Saturday October 11th 2025 The blog this week has a very different feel to it as it comprised of short videos instead of a typed blog.  I would like to thank Don for bringing in his Camcorder allowing me capture the videos you below. Yamaha TX500 (Circa 1978) Kawasaki KZ550LTD (Circa 1980) Suzuki GSF1200 Bandit (Cica 1999) Honda 650 Vigor Jiailing 125 Trails bike project Armstong MT500 Ducati 250cc Single Honda CBR1000F Yamaha 125 Majesty (Yer Majesty)

  Saturday July 5th 2025   Mash 400 dirt star… We had received a donation of tools, amongst the tools was a starter pack. It was quite old and looked well used and after Don reconnected the crocodile clip, we tried it on the mash. At first it didn’t seem to make any difference however, later in the session we tried it again. This time, not only turn the engine quickly but also kept on turning it quickly. This produced lots of flames from the exhaust plus some black smoke, plus the sound as if the engine is going to start. However, it just wouldn’t touch and keep running. With the engine now turning fast enough the compression test Heinz and I fitted the compression tester and spun the engine over. The compression tester showed a peak of 145 psi and he did this twice.  This showed us that the engine had excellent compression. I removed the air filter in case a rat (Or similar creature) had taken up residence in the air filter housing.  But alas, no and in fact the ai...

  Saturday June 14th 2025 This workshop session was a quiet one.   At its peek there were just seven of us!   A  huge thank you to Gareth for listing the contents of tool trolleys one to four and for Allan doing the same with the newer green tool chest. It was a huge help and by doing the red tool trolley myself I was able to complete the set so we now know exactly what is where (For a week anyway!) Many thanks also to Jo for collecting and bringing the new project bike into the workshop. It was a Honda CBR1000 that its donor Paul had owned for around 20 years.   It hadn't run properly for a number of years but the bike was in generally sound condition and would make a good project especially for those wanting to learn how to overcome the impact that time stood still can have on a bike and its carburettors Also many thanks to Jo for providing us with temporary use of her starter pack (I hope that’s what you call it.)   Guess where it came in handy!! ...

  Saturday May 31st 2025 Mash 400 Dirtstar. Further efforts were made to get the bike to start.   With a fully charged battery the engine still on spun over slowly but despite having fuel and a strong spark there was no sign of the engine firing.  To make sure the slow starter speed wasn’t down to a fault in the starter motor, the starter motor was removed and taken apart but it was clean inside and free from obvious faults. There was plenty of life left in the brushes and the brushes moved freely.  The valve clearances were then checked and set to the standard value of 0.07 to 0.10 mm for inlet valves and 0.10mm to 0.12mm for the exhaust valve gaps.   There was a bit of a ‘ermm’ moment before the valve clearances could be checked, when a partially removed generator cover led to a large portion of its engine oil being deposited onto the floor rather unexpectedly.  A hurried retightening of the generator cover screws and a lot of mopping up saw things back o...

  Saturday May 17th 2025 Suzuki GFS 1200 Bandit… Now that we had the exhaust system in place it was time to get it running and see how noisy it was and whether it was burning much oil.  This was because the bike had 58,000. With a temporary fuel supply the bike started and ran well.  There didn’t seem to be too much mechanical noise, although the exhaust was very loud.  On start up and when being revved there was very little blue smoke from the exhaust.  Therefore the jobs could be done at the next sessions would include  Carburetor balancing. Valve adjustment. Brake fluid replacement. Stripping out the front end of the bike and replacing the forks with the brand new forks that came with the bike.  Inspect/overhaul brakes if need be. Inspect tyres. Inspect swinging arm bearing for wear. Inspect Wheel alignment. Inspect rear shock absorber Spraying damaged ares of the frame’s lovely crimson red paintwork.  Fastening the gauze back on the metal fram...

  Saturday May 10th 2025 This was a shorter than usual session to allow us to head off to the Dyfed and West Wales Classic and Custom bike and trike show at Kidwelly.  It finished at half past twelve. Nevertheless Steve and his crew were able to install the new ignition lock on the GSF1200 Bandit.  This time it was made in Taiwan unlike the Chinese one from Ebay worked perfectly without any messing around.  The starter span the engine over, once a few minor adjustments had been made to other wiring.  Only the lack of fresh fuel in the workshop prevented an attempt being made to start the bike again to see how quietly and cleanly it ran with its exhaust system fitted.   Keiran continued his efforts to complete the finishing off the Kawasaki Z250 working on the speedo/tacho and other electrical items. He very cleverly fashioned a part to replace the bike's missing light switch, using the same component on the Z550 as a template. Peter worked on the Jaili...

Saturday March 22nd 2025 Kawasaki KZ550 (ish) Graham and Andy J worked on the bike’s front brake to try and bleed the air out of it and get it working.  Nothing they could do could get rid of the air in the fluid, where was it coming from?  No matter how much fluid was drawn through the pipe/caliper it contained a steady stream of bubbles.  In the end there was nothing for it but to disassemble the master cylinder and take a look. It was whilst checking it out that Andy J noticed that the piston in the master cylinder appeared to be too small in diameter to fit the cylinder and a new cylinder would have to be ordered to get the brake working. Braking News - No front brake for the time being. Kawasaki Z250 Scorpion. Keiran worked to make a plate in order to attach the original tail piece to the bike. He checked the bike out looking for the final bits and pieces to do to complete the bike. These included to make sure the front brake light switch could be made to work; che...

  Saturday March 08th 2025. Suzuki Bandit 1200. This was our newest project and this session was the first time that most of our members saw it.   it had been donated to us by a gentleman living in West London who had read about us in Classic Motorcycle Mechanics magazine.  Because our aims as a group struck a chord with him, he decided that we were a worthy course and very generously gave us his 1998 Suzuki 1200 Bandit. The bike had been off the road for 10 years since 2015, stood on a motorcycle workbench in his garage. The bike was in generally good condition with its cherry red paintwork largely unspoiled.   Some of the frame needed some touching up but generally very little paintwork needed to be done.   The bike had covered 58,000 miles and came with a vast array of brand new Suzuki spare parts.  These included chain and sprockets, carburettor rubbers, brand new front disc brakes, and a brand new pair of front forks.   Guy very kindly listed all ...