to get it ready for re-spraying and all the plastic panels would need to be resprayed to get them in a fit state once again. A couple extra panels caused a lot of head scratching.  They looked as though they there were part of the fairing ,but no matter which way they were turned, or which side side of the of the bike they were held up again there seemed to be nowhere...

 It was a relatively quiet session in the workshop but never the less some progress was made... Honda CBR1000F... The petrol leak from between carburettors 3 and 4 had not been quelled, so off came the carburettors once more. It still seemed most likely that the seals on the fuel feed tee-piece between the carburettors needed replacement, so Graham undid the nuts on the ends of the two long threaded rods that kept the carburettors together.  This allowed carburettor 4 could be removed.  The pair of seals did not look too bad but they slipped in and out of their openings very easily. The float bowls of the same pair of carburettors were also removed to inspect the rubber seal fitted between the carburettor and the float bowl.   Whilst the seals were intact they seemed quite thin and it looked as though someone in the past had supplemented them with some clear sealant, so perhaps it was time for some of those new seals as well. Would the seals end the fuel leak? Y...

 Saturday October 18 th 2025.   It was a busy workshop session with lots going on…   Yamaha TX500… For those of you that don’t know much about the TX500 my friend Copilot has put together the following… Yamaha TX500: A Forgotten Pioneer of Four-Stroke Innovation In the early 1970s, Yamaha made a bold move to expand beyond its two-stroke legacy with the introduction of the TX500. Launched in 1973, this motorcycle was a technical marvel for its time, featuring a 498cc DOHC 8-valve parallel twin engine. Yamaha’s goal was clear: to challenge the dominance of British and European four-stroke twins with a machine that combined performance, refinement, and modern engineering. The TX500 boasted a counterbalancer system to tame vibration, a five-speed gearbox, and a top speed nearing 110 mph. Riders appreciated its fuel economy, which hovered between 40 and 55 mpg, and its sporty character. However, the bike’s promise was undermined by reliability issues, particularly overheating...

  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. 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 th...