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...

 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 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 September 20th 2025 I was not personally present at the session, so we owe the following summary of what took place to club Chair person Phil McAthey... CBR100F:  Chris/Gareth/Don replaced the inlet rubbers after first removing the metal restrictor plates that were inside them. They were removed after comparing them with the old rubbers which didn't have them. Unfortunately new insulator band screws (like Jubilee clips) needed to be ordered to complete the job so we could put the carbs back on.. YAMAHA MAJESTY:  Chris and Harry worked on Yer Majesty.. The screen was located in the container and fitted at the workshop. The bike was then started and it ran well. Minor repairs to the plastics were all that it now needed. KAWASAKI Z550:   AJ, Dave Wooley and Ioan worked on the wiring and sorted out the indicator problem. Essentially the bike is finished. The starter button was also replaced. KAWASAKI Z250:  New member Dan removed the unw...

  Saturday August 16th 2025… Honda CBR1000FX… Work began today on getting the recently donated Honda running and tidied up. With a little persuasion it started but was clearly not running on all four cylinders, so it was time to remove the carburettors and have a peek inside.  Keiran, Pete, Allan Guy and their team set about removing the fuel tank and removing the carburettors.  At first glance everything inside looked clean although one of the CV slides had to be freed off.  However a stuck slide wouldn’t have prevented it from starting on 4 cylinders (As it only comes into play as the throttles are opened and the vacuum being created by the engine rises enough to draw the slides upwards).  Something else had to be at fault.  Graham suggested that despite how clean the inside of the carburettors looked, all the main jets, pilot jets and emulsion tubes (That's the tubes that the main jets screw into) should be removed and cleaned.  It was then discover...

  Saturday July 12th 2025 Suzuki GSF 1200 Bandit… Ioin prepared and sprayed the rocker cover, restoring it to its original finish.  Graham, Heinz and new member Richard then set out about re-fitting it using the brand new rocker cover bolts that had been supplied with the bike.  Once the rocker had been carefully fiddled back into place so as not to disturb the rubber seal that runs around its outside edge. They went to fit the new bolts.  Four of the eight bolts fitted, the other four could not be persuaded to screw in.  It was then that it became apparent that someone had fitted some sort of thread repair kit to four of the bolt holes and at the same time reduced the thread size from 8mm to 6mm.  An attempt was made to cut a 6mm thread onto one of the new 8mm bolts, but the difference in diameter was too great.  So it would be a case of getting the silver spray out to tidy up the modified bolts used by the previous owner.  They had been ingeniou...

  Saturday May 3rd 2025 Suzuki GSF1200 Bandit (1999) The intention was to install the new stainless steel exhaust studs and nut, then to refit the exhaust and start the engine once again.  This would confirm that a) The carburettors had truly given up leaking b) Whether the engine was burning oil or c) worn to the point that it needed a top end overhaul. This was a bike with 58,000 miles under its wheels and ordinarily a top end overhaul at that mileage would be the norm.  However, this was a well cared for one owner bike that, according to its donor, had spent most of its time being ridden around the streets of London and for that reason hadn’t been thrashed.  However, the ignition switch from the lock set I had purchased from Ebay to replace the original sticky lock, had other ideas. Although the pilot light lit when the switch was connected none of the other electric items functioned.  It soon became apparent that not only were some of the wires in different ...