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 GUY’S HAYABUSA: NEW BLADE SP THE HO ME O F

300MPH IN A MILE ON THE ROAD

Behind the scenes of the ballsy
new project that could kill him

MAY 2020

BUY IT. BUILD IT. RIDE IT.

£4.50 ISSUE 115
15 APR - 19 MAY

Ace DUCATI
888
RESTO

Of Bass
From a rotten shed to stunning SP5 tribute: how a
reader gave a sad 888 Strada its swagger back
rojects,
SPONDON ZED ZZR’S FAREWELL ges of p es
a
32 p -to featur
Rare ally-framed Saying goodbye to the king how ore
Z1000 reader special of speed after 30 years and m
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MAY 2020 ISSUE 115
12
PS WORLD
8 NEWS
Tony Rutter (1941-2020), an short appreciation
of the Black Country’s best. RIP Tony
10 SUBSCRIBE
Guarantee you’ll still the mag cooped up at
home: get a digital or print subscription deal
12 SPECIALS OF THE MONTH
NC30/RC30 imposter, raw H2, and a Gallina
Hayashi Quattro Suzuki 750 LE
14 IN YOUR SHED
A yellow R1 manages to be subtle, an RGV500,
GPZ4/6 and Toni Mang-rep KR-1 near completion
14
18 BIKES OF YOUR LIFE
Alan Percival: he’s wrecked some bikes in his
time, and won a few pots along the way
20 PS MAIL
There’s never been a better or worse time to
scribble a note to the magazine of choice
4 Practical Sportsbikes
FEATURES
23 YAMAHA R1-Z RESTO
Bought in a wet garden in the dark, it needed a
bit more work than first glance suggested
33 SPECIAL BREW
A unique (in the only sense of the word)
Spondon Zed 1135. It’s a belter
40 WATCH LIST: GS750
Suzuki’s first four-stroke four often gets
ignored as people fixate on the GS1000
47 FAREWELL ZZR
We ride the original 11 and the last 14 as
Kawasaki calls time on a firm favourite
55 DUCATI 888 RESTORATION
Chris Bridgland got exactly what he bargained
for when he found this 888 in a damp shed
66 POSTER
And here’s Chris’s 888 (not Farmer Newbigging’s)
in all its pomp. And it sure looks purty
23
R1-Z GARDEN RESCUE
Sometimes you just have to ignore
common sense and take a punt
 40

70 BLADE SP
Honda’s latest
Fireblade SP is a
feisty little number

77 PANIGALE V2
Ducati’s so-called
baby V-twin has done
a lot of growing up

33 80 GUYABUSA
Mr Martin will
attempt to reach
300mph in one mile
with this monster

86 BUY TUONO V4
Priller’s 1000cc V4
under the canny 86
buyer’s microscope

90 ’LECCY ZERO
A lot like a real bike,
but still dogged by
range issues

BUY IT. FIX IT.

47
Practical Sportsbikes:
Locking down the good stuff
for when things get better
94 RESTO SOS
Stu Collins gets a CBR6 to learn
the spannering ropes with
98 WHAT’S THE
PROBLEM?
Wobble-drive wobbles, satnav
wiring, RSV thirst, and tape
residue removal – all nailed
100 ZX-7R TURBO
Turbo hardware arrives from
Jack Frost and it all starts to get
a bit exciting
106 360º GARAGE
West Country wonderland with
Shaun Churchill and his pet tools
112 HOW TO
Measure up 2-T combustion
chamber volumes and squish
116 ON OUR
BENCH
A lot of people are going to
be diving into the jobs they
previously ‘didn’t have time for’
and we are no exceptions...
Alan finally gets round to
fixing up the Moto Morini top
end. MG makes a little more
progress on the FZ750, John
McAvoy (remember him?)
moves some RGV parts around
his garage, Farmer Newbigging
conscientiously locks his 996
away, while Damo gets an MoT
for the RSV-R. AT LAST!
130 PROJECT
HUNTER
The locked-down Medium G is
SO in his element unearthing
lost causes and hidden gems
20 20

What we do, and
why we do it, in
one picture. Stay
safe, folks
ISSUE 115 MAY 2020
T
his issue of PS is brought to you
under troubling and exceptional
circumstances, and we sincerely
hope these strange times are not
affecting any of you or your
families in the direst ways. Every member of
the PS team is now working from isolation,
bikes off the road, to do our little bit in
limiting both the spread of infection, and
any needless burden on emergency services.
We’ll continue to do our utmost within the
current restrictions to bring you a full
complement of PS and PB features. We’ll
adapt and improvise as our usual working
methods become more difficult, impractical,
or even unsafe for those concerned.
The team
The forcibly (and mercifully) confined walking Petri-dishes screwing your mag together
Damian Smith Art Editor
Confined to his bachelor pad, Damo’s been
designing the mag in total solitude, which is
what he secretly pines for anyway. Fair play:
he’s done a great job.
damian.smith@pspb.co.uk
Mark Graham Production Editor
Holed-up in his stone hovel sucking moss
for sustenance. His extended family have
quite rightly refused to isolate with him.
Was bad enough having him in an office.
mark.graham@pspb.co.uk
facebook.com/groups/practicalsportsbikes
It will have to change the way we do
things: visiting readers with projects, testing
bikes, even meeting colleagues face-to-face
are no longer guaranteed. We’ll just have to
change – some regular features might
change or be put on hold while the world
deals with an extraordinary set of
circumstances. You never know, the new
features might earn a permanent billing.
We’ll redouble our efforts to make it as
good as possible, no matter what unseen
pathogens throw in our way: we know a bit
of mental stimulation and light humour can
mean a lot for those in isolation.
Details about options to safely buy the
mag (both print and digital) can be found on
Alan Seeley Technical Editor
With an elderly mother to care for, Alan’s
rightly had to make his movements
carefully. But he’s still working on bringing
his talents to the mag, whatever they are.
alan.seeley@pspb.co.uk
Gary Hurd Workshop Consultant
As CN was in isolation as the turbo arrived
for the ZX990, Medium G holed himself up
in his garage and took it on. See the goodies
fitted on page100.
editorial@pspb.co.uk
editorial@pspb.co.uk
SUBSCRIBE
TO GET YOUR FIX OF
PS EVERY MONTH
See page 10
page 10, or our website. More than ever,
your readership is appreciated. More of
your £4.50 goes in the pockets of good and
ordinary people than the business folk
running the show: from the familar faces
below, to the drivers delivering copies. It’s
not just entertainment: it’s another little
way to help keep us all secure.
Keep in touch with us via email or social
media: tell us about your bikes, share your
stories and opinions with us.
We send all our readers and their nearest/
dearest across the world our very best
wishes. Keep safe, keep spannering, and in
time we’ll all be out and about riding again.
Chris Newbigging, Editor
John McAvoy Road Tester
Has been tearing around the country like a
blue-arsed fly, testing as much as possible
before lockdown happened to keep us full
with PB road tests for the next few months.
editorial@pspb.co.uk
Michael Rutter Track Tester
Heartfelt condolences from all here, and
you’d imagine much further afield too.
Michael’s dad Tony died on 24 March
(tribute on page eight).
editorial@pspb.co.uk
Practical Sportsbikes 7
 Words: Mark Graham &
John McAvoy
TONY RUTTER (1941-2020)
Appreciation of Ducati’s unsung road and track hero from long-time sponsor Dave Burr
ave Burr became one of Tony
Rutter’s sponsors at a time
when, despite winning World
Championships for Ducati,
Rutter had little or no financial
backing. After Tony’s big smash at Montjuic
Park in 1985, all of Tony’s sponsors moved on,
except Dave. He stayed loyal and continued to
support him by providing for his wife Pauline
and son Michael while he recovered .
Dave and Tony inevitably become close,
lifelong friends right up to the end. Dave
said: “Tony was a man who woke up thinking
about racing motorbikes, and went to sleep
still thinking about racing motorbikes. I was
privileged to be involved with Tone for nearly
40 years and I think I got to know him as well as
he allowed anyone to get to know him.
“He was a man of few words, and when he got
behind the wheel of a car, as anyone who was
8 Practical Sportsbikes
In TT ac
tion, and
below w
ith
and Den Mike Hailwoo
nis Irela d
nd (righ
t)
ever driven by Tone will remember with clarity – being treated for the obvious injuries, but the
he was terrifying. hospital missed that he had a badly broken neck
“He was shy and avoided the media at all and his pelvis was split vertically which meant
times. On one occasion we were walking that his hip joint was an inch and a half up into
through the paddock at the TT heading for Manx the split. It took some time, but he overcame all
Radio, just after he won the F2 race. Tone went of these injuries and went back racing.
straight past and said, ‘Could you go in and talk “There are so many stories about Tony, so let’s
to them Dave?’. So I went and did his interview hope they keep getting told. For now, it’s enough
on the radio for him. to say: Thank you Tony.”
“It’s because of this side of Tone’s personality
that I don’t think he got enough credit for
keeping Ducati going during the early eighties.
He never got paid a penny from them up till the
last year (1985) when the Castiglioni brothers
bought Ducati… after me and Tone turned it
down. D’oh!
“After his horrific accident at Montjuic Park
in Barcelona, Tone died twice at the track and
a doctor who was trackside revived him both
times. He then spent eight days on life support Clean, economical style from a modest master
 PS ACCESS
Naturally enough, getting hold of a hard One size fits all
copy of PS may not be straightforward Trust Triumph boss John Bloor, the
for you while the Covid-19 lockdown is businessman’s businessman, to find
in place. To this end, we direct you to our some savings in his cross-platform logo
website where the various options, both operation. “What do you mean ‘new logo
paper and digital, are made clear if you’d for the new-build homes business’?
like to keep getting your monthly PS-PB We’ve already got one.”
fix safely and easily, even from home. See:
www.practicalsportsbikesmag.co.uk/
waystoread

! (an d n on-winn ers)

WIN N ERS
First, winner of the wonderful book Lean, So, it goes to another tie-break. The multiple The first
Mean And Lime Green (vol 2) is Justin choice question being… THE SAME ONE... correct answer
Mortimer from Norfolk. Well done Justin. pulled out
Second, no one won the signed copy of Mat Where did Mat Oxley fall off at on the last lap of The PS’s
Oxley’s 2019 MotoGP Yearbook because no while leading the 1986 250cc Production TT? electronic
one got the tie-break question correct. Was it… mailhat wins
Oxley, in his own barely coherent words, a) Glencrutchery Road the book,
says: “I fell off on the lefthander after b) Glencrutchery Road signed by
Governor’s Bridge, actually on Glencrutchery c) Glencrutchery Road the man
Road.” We can’t argue with the faller himself, d) Don’t Know himself. Entries close 25 April. Winner will be
that would be wrong. Something we simply e) This is all so unfair, he doesn’t know what he’s announced in the June issue of PS, on sale 13
cannot do. talking about May 2020. Good luck to you all. Again.

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 THE HOME OF

BUY IT. BUILD IT. RIDE IT.

Practical Sportsbikes, incorporating

Performance Bikes is not just for people
who own a bike: it’s for people who live
for them. Riders, restorers, maintainers
Offer expires 12 May 2020 and modifiers. Brought to you by an
Terms & Conditions: Subscriptions will start with the next available issue. Minimum term is 12 issues. You
experienced team who own, ride and
will not receive a renewal reminder and the Direct Debit payments will continue to be taken unless you tell fettle their own bikes as well as write about them.
us otherwise. This offer closes on 12/05/20. This offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer.
Cost from landlines for 01 numbers per minute are (approximate) 2p to 10p. Cost from mobiles per minute There’s no better place to read road tests, features
(approximate) 10p to 40p. Costs vary depending on the geographical location in the UK. You may get free
calls to some numbers as part of your call package – please check with your phone provider. Order lines open
on readers’ bikes, follow our projects, or benefit from
8am-9.30pm (Mon-Fri), 8am-4pm (Sat). UK orders only. Overseas? advice on bikes from the 1970s to the present day.
Please phone +44 1858 438828 for further details. Calls may be monitored or recorded for training
purposes. For full terms and conditions please visit: www.greatmagazines.co.uk/offer-terms-and-conditions. Chris Newbigging, Editor
 we like
THREE BANGIN’ BUILDS
from around the globe

TYGA SUZUKA-REP
HONDA NC30

Subtle is the key with this

magnificent NC30. At first glance,
this Honda V4 looks like a stock
RC30 – a very nice one mind – but
that’s a deliberate part of the illusion.
With RC30 prices heading way off into La-La land, here’s what you can do to make an NC30 RC30-alike At heart it’s a 1992 VFR400R, but
clever use of stunning Suzuka 8-Hour
replica Tyga bodywork (that’s the
stacked-headlamp, endurance-style
fairing and single-seat RVF400
tail unit, all finished in RC30-a-like
colour) raise the bike from mere 400
to something truly delicious. Other
tasty extras abound: big Thermae
twin race-radiators, Samco hoses,
HRC rear brake reservoir, Tyga
footrests and 4-1 pipe, and an NC35
17-inch rear wheel. Tastiest NC we’ve
seen in ages.

There’s more than a passing Bimota

vibe to it. Never a bad thing

Never heard of Gallina Hayashi? You’re not alone. This 1990 Japanese-built, trellis-framed superbike is one
of only 10 made. Consciously built to mimic the look of a Bimota (it was actually styled by Roberto Ugolini
who was behind the Tesi 1D, so the plan was more than skin-deep), the 750LE was built to embody the
perfect superbike – at least in the eyes of the firm’s founders, Italian ex-racer Roberto Gallina and Japanese
money-man Yoshiyuki Hayashi. And what a vision it is. The GSX-R750 motor gets magnesium cases, a dry clutch, close ratio gearbox, saucy gear-
driven cams to give a claimed 130bhp. As hand-built, limited edition bikes go, this has to be one of the rarest and, in our eyes, most desirable.

12 Practical Sportsbikes
 Long, low, and not short of go

KAMIKAZE KAWASAKI
H2 750

From every angle Tobias Guckel’s

Kawasaki H2 creation looks vicious.
If it had teeth it’d be baring them and,
make no mistake, they’d be sharp,
nasty looking teeth too. The frame
is from a 500cc H1, but the motor
H1 frame has been
– breathing through 34mm Mikunis generously cross-braced
and Jollymoto spannies – is from and gussetted. Good
that bike’s tougher, more brutal big
brother. Slabbie GSX-R wheels, forks
and brakes drag this monster out of
the ’70s, if only by a decade, yet fit
perfectly with the no-nonsense vibe
that’s central to Tobias’s vision for a
testosterone-pumped Kwak triple. A
lesson in beautiful brutality.
Pics: Christian Haasz

Practical Sportsbikes 13
 Part way through a restoration?
Just completed a trick special?
Send us your pics, and details
To: editorial@pspb.co.uk only for the time being – postal submissions won’t
reach us until we’re able to return to office-based working. Sorry!

Kawasaki GPZ400R
Proof (if ever any were needed) that with
Builder: Graham Morgan a bit of imagination unlikely bikes rock
Owned for: one year
So far: rebuilt as a 600
What’s next: daytime MoT

his is a GPZ400R import with an alloy frame I’ve

T just completed. I’ve fitted a GPX600 crank, rods,
pistons, barrels and head to the 400 cases. A set of
new OEM carbs were a lucky bargain buy too. The
forks and yokes, swingarm and wheels are ZXR400.
I’ve fitted a Nitron race spec shock too. The forks were
rebuilt with new OEM stanchions, seals etc.
It has specially fabricated front and rear mounting
brackets for the Brembo calipers. Plus a lot more
one-off bits too. Harris Motorcycles sprayed it to a
fantastic two-pack finish and all that it needs for the
daytime MoT is some fresh tyres, a number plate
holder and a horn.

Triumph Speed Triple 955i

Owner: Paul Griffin
Owned for: six months
So far: tidied-up
What’s next: maybe baffle the can

bought this in summer last year on a whim, after

I spending a rainy Friday afternoon depressed in the
works van. It popped up for sale and next thing you
know I’m travelling down to Sunderland from Scotland
to buy it. It’s far from perfect and there are a few
garish aftermarket bits applied, but it was a good way
to get back into bikes after a considerable lay off due
to the “fear” developing after the birth of my daughter.
The SP Engineering high-level can sounds great, but
I must be getting old as it’s unbearably loud with the Roulette Green always the boss colour
baffle out. Great mag by the way, I have all issues since for these Speed Triples. Still great bikes
the beginning.

Suzuki RGV500
Owner: Terry Hankey
Owned for: four years
So far: fitted 500 motor into a 250
What’s next: finishing touches and MoT

’ve been building this for four years, and planning it

I for about the same time! The motor squeezed into
the 250 frame nicely and the pipes line up well. It’s got
a Mille front end and an R6 swingarm.
I need an offset front sprocket for the chain run
and other little niggly jobs. I’m probably going to fit
a Tyga fairing, as I’ve got one fitted to another bike
and it works well. Then it’s off to Mallory to dial-in the
suspension and tweak the chassis ( I’m expecting to
drop the forks down the yokes considerably). It’ll never
be finished, but I’ll be happy when its MoT’d and I can This will be kicking ass in Derbyshire any time soon by the look of it
take it round Derbyshire for a run.

14 Practical Sportsbikes
 Yep. Spot-on. Great job

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2000 Yamaha YZF-R1
Owner: Søren Olesen
Owned for: two years
So far: rough, now right-on
What’s next: ride it
When you’ve got a plan, when you know
what you’re doing, and you can source all
the bits you need, it makes perfect sense
to piece together your very own version
he bike was quite tired and neglected when
T I bought it. But I can’t keep myself from
rebuilding and modifying my bikes, so buying
one in a sorry seemed the right thing to do.
The current mods on the bike are as follows – Öhlins full
front fork and shock spec’d for the carbed R1). It has
5PW front calipers, and 5VY wheels – they needed
300mm discs from an R6, and calipers spaced Easy to use
inwards. The rear uses an FZ1 disc.
I fitted a 5PW engine complete with injection, and Online parts catalogue
modified the fuel tank to accept the fuel pump. I
turned a new flange up on my lathe and TIG welded it
fowlersparts.co.uk
in. It’s an Arrow full exhaust system for a 5PW, with an spares@fowlers.co.uk
Akrapovic carbon fibre can. or
The fairing is a Taiwanese kit, and the tank got a
to spea k to an expert,
matching paint job. It needed a little cutting for the
call…
later exhaust, but other than that I must admit the fit
of the fairing is quite close to OE.
I’ve been able to save 12 kg in weight which should +44 (0)117
give the bike a dry weight of 163 kg. I have done all
977 0466
of the mods myself, besides welding the tank and
painting it.
I’m really happy with how the bike turned out. Both
in terms of the increased fun factor of riding it and
having the looks to match.

KAWASAKI

Tank undergoing surgery for fuel

pump to feed injected 5PW
powerplant. And you have to say
Søren’s right on top of that painting
lark too. Looks a million dollars

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 Just when you
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hoovered up,
along comes a
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this to put more
back on the road

Kawasaki H2 (x2)
Owner: Chris Hudson
Owned for: one year
So far: picked up part-built bikes
What’s next: complete the restoration
n April 2019 my friendly household repair
I man admired my purple ’75 H2C (not
knowing it was a dog that I paid too much for),
and said, “I have a friend that has a couple of
these….in boxes. ’72’s. There might even be
enough parts for three.” On the next visit he
brought his mate, we made a deal and despite
the fact there are really only enough bits for
two, I’m happy. Some of the gleaming upsides
to this purchase: proper titles with the frames,
two Charlie Smith-rebuilt cranks, rebored
barrels with new piston kits, rebuilt calipers,
carbs, looms, controls, multiple tanks and lots
of other well-organised parts.
I decided one will be a total sandblast/
powdercoat/replace every fastener/refurb,
while the other, the rolling example, I’ll rebuild
the motor, brakes, suspension, etc, but
won’t touch the paint and get it running with
whatever I can find in those boxes.
Meanwhile, this refurbed example has a
powdercoated frame, dual disc upgrade
(four-way split, 5/8” master, re-engineered
lefty caliper), needle-roller swingarm bearings,
tapered head bearings, new DID rims with
stainless spokes built by Buchanan, new
paint (and tank sealed) by LRC, undercut
transmission by R&D Motorsports, a rebuilt oil
pump, reconditioned clocks, rewound stator
by Marcus Rex, rebuilt carbs with an Ivan’s Jet
Kit, all connected to a factory like airbox, and
just enough (no, not too much) new chrome…
Basically every internal upgrade I can think
of that might, just might, make this a reliable
version of the hellcat it was born as while
retaining the original silhouette.

Kawasaki KR-1
Owner: Rick Oliver
Owned for: one year
So far: started the improvements
What’s next: bodywork and details

he KR-1 is a built-from-parts project,

T almost entirely the product of long
winter evenings spent cruising eBay. It’s
a 1989 KR-1 frame, ZX636 C1H forks
with reduced spring and damping rates to
suit the lighter bike, ZX-10R mudguard
on custom made brackets, GSX-R1000
clip-ons and radial mastercylinder, ZX-6R
J- model clutch lever and perch.
Rear end is a KR-1S swingarm with a
Nitron shock and BDK jack-up links. Wheels
are RGV250 17-inch rear, Honda Hornet
front, brakes are ZX-6R/Tokico 4-pot radial
front calipers, stock KR-1S rear, both with This is one hell of a good bitsa. Mainly Kawasaki, but still a real bitsa
wavy brake discs.
The engine uses mildly ported KR-1S system uses a 40mm thick core YZF450 smaller version of the KR-1 headlight) or
barrels with F3 KIPS valves, a lightened radiator with Samco coolant hoses. maybe twin projector lamps. Bodywork is
flywheel, 34mm power jet carbs, Jim It will have an analogue tach/digital speedo lightweight race glass fibre adapted for
Lomas pipes and Tyga cans, ignition is an dash, not quite sure on the headlight yet, lights, etc. Planned colour scheme will be a
by Ignitech programmable CDI. The cooling thinking either a Fazer unit (which is like a nod to Toni Mang’s KR250 GP bikes.

16 Practical Sportsbikes
wemoto classic parts
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 Of Your Life
ALAN PERCIVAL
SHOWS NO REMORSE
FOR EITHER THE
MURDER OF A POOR
GT185, OR THE SALE
OF A HOPELESSLY
Deals on wheels
“I bought this 1976 Yamaha RD200 with Suzuki
INCONTINENT CB900F X5 wheels in 1984 as ‘needing attention’ and
I spent a couple of months putting it right,
‘m of 1966 vintage so grew up in including a rattle-can paintjob. This was my

I
the 1970s loving the bikes and first resto and it gave me the bug for a couple
music, getting my first taste of
two wheels at around 10 years
1982 of years to buy and sell on. I had a few between

old when my older brother, Neil

50mph (yeah, right) 1984 and 1986 that I did up and moved on.”
“My first road bike was a Puch M50 on the
taught me to ride on his Raleigh Wisp.
My dad had ridden bikes to get to and from
day of my sixteenth birthday, but a pal wrote 1984
it off while on a test ride to see if he wanted
work back in those days and was OK with us
to buy it, which he then had to. I had a Casal
having bikes, even if my poor mum wasn’t so
moped as well, so sold that too and bought
keen. But from that first go on a pedal bike-
this Suzuki ER50 brand-new in the summer
based twist-and-go I was hooked.
of 1982. I did the usual home tuning on it
Apart from a small dry spell in my mid-
and fitted a Fresco exhaust to barely scrape
twenties buying a house, I’ve had dozens of
50mph downhill with the wind behind me.”
bikes but didn’t get photos of them all.
I took up racing in 2003 and had some
great times and a few successes, managing
to win races in F400 and F600 classes, plus
getting a couple of F400 championships in
2005 and 2012, which is when I retired. I
Murder he rode
“I bought this 1976 Suzuki GT185 as a rat
really miss those racing years, and although
bike, which I used, abused, misused and
I sold ‘the best one’ (Ducati 996SPS) to help
generally ill-treated for three years until it
fund it, I don’t regret it.
eventually died around spring 1987. How it
Family has taken up most of my time
lasted that long I’ll never know, because it
since I packed in racing, plus I don’t have the
was run dry of 2-T and gearbox oil on several
same appetite for getting out on the busy,
potholed UK roads that I used to.
Police interest 1983 occasions, hardly ever maintained, and I fell
off it more times than I can remember.”
However, I bought an RGV250M (the
“I just missed the 250 learner period, so
current one) in 2012 and spent six months
bought this 1977 Suzuki TS125 as soon as
1984
rebuilding it, so I get out on that whenever I
can now. Sadly, that isn’t much I’m afraid, but I reached 17 in March 1983 and passed my
it’s a keeper. test in May. It was a great little bike, but got
me my first run-in with Old Bill when I got
Preserve your motorcycling life for posterity and share its
highs and lows in the pages of Practical Sportsbikes. We all spotted on one wheel down by the common
have a tale to tell and we want to hear your story. Scan your one Sunday.”
pics (300dpi minimum), jot down a few notes, and email the
whole lot to editorial@pspb.co.uk. Postal submission is not
currently possible: the PS office is closed and all staff are now
working remotely due to Covid-19 measures.
1983

Smash/rebuild, smash/rebuild
“My first big bike came in the summer of the year I passed
my test when I bought what was a standard 1976 Honda
CB550F from my brother. It didn’t take long for me to
stick it into the side of a car, so I stripped it, polished and
chromed everything and fitted a Formula 2 motor from Terry
Shepherd complete with CB750 carbs and straight-through
custom pipe. The photo is just after I painted the tank. It
was fabulous until a Fiat Mirafiori came at me head on and
destroyed it, although I did rebuild it (again) and swapped it
for a Yamaha 350LC... another one I wish I’d kept.”

1991
Sold as seen...
“I bought this 1981 Honda CB900F as a project
bike. The photo here shows it finished just
before I sold it. It had a drive sprocket oil leak I
just couldn’t sort for some reason and it spilled
half a litre of the stuff every time I rode it more
than 50 miles.”
1993
Stock jelly rocks
“Having moved the 900F on, I bought this
1987 Honda CBR600 jellymould and was
hooked on both how quick it was and on
getting my knee down on every bend I could.
I kept this for nearly four years and left it
standard, selling it to my brother who kept it
for another 10 years.”
Italian for Wales
1999
“I’d had a Honda FireBlade
for a year or so but I got
an itch for an Italian bike
and bought this Ducati
996 Biposto brand-new. I
loved the V-twin grunt and
the rock-steady handling,
with the A-roads of Wales
becoming my weekend home
every chance I could find.”
The good, the bad & the Fugly
1980
The worst one...
“This barely recognisable 1968 BSA
Bantam was my first-ever bike, which
I bought with wages from my paper
round and milk round. I rode it over
our local fields every opportunity
I could, although time was usually
spent changing oiled-up
spark plugs.”
‘bird is the word
200
“This 1999 Honda CBR1100XX Blackbird
was the first of two I bought to use for touring
3
and for keeping miles off the 996SPS. I toured
this one through France, Italy, Switzerland,
Austria and Spain several times, scraping the fairing
through every turn I could. The second one was a later
fuel-injected model in silver, but this carb model felt
quicker and sportier and was my favourite.”
Short and sweet 2005
“In between the two Blackbirds, I fancied
something a bit sportier to tour on, so I
New kid on the grid 2003
bought this ZX-9R brand-new at just under
£6k. Great bikes and very underrated, but I
“This 1990 Honda NC30 got me hooked on sold it a year later to fund another race bike.”
racing. I’d done trackdays, but you’re just
going round in circles unless you’re scrapping
to get past someone, so I got my ACU licence
and gave it a go. Remarkably, I never fell off
this bike... obviously not trying hard enough.”
2006
Moving up to the nationals
“I moved up to 600s for 2007 and 2008 and
dabbled in a few rounds of British Supersport.
But with a fairly standard 2005 bike and a
2006 bike I couldn’t get
2004 round corners – turns
out the frame was bent
Phoenix – I struggled with the
champion budget and couldn’t
“I swapped the NC30 get the results I wanted
for a 1994 Honda to keep me motivated.”
RVF400R NC35 and
after another year That’s all folks
2012
getting faster, I won “Having given up on the national class and the
the Derby Phoenix cost of running two 600s, I went back to F400
F400 championship club racing on this 2000 Kawasaki ZXR400.
in 2005.” I won my second championship with Derby
Phoenix in 2012, which is when I then retired
from racing.”
2000 1998 2020
The best one... The one that got away... The current one...
“I still feel a certain yearning when “Knowing I was going to pack in racing
“My 996 Biposto was great but I
I think of my 1995 FireBlade. I was at the end of 2012, I bought this near
couldn’t resist the exclusivity of a
staggered at how quick it was the first original 1991 Suzuki RGV250M
brand-new Ducati 996 SPS. I went
time I rode it. The engines on those and set about restoring it to 100%
touring on it to the South of France
early ’Blades were great and the standard. It’s my current bike and is
and then The Alps, covering over
16-inch front wheel was actually basically as you see it in the picture
2000 miles in a couple of weeks.
alright once you got now. I just need to find more
My wrists hurt until
used to it.” time to ride it.”
Christmas.”
 Here's the popular
singer Susan
Quattroformaggio
on a noisy XS

If you write a letter to The PS and it wins

Star Letter – you get a Star Prize. This
month Steven Binns wins some boots.

Request for a full

fairing/less noise
love your magazine with its glamorous photos and bike

I engineering articles. I was a despatch rider around London

on a Yamaha XS400 around 1984 and often had to go up to
Birmingham and Manchester. I found it tiring doing 70mph, so if
l bought a bike now it would have to have a full fairing to stop me
being buffeted by the wind.
The only gripe l have against bikes is THE NOISE. The rider
doesn’t hear THE NOISE as he rides along. But l used to
live by a busy, fast London road, near a set of traffic lights,
and all we heard all day long was THE NOISE of screaming
motorcycles as they pulled away from the lights. Anyway,
thanks for a great magazine.
Steven Binns

This month’s Star Letter wins a pair Find out more at

of Duchinni Boots worth £139.99 thekeycollection.co.uk

2ft overs (up the way) Shame there are so

Hopefully, the wee lassie will get
over it and buy a proper bike one day
Happy families (for now)
I enjoyed your recent kwality
article on the Boxer Cup Replikas
and just wanted to give little bit
more information about the one
I’ve had for a while.
I bought mine in October 2004
(second owner). It’s one of 25 in
the UK with a distinctive Union
Jack bellypan. Mine is number
seven and definitely a keeper.
This was when Beemers were
pipe-and-slippers bikes, so I used
to get a fair bit of piss-taking
from mates. The deal was when
you bought one off the shelf you
Reading this month’s PS, I’ve few flights there
looked and read, then looked and
read again, then taken a photo and
sent it to some mates.
It’s page 14, March 2020 In
Your Shed: the GT550 Suzuki in
the Texaco/Heron paint scheme
(which overall looks great and a The lengths we go to
change from the constant stream On the hunt for classics in the
of custom kettles) – but are the Falkland Islands [Seriously?
front forks really that long? ie: What were you expecting to
2-feet above the yokes. Well, find? An Armstrong Rotax? –
18-inches at least. The master MG]. The girl behind me seems
cylinder will surely have air in the to be very excited about the
system at that altitude. magazine as well.
Stephen Haywood Tom Sawyer
Yep, it's a high-rider, but the XL
had Goodridge steel brake fork length is trick of the lens
hoses, an ECU, Y-collector box
and a Laser exhaust fitted free
of charge at the first 600 mile
service. Mine had this done and it
goes beautifully – fast enough for
me on the road.
It still puts a massive grin on my
face, nearly as big a grin as on my
grand-daughter’s face when she
tried it for size last summer. Keep
up the good work.
Richard Symonds

20 Practical Sportsbikes
 PB cial club
PS so Bikes and goings-on from our

VINTAGE STYLE, MODERN EDGE

Facebook group and web forum

From facebook.com/groups/practicalsportsbikes From pbmagforum.co.uk

Couchcommando
Somehow
this CRMC-
registered bike
has ended up in my
unit. I wasn't sure
Alan Smasher I wanted to race
Pullinger Ian Proudlock again but there is
Think I’ll take the Electrics… grrr! But it all a nagging doubt,
GSX-R1100 to work works. so only one way to
today. find out.

Calimero
Looks like no
chance of any time
on track this year,
Tommy Hansen and I’ve got new
Almost done with the shiny bits to put
paint. on too.

Richard Sangwin Dave de Erpel

Out for a smoke. Vries More sexy
Slowly but shots of my
steadily GSX-R1000 K5.
the 1100 The PVMs weigh
(1216cc) almost as much as
turbo a piece of paper.
project goes further.
Zed Stead Wanted to combine new SeXV
I’m ready for self parts with some old Fitted some
isolation, including a copy school parts. Think it’s spangly pipes to
of PS. coming along nicely. the NSR...

Why is life so unfair? Toot, toot... comin' thru...

Ceaseless quest for power
Why is it I can get multi-bike Love the look of the VF750F in the In
insurance for my ZX-9, XJR1300 Your Shed section (PS, April 2020),
and CB600 Hornet but if I want to this is something I’d wanted to do
ride all three over the year it’ll cost years ago, not because the VFR engine
me more than the insurance? is necessarily any more reliable than
Bike tax is ridiculous compared the VF – my VFs were totally reliable.

to some cars. Why can’t we just pay
one amount to cover more than
one bike? I don’t ride all year, and
sometimes a couple of my bikes
don’t see the road at all. I want to
ride them, so I need to tax them.
What do you think? Am I just
being tight?
Stuart Cresswell
Trackdays not enough
I guess when you get to a certain
age the thrill of trackdays is
not enough. Please refer to
D388
The first one did the Bol three times,
in ’86 and ’90 and ’92, was written off
and rebuilt as an RC30 lookalike, and
finally sold to buy a Yamaha TT600.
The second one had a bit of mild tuning
and I saw 145 on the clock.
But the reason I wanted to fit the
VFR engine was simply for more
power. Alex Tulloch must send in some OPEN FACE HELMET

It’s a reasonable request, but on
the other hand, a lot of bikes are
poor on the emissions front, and
that's how they tax cars... best not
make a fuss – MG
£89.99 £99.99
your photograph above (PS photos when it’s finished, and I think
December 2019, page 134) the Blade wheels are an excellent idea
showing HJC’s cocaine-snorting too. Brilliant mag by the way.
accessory pipe. Steve Hill RUST & IRON BLACK
Matt Hancock XS - XL XS - XL
Gary is doing his best to
address his drug issues.
However, what you see is a
makeshift attempt to solve
visor misting problems when
Gary had to borrow a school
lid off the Cadwell Park VFR-powered VF – the way to go
authorities – MG

Send your pics, stories, opinions, witticisms and raging outbursts to: mark.graham@pspb.co.uk, but not by post as nobody is in the
office due to Covid-19 (apart from Bella the cleaner, but she doesn't much care what you have to say).
T 0117 971 9200
E info@thekeycollection.co.uk
W www.thekeycollection.co.uk

Built to suit your rider
weight & riding style
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Fully re-buildable
Stainless 304L damper body
Billet machined mounts
18mm piston rod
Made in England
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020 8502 6222
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Most Japanese models
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GSXR750F/G/H, GSXR1100G/
H/J, RC30, RC45, OW01,
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Large stock of classic
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Moto-compo, Motra, Dream
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We supply a
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Wiring range of wiring
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Visit our website, phone or email for a
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Huge selection of Italian
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Stocks of early Hinckley
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OK yeah, sure... now it
looks great

R1-Z
YAMAHA

COMING
UP ROSES
Peter Wright just couldn’t say no to a Yamaha R1-Z thrust under his nose. Despite
having too many bikes and no space (and against his own better judgement) he
bought it from a bloke in a muddy garden by torchlight
Words: Jim Moore | Pictures: Jason Critchell

Practical Sportsbikes 23
 Bigger, faster than an SDR200,
and just as intriguing to stare at
Straight off the compost heap, but not entirely sh...
Steel tube and ally plate frame combo is still a
fave – just look at the latest Harris (PS, Oct ’19)
24 Practical Sportsbikes
N
ever make new year’s
resolutions. Not if you
want to keep them.
And especially not if
said promise involves
Yamaha two-strokes.
“I made that mistake
back in early 2016,”
explains Romford-based Peter Wright, who
at that point was already struggling to
prevent his 10-deep collection from bursting
out of his own garage – and his mum’s. “I’d
decided that was it, no more bikes because I
had nowhere else to put them. Then I got a
call out of the blue from a friend of a friend.
‘You want a Yamaha R1-Z 250, don’t you?’.
Well, yeah, but…”
You know what it’s like. You think about it
for a day or two, yet somehow manage to
put it to the back of your mind. You feel
better. Then, stupidly, you mention it to a
mate. That was Peter’s undoing. “Just get it,
we’ll sort it,” insisted the workshop lads at
Hyside Motorcycles where Peter works as
spares manager. “Next thing, I was in a van
going to see it.”
What Peter really means is he found
himself grubbing around a wet muddy
garden in the rain – at night – with only a
pocket torch to illuminate a bike he didn’t
need or have any space to store.
“Despite the conditions it was in one piece
and looked half-decent from what I could
see. The only things that concerned me were
the incorrect high handlebars, a dent in the
tank and the missing chainguard. I asked if it
ran and the guy assured me it had before it
was parked up, but there was no fuel in it to
prove it. Later that night I found myself
squeezing it into what space was left in my
mum’s garage. So much for my resolution!”
Torchlight is never the best medium
through which to view a used bike,
especially one that’s been left to marinade
in a damp garden – as Peter discovered
when he dragged the R1-Z into the daylight
for the first time.
“I stood back from it to take it all in. It was
covered in mud and looking a bit sorry for
itself. As well as the incorrect ’bars, dented
tank, missing chainguard, and recently
broken front mudguard that I was already
aware off, it was apparent that the fork legs
were pitted, the rear brake was seized and it
had probably spent a fair chunk of time
outside because there was rust all over it. I
initially thought I’d get away with giving it a
light clean up, but after discussions with
colleagues at work about the state of the
thing, the decision was made to strip it
completely and carry out a total restoration.
The good news was that it started and ran
OK after a splash of fresh fuel, so at least the
motor didn’t need tearing down.”
Peter and then colleague Stephen Stone
stripped the Yam – at Steve’s place due to
Peter’s storage issues – then sent the frame,

Gold rear caliper kinda works with the gold front centres
swingarm, fork legs and wheels off to
sprayer Luke Jones for a new coat of paint.
The powdercoat finish is tidy, but with
hindsight Peter wishes he’d been more
specific with his instructions.
“I asked Luke to do them in a similar
colour to original, a gunmetal grey, but they
came back more of a light primer. I’m not a
stickler for originality, but now I wish I’d
gone with black; that would have looked
better. Maybe I’ll do that in a few years
when it needs doing again.”
Luke got it spot-on with the body paint,
however. Peter asked for the same standard
Peter Wright
A spares manager by trade,
so you could reasonably argue
he ought to know better than to
keep buying bikes when he’s run
out of space. Then again, he’s
well-placed to get all the right
bits for the right money,
so why not?
champagne shade, but with a bit
more sparkle. This was achieved by
adding a green metallic fleck that
really jumps out in the light. “I’m
really pleased with the way it’s turned out. I
got the decals off eBay and they’ve come
out pretty well, too. I did have to send the
front mudguard back for a repaint though
– Luke had done it in black, as it was when I
bought it. But that was down to me not
telling him it needed to be the same as the
other panels.”
Working in a parts department definitely Regrets, he’s got a few, but then again, too few to
has its benefits, especially when it comes to mention... but cycle parts should have been black
Practical Sportsbikes 25
 “NOTHING MADE ANY
DIFFERENCE UNTIL TONY
CHECKED COMPONENTS
AGAINST HIS OWN R1-Z. MINE
HAD MISMATCHED FLOAT
BOWLS”
If you’re part of the
post-LC generation
and an RGV or KR-1S
is too dear – these
little beauties are
the go

PETER’S
TOP TIPS
1. Don’t view bikes
in the dark,
especially if it’s a
model you’re
unfamiliar with. In
daylight you’ll see
all the issues and be in a far better
position to negotiate or walk away.
2. Be really methodical when tracing
a fault. Some issues – like this R1-Z’s
mismatched float bowls – would
never have been spotted had we not
stripped the carbs and carefully
compared them like for like.
3. If you’re having parts painted or
powdercoated, be specific about
what colours you want. I should have
been more exact about what I wanted
for the frame, wheels, forks and
swingarm. If I did it again, I’d do them
black.
knowing where and how to find
components. Peter discovered that the R1-Z
shares its front mudguard with the Japanese
market SRX400/600, so he used this intel to
track one down through Japanese site
Buyee. Original clip-ons, a top yoke and a
new tacho to replace the knackered original
were found closer to home, on eBay.
As well as sourcing parts, including a new
pattern rear caliper – “I’d read that a lot of
the Yamaha Past Masters boys use the
pattern calipers without complaint so, for
£65, that was good enough for me, even if it
is in TZR gold rather than silver as per a
proper R1-Z” – Peter had plenty to keep
him busy cleaning up myriad scruffy chassis
As staunchly mid-eighties as a white XR3i
parts on his polishing wheel.
As well as a complete strip, thorough
clean, and new seals and pads, the front
calipers were also treated to braided steel
hoses, to replace the rotten originals. New
cables were also required, as the higher ’bars
were being ditched. Only the clutch cable,
that was still perfectly serviceable, if a tad
longer than stock, was retained.
While degunking the motor Peter found
what he thought was a loose washer amid
the congealed oil and filth on the upper
crankcases, beneath where the carbs locate.
“I was about to file it in the bin, when I
noticed it was actually a Japanese coin – one
Yen, I think. I polished it up and it’s now a
lucky charm on the keyring which I hoped
would bring good fortune.” But given the
headaches caused by the R1-Z between
then and now, that ‘luck’ is perhaps a tad
questionable…
By the time the panels and chassis parts
had returned from the painter, Steve –
who’d helped Peter strip the bike – had left
Hyside, so his replacement, Carl Regelous,
stepped in to help with the rebuild, buoyed
by the promise that his reward would be to
ride the bike at Mallory’s Festival of 1000
Bikes. “Mechanics are not my forte,” admits
Peter. “So, I was in charge of sourcing and
cleaning parts rather than putting them back
together.”
The badly corroded fork stanchions were
sent off to All Bike Engineering who made
new replacements – easier and cheaper than
getting the old ones rechromed. They were
slipped back into the repainted legs with
fresh seals and oil. Naturally all chassis

26 Practical Sportsbikes
 If he’d seen it in broad daylight Peter might
have baulked at the job. Nothing too far gone,
but all requiring refinishing. Ho-hum, etc.
Lots of tubes pointing lots of ways – but it all works

bearings were replaced, including mate and two-stroke expert Tony “The build and the problem solving was a
suspension linkages, although the shock was Greenslade at Allspeed. “Tony went through long drawn out process and I was beginning
still good enough to require only a thorough everything, even changing the wiring loom to get a bit fed up with it all. If Tony hadn’t
clean before being refitted. with one I had to buy off eBay. Nothing spotted the float bowl issue I’m pretty sure
A hefty final push was needed to get the made any difference until he decided to I’d have sold the thing, but once that was
R1-Z ready for the 1000 Bikes event, but check components with those on his own cured and I rode it I was like, ‘Oh, I like this,’
the Yamaha’s maiden post-resto run didn’t R1-Z. Eventually by doing that he realised so that was its saving grace.”
go quite to plan, as Peter explains. “On its that mine had mismatched float bowls. Unfortunately the bike got accidently
first run the brakes failed, so we had to Checked individually they looked fine, but damaged while at Tony’s, warping one of the
order a mastercylinder rebuild kit that didn’t when compared they were obviously front discs, denting the tank and damaging
arrive until the day we were due to head to different. Once they were a pair the problem the front mudguard, so Peter had to shell
Mallory, adding extra pressure to an already went away, but he’d never have spotted that out for a set of replacement EBC discs and
stressful build-up. unless he’d checked like for like. It was get Luke to repair the dent and scratches.
“When we got there Carl rebuilt the frustrating but we got there in the end. Last year was a good 12 months for the
mastercylinder, bled up the brakes and got
the bike through scrutineering. Although he
enjoyed his first session out on it, he wasn’t
used to two-strokes so didn’t know whether
it was running properly or not. I took it out
and it pulled fine low down but bogged at
higher rpm unless you rolled the throttle on
really carefully.We checked that the
powervalves were opening properly and
that it was fuelling correctly, and all
appeared to be well.”
Months of head scratching followed, even
once the bike had been handed to Peter’s “I’ve laced my tea with smack, you’re that boring.” Not really possible to improve on these filler-caps

Practical Sportsbikes 27
“I’VE RIDDEN HALF A
DOZEN OF THEM OVER THE
YEARS, FROM BAGGY,
WELL-USED HOUNDS TO
TUNED NUT-AND-BOLT
REBUILDS, AND THEY’VE
ALL MADE ME SMILE”

Crossover pipes add a little extra length to the

headers before the diffuser sections begin

28 Practical Sportsbikes

K2-tec spannies look like decent bits of kit
All smiles now, and all
smiles after too. Top
wee bike
Peter’s got quite a taste for lightweight Yam
strokers, his li’l blue SDR looks a beauty
R1-Z. As well running perfectly on several
classic bike runs, the Yam returned to the
1000 Bikes and this time performed without
a hitch but, for Peter, there was still
something missing.
“I’m a two-stroke man – I’ve got a French
31K YPVS, an SDR200 and a KH250
among my collection – so for me the R1-Z
was too quiet, so I went on WeBike Japan
and sourced a new set of K2-tec spannies
for £400 to replace the standard pipes.
“I didn’t know whether to keep it GP style
with both exhausts exiting up one side, or
go for the option of a pipe on each side.
Eventually, I made the decision to go for one
each side, but keep the cross over pipes at
the front. I don’t think they’ve given it any
more power, but the bike now looks and
sounds a whole lot better. They didn’t even
require any jetting changes. To me, I think
it’s now finished.”
And that’s freed him up to concentrate on
restoring his Marlboro YSR50 that’s now
complete all bar the bodywork. So, once
more...What was that promise you made
about no more bikes, Peter?
THE RIDE
I’ll make no bones about it, I like R1-Zs. I’ve
ridden half a dozen of them over the years,
from baggy, well-used hounds right through
to tuned nut-and-bolt rebuilds, and they’ve
all made me smile. Peter’s is no exception,
despite the less than tropical temperatures
gripping Romford on the day of our visit.
She starts first kick for her owner as I slip
my hands into my gloves and breath in the
sweet white scent of nostalgia coughing
forth from the twin K2-Tech silencers. They
emanate a rich, crisp chatter several octaves
above the bassier grumble pulsing through
the fat expansion chambers – a soundtrack
as distinctively Yamaha as the tuning fork
logo itself.
It’s not unreasonable to consider the R1-Z
to be a more up to date 250LC, but at the
controls they’re two quite different animals.
On the R1-Z there’s no trace of the Elsie’s
fuller figure – this twin’s tank is more svelte
and its clip-on’ bars keep the overall width
to a bare minimum. For Peter I can see the
appeal. He also owns an SDR200, Yamaha’s
100mph whippet – a bike barely wider than
a bookmark. Together, they’re like mother
and daughter.
Like the SDR this twin was made for the
Japanese, who are considerably slighter in
build and weight than your average
middle-aged Brit. Rear shock and fork
springs are going to earn their keep today.
The R1-Z’s motor is based on the TZR/
TDR unit, but in its homeland was destined
more for a life on the streets of Toyko or
Osaka than inciting GP dreams, so it’s less
peaky than its race rep cousin. There’s not
Practical Sportsbikes 29

even a wake-up call at 7000rpm to indicate
the powervalves have fully opened and the
porting has found its ideal match of engine
speed. Instead it’s remarkably tractable from
20mph right the way through to the
11,000rpm redline. The Japanese market
45bhp restriction is partly at play here, but
this easy usability makes the R1-Z a perfect
tool on which to drift from town to country.
Once beyond the confines of the M25, I
become a slave to the sound. The K2-Tec
pipes may not add any ponies, but they save
Be too cruel to show this lot a daily-riding winter
30 Practical Sportsbikes
That super-pearly paint
comes from a green
candy in the mix
a fair few kilos in weight and they emit an
aural menace that lifts and sinks the hairs on
the back of my neck like a forest of seaweed
swayed by the surf. Magic.
Sophistication is in short supply, however.
Despite the trick and properly stiff looking
trellis frame, the suspension is bog-basic –
anything more than a slight bump in the
road has it out of breath and struggling to
settle before the next jolt throws it off kilter
again. Fortunately, the modest overall
weight – at 133kg it’s barely more than
some 125s – makes the lack of damping
finesse less of an issue. But the choppy ride
comes as standard. Stiffer fork springs and a
quality shock would absolutely work
wonders here.
Like the LC, and perhaps even more so
because this was a Japan-only model
released at a time when new bikes and fresh
trends were ten-a-penny, the R1-Z was
never built to be a long-term proposition. It
was a disposable toy, fit for a couple of
years’ fun before being tossed aside to make
way for the next hot new thing.
So, it’s both remarkable and deeply
satisfying that this snapshot of Japanese
consumerism has survived and, thanks to
Peter and his mates, is now back in rude
health doing what it does best. Slapping a
huge right across your chops.
Specification
1990 Yamaha R1-Z 250
ENGINE
Type: liquid-cooled, two-stroke parallel-twin
with YPVS
Capacity: 247cc
Bore x stroke: 56.4 x 50.5mm
Compression ratio: 6.4:1
Carburation:2 x 28mm TM28SS Mikuni
Ignition: CDI
TRANSMISSION
Primary/final drive: gear/chain
Gearbox: 6-speed
Clutch: wet, multiplate
CHASSIS
Frame: tubular steel cradle
Front suspension: 38mm telescopic forks
Rear suspension: Monocross monoshock
Front brake: 2 x 282mm discs, 4-pot calipers
Rear brake: 210mm disc, 2-pot caliper
Wheels: three-spoke cast aluminium
Tyres: 110/70 x 17, 140/70 x 17
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 1380mm (54.3in)
Seat height: 755mm (29.7in)
Dry weight: 133kg (294lbs)
Fuel capacity: 17 litres (3.7 gals)
PERFORMANCE
Power: 44bhp@9500rpm
Torque: 26.8lb.ft@8500rpm
Top speed: 115mph
THANKS TO
Hyside Motorcycles for letting us pinch Peter from
the stores for the day, and for keeping us hydrated
with tea and coffee. By the time you read this,
Hyside will have moved from Romford to new,
bigger, better premises in Maldon, right next to
some of Essex’s finest biking roads. As well as
stocking the latest, funkiest Ducatis, Hyside also
have a fine selection of tasty classics on offer.
Drop in, be impressed, sink a tea or two and maybe
even leave with a ’98 R1 or an 851 Ducati. Find
them at Unit 9 Wycke Hill Business Park, Maldon,
Essex, CM9 6UZ, or at hysidemotorcycles.co.uk.
WHERE QUALITY SUPERSTORES
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PERFORMANCE EXHAUSTS AND ACCESSORIES
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Honda NC30/35 CBR400 NC23/29 NSR250 MC18/21/28 RGV 250 VJ21/22 CBR250 MC22 ZXR250 Aprilia RS250
Carbon Parts
● Yamaha R1 ● Yamaha R6 ● Yamaha V-Max ● Honda CBR600RR ● Honda CBR1000RR ● GSXR 600 / 700
● GSXR 1000 K5 onwards ● Kawasaki ER6 ● Kawasaki ZX6R, ZX10R ● BMW S1000RR ● Aprilia RSV4
Many other models also available NC35, NC30, NC29, NSR250, RGV250, RS250 etc
Two Stroke Exhausts
Aprilia RS125 with can Aprilia RS250 with cans Suzuki RGV250 VJ22 with cans Honda NSR250 MC21/28 with cans
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Four Stroke Exhausts
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Other models available please contact us for more info
Many other models catered for, please see our website for more models and our package details

Call Gavin Mob: 07919 404 734 Email: gavin@jap4performance.com

 IN ASSOCIATION WITH

YOUR BIKES, YOUR WAY

Words: Mark Graham Pictures: Andy McCandlish

When you’ve lusted

after something for
decades why spoil it by
hurrying the build? Alan
Coupar took his time to
get this Spondon Zed
absolutely spot-on

Practical Sportsbikes 33
 YOUR BIKES, YOUR WAY
A
nyone infatuated with
Kawasaki Zeds is always
going to be in trouble if
they stumble upon
anything remotely related
to these objects of worship.
Doesn’t matter if it’s a sticker, a wheel
spindle, a dog-eared manual, or in the best/
worst case scenario – the bare bones of a
rare motorcycle.
And so it was with Alan Coupar. “I was in
the right place at the right time,” he says.
“And by that I mean I was in the wrong
place at the wrong time.” After selling a
heavily-modified Harley-Davidson Night
Train for a decent amount of money, Alan
had folding burning a hole in his pocket. “A
lot of effort went into that bike,” he says.
“But I’d jumped onto the Harley thing a bit
too early. It just got worn out riding with
mates, the underside of the thing was
ground down to nothing. But I made some
good money back on it. So I had some hard
cash stashed in a drawer.”
Idly browsing his usual roster of Zed sites,
Alan chanced on a Spondon chassis with a
very hot Zed engine in The Netherlands.
Naturally he did the due diligence and
contacted Stuart Tiller at Spondon to
unearth some details: “Stuart said ‘hang on,
I’ll get the book’ and you could literally hear
him turning the pages of the Spondon bible
over the phone. At first it appeared there
were two of these chassis made. Then Stuart
said it was just the one. And it wasn’t a usual
customer frame. It’d been built to
accommodate a 200 section rear tyre for a
German fella who ran a bike shop. I got the
34 Practical Sportsbikes
Natural finishes, black, and
then blue and white. Perfect
impression he commissioned it as a shop
window thing. Built to look at. More ‘look at
how this looks’ rather than ‘see how well
this works’.”
But that was never going to stop Alan.
After speaking to two key players in
Holland; Lex van Dijk and Ton Turbo (who
runs Dutch Kawasaki shrine The Z Street),
more details emerged. Lex, a former Britten
test rider, who runs a business prepping
high-end race bikes, had built the engine to
the highest spec: Wiseco 1135cc kit, flowed
1984 GPz1100 head, 12.5mm lift cams with
shim-under-bucket conversion, long stem
valves, undercut dogs in the ’box… the
whole nine yards. Ton owned the project
and was under heavy pressure from his
missus to start shedding a few bikes.
Alan’s son happened to be in Amsterdam
at the time, so he nipped over to have a
quick squint at the merchandise. The report
was good. “But I’d decided within about 10
minutes of talking to Lex that I was going to
have it anyway,” says Alan. After minimal Breather as a
haggling, the beast was crated-up and bound magic mushroom.
Why not?
for Perthshire, Scotland.
“I knew, having seen Lex’s work, that the
bike was going to be proper, but I also knew
that there would be a lot of graft involved in
both completing the build and then setting it
up right.” Alan was correct about that.
He was also exceptionally fortunate in
living among a whole host of highly-skilled
machinists and fabricators. “There are some
seriously fast bikes in my area, and some
amazing looking things too. Plenty are both.
For some reason there are so many people
with amazing skills here.”
 Clock surrounds fabricated
entirely from scratch

“I’D DECIDED
WITHIN ABOUT 10
MINUTES OF
TALKING TO LEX
THAT I WAS GOING
TO HAVE IT”

Brembo master, ...and of course

Rizoma reservoir... Sweden’s finest

No point in skimping on the controls. Why would you?

Practical Sportsbikes 35
 Marving pipe needed Naturally enough, within minutes of the
1 a baffle of some
sorts. And it’s still not Zed touching ground in Blairgowrie, the
exactly quiet usual crew were round to have a look.
Headlight brackets One thing soon became clear: no standard
2 and instrument pods Zed parts were going to fit. Not sidepanels,
the work of Lindz. Handy
chap to have around not brackets, nothing. It was going to be a
scratch build from here on out. “We didn’t
Front end is
3 Hayabusa with a quite know what we’d got into,” says Alan.
GSX-R750 mudguard. Tidy Note the word we.
1 and effective
Rather than standing around the shiny
Pingel tap, 36mm tubework and virginal engine chatting about
4 flatties, nothing too
clever, or out of the how tricky it was all going to be, they set to
ordinary. No need work. And luckily it wasn’t Alan, Lindz or
Gav’s first rodeo either – anyone new to this
end of the specials game would have really
struggled. “I don’t think I’ve ever owned a
standard bike,” says Alan. “Even my first
Z400 twin, and the big Zeds after that were
all butchered. I came close with a Fazer
Thou I bought specifically to commute on,
but even that got ‘altered’ before it took me
or my sandwiches any distance.”
None of it was easy. “About the only
component we didn’t have to fight was the
GSX-R front mudguard. That only needed
minor tinkering to get it to fit,” says Alan.
2 “We never knew what the original owner’s
intention for the look was, but it took us
SPECIFICATION ages to get it looking remotely how we
SPONDON Z1000
wanted it.”
ENGINE The Hayabusa front end was a relatively
Kawasaki Z1000, easy decision. It marries well to the oversize
air-cooled, dohc, ally tubing in a way upside-downers
inline four, 74 x
sometimes never quite manage when
66mm bore and
stroke, 1135cc, 4 x they’re grafted to skinnier steel tube frames.
36mm Mikuni The Marving four-into-one almost chose
flatslides, 1984 itself as a period essential, but getting it to fit
GPz1100 cylinder properly at the right angle was not a matter
head, 10.7mm lift
of just twirling some spanners.
cams (reduced from
12.5mm), undercut You have many choices and decisions to
gearbox dogs, make as a specials builder, but the starkest
115bhp at 8000rpm one is deciding what your state of mind is
CHASSIS
going to be: do you decide that the build is a
3
life/death struggle with the machine. Are
Alloy-tubed Spondon
frame and swingarm, you going to beat it into submission? If so,
rake/trail 26º/84mm, the process is unlikely to be either enjoyable
wheelbase 1500mm, or rewarding in neither the short nor
stainless steel rim long-term. Or do you work a bit more
and spokes: 6 x
loosely with what you’ve got… see what the
17-inch rear and 3 x
17-inch front wheels, bike’s telling you, take your time, weigh up
Tokico six-pot the options, dummy up some bits and pieces
calipers, Öhlins rear before committing to metal?
shocks, Hayabusa Because of the super-wide rear wheel,
forks, GSX-R750
everything else was correspondingly wider.
front mudguard,
Smiths speedo and “The tail piece proved easy enough to
tacho, Kawasaki Z1 make,” says Alan. “But the tank took 18
headlight, alloy tank, months to get right, the sidepanels too.” But
IN ASSOCIATION WITH sidepanels, clock get it right they did.
surrounds, bracketry
It would not have worked at all well if the
and ducktail custom
fabricated team had simply settled on key cycle parts
4
that merely fitted. They had to look
 YOUR BIKES, YOUR WAY

absolutely correct on a chassis that’s one-off

wideline Spondon – materially different
from the narrower tubesets.
Alan’s rhetorical question about what the
original owner’s vision for the machine
might have been was now redundant. They
were neck-deep into forging their own
version now.
“There were no periods of inactivity,” says
Alan.We were always on with something
whether it was dreaming it up, drawing it, or
fabricating. “Naively we kept saying, ‘we’ll
have this ready for summer’, and then three
summers had come and gone. So much time
was absorbed with trying things. It was on/
off, try something new, on/off, try something
we tried before but different, on/off… and
Bare ally or stainless steel wherever you look. This is never something you can just walk past there was no way you Alan
couldenjoying the fruit
just default to of
Roy’s labours. Enjoy being
something off a shelf.” the word. Good bike

ALAN’S ADVICE
1. Don’t do it.
2. Don’t f**king do it.
3. Don’t be so stupid (and
anyone contemplating doing
it would be so stupid they’d
never listen anyway).

There’s a great deal to like, but the seat and ducktail are standout

Practical Sportsbikes 37
 YOUR BIKES, YOUR WAY

It took less time to build the

Great Pyramid of Cheops

“UNTIL YOU ACTUALLY SIT ON
SOMETHING WITH IT READY TO GO, YOU
NEVER KNOW HOW IT’S GOING TO BE”
The odd thing is that at no point does Alan
mention a moment of crisis. “The thing is
that when we’re down the pub, we’re never
talking about the things we’re going to do,
everyone’s always going on about the things
we’ll never do again, the mistakes we won’t
make again. There’s no mercy given.”
And one of the core errors is losing
interest, often followed by chucking in the
towel, and putting the whole plot up for
sale. Because the end result was going to be
Alan’s all-time top machine (not some
flirtation with Milwaukee Motor Company
iron) the will to get the job done might have
wavered, but it never waned.
Four years after initial purchase the jobs
seemed to be getting easier. “I made a glass
fibre base for the seat, Lindz was busy
making all sorts of one-off bling like the
surrounds for the clocks, and the headlight
brackets… it was all coming along,” says
Alan. “And then for some reason the rear
caliper carrier became the trickiest bit we
had to do – that seemed to take forever to
get right.”
Now, after ‘only’ five years, it was all
coming together. “My intention all along
was for it to be, wait for it, a Practical
Sportsbike,” says Alan. “And until you
actually sit on something with it actually
ready to go, not just mocking up footpeg
and ’bar positions, you never really know
how it’s going to be.” And just because it
was built-up didn’t mean it was in any way
the finished article.
“The engine hadn’t been run at all,” says
Alan. After various attempts to get the
engine on song, the bike was sent up
Scotland’s east coast to Inverurie, north of
Aberdeen. “Aide and Blair worked their
carb black magic and I picked it up a few
days later. Nothing prepared me for that first
‘sorted’ run. They settled on 115bhp even
though there would have been more to
come at the top end. And I’d always prefer
to have an even spread of power at the
expense of a big outright number.”
Talking of numbers Alan knows to the
penny how much it all cost. “Not even
taking into ALL the man hours of labour,
make that man years of labour, it stands me
at £19,000,” he says. “But as long as
something doesn’t ruin you, that’s never
really the point.” And with that he smartly
paraphrases US Stock Car legend Junior
Johnson: “If you want to make a small
fortune out of bike-building – start with a
big one.”
Aside from his three key slugs of advice,
Alan leaves us with this: “Do all the
research you can. Look really hard at what
you’re getting into. And just accept that it’s
going to be a nightmare – but know that it’s
going to be a nightmare that’s worthwhile in
the end.”

Emma Airey, Head of RH Insurance, advises on insuring a special like this Spondon Z1000
““RH Insurance is happy to quote for one-off bikes (including those with special frames) provided the owner is able
to provide a copy of a current MoT certificate and an engineer’s report plus photos (if work has been carried out
by the owner). Because of its bespoke nature, RH considers requests for insurance on an individual basis and we’re
happy to discuss your unique requirements over the phone.”

Call 0333 043 3911 or visit rhsspecialistinsurance.co.uk

38 Practical Sportsbikes
Specialist vehicle
insurance from
people who share
your passion.

rhspecialistinsurance.co.uk
0333 043 3911
From iconic models to future classics –
we’ve been providing specialist vehicle
insurance for over 40 years.

17573 09/19

SUZUKI GS750
Forever in the shadow of the imperious GS Thou, the often
ignored GS750 has a deliciously silky engine, a decent
enough chassis, and a great deal of presence
Words: Jim Moore | Pictures:Jason Critchell
S
uzuki was behind the curve
when it came to launching a
multi-cylinder four-stroke.
Had the Hamamatsu factory
not bogged itself down in the
early 1970s with a thirsty
two-stroke triple (GT750) and an
overweight, overcomplicated white elephant
(RE5) at a time of panic over oil supply –
particularly in the huge US market, we may
have seen the GS750 earlier. As it turned
out we had to hang on until ’76 for Suzuki’s
first inline-four 750. Fortunately, it was
worth the wait.
Although a hindrance at the time to
Suzuki’s big bike sales, that delay worked in
the firm’s favour. Not only did it give them a
chance to weigh up the opposition, it also
left Honda – and particularly Kawasaki – to
do the heavy lifting in terms of
development. Honda’s CB750 may have
been first, breaking cover back in 1969, but
its performance was barely worthy of the
‘superbike’ tag. Kawasaki’s Z1 was taken
back to the drawing board and made bigger,
faster and more fitting to the superbike
label. After the Honda’s arrival, it was a
distinct improvement over the CB in terms
40 Practical Sportsbikes
No, it’s not a
GS1000, but the
750 is just as
engaging. Rarer
and classier
too
of performance, but its handling and braking
were still miles behind its motor.
The GS750 was the answer to both rival’s
issues, rolled into one. Quicker and more
sophisticated than the Honda; lighter, more
compact and sweeter handling than the
Zed. A win-win. In fact Suzuki went further,
cherry-picking the best ideas and tech from
the competition when designing its own It’s 1978 and here’s Jim on
four-cylinder range-topper. the way to his meet his
The layout and architecture of the GS’s girlfriend at the Wimpy
dohc, 8-valve motor is suspiciously close to
that of the big Zed – and given that Suzuki
had time to thoroughly analyse Kawasaki’s
effort, why wouldn’t it be?
Both feature hugely robust roller-bearing
cranks (a nod to both firms’ background in
two-strokes). Then there are the straight-cut
primary gears; a feature that would see drag
race engine-builders return to the GS750 for
decades to come. In short, the GS750
motor, like the Z1/900, was massively
over-engineered, and it would set out
Suzuki’s stall as a manufacturer of solid 4-T
tech for decades to come. The fact the later,
more powerful GS1000 runs lighter
components than the 750 throughout its
engine without any adverse effect on
What a superbike perch used to look like
Left: brakes really aren’t the greatest
Right: handsome engine stands out
GS750
TIMELINE
V 1976: GS750A
First model. Single front disc brake, wire-spoked
wheels, kick and electric start. Introduced
alongside the twin-cylinder GS400, which was
basically half a GS750, and the GS550. Colours
red or blue, both with black side panels
V1977: GS750B
Twin front disc brakes, but retains the spoked
wheels. Same spec otherwise as the A,
although new all-black colour option offered.
V1978: GS750EC
Most obvious difference is the star-spoke
cast aluminium wheels. Colours: burgundy
red, blue or black.
V1979: GS750EN
Only subtle differences from the EC: choke
lever moved from carbs to ’bars, plus updat-
ed graphics. Last of the line before the 16v
GSX750 took over, although shaft-driven
variants of the GS750 (the G) carried on
Stateside into the early 1980s.
Looking very classy in a
parkland setting. Very
classy indeed
That’s a fair bit of fork trave used up here. But then that’s a fair bit of rider the old Suzuki has to handle
reliability shows just how bulletproof and
rigorously engineered Suzuki’s first
inline-four was.
With the GS1000 appearing only two
years after the 750’s arrival it was perhaps
inevitable that the smaller of the two would
fade into the background, given the market’s
insatiable appetite for newer, faster, better
models. As a result, tidy, clean GS750s (in
fact, make that any GS750s) are hard to
come by these days. But it’s worth the hunt,
because a well-loved example can still be a
great thing.
Like this UK-spec ’78 model up for sale
through Surrey based Earl Classics. It’s a
later E version with twin front discs and cast
alloy wheels in place of the original GS’s
single disc and wire-spoked set-up. The
odometer’s showing a mere 5000 miles, and
although Earl’s gaffer Marc can’t verify that
as genuine, the bike’s overall condition,
standard appearance and light patina do
point to that number being an accurate
representation of this bike’s life.
For a ’70s inline-four the GS feels
remarkably compact – a lesson Suzuki no
doubt took from the physically bigger
Kawasaki and its wayward manners; the
sporty, almost flat UK ’bars accentuate the
modest dimensions (US and Japanese
market bikes have higher, flared ’bars).
Marc’s already warming the bike through
as I fasten my lid. “They take a while to get
up to temp,” he says above the
unexpectedly quiet tickover. There’s no
camchain clatter or fuss from the 748cc mill,
just a sedate background whirr and hum as
it purrs away to itself. Even the starter-
motor makes only a momentary squeak
before combustion takes over (there’s a
kickstart too). All very civilized.
Once up to temp and away from the leafy
lanes of the Surrey/Kent border, the GS
finds the space to get into its stride. Marc
had commented on how smooth he’d found
the motor on a recent test ride, and he’s spot
on. The over-square (65 x 56.4mm) mill
never feels as if its straining, even up near
the 9000rpm redline, thanks to the less
frantic piston speed its short stroke allows. A
wider bore means bigger valves, too, so the
GS sucks, burns and blows more mixture
And here’s the big fella going for another pothole

Headers showing the ravages of time, engine mount bolt-heads too, but front mudguard looks mint
per revolution than the CB750 with its
longer stroke (63mm). As a result, we’re
tramping along at a pleasing rate.
Claimed power is 68bhp – modest by
today’s standards – and nearer 60 at the
back wheel in truth. Yet each and every one
It’s the original four-into-two exhaust
system that makes this bike
HOUND: up to £2500
GOOD: £3000-£5000
MINT: £5500-£6500
of those ponies gives its all to produce a get
up and go that’s much more than the
numbers might suggest. Overtakes are easy,
as is 80mph A-road cruising, although I did
find myself hunting for a sixth gear that
wasn’t there. That’s despite the dash having
a digital gear indictor that, if I’d bothered to
look down, would have saved me the
need to prod the gear lever again. Being
digital, the gear position indicator looks
rather odd next to the traditional
analogue speedo and tacho, like a Siri unit
plonked on a traditional oak table. But it’s
a nice touch, nonetheless.
While the motor is smoother than Bryan
Ferry in a margarine suit, the throttle
requires encouragement to do its job. The
The Watch List
VM26SS slide carbs will never feel as light
as CVs but still, the twist grip won’t roll
back and forth without deliberate input.
Given the bike’s meagre mileage, this could
be the result of years of inactivity and I’m
sure the throttle action could be made easier
with a touch of workshop tweakage with a
cable-oiler and a good squirt of GT85
between the twistgrip and ’bar.
The clutch has the same post-storage feel,
but again it’s nothing lubricating the cable
wouldn’t cure; the gearbox itself is spot-on.
If a ’70s bike shows its age, it’s usually
through brakes and suspension. This GS750
is no exception. Both ends are simple
set-ups: 35mm Kayaba teles up front and
twin shocks at the rear, although there is
5-stage preload adjustment at the back.
Today’s conditions are particularly
challenging; the road surfaces in Surrey,
even on trunk routes, are appalling – some
of the worst I’ve seen. Surface degradation
and potholes (all too often dangerously
deep) abound, so the GS’s suspension is
tested to the limit, even at moderate speeds.
The ride is jarring at times. On a couple of
occasions the sheer force of the bumps
overwhelms the shocks to the point where
my spine becomes a secondary unit. Any
bike would struggle against these forces, so
in context the GS acquitted itself well, but
for regular use I’d update the old set-up with
modern cartridge internals for the forks and
some decent quality shocks for the rear. The
benefits would be huge.
Despite 40-year-old suspension, the GS’s
double cradle frame is a good ’un, with none
Practical Sportsbikes 43
 The Watch List
of the poor swingarm pivot nonsense and
associated hinge shenanigans that afflicted
Kawasaki’s early big Zeds. Steering is light
and reasonably accurate – I could always
coax the thing away from the next gaping
pothole when needed – and it sweeps
around turns and flip-flops through S-bends
with a surefootedness and accuracy that
Z900 owners could only dream of. Dare I
say, it’ll even hustle. If there are any
Kawasaki comparisons to be made, the GS
is closest in feel to the nimble and frankly
excellent (for its time) Z650, and that’s a
hefty compliment indeed.
The brakes, while powerful enough to haul
the GS up when needed, are only single-pot
calipers biting down on solid discs, and they
require a decent squeeze on the lever to
give their best. A previous owner has fitted
Hel braided lines, which clearly help, but the
If you like big winkers, you’re absolutely quids-in
44 Practical Sportsbikes
It all hangs together
most engagingly
biggest issue is feel. Or lack of it. Little
information makes its way back up to the
lever – hard braking in the wet must be
heart in mouth stuff. Different pads may
help, but there’s only so much you can do
with, and expect from, single-pot calipers of
this vintage. First year GSs are at even more
of a disadvantage with just a single disc up
front; I know which set up I’d prefer…
Not only is the GS well-engineered, it’s
well-thought-out too. Considered touches
abound, like the lockable flip-up cover over
the fuel cap, the bungee rails to the rear of
the shocks, centre and sidestands, classy red
back-lit dials, and storage enough for a pack
of tabs, a wallet, or a pair of waterproofs in
the cubbyhole behind the seat. I love the
fact it’s not a GS1000, too, making it feel
rarer and more special as a result.
I also like the fact that this particular GS
still has its original four-into-two system –
not an easy find, especially on a UK bike.
Marc’s priced this machine at the high end,
but it’s clear to see why. If there are more
than a handful of original, unmolested,
sub-10,000 mile UK-spec GSs left I’d be
very surprised. This is a find. A touch of light
restoration work would be enough to make
it mint, but I like the patina – it speaks of the
bike’s life and originality. And even at £6500
its value is genuiney heading only one way.
What strikes me most about the GS,
SUZUKI GS750
Engine
Type air-cooled, dohc, 8v inline-four
Capacity 748cc
Bore x stroke 65 x 56.4mm
Compression ratio 8.7:1
Carburation 4 x Mikuni VM26SS
Ignition battery, coil
Transmission
Primary/final drive gear/chain
Clutch wet, multiplate
Gearbox 5-speed
Chassis
Frame tubular steel double cradle
Front suspension 35mm Kayaba telescopic forks,
adj air-pressure
Rear suspension twin shocks, adj preload
and rebound damping
Front brakes 2 x 292mm disc, single-piston caliper
Rear brake 292mm disc, single-piston caliper
Wheels 10-spoke cast aluminium
Tyres 3.25 x H19 front, 4.00 x H18 rear
Dimensions
Wheelbase 1490mm (58.7in)
Seat height 790mm (31.1in)
Fuel capacity 18 litres (4 gals)
Dry weight 223kg (492lbs)
Performance
Power (claimed) 63bhp@8500rpm
Torque (claimed) 44.2lb.ft@8250rpm
Top speed 112mph
however, apart from how together and tight
it feels (another reason why I think the
mileage is genuine) is why would you bother
buying a new-ish retro when you could have
the real thing, like this presentable GS, for
similar money?
First, the GS is authentic, and much more
interesting and rewarding to ride than a
ten-a-penny pastiche.
Second, and unlike any bike built in
today’s economically challenging times, this
750 is massively and deliberately over-
engineered. Suzuki couldn’t risk its first
four-stroke being an unreliable failure, so it
was designed to outlast a nuclear winter.
Only an oaf could break this motor.
Third, and perhaps most importantly
– unlike a retro this GS won’t lose money;
it’ll only grow in value. Plus, it’ll pull a
crowd wherever you go.Where’s the
downside?
WITH THANKS TO
Marc at Earl Classics for letting us ride the tidy GS750E
he’s currently got up for £6500. He only deals in ’70s, ’80s
and early-’90s classics, and his current stock is like a PS
wish list: RD500LC, ’92 FireBlade, XN85 Turbo, Z750T,
XJ650T, CBX1000, AP50, and a gorgeous CB900F
endurance rep, to name just a few. Viewing is by
appointment only, so check out the website at earlclassics.
com or ring Marc on 01959 444441.
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 Goodbye ZZ-R

Three decades after it took sports-touring into another realm, the original speedbus
is being killed off. We take a spin on both the first and last of the Kawasaki ZZ-Rs
Words: John McAvoy | Pictures: Simon Lee

A
ll the attention in the green
corner for 2020 has been on
the announcement of bikes like
the Z H2 and more WSB titles
for the ZX-10RR. Amid all the
fanfare and excitement, the announcement
that the ZZ-R1400 is in its 30th and final
year of production has slipped by almost
unnoticed.
It feels like the ZZ-R has been around
forever, and it almost has. It’s stood the test
of time for a few reasons, not least because it
is a brilliantly simple bike, but mostly
because when it arrived in 1990, it created a
subtly different kind of sportsbike that was
removed enough from the technically-
similar race-reps to have an appeal all of its
own. Others took the ZZ-R on: the
Blackbird, the Hayabusa, the K1300S. But
they came and went, while the Kawasaki has
been available in an unbroken run. Even
their own alternative, the sportier ZX-12R,
didn’t stick it like the ZZ-R. But its time has
finally come: after this year, Kawasaki are
handing over full responsibility for warp-
speed hedonism to the H2 family.
We marked the end of the hypersports era
by getting hold of a final edition ZZR1400,
and an original ZZ-R1100 for a trip down
memory lane, and a 9000ft runway…

Last of the liquid shapes.

All H2 and angles now

Practical Sportsbikes 47
The 14 offers way less
screen than the old 11

Chatting to the owner of the ZZ-R1100
we borrowed before the shoot, he made a
remark that sounded odd to me. “I test rode
a 1400 not so long ago when I was thinking
of upgrading my 1100,” he said. “And just
didn’t see a big enough difference between
them to warrant the extra cost. Then I tried
an H2 SX and that was that; Game over for
the 1400, it had to be the H2 SX.”
Really? Of course, there is plenty different
between the 1100 and 1400, not least the
gulf in performance between the two which
is hardly surprising given the 30 year age
gap. On paper, the 1400 utterly demolishes
the 1100, reaching its limited top speed of
186mph at a canter, with 1500ft of runway
to spare where the 1100 “only” gets to
163.55mph (in conditions not exactly
conducive to speed testing, unless you
have an excess of power) followed by a
heavily committed effort on the brakes at
the end of the runway. Sound familiar? In
the July 1990 issue of PB, road tester Mark
Forsyth took one to 172mph and promptly
consigned it to a skip when he ran out of
runway while racing it against an aeroplane.
The roll-on acceleration is much the same
story with the 1400 managing 40mph to
100mph in fourth gear in as long as it takes
the 1100 to do it in third. Like for like with
both in fourth gear, the 1400 does it 2.5
seconds faster and uses a whopping 75
metres less runway.
However, in reality none of that matters
for a couple of reasons. Who does 186mph
on the road anyway? And you can just use
third gear on the 1100 to match the 1400’s
acceleration in fourth, no big deal. No need
to multiply your investment by a factor of
five for the sake of left-foot laziness.
The ZZ-R’s raison d’etre was to be the
world’s fastest production motorcycle,
and during the past 30 years it has
mostly achieved that uninterrupted, only
occasionally surrendering its status to the

2020 KAWASAKI
ZZR1400
Engine: 1352cc, liquid-
cooled inline four. Fuel
injected, digital ignition.
199bhp/119lb.ft torque
Chassis: Twin-spar
aluminium frame.
Kayaba 43mm USD
forks, fully adjustable.
Rear, preload/rebound
adjustable

48 Practical Sportsbikes

Big analogue dials sw
eepi
have always been part ng round
of the fun
Honda Blackbird and Suzuki Hayabusa as
they developmentally-leapfrogged it during
that time. Since the ground-up, 1441cc
redesign in 2006, it’s been unchallenged
– Suzuki’s relatively mild update of the
Hayabusa wasn’t enough to redress the
balance, and Kawasaki have updated theirs
twice again, whereas the ‘Busa was left
alone to quietly peter out. A replacement is
promised, but as yet undelivered.
It seems blunt instruments like the
Hayabusa, Blackbird and ZZ-R have no
place in the modern motorcycling world,
where it isn’t enough to be really good at
one thing, and average at everything else.
Exaggerated curves, bulges and a
generally girthy look: JMc and the
ZZ-R are well matched
I’ve never ridden a ZZ-R1100 until now.
I’ve ridden several 1400s and even the
easily forgotten 1200 and always loved
them, but not the one that started it all,
so it’s great to finally put that right. I was
18 when the ZZ-R1100 appeared first, and
I’ll never forget the way it looked with its
slippery aero bodywork, the pioneering
ram air intake, and of course the numbers
that accompanied it. There was nothing
else like it visually, or with the same aura.
Straight away there’s a familiarity about
the 1100, which is a good thing if you’re
an 1100 owner, not so good if you’re a
1400 owner. The riding positions aren’t a
Goodbye ZZ-R
million miles apart, save for the handlebars,
which are wider on the 1400, they both
weigh about the same as a three bedroom
semi-detached house, neither are what
you might describe as “nimble”, and both
have what feels like a nuclear reactor for
an engine that produces instantly usable
power and torque from just above tickover.
The 1400 has the benefit of modern brakes,
suspension and a very different weight
distribution that does give it a crispness and
greater quantity and quality of feedback.
But there’s no denying the two bikes share
the very similar DNA. Like twins born 30
years apart.
1990 KAWASAKI
ZZ-R1100
Engine: 1052cc, liquid-
cooled inline four. 4 x
40mm Keihin CV carbs.
128bhp/77lb.ft torque
Chassis: Twin-spar
aluminium frame.
43mm USD forks,
fully adjustable.Rear
preload/rebound
adjustable
Practical Sportsbikes 49
 For many the 14 is still a
better bike than the H2
Steve Hanger, who owns the
1100 has known it since new when
one of his mates bought it as an
ex-demo bike from their local
dealer. Between the two of them,
they have really looked after it, and
it’s a peach. The engine is crisp and
fuels cleanly with a nicely weighted
throttle action and connection. The
carb tops on Steves bike have been
modded to allow the slides to lift all
the way up, so there’s plenty of fizz
in the upper reaches.
He’s also taken good care of the
suspension. It’s not uncommon for
a 30 year old bike to feel baggy and
wayward at each end, but Steve has
kept on top of the servicing regime
for the forks, rear shock and linkage,
and it shows. The damping at each end is
perfectly adequate for a 165mph, 259kg
motorbike. The brakes however, were never
the 1100’s strong point, even back in 1990
“ON THE ROAD THE 1100
so I’m not going to lie and pretend they’re DIDN’T DISAPPOINT.
anything other than what they are today;
terrible, especially next to the 1400’s set-up.
THERE’S ALWAYS THE
On the road, the 1100 didn’t disappoint. DANGER AN OBJECT OF
There’s always a danger that getting to
ride such a long-standing object of desire,
DESIRE WOULD FAIL TO
that it would fail to deliver on the image DELIVER”
retained for all those years. On the road,
it went where it was pointed, pulled hard
enough to not need anything like the power
that it has on tap. It gave a perfectly decent
amount of feedback and information about
the road and the chassis whereabouts on
the suspension stroke that I didn’t worry
a great deal about the state of the grimy,
damp winter road surface.
I could just as easily be talking about the
1400 as the 1100. The 1400 is still so true
to the original 1100’s ideology (despite
being a full blown Euro 4 spec modern bike
with all the bells and whistles like power
modes, traction control, planet friendly
exhausts, ABS and trick suspension). True to
the spirit it may be, but at the same time it
feels like it is from another age because it is.
It’s got the most stupendous engine
capable of sustaining any speed you want,
in any gear (within reason) for as long as
you want. Maxed out on the rev/speed
limiter at 186mph, the engine feels about as
strained as it does at 60mph in top gear. It
feels like it could be ridden at 150mph all
day long and not break into a sweat.
What a shame then that the riding
position is good for about 100 miles, and
the wind protection from the really low
screen is good for about 70mph tops.
There’s a conflict in purpose with the 1400
that Kawasaki’s very own H2 SX shines a
light on, let alone other stuff like the BMW
S1000XR, if you want to go really fast for
a really long time. A couple of years ago
a H2 SX took me non-stop from Lisbon
in Portugal to Peterborough in a little

50 Practical Sportsbikes

By no means made redundant
by the mighty 1400. Still a top
value big mile proposition
Goodbye ZZ-R
Truth be told, both of these men need bigger bikes
under two days, and I could have turned
around and gone straight back if I had to;
something I know in my (aching) bones
that I physically just couldn’t have done on
either ZZ-R.
On the runway, the 1100 didn’t
disappoint, although it was affected much
more than the 1400 by the ¾ tail wind that
was blowing hard on the day. Holding on,
and keeping it pointing in a straight line
was a teeth-clenching effort rewarded for
the last few seconds of each run when I
relaxed the pressure I was putting on to the
right handlebar to let the bike get blown
across the width of the runway for a couple
of bonus MPH on the datalogger.
Dodgy speed testing technique aside, the
1100 pulled strong and cleanly through
each of its six gears until it would go no
faster. Under the sketchy conditions, given
the bike is 30,000 miles old, and the fact
that I’m about 8-inches taller than Mark
Forsyth, I’m genuinely impressed it got to
within 6mph of the boxfresh 1100 that a
slender MF rinsed 172mph out of in 1990.
It’s a testament not only to Steve’s approach
to servicing and maintenance of the engine
but also how well Kawasaki packaged it. At
120-ish bhp, it’s making good use of each
and every one of those horses to get to that
165mph.
As for the 1400 on the runway, apart from
noting that it was much less affected by the
cross winds, and how easily it was made
to do nearly 190mph, the only other thing
I noted was that if there was any kind of
justice, everyone should get to experience
a ZZR1400 flat out in every gear. For
relentless, merciless forward thrust there’s
still nothing quite like it. It’s the kind of
experience that no bike before or since has
been able to match.
Practical Sportsbikes 51
 Goodbye ZZ-R
It’s a nuts-looking thing – and so it should be
VERDICT
The ZZR1400 is a love letter to the ’90s
– a time when big numbers were the
talking point. The ZZ-R was the first to
unashamedly chase big speed (rather than
being a by-product of just building a really
powerful big bike). The fact that it could
also go round corners became secondary,
and almost lost in all the hype of the
numbers. In its final year in production,
the 2020 ZZR1400 is still playing by those
1990 rules.
It’s only relatively recently that the game
has moved on, but move on it has, and it’s
done it dramatically enough to leave bikes
like the ZZR1400 that are essentially one
52 Practical Sportsbikes
225 225
200 200
175 175
150 150
Power (bhp)
Torque (lb.ft)
125 125
100 100
75 75
50 50
25 25
Engine speed (rpm x 1000)
0 0
2 4 6 8 10 12
30 YEARS OF POWER
199bhp and 119 lb/ft of torque is going to make anything look weedy
and feeble by comparison, which of course the 1400 does to the 1100
when their respective power and torque curves are put side by side.
The 1100’s power output is most notable for being used incredibly
efficiently for a very respectable top speed with “only” 128bhp to work
with (virtually the same as a Triumph Street Triple 765). As mad as it
sounds, the 1400 looks like it’s got a lot more to offer than the 199bhp
we measured. It gets to 195bhp by just under 9000rpm, and only adds
another four over the next 1000rpm. That’s a tell-tale sign there’s
much more available... Jeez.
trick-ponies behind. This is absolutely NOT
a criticism of either ZZ-R; Far from it.
The ZZ-R in whatever capacity or vintage
is that rarest of rare things, a motorcycle
that created a genre of machine that it went
on to define for three decades. A genre
which ultimately spawned Kawasaki’s
own H2 SX and spin-offs from other
manufacturers that have rendered it maybe
not exactly redundant, but prehistoric at
least. The H2 SX may well be the thing
responsible for killing off the ZZ-R, but
if the ZZ-R’s final act is to indirectly be
responsible for the H2 SX, then what an
utterly fitting tribute that is to one of the
greatest motorcycles of all time. Hard to know what they’re expecting to happen...
Thank you, and
goodbye
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 Shed
Gold
Languishing, unloved in a dark, dank
tomb, this 888 was rescued by a man who
suddenly found the urge to inject new life
into it after 20 years without a bike
Words: Jim Moore | Pictures: Jason Critchell
Resplendent is the only word for it
A
poorly maintained shed can be
a great thing. Not if it’s yours,
obviously, but when owned by
someone else. And doing its
worst to shield a Ducati 888
Strada from the elements, a damp wooden
shelter can be a perfect place to find project
gold, as Chris Bridgland discovered.
“I’ve long had a thing for 851s and 888s,
ever since Foggy won on his at Donington
in ’92 and set himself on course for a works
Ducati ride,” the Surrey-based IT consultant
told PS. “I came close to buying one, years
ago, but ended up with a 900SS instead.
Then in 2017, almost 20 years on from
selling the SS, I suddenly got the itch to get
another bike.”
But Chris didn’t want to snap up a minter,
he was after a project, something he could
strip down, get to know and tinker with at
his leisure. So, when he eventually tracked
one down in a decrepit shed in south west
Scotland, he knew he’d found what he’d
been looking for.
Practical Sportsbikes 55

Who is this man?
Chris Bridgland is an IT consultant
who likes rescuing bikes from damp
sheds and putting them in dry ones.
Chris’s shed is no factory, but what
emerges is clearly factory standard
And to think this was nearly going
to be in a rattle-can finish...
56 Practical Sportsbikes
“They’re not easy to find, especially as
a project, and I’d already missed out on a
couple that were advertised, so when this
one came up for sale I knew it was worth
taking a look, even if it was miles away from
where I live. What appealed was the fact it
was an honest bike that had been pretty
much untouched for years.
“It’d been in for MoTs and a couple of
services over the previous five years, but
had hardly done any mileage in that time.
The same guy had owned it for 20-odd
years, and he’d intended to spruce it up, but
never got around to it, and so reluctantly
decided to let it go. It was also clear that the
dampness of the shed and taken its toll on
the bike – it was in need of significant TLC.
Not quite a barn find, more a shed find. In
other words, perfect for me.”
Despite the Duke’s lack of use, Chris was
determined to try it out before he jumped
feet-first into the resto, so he had Ducati
Glasgow look over the bike before having
it ferried south to Surrey. Unfortunately,
by the time it arrived, it was weeping oil
– nothing drastic, but enough to convince
Chris a test run probably wasn’t a great idea.
Buying the bike was a fine idea, however,
because as Chris started to take it apart,
layer by layer, it was clear that one of its
previous owners had invested in a few
choice mods, such as the period Termignoni
silencers, a Baines Racing-spec open
airbox, and a remapped ECU. “A little light
breathing work,” as Chris puts it.
“I got in contact with Baines to see if they
remembered the bike,” says Chris of his
detective work to figure out what had been
done to the Duke. “But a lot of their earlier
records are no longer there, so they couldn’t
say exactly what, but the cover for the top
of the ECU has been off at some point, so
someone’s done some work on it.”
A previous owner clearly had a penchant
ickers
bedecked with go-faster st
As it arrived
It looked bad, but co
ncealed no major ill
s
for ‘race’ stickers too, judging by the
assortment of aftermarket decals that
were randomly plastered across the fairing
lowers, as well as the SP5-a-like white
number boards on the front of the fairing
and tail unit. Serendipitously, the bike’s race
replica vibe mirrored precisely Chris’s own
intensions for the 888.
“An SP5 was out of my price range, so
instead I wanted to build something that
was a homage to the SP, but that would still
give the option of a pillion seat.” But before
he could do that, there was the manky
business of dismantling his purchase to get
through. Undressing a sportsbike that needs
attention rarely reveals anything pretty, and
Chris’s 888 was no exception.
“Once I’d got the panels off it was clear
to see that corrosion had taken hold,
particularly on the engine which was a mess
of flaking paint and furred metal. On top The level of finish is exceptional
of that, almost all fixings, screws, bolts and wherever you look. No sneaky
cheats or shortcuts here
nuts had lost their lustre. The powdercoat on
the wheels and the frame paint was starting
to lift in places as well. But, on the plus side,
all the panels were original, and the tank
looked clean inside.”
Keen to tackle as many of the restoration
jobs as possible, but also mindful and
realistic about what he could and couldn’t
achieve in his garden shed (Chris’s shed is
dry, warm, light and insulated – everything
the bike’s previous home wasn’t), Chris sent
the motor to Ducati stalwarts Pro-Twins in
Godstone to be rebuilt. Once they had the
90-degree lump in bits they were able to
report back with good news.
“The internals were in good order,”
explains Chris. “Obviously they fitted fresh
seals and bearings; the only parts that were
replaced were the piston rings and clutch
– the pushrod bearing was on its last legs
and was munching its way into the rod and
basket. It could have failed if I’d taken it out
for an exploratory test ride, so that oil leak
turned out to be a blessing.” inlets, plus assorted covers and brackets to unintentionally discovered. “I spilt some
The clean bill of health given to the engine Hi-Spec Coatings in Horsham to receive a hydraulic fluid on the Cerakote and it was
internals did not extend to the outside of Cerakote finish. there for at least two weeks. It just wiped off
the motor, however. Rather than repaint The result, in both silver and black without a mark.”
the cases and wait for a rattle-can finish’s where appropriate [this is one of the first During the stripdown process Chris
inevitable flake-by-flake disappearance 100 Stradas, so the black/silver engine discovered that a sizeable hole had been
(regular viewers may remember that Alan colour combo is factory correct – JM], is punched in the underside of the rear
had the same issue with his 900SS), Chris stunning and – unlike paint – completely mudguard. Given its position and the fact
entrusted the crankcases, barrels, heads, resistant to oil, fuel or fluid leaks, as Chris it must have taken some considerable force

“THE PUSHROD
BEARING COULD
HAVE FAILED IF I’D
TAKEN IT OUT FOR
A TEST RIDE, SO
THAT OIL LEAK
TURNED OUT TO BE Stained, flaky, corr
oded nastiness... m, Cerakote
A BLESSING” dicated with a coat of, u
...soon era
“IF YOU LOOK
CLOSELY AT THE
WHEELS YOU’LL SEE
THERE ARE A FEW
SCARS AND MARKS
ON THE RIMS THAT
THE TWO-PACK
COULDN’T MASK
– PATINA”
to shatter a seemingly robust part, Chris’s
hunch is that the culprit was probably a
snapped chain. Rogue final drive or not, the
issue caused several problems.
Firstly, 888 rear mudguards are almost
impossible for find, and even if you do
track one down it’ll cost you several
vital organs. Many were cut down or
discarded altogether back in the ’90s,
as owners strived for the less cluttered
‘racer’ look. Knowing that he faced a long
and potentially expensive wait to find a
replacement, Chris opted to repair the
original part by plastic welding the hole
shut. That solved one problem but left
another to tackle.
“The position of the hole allowed water,
grime and road filth kicked up by the rear
tyre to get in under the pillion seat and
Red plastics and a trio of white-faced Veglia clocks
mean you can only be in one place
58 Practical Sportsbikes
Yes, the result is spectacular. But sourcing all the correct parts was a long slog
corrode the electrics. Fastidious cleaning of
all electrical componentry and connectors,
plus some minor remedial work to the loom
was required.
Keen to keep as much of the restoration in-
house (or in-shed) as possible, Chris turned
his hand to spraying. “I rattle-canned the
bodywork, and for a first attempt it wasn’t
bad. Not brilliant, but pretty good. I posted
a few pics of my work online, and I got a
message from a friend, Matt Manderson,
who sprays classic cars professionally.
“He said, ‘you idiot, you should have come
to me!’ so after that I ended up sending it
all to him – bodywork, wheels, frame, the
lot and he did it all in two-pack. And I’m
so glad I did; the finish he has achieved is
superb, and so much better than my effort.
It really makes the bike.
Getting
“If you look closely at the wheels you’ll
see there are a few scars and marks on the
rims that the two-pack couldn’t mask –
patina. It was either that or lose the detail
of the castings, and neither of us felt that
would have looked right. Plus, it speaks to
the bike’s past and its journey to get here, so
I’m happy for the marks to stay. Those in the
know will spot that Matt has sprayed them
in 1995 888/SP hue to match the frame. I
think they look superb.”
The rolling chassis was a mixed bag of
luck, lateral thinking and clever solutions.
Several years of damp shed time had well
and truly left their mark on the forks, and
the shock had already popped up as an
advisory on the last MoT for having too
much play in the bottom bearing. It was
now history.
e job...
right to the bottom of th
...and doing those pr
operly and thorough
ly
There’s not a bolt out of place on this Duke now

“The hardest part of restoring an 888 is

finding parts. Some take months to find, like
the SP-style oil-cooler mount – and yet I got
lucky with the suspension. The guys at Pro-
Twins were advertising a tidy set of forks
and I had to say, ‘Oi, can you put them to
one side for me, please?’ I got an NOS shock
through a Ducati forum. Sorting the front
brakes required much more effort, though.”
Just over 20,000 miles of use had worn
the alloy disc carriers around their mounting
bobbins to such as extent that there was
visible movement back and forth. Having
priced up new Brembo discs, I then decided
against them because the original rotors still
had 4.8mm of meat left on them, Chris got
local-ish engineers Cranfield Engineering to
make new carriers. The 888 rear linkage is
“In the end, it was more cost effective to a simple one – mighty
get a batch made and I’ve been able to sell effective too
the others to owners all over the world. Plus,
they’ve used T7057 aerospace-spec ally, so
they’re much more robust than standard.”
Chris employed a similar approach to the
Termignoni silencers. They were in poor
shape, particularly inside. Once apart,
Chris could see that the internal mounting
brackets were shot – a common issue
on these early Termi cans – and required
welding to restore their integrity.
“Putting the cans back together proved
problematic because the alloy straps and
rivets that grip the silencers at each end Chris doesn’t m
ind working at
might as well have been made of cheese. floor level. Kee
ps you supple Former cradle of filth now immaculate
They simply bend and snap. New ones were
going to cost me £30, but with no guarantee
that they’d go back in place without issue.
So I had new straps made in stainless –
they’re so much better, and as with the disc
carriers I had a batch laser-cut; I sell them
for half the price of the Termi parts.”
It’s clear to see that Chris’s restoration has
been a labour of love. The bike as it is now –
from its exquisitely finished engine and dive-
in-deep paint to the painstakingly rebuilt
silencers and SP touches, like the underslung
rear caliper, perfectly executed number
boards, and ‘888’ plaque (still to be fitted) –
radiates everything that is magnificent about
this brutish, yet handsome Italian, while
realizing Chris’s dream of owning an 888
and SP5 all in one. And he’s still got the best
part to come – riding it.
But before Chris gets that treat, it’s my
turn. I’m the first to swing a leg over this Termi silencers now
finished beauty. Truly, the pleasure is all rebuilt with stainless
mine… steel bands and rivets

He looks comfy. Not
something you can always
say about a 916 rider
THE RIDE
I feel honoured. Chris has spent the last 18
months pouring his time, money, effort and
passion into this now stunning Ducati, but
he won’t be the first to ride it. That’ll be me.
Just my luck then that heavy cloud cover
has laid a glistening film of moisture atop
Surrey’s already congested and potholed
roads. All as shiny as the Strada’s unused
Metzeler Sportec M7 RR tyres. This could
be an uneasy coming together of road and
rubber, especially with the motor’s near
60lb-ft of torque waiting to punch its way
through to the rear rubber.
But I needn’t worry as I feed in the gas
away from Chris’s suburban retreat (he’s as
keen to hear what the twin Termis sound
like as I do am). The fuelling from the twin
60 Practical Sportsbikes
50mm Weber throttle bodies is as precise
as the torque curve is linear, so only ham-
fisted inputs from me are going to cause a
break in rear boot traction. In fact, the only
mixture related issue is the system’s lack of
a fast idle, causing the engine to stall at low
rpm until the coolant is up to temp. But it
wouldn’t be a period Italian without a bit of
fuss, would it?
To sit on, the 888 feels more 900SS than
916. The ’bar/seat/’peg ratio is far less
extreme than the later twin, and far more
suited to road riding as a result. And to
bigger riders, like me. I feel completely at
home on this Duke, even pottering along
at town speeds – I’ve done the same thing
many times before on 916s and the result
is always the same: severe neck and wrist
“THE FUELLING
FROM THE 50MM
WEBER THROTTLE
BODIES IS AS
PRECISE AS THE
TORQUE CURVE
IS LINEAR”
ache. No such complaints on the 888. Hell,
even the mirrors work…
But this Italian V-twin wasn’t built for
chuntering about at risible speeds. It was
built to romp along in tune with its meaty
motor. Drive is deliciously instant, right
from low rpm. I’m aware that the engine is
running fresh bearings and rings, so spinning
the crank right up to its five-figure potential
isn’t on the cards today (finding a road quiet
enough in Surrey to execute such a move
would be a fine thing…), but even up to
7000-8000rpm this Desmodromic mill is
packing serious gristle. The numbers aren’t
big – 104bhp is tame by today’s standards
– but the alacrity with which this motor
delivers what’s on offer is far greater than
the figures suggest. This thing’s got guts.

Chris’s top tips
1. Original parts for the 888 and
851 are becoming scarce, so
get yourself on the 851 and 888
forum to get the best advice and
keep an eye on the for sale posts
(www.ducati851and888.com).
“The hospital’s that way,
which is where you’ll be
headed if you bin it.”
Also sign up to Facebook and
the 851 and 888 groups.
2. Don’t be in a hurry to
finish the rebuild and allow
time to learn new skills –
plastic welding, 3D printing
and zinc-plating were new
experiences for me and were
very rewarding to learn.
3. Get the workshop and parts
manuals. Bedtime reading
has never been so valuable
in preparing for the next
activity, as well as knowing
when to call in the experts.
Boots... we’ve
Easy to forget how good and
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LEEDS BOSTON MILTON KEYNES
LS2 7QA PE20 1QS MK6 4AE

What really shines through with Chris’s
bike, however, is just how well put together
it feels. To have it this well set-up and
sweet before it’s even turned a wheel is a
testament to his attention to detail and the
depth of thought applied throughout the
build process. Handling, braking, controls,
gearchange and steering are all crisp, precise
and just-so – the latter even more so than
stock due to Chris raising the back end an
inch or so with risers on the rear suspension
It rides as fresh as it looks. Who
could possibly ask for more?
THANKS TO
Abba Stands Sky Lift
abbastands.co.uk
Paint - First Place Finish
www.1stplacefinish.co.uk
Pro Twins
www.protwins.co.uk
Parts - MotoRapido
www.motorapido.co.uk
Cerakote - Hi-Spec Coatings
www.hi-speccoatings.co.uk
FC Laser - www.fclaser.co.uk
CNC Work (Disc carriers)
www.cranford-engineering.co.uk
Carbon Parts - RSR Moto
www.rsrmoto.com
Brad the Bike Boy
www.bikeboy.org
62 Practical Sportsbikes
At last... a bike that Jim
looks to scale on
loop. This tweak does wonders for the bike’s
stance, too.
The more I ride Chris’s 888, the more I
love it. I adore 916s and their derivatives
(who doesn’t?) but having sampled this SP5
tribute I have to say that the earlier bike
makes so much more sense as a road ride,
and yet it’s no less characterful or charming
than its underseat-piped cousin. And I know
when Chris finally gets to swing a leg over
his Ducati, he’s going to absolutely love it.
Specification
1993 Ducati 888 Strada
ENGINE
Type: liquid-cooled, dohc, 8v, 90-degree
Desmo V-twin
Capacity: 888cc
Bore x stroke: 94 x 64mm
Compression ratio: 11:1
Carburation: Weber fuel-injection, 2 x 50mm
throttle bodies
Ignition: inductive magnetically triggered
TRANSMISSION
Primary/final drive: chain/chain
Clutch: multiplate/dry
Gearbox: 6-speed
CHASSIS
Frame: tubular steel trellis
Front suspension: 41mm Showa usd forks
Rear suspension: Showa shock, fully adjustable
Front brake: 2 x 320mm floating discs, 4-pot
Brembo calipers
Rear brake: 245mm disc, 2-pot Brembo caliper
Wheels: 3-spoke, cast aluminium Brembo
Front tyre: 120/70 ZR17 Rear tyre: 180/55
ZR17
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 1430mm (56.3in)
Seat height: 760mm (29.9in)
Fuel capacity: 19L (4.2 gals)
Dry weight: 210kg (463lbs)
PERFORMANCE
Power (claimed): 104bhp@10,500rpm
Torque (claimed): 57.9lb.ft@7000rpm
Top speed: 153mph
 downl oa d.
t m a gs . O n e
Six grea p r ic e
ne m on t hly
O
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Horses for courses.
Yer actual Italian
Stallion at Epsom.
How good isthat?
Picture: Jason Critchell
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Hold my beer...

Replacement for the

ERWFKHG·&%555
LVEDFNWR%ODGH·VEHVW

Ducati in sensible,
cost-effective
superbike shock

GUY’S
TRIPLE-TON
HAYABUSA P86
Not for TV: this
record attempt is Almost sensible advice on
strictly personal. how to avoid grief when
buying a 1000cc V4 Priller
He tells us why
 At long last, Honda makes a jumps back into track contention
with a no-holds-barred FireBlade SP. It’s great when they
start taking things seriously. Here’s the first ride in the UK
Words John McAvoy | Photography Simon Lee

70 PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK | MAY 2020

 2020 FIREBLADE SP

Far and away the most

F
unashamedly businesslike ireblade/Blade: quite possibly the coolest
Blade since records began name in motorcycling since the motorcycle
was invented in 1885. It has become
something of a byword for innovation,
excitement and performance. Not bad
considering legend has it that the name was an accident. It
is said that whoever was given the task of translating the
Japanese word for lightning translated it literally and
arrived at Fireblade.
The Fireblade is an icon, but latterly it has fallen short of
the standards it originally set. The previous version got a
hard time in PB for terrible throttle connection and crude,
unpredictable rider aids. The 2017 model was the first
Blade ever with ride-by-wire throttle and traction control.
It was years behind the competition, and it showed.
Despite a sweet handling chassis and an engaging power
delivery from the engine, you couldn’t trust its brain. But
enough history, this is the present, and the first time
anyone has ridden the newest Blade on UK roads...
Is it better than the last one? Yes, and some. Is it as good
as a BMW S1000RR or Ducati Panigale V4? That’s a bit
trickier to answer. It’s nothing like them. The 2020
Fireblade is a full-on, no compromise, weapons grade
racebike with a few bits added to make it road legal. I can’t
Rear hugger has been think of another Fireblade as extreme as this one. Come to
chopped to virtually nothing
for rear tyre/underseat
think about it, I can’t think of another litre bike as
pressure equalization uncompromising, apart from maybe the Ducati Panigale
V4 R which is another bike you really do have to bring
your A-game to. The Blade is very much back.
Let’s start with the chassis. The wheelbase is 50mm
longer, 30mm of which is in the swingarm. Rake and tail
are increased (24.1º/101.4mm), and if you’re still in any
doubt as to Hondas intentions with the changes to the
chassis, the seat is 10mm higher, and the handlebars are
17mm lower than the previous Blade, plus the pegs are
21mm higher and 43mm further back. These are massive
changes, not a couple of mm here and there to get the
riding position in the ball park. There’s no concession to
comfort. The base model 2020 Fireblade has a different,
more relaxed footpeg and handlebar position than the SP.
Honda trotted out some RCV figures as a reference
point for the 2020 Fireblade, but the RC213V’s wheelbase
is 10mm longer, its rake is the same but the trail is 3mm
longer on the RC213V. While there’s no question Honda
have moved the Fireblade very close to the RC213V’s
dimensions, it is categorically not the same as the RC213V.
The frame has been tuned for much greater vertical
rigidity, and slightly higher torsional rigidity. Horizontal
rigidity has been reduced, and the engine gets six
mounting points in the frame which likely accounts for a
lot of the torsional improvement. Honda claim that in
some places frame sections are as thin as 2mm. The
It’s clear that the 2020 SP is no longer a second-rate choice swingarm gets the same treatment of a brand new design.
It’s made from 18 pieces of pressed aluminium for less
lateral rigidity which helps with feedback and grip at lean,
but keeps the same vertical stiffness.
On this, the SP model, the suspension is the latest from
Öhlins, their NPX Smart EC 2.0 forks that use pressurised

MAY 2020 | PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK 71


damping as used on the 2020 Yamaha R1M. Speaking of
which, the R1M is probably the Fireblade-SP’s natural
sales rival at roughly the same price and spec. The forks
have a 5mm longer stroke to try and make the bike less
prone to wheelies. It’s an approach that Yamaha used
(unsuccessfully) with their original R1, before electronics
came along to manage things. It’s good to see Honda not
just relying on electronics but digging out some
mechanical tricks too.
It’s the same at the back, with an Öhlins twin-tube
TTX36 Smart EC shock with a slightly longer stroke
which, like the forks, can be run in fully active mode, or
adjusted and ‘fixed’ in a manual, passive mode. The good
news continues with the arrival of a 200/55 rear tyre. The
previous model used a 190/50 which limited choice.
72 PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK | MAY 2020
First two ratios are very
tall: 114mph in first, 144mph
in second. Echoes of RC30
New electronics have got
wheelie-control down to a
fine pitch. It all bodes well for
the Blade’s track induction
As is now de rigueur, the dark art of aerodynamics is
key in the new bike, and Honda have not held back here.
The most obvious are the stacks of wings out front which
Honda claim generate the same amount of downforce as
their 2018 MotoGP bike. There’s no way of ever knowing if
that’s close to being true, but they look cool and may help
with controlling wheelies, and with stability on the brakes.
If you’re still in any doubt as to how the new Fireblade is
about function and not form, take a look at the rear
hugger. Honda have cut a massive chunk out of it, so it
basically ceases to function as a hugger. They’ve done this
to manage air pressures between the rear wheel and
swingarm. A quick scan of the press pack brings on a
nostalgic smile when I read the slits at the top of the upper
fairing are there to ‘reduce yaw while turning’. It’s a nod to
the original Fireblade’s holes in its bellypan, supposedly to
help with rate of turn, or in 2020 speak, ‘reducing yaw’.
Possibly total bollocks, but nice.
Then there’s the engine. Hondas obvious corporate
decision is to get big numbers so they can get back to
winning on track. What they’ve done to get those numbers
is still fairly conservative by modern standards, but very
thorough nonetheless. There’s no variable valve timing as
per the BMW and Suzuki, there’s no crazy firing order like
the R1, or counter-rotating crankshaft like the Panigale, or
even a change to a V layout, either as a four (or as
occasionally reported five) cylinder V.
There is, however, the same bore and stroke as the
RC213V, mostly because it gave them a proven
combustion chamber design to start from. An 81mm bore
and 48.5mm stroke is good for the thick end of 300bhp in
MotoGP, so it comes down to how much unobtanium and
technology you want to use, and how long the service
intervals you require, that determine the end result.

A bigger bore means bigger valves, opened and closed
by camshafts with slippery-DLC-coating and finger-
followers, which combined, reduce friction significantly.
Titanium conrods and lightweight forged alloy pistons are
in keeping with Honda’s approach to get the most efficient
top end they can without going full RCV. The motor is fed
by a massive air intake that delivers 25% more volume
than previous Fireblades. It’s so big that Honda have had
to bin the ignition barrel to make room for it and make the
bike keyless. Throttle bodies are up to 52mm from 48mm,
and on the other side once the air and fuel has been
burned, the exhaust diameter is a girthy 10mm bigger at
the catalyser. Further downstream, the exhaust gasses are
directed into the titanium silencer by one of two pipes
(dependent on revs ) by a flap controlled by the ECU.
Speaking of the ECU; it and every other piece of
hardware and software are brand new. In the words of
Yuzuru Ishikawa, the bike’s project leader: “We’ve looked
at revising anything within the system – including its
functionality – that prevents the bike behaving in way that
All clear against a sparkly white backdrop. Wot no satnav?
2020 FIREBLADE SP
Swiftly getting into the swing
of it. New Blade invites attack
is not entirely consistent with the rider inputs. Specifically,
making sure the torque delivery is totally smooth from
very small throttle openings, and having very smooth
intervention of the torque and wheelie control.”
The IMU is a Bosch six-axis module, replacing the
five-axis version on the last model. So the quality of the
information being served-up to the ECU is as good as it
gets today. The information from it and the other new
sensors around the bike now gets interpreted then applied
to the fuel injection and ignition via the new software.
On the road the riding position is brutal. My feet feel
like they’re somewhere just under my arse cheeks, and my
hands feel like they are somewhere down by the front
wheel spindle. I can only see the bottom half of the TFT
display because the top half is obscured by the top of the
screen. It’s about as uncompromising as it gets. But the
riding position is the only racebike requirement I don’t like
about the Fireblade. The rest of it is right up my street.
The engine is like all the best race bikes I’ve ridden. A
fairly benign bottom third of the rev range, followed
Flap-valve decides whether gas exits via wide or narrow tube
MAY 2020 | PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK 73
 2020 FIREBLADE SP

by a sufficiently but not overly aggrresive midrange,

then cartoon-fast at the top end of the revs. If you’re as big as John,
The best race bikes always have relatively weak you’ll be a touch cramped
midranges compared to their road bike donors that have a
fat midrange for lazy road riders. For example, the BMW
S1000RR has a beast of a midrange, but race teams have
to tune the split throttles in order to calm it down by
basically making it run on two cylinders to get it off
corners cleanly. The Panigale V4 R has less midrange than
the 1100cc V4 S, and for me, the V4 R is a better track and
road bike for it: it’s easier to ride when you want to go
really, really fast and are prepared to put the effort in. This
makes them more engaging bikes to ride. The 2020
Fireblade falls precisely into this category.
The Fireblade’s power delivery won’t be for everyone
because it’s coupled to very long first to third gear ratios,
which means you can’t be lazy. It needs riding in order to
go fast. Make no mistake, the 2020 Fireblade is not some
kind of imitation race bike with a badge and some trinkets.
It is the bike race teams asked HRC to build, a suspicion
confirmed with a quick trip to a friendly airbase with a
long runway. It turns out that the Fireblade will do
114mph in first gear, 144mph in second and 187mph in
5th gear. That’s not a road bike, and not a slow bike either.
Ignore anyone who suggests the Fireblade is gutless in
the low/midrange. It’s just the engine’s tune and the
gearbox ratios that, compared to other more road-
focussed machines, make it feel flatter in that part of the
rev range you use the most on the road. You need to learn
to choose gears better – it doens’t have the same
characteristics as rivals, so don’t treat it the same.
However, that same trait never harmed Honda RC30 or
RC45 sales, or desirability. The new Fireblade will no
doubt very quickly earn itself the image of being the “The new Fireblade will no doubt very
hardest of hardcore bikes, which many will buy into and
an perhaps an equal number will avoid.
quickly earn itself the image of being the
hardest of hardcore bikes”
Designed and built to win
races. It is not a road bike.
So, of course, it’s makes a
great road bike

74 PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK | MAY 2020

 The spike in torque when the exhaust flap opens at
about 6000rpm has been a trademark of the Fireblade
since 2008. It’s still there, still irritating, but you’ll be a
massive fan of how the engine behaves after that. It just
builds and builds and builds, and revs faster and faster
the higher you go while making a noise that can probably
be heard miles away.
The active suspension is great on the road. The first
part of the stroke of the forks either during braking or
over bumps felt noticeably more supple than the rest of
the stroke as and when it was needed. Öhlins are making
big steps refining their active suspension, and this latest
system is also easily accessible via Honda’s interface. It’s
easy to experiment with settings, safe in the knowledge
that if you get lost and forget where you started, there’s a
‘reset’ button that puts everything back to factory settings.
Full judgment on the new electronics is reserved,
pending a good thrashing on track. However, first
impressions are very good. Throttle connection is as good
as anything else out there, and while the traction control
or ABS didn’t trigger on the road, anti-wheelie did. If the
way the ECU backs off, holds and reintroduces the torque
during a power wheelie or over a crest is anything to go
by, all our criticisms of the previous models’ electronics
are most likely redundant.
As uncompromising and extreme as the engine and
gearbox are for the road, the chassis is a dream, and it’s
still the sweetest handling of the litrebikes. The hallmark
of any Fireblade is its knack of being agile, stable and easy
to use. While the 2020 Fireblade is not like any that have
gone before by being the angriest, loudest, most
expensive and sharply focused version yet, it is absolutely
a Firebade to its core.

THE SPECS

ENGINE
Type: liquid-cooled, 4-stroke, DOHC, inline
4-cylinder
Capacity: 999.9cc
Bore x stroke: 81 x 48.5mm
Fuelling: PGM-FI fuel injection, full ride-by-wire,
52mm throttle bodies
Claimed power: 214bhp@14,500rpm
Claimed torque: 83lb.ft@12,500rpm

CHASSIS
Frame: twin spar aluminium
Front suspension: 43mm upside down Öhlins
NPX S-EC 2.0, fully adjustable, fully active
Rear suspension: Öhlins TTX36 S-EC 2.0
monoshock, fully-adjustable, fully-active
Front brakes: 2 x 330mm discs with four-piston
Brembo Stylema monobloc calipers
Rear brake: 220mm disc with two-piston
Brembo caliper

DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 1455mm
Rake/Trail: 24.1º/101.4mm
Measured weight: 202.6Kg
(53% Front)
Seat height: 831mm
Fuel capacity: 16 litres

BUYING
Price: £23,499
Contact: www.honda.co.uk
 BMW S1000RR SuperBike
– Philip Island 2017.

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 DUCATI PANIGALE V2

B
Duacti’s so-called ack in 2016 I had a Ducati 959 long-term
press bike to live with for the summer.
‘baby’ has done a lot That 959 still rates as one of the best, or at
of growing-up, to the least it was by the time I’d made a few
adjustments. Key among them were to get
extent that it’s now rid of the hideous over/under shotgun exhausts, put the
899’s 44-tooth rear sprocket back on that Ducati had
more than a match replaced with a 43, presumably to get the 959 through
for most litrebikes. some sort of Euro4 noise related ride by test. Finally, in
response to a tendency to understeer, I added four turns of
It’s also something preload to the rear shock to reduce sag which had the
added effect of raising rear ride height by 8mm.
of a bargain. Here’s So it’s with a certain amount of smugness [Smugness?
how and why John McAvoy? Really? – CN] that I can tell you that the
first time the 959 has had an update (primarily to get
through Euro5), Ducati have binned the exhaust in favour
of something much more pleasing. They’ve raised the ride
height by 5mm by increasing the length of the rear shock
by 2mm. But they’ve stuck with the 43-tooth sprocket.
Two out of three ain’t bad. Another update is the IMU-
based electronics pack lifted from the V4 to replace the
previously acceptable, but slightly crude, traction control.
More obvious changes are the return of a single-sided
swingarm for the ‘baby’ Ducati, not seen since the 848,
Words John McAvoy | Photography Simon Lee discontinued in 2013 . The Panigale V4-esque bodywork
as well as looking stunning, serves up more air to the
airbox/frame via bigger snouts at the headlights. This
extra dollop of fresh air is met by new, bigger injectors that
see the V2 quoted at 155bhp, which sort of makes a
mockery of the ‘baby’ name tag.
The Panigale V2 is the last remaining V-twin sportsbike
still in production today and it cashes in at £14,995 which
is a relative steal, given the only cheaper sportsbikes on
the market are the fairly ordinary Yamaha R6, Kawasaki
ZX-636/ZX-10R and the base Suzuki GSX-R1000 by just a
few hundred quid. Each of which are perfectly decent
bikes, but none of them have the presence, looks, or star
quality of the V2. It’s a Doo-caah-tee.
It’s got enough power to keep it interesting, although
you do have to work for it by keeping the engine in its
happy place in the top third of the rev range. A bigger rear
sprocket would absolutely give it a bit more fizz in the
bottom end of the rev range, so if you are one of the
jammy sods who end up with a V2 in your garage, be sure
to swop the sprocket. I left it in Sport mode all day, Race

The new V2, as developed by

chief test rider J. McAvoy
MAY 2020 | PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK 77
 DUCATI PANIGALE V2

was just too sensitive to cope with the lumps and bumps of
East Anglian Fen roads, but I’m sure it would be OK on a
smooth race track. Being able to adjust wheelie control is a
nice consequence of the arrival of the IMU-based set up.
Anti-wheelie: Off (so it doesn’t fret gassing over lumps and
bumps) Traction Control: On. is all you need on the road
– which you couldn’t do on the 959. The autoblipper is
another new feature on the V2, and once you’ve got used
to using an autoblipper, nothing else will do. It’s a fantastic
addition to the experience of riding the 959/V2.
I can’t wait to get one on track post Covid-19 and really
get into the electronics. The V4’s level of refinement for not
only the cut, but the reintroduction of power once the rear
starts spinning is up there with the very best. It’s Ducatis

THE SPECS

ENGINE
Type: liquid-cooled, 8v, dohc Desmodromic
90-degree V-twin
Capacity: 955cc
Bore x stroke: 100mm x 60.8mm
Fuelling: Fuel-injected, twin injectors per Check how stumpy it would look without the number plate hanger
cylinder, full ride-by-wire, elliptical throttle bodies
Measured power: 140.2bhp@10,700rpm
Measured torque: 72.3lb.ft@9000rpm

CHASSIS
Frame: aluminium monocoque
Front suspension: 43mm upside-down Showa
BPF. Fully adjustable
Rear suspension: Sachs monoshock, fully
adjustable
Front brakes: 2 x 320mm discs with four-piston
Brembo M4 monobloc calipers
Rear brake: 245mm disc with two-piston caliper

DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 1436mm
Rake/Trail: 24°/94mm
Wet weight (claimed): 200kg
Seat height: 840mm
Return to a single-sided
Fuel capacity: 17 litres swingarm, and rear ride
height up by 5mm too
BUYING
Price: £14,995
Contact: www.ducatiuk.com

78 PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK | MAY 2020

 Easily capable of litrebike
pace without having to try
stupidly hard
Evo2 system, which they call predictive as it softens torque
just as a spin begins to develop, so if it does have to
respond, it only needs the bare minimum of intervention.
The suspension is on the soft side, just as the 959’s was.
In particular the forks need more support under heavy
braking. When we get one to a Rutter test, it’ll certainly
need significant amounts of setting-up for the track. That
said, the fundamental architecture of the V2 is spot on. It
has the hallmark Panigale handlebar position that puts
your hands out wide for tonnes of leverage.
The narrow chassis and reduced inertia of the smaller
engine/rear tyre/wheel, makes for a motorcycle you can
put anywhere you want on the road, regardless of whether
you’re braking, turning, cornering or accelerating. There’s
a perfect balance of rate of turn versus resistance that
creates a clear channel of communication between the
front tyre and the palms of your hands.
Riding a litrebike is always a hilarious but ultimately
intimidating experience, the V2 is still very much capable
of scaring the shit out of you or ruining your licence in a
very short space of time. But compared to riding
something with 1000cc it’s a much more rewarding
experience. On a 600cc sportsbike, if you bring your very
best A-game and ride perfectly on the absolute limit of
your comfort zone, you’ll still get humped by a moderately
well-ridden litrebike if you make a small mistake. On the
V2 that same level of effort will, in all but the most
extreme cases, see the litrebike off.
The V2’s balance of price, handling and power still
makes it the thinking man’s sportsbike, and that’s before
you factor in the kudos that comes with an Italian
premium brand and those drop dead gorgeous looks.
The V2 isn’t perfect, but it’s not far off. A bit of time
setting up the suspension, bolting on a louder exhaust and
that extra tooth on the rear sprocket would add the final
touches to a bike that Ducati have done more than give a
new set of clothes to.
Don’t be fooled by the new look. The combined effect of
the tweaks to the geometry, notably the wheelbase which
is 5mm longer, the seat height 10mm higher (5mm of
which is ride height) and the trail 2mm less, plus that
much more sophisticated electronics package, have taken
the 959 to another level.
2020 Ducati
Multistrada 1260
Also for £15k from the Ducati
showroom...
Say hello to the base-spec Multistrada
1260; 158bhp, 95lb-ft of torque, massive
fuel tank, cornering ABS, four riding
modes, long travel suspension, £14,495.
Close or superior to the V2: on paper.
A quick blast on a 1260 Multi reveals that
it is fast, comfortable, and with even
more tech to play with. It’s the sort of
thing those scared by lairy litre bikes have
moved on to: and with good reason. It
takes a while to suss that it needs
steering via the seat/hips rather than the
’bars, and while there’s a fair bit of
pitching on the suspension, it doesn’t get
upset by enthusiastic efforts to keep up
with Chris who’s on the V2 in front of me,
which remains generally composed.
If it had to be the last bike I ever rode,
I’d be perfectly happy, but it isn’t a
no-brainer choice over the V2 - it’s
admirable and competent rather than
exciting and lustworthy. The Panigale
twin is perfectly usable unless you need
to tour or carry pillions, and it’s a far more
rewarding bike to ride (even on the road)
and own too.
 GUYABUSA

Ready? He was born ready

The world’s favourite petrolhead has set his sights on one thing –
becoming the first human being to crack 300mph in just one mile.
Here’s the deal...
Words John McAvoy | Photography Simon Lee

A
s if it needed spelling out, Guy Martin was all new to me. They were trying to do 400mph and
doesn’t do things by halves, and he never chucked some proper money at it, but the project stalled,
chooses the easy option. He shouldn’t need and even though they’re still making all the right noises,
any introduction, but just in case you’ve nothing is really happening. I loved it; I really did. The
been living under a rock for the last engineering and the way it was evolving, and that no one
decade, Guy has the rarest of rare combinations of having has ever gone that fast. I loved all the unknowns and I was
a highly intelligent and inquisitive brain inside a body with hooked on the idea of going really fast. The thing is I could
a central nervous system that not only gifts him with the never fund something like what they’re aiming for, so I
levels of alertness and reflex most humans can only dream thought I could try and do something within my means
of, but also allows him to operate as The Holy Trinity of and ability.
engineer, test rider and pioneer. He also has an emotional
map that doesn’t register fear in the same way you and I
do. His capacity and patience to learn, understand, apply
and test theories is as extraordinary as his level of focus
and commitment to a task. It is a side to him that is rarely
given the airtime on TV that it probably deserves, but
sitting in the back of his Ford Transit as he shows me
round his latest project, I’m struck by just how fine the line
is between the true genius and utter madness of both Guy
and the Guyabusa (our name for it, not his...)
“I bought it two years ago for £5000 from B&B in
Lincoln,” says Guy. “It’s a 2012 with 22,000 miles on it. It
was a bit tatty, with a few chavvy bits on it, but it didn’t
matter because I bought it for a specific task.
“I was doing the land speed job with Triumph, which
was as much about my feedback and us developing the
bike as the actual riding. I got really addicted to it, and it It’s a low device the Guyabusa. Squat, stiff and fit for purpose

80 PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK | MAY 2020

MAY 2020 | PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK 81
 GUYABUSA
“It’s doing 830bhp on the dyno which is a
fair event, but now I’m figuring out how
to harness it all”
“When I looked into it, I realised no one had ever done
300mph on a sit-on motorbike, which is surprising
because MotoGP bikes are doing 220mph. So I’m trying to
do it in a mile... mainly because I don’t want to go to
Bonneville. Plus there’s a few other boys trying to do the
same thing, and I really want to be the first. I thought
about using a ZZ-R1400, but anyone wanting to go mega
fast like Jack Frost, or the Yanks, use Hayabusas. The
problem with the ZZ-R is its monocoque chassis makes it
really difficult to bolt stuff to like charge coolers, etc.
Hayabusas are a conventional layout.
“Me and my missus took it to Elvington while it was bog
standard to see what it had, and did 183mph. I worked out
that to do 300mph in a mile, I’ve got to average 1.7g
acceleration over the whole distance, which is massive,
and obviously the faster you go the slower it accelerates, so
in a nutshell, to get it from where it was at that point, to
where I need it to be to deliver that sort of acceleration, I
was gonna need a shit load of power. I went to see Jack
Frost and told him what the plan was and got a quote from
him. He’s got 20 years’ experience building these things,
but I wanted to do it with E85 fuel, and he’s got no
experience with that.
“Why E85? I learned a lot about E85 because of my old
Volvo (a 205mph, 1967 Amazon estate – CN) – and that
does a shitload of horsepower, like about 800bhp, from a
2.9 litre engine with 1.6 bar boost, nothing massive, all on
E85. E85 is only rated at 105 octane, and it’s not as
calorifically dense as diesel or even pump fuel, so you
82 PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK | MAY 2020
Why no stubby turbo
outlet? It’d blow the bike off
line flat in sixth...
No sponsors, no telly deal.
Just Guy, the spanners and a
hair-raising goal
wouldn’t usually go for it. But I couldn’t understand why
the Swedes are all mad on E85 fuel. RON (Research
Octane Number) relates to when it detonates. With the
higher RON fuel, you only really see gains when you start
chucking charge at it because it’s so resistant to knock. E85
might only be 105, but it has an ability to withstand
detonation so you struggle to get it to knock which
contradicts its relatively low RON. It’s 85% ethanol and
15% unleaded, so only 15% comes from crude, and you
only need the 15% unleaded in it so it starts. They tried
pushing it to keep the CO2 down and save the planet, but
apparently there isn’t enough land on the planet to grow
enough crops to make enough ethanol for every car, which
is why it never took off. However, the drag racers
discovered that it’s a good fuel, especially with a turbo.
“Back -to-back, you’d run something like this at late-20º,
early-30º ignition advance on normal fuel, but with E85,
you’re back at 60º – that’s how soon you have to light it due
to it being so slow burning. Also, its calorific value is a lot
less which is why you’ve got to put a lot more in; about a
third more. The Suzuki is doing about half a gallon per
mile, she’s really sucking it through. The fuel pump has to
run at a constant 4 bar when this thing’s on song, so it’s got
to be a big old pump. It’ll do three litres of fuel just to
warm it up.
“To keep things simple, and mindful that others are
trying to do 300mph too, Jack Frost built the engine, and I
said I’ll do all the chassis work.
“Chris Meyhew has done the head, the cams are
conventional street cams, the inlet valves are 1mm bigger
and filled with sodium, the exhaust valves are standard,
as are the valve guides and throttle ,but with the top
butterfly taken out. The pistons are low-compression
Wiseco, bore/stroke is standard and so is the crank. Quaife
made the gearbox to the exact same ratios as the standard
gearbox, except the output shaft spline is copied from a
Honda Blackbird; it’s much stronger than a Hayabusa’s.
“The compression ratio is 6.5:1, about half the standard
bike’s, but I have to start it on 24 volts with two batteries in
series. I do have to be mean to it when I fire it up. The
turbo is so big, and so low there’s no gravity to help take
the oil away from it to the sump, so Jack uses the draw
from the engine oil pump at the bottom of the sump. That
means when I start it, I’ve got to rev it like mad to get the
vacuum in the engine oil pump to draw the oil out of the
turbo. I hate doing that. Most boys run one pipe through
the wastegate and the other down the side, but Jack
Sucking half a gallon of E85 per mile
merges the main pipe and the wastegate pipe together.
“The two really key components are the turbo, and the
ECU. The turbo is a liquid-cooled Garrett GTX42 rated at
1000bhp with CNC-machined Inconel impellers which is
quite trick, but the main reason it makes so much power is
the ignition. It’s a Syvecs system from Life Racing, which is
part of AER (Advance Engine Research). They do a lot in
the car world at the sharp end of things like Le Mans, and
things like that Nissan Delta car that ran out of Garage 56
one year. All the innovation is happening in the car world,
and Jack is looking at it a lot, trying to bring some of it
across to bikes.
“This is doing so much power because of the control the
unit has, actually it’s not really the control because a
Marelli or Motec system will give you the same control, it’s
just that this thing is doing a lot of its stuff closed loop. I
can set the parameters it operates at, and it uses a knock
sensor to work to a target boost, and it will use a
percentage of knock that you define. For example, three
knock events per kilometre is about where you want to be
for optimum. More than that and you’re asking for trouble.
I give it a limit to work to, and it will map to that along
with wastegate control and ignition advance; it’s all active.
It is using all the information to manage itself live within
the parameters I give it.
“It’s making 830bhp on the dyno which is a fair event.
But I can’t really take credit for the engine work, I’ve been
led by Jack, but now I’m figuring out how to try and
harness it all. Speaking of which, I’ve fitted a sprocket
brace for the output shaft that stops it twisting in the
frame; without it, you just couldn’t do it. Your bike isn’t
making horsepower until it needs one of them, although
it’s actually the torque that does the damage. Obviously, it Bracing on swingarm is far
also has a lock up clutch. from a cosmetic nicety
“It’s got a slick in the back, Öhlins shock and a slightly
shorter wheelbase for better traction. It’s 605mm from
swingarm pivot to spindle which is 10mm shorter than
stock. James Wood at JWR sorted the suspension on it.
The challenge at the front end is lowering the forks
without reducing the frontal area so much that the charge
cooler and coolant don’t get enough air to keep things
cool. The forks are 40mm shorter so there’s a good bit less
frontal area for good aero, but less area for cooling. It
seems to run OK. They’ve got 13kg/m springs which is
pretty light, but James has revalved them to be stiffer.
There wasn’t any point in getting posh forks for it, I’m only
going in a straight line.
“If you’re too stiff with the rear suspension, it just spins
the tyre, or the tyre collapses. As it is now, I think I’ve got it
in the sweet spot, sort of. You’ve got to try and use the tyre
as suspension too, as well as the shock absorber. Getting
the balance is really important because if it spins or Plumbing is critical on this machine. There’s lots of it
 GUYABUSA

collapses, that’s it, run over. You need to let the suspension
do as much as it can to try and stop the tyre collapsing. My
original plan was to use the standard shock but with a
more progressive link. I’ve got the software to draw it, but
I couldn’t machine it, so I went to Harris who said before I
went down that road to just try a different shock. It’s got
an 8.5kg spring with the standard ratio, so it’s still quite
progressive, and not massively stiff.
“It’s a standard swingarm but with a top brace and
adjuster blocks to have the option to go 20mm further
back, Harris did that. Jack recommended it and Jack’s the
fastest man in England so that’s good enough for me. I
need to do what he’s doing then move it on from there.
“I’ve reduced the steering lock purely because of the
amount of clearance, and I’ve stuck with the standard
wheels too. A lot of the boys go for carbon wheels, Jack
uses carbon wheels, but I just think that because I’m going
in a straight line, a lighter wheel isn’t really gonna help me.
The limiting factor will always be the tyre to the tarmac,
not the weight of the wheel. In theory, a lighter wheel has
less mass to rotate, so would get my acceleration done
sooner but it doesn’t alter the fact that the limiting factor
with this much power is the tyre to the tarmac. If
anything, heavier wheels would probably help keep the
thing more stable.
“The tyre is another thing. The suppliers have been
brilliant with suggestions about pressures and
temperatures, but always saying they can’t officially help
me. There are others who are helping me with stuff but
want to stay ‘unofficial’ because they don’t know what’s
gonna happen. I think that’s great. They want to help me
Garrett GTX42 blower is liquid-cooled. And rated for 1000bhp
and be part of it, but don’t want anything officially to do
with it. It means I must be doing something right if they’re
scared of what might happen.
“Bill Warner was the guy that I used as the example. I
always loved what he was doing, he was the world’s
fastest. He did 311mph in 1.5 miles unofficially, then the
following day he tried to do 300 in a mile; it was all he
wanted to do, but he ran off the track and died. These
things are so sensitive at that speed that a wind speed of
even just 1m/s is too risky. He was a real experienced
bloke, but the bottom line is no one knows for sure what
their components will do at 300mph.
“I’m trying to be as methodical and patient as possible
with the testing by building up to 300mph in stages,
learning new things every time I go faster. When I got the
bike from Jack, it did 257.5mph on the first run, so it’s up Machined yoke is simply to at the initial launch. First gear feels like top gear. Usually
ditch the stock handlebar
to me to figure out how to get from there to 300mph. plate and tuck the tubes in
you try to get out of first and into second to stop the
“I tried a drag-spec chain, and after one run, I was sure more: note master cylinder urgency and get driving like on the Martek, but with this
it had stretched, but it hadn’t, in fact it was pulling the inboard of the fork clamp it’s not like that. You can really feel it come onto the turbo.
wheel forward because the standard Suzuki wheel spacers In first gear it’s like Brrrrrrrrwaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiii, then into
weren’t up to it, so I made my own with a top hat that second. At the other end of the mile, when you lift your
make it captive in the sprocket. It’s all learning. head it nearly rips you off the bike, you’ve got to just roll
“Then there’s tyre temperature. The problem is when Rubber gets a proper out of it, get rid of 100mph, then start braking. Even with
you go to Elvington, you park up at the pits at the end of workout at 300mph. the aero, there’s still enough drag that just shutting the
Especially the poor old rear
the mile, then when it’s time for your run, you ride the throttle at those speeds has a big effect on deceleration.
mile down, get in the queue, and go off in intervals, so “I don’t need an official event to do the testing because
trying to keep the tyre at 85 degrees is impossible. I of all the data that the bike logs, and I’ve got the GPS speed
managed to get a private hire at Elvington, and I could sit sensor too. I want to do the 300mph in testing before I go
at the start of the mile with the tyre in a warmer at 85 to an event and do it officially. I don’t want to try and do it
degrees. Having the tyre at the right temperature, meant I officially until I know I can do it.
knocked 2 seconds off my 0-200 time (11 seconds), I didn’t “The datalogger has got more than one hundred
get an outright top speed coz I backed out of it due to a side channels available, but I’m only using about fifty. It’s really
wind. But I read that a Bugatti Veyron will do 0-200 in 15 valuable for learning by looking at how the bike is
seconds, and thought if I’m doing 0-200 in 11 seconds, performing, and at what I’m doing.
then I’m smokin’. “It’s logging exhaust gas temperature, fuel flow, air
“When I set off, I’m not murdering it like in a full on race charge temperature, fuel metering depending on how far
start, but I’m not messing about either. The gearing means it’s going away from the base map, throttle position, GPS
it’s not stupid initially, I mean I’m shifting out of first gear speed, driven speed. You can see the general trend
at 95mph, so it’s not as bad as you might think it should be between GPS speed and wheel speed as the lines separate

84 PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK | MAY 2020

 “A Bugatti Veyron will do 0-200 in 15
seconds. If I’m doing 0-200 in 11
seconds, then I’m smokin’”

Guy’s done the maths, the

engineering, and the build.
Now it’s down to right place,
right time

Looks a sight more

comfortable than those
cigar-type streamliners

the faster I get. That’s the wheel growing with the

centrifugal force spreading the tyre outwards. At 272mph
the bike only thinks it’s going 264mph.
“On the 272mph run, I hit full throttle at the very end
for about a second, after only being at 40% throttle when I
shift into sixth gear. That’s how violent the thing is, I only
managed a maximum of 89% throttle in fifth gear, and all
I can say is that there’s nothing like it – nothing. But while
I’ve done that, I’m the fastest man in the world, so I’m not
being a fanny.
“Air charge temperature is the most important number,
that’s the air going into the motor, it’s at 19 degrees when I
set off, with tap water in it, but I have the option to put ice
in there. I can see it’s finished the run at 24 degrees, but
really that’s not a problem, and if it was a problem, that
would show with me being on the throttle stop wanting
more power, which I’m not. That’s not what’s stopping me
getting to 300mph.
“Horsepower is not a problem, it would be nice to get to
a position where I’m needing more power, but I think
whatever, I’m not gonna need any more to get to 300mph.
“I want to be the first coz that’s forever. Any spare time It’s a slippery old thing.
and spare money is being spent on getting this job done. Big, but slippery
I’ve got to be the first, nowt else.”

MAY 2020 | PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK 85

 Top mods and tips for used metal

Fragile missile
Aprilia’s Tuono V4 is not the most
dependable machine on the planet – but it
bangs out decent numbers and goes round
bends. Find a fixed one – and enjoy
Words: Alan Seeley Photography: Aprilia/Bauer archive

If you have a regular re-empting the inevitable decrepitude of

passenger to haul along, best
the performance bike rider with something
forget the Tuono V4

P just a little more comfortable, sir, has been

part of the Aprilia game plane for nearly as
long as they’ve been doing sportsbikes.
The first Tuono super semi-naked was offered alongside
the vee-twin RSV Mille from 2002 and so when the RSV4
arrived it was closely followed by the 2011 Tuono V4R. As
well as the standard version, a grand extra would bring
even more sportsbike to your flat-barred delight in the
form of an Aprilia Performance Ride Control (APRC)
equipped variant. This was the same electronic rider-aid
package fitted to the superbike. It allowed the rider to
fiddle with eight stages of traction, three stages of wheelie
and three of launch control.
APRC was a useful inducement to tempt potential
purchasers as the V4R was launched into a market sector
with no shortage of top choices, not least from other
European brands such as Ducati, KTM and Triumph.
Purchasers of the standard Tuono V4R weren’t totally
frozen out of the rider-aid game as both bikes were
supplied with three rider-selectable power maps for Sport,
Track and Road, all delivered via ride-by-wire throttle.
The 65° V4 engine was a ‘retuned’ version of the RSV4
lump but even in its reworked state still delivered a

86 PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK | MAY 2020

Show it a turn, tight or sweeping
– and it’s game on
Some engines last longer
than others, but all will need
work eventually
Rear shock linkage
requires annual attention at
the very least
Aprilia can’t seem to build an ugly bike, but they
have trouble making entirely reliable ones
BUYING GUIDE / APRILIA TUONO V4R
It’s always very keen
to perform this sort
of caper
SUSPENSION
Mark Hammond of MH Racing (01249 721001, mhracing.
com) sees the V4R 1000 as being OK depending on what
end you look at it from: “When it comes to Sachs
suspension, their forks tend to perform better than their
shocks. It’s not really worth spending money to rebuild
the stock unit, so look at aftermarket alternatives such as
Nitron and Öhlins. At the front, the forks will probably be
due an overhaul at least and if found lacking a revalve
and new springs will make them more of a match for your
newly re-equipped rear.”
BEST TYRES
Paul Fairclough of SMD Tyres (01942 261111, motorcycle-
tyres.co.uk) selects the top rubber choices for the Aprilia
V4R: “Being at the sportier end of the naked market, the
Pirelli Diablo Rosso III is a favourite. Indeed Pirelli were
the OE fitment. They’re £260 a pair. For something a bit
more sports touring the Michelin Road 5 delivers the
goods at £241 the pair. There are some owners who
favour a 180 rear rather than the recommended 190.”
MAY 2020 | PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK 87
 You can see how the
optional taller screen might
be a handy thing to have

If the lurid ‘Factory’ paint schemes are a

bit too much for you, there are always the
matt black or grey versions

I HAVE ONE, SO DO I...
Stuart Mills
“I ran my 2011 model for
five seasons of hill climb
and sprinting with a bit of
road riding and a few
trackdays thrown in. Only
problem was a throttle
demand sensor that
packed in at Cadwell.”
Michael Dunbar
“Brilliant bike. I travelled
around Europe on mine
without any issues.
Beyond servicing and
tyres all I had to change
was the rear wheel
bearings at around 14k
miles.
“Its Achilles’ heel was its
fuel range. You’d be lucky
to get 80 miles to a tank
unless you were on a
PROBLEMS
AND SOLUTIONS
motorway. I traded it for Griff Woolley of specialists
an 1100 Tuono which is Aprilia Performance (01827
better in every way.” 285500, apworkshops.
co.uk) has a fair old litany of
Steve Davies woes to report on the V4R
“My 2013 V4R snapped a 1000: “There are major
valve at 6000 miles.” top-end issues which occur
in various combinations of
valve guide wear, seat
regression. The only safe
answer is new heads from
Aprilia at £1200 each.
“Then there’s the gearbox;
the dogs round off. Again,
Kevin Edwards the replacement gears from
“What a great bike. An Aprilia are better or there
aftermarket filter, Arrow are aftermarket options
can and a plug-and-play from Nova, and Dave Ward
set-up on the dyno gave in the US. It’s at least £1000
163 and a bit bhp at the in parts although it’s a
back wheel with a 20 cassette gearbox so
brake hike in the mid replacement is easier.
“We’ve had bikes from
2011-2012 that have burned
out generators. Aprilia
improved the stator and
these are available at
£296.76.
range. Much nicer “Camchain tensioners go
everywhere. A gel seat noisy and uprated parts are
insert and an Aprilia £50 and take four to five
accessory screen made it hours to fit.
nicer to ride. A damned “Rear suspension linkages
good bike until I crashed are part of the service
it. I have an 1100 RR now schedule and should be
and done most of the greased every 12,000 miles
same mods to that.” or annually. If this is ignored
they can crack.”
BEST MODS
1 GEARING
As standard the Tuono
V4R 1000 is overgeared.
The solution is as simple
as fitting a 15-tooth
gearbox sprocket in pace
of the stock 16-tooth. A 20
quid fix from Aprilia
Performance. Griff
Woolley says it makes the
bike come alive.
2 RACE ECU
Griff reports that the
engines vary a lot in
character – some have
choppy fuelling, for
example – and tend to
respond to tuning in
different ways. He sells an
Aprilia race ECU for £300.
3 AIR FILTER
Aprilia Performance say
there’s little to be gained
in performance terms
from fitting an aftermarket
filter, but if you want a
reusable one, a K&N is
about 60 quid.
4 EXHAUST
The headers are good but
a few horses and a bit of
noise can be had from an
aftermarket can. Aprilia
Performance supply and
recommend the
carbon-capped Arrow
GP2 titanium end-can at
£449.46.
5 BACK-END
Purely aesthetic this one,
but the tailpiece from an
RSV4 fits, with only a few
small brackets, grommets
and so on. Bellypans can
also be modified to work
on the naked.

88 PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK | MAY 2020

A small machine, but with
plenty of room to move about
BUYING GUIDE / APRILIA TUONO V4R

PARTS PRICES

Air filter............................................................................£10
Oil filter...................................................................... £18.62
Spark plugs........................................ (NGK, each) £10.07
Clutch friction plates ...set (genuine) £182.64, (EBC) £77
Fork seals, pair ........................................................ £56.33
Indicators front, rear ....................................(each) £20.90
CURRENT PRICES:
Headlight, complete unit ......................................£423.66
MINT £6000-£6500 Top cowl (headlight fairing) .......................................£216
GOOD £5250-£6000 decals, screen and ducts are separate items
OK £4750-£5200 Front brake lever.......................................................£77.99
POOR £4000-£4500 Clutch lever ...............................................................£44.18
Recommended oil............................5w/40 fully synthetic
All genuine Aprilia items from Aprilia Performance
(01827 285500, apworkshops.co.uk) except where
class-topping 167bhp. The bottom three gear ratios were indicated
lowered to take maximum possible advantage of the
repositioned torque. The slimline layout of the RSV4
engine meant it occupied little more space than a V-twin, THE SPECS
the 65° vee angle keeping the engine and hence the
wheelbase short. Aprilia V4s are compact in character.
By adopting the practice of integrating the barrels into
the crankcase castings and using a gear between each pair ENGINE
of inlet and exhaust camshafts, the inlets being driven by Liquid-cooled, 16v, dohc, 999cc, V4, fuel injection, 162bhp, 81.1lb.ft
chain, Aprilia saved yet more space. A slipper clutch and CHASSIS
cassette gearbox were just two more items to tick off the Aluminium dual beam frame, 43mm usd forks fully adj., monoshock
must-have spec-list. fully adj., 320mm front discs, 4-piston radial calipers, 220mm rear
The frame combined cast and pressed elements to disc, 2-piston caliper
deliver desired levels of flex and rigidity and Aprilia also
Squat, with a low frontal DIMENSIONS
positioned the RSV4 engine and set the geometry to take
area from the narrow V4. Wheelbase 1435mm, dry weight 179kg, seat height 840mm, fuel
account of the bike being a naked – half a degree to the Distinctive too capacity 17 litress
head angle to give 2.5mm more trail while the wheelbase
grew by 20mm compared to the sportsbike. The
swingarm pivot was 5mm
lower. Brembo brought the
brakes, radial calipers at the
front and Sachs supplied the
suspension front and rear.
In late 2014 the V4R1000 got ABS
and Brembo M432 front calipers. You’ll be relieved to know
the front end will not cause
The electronics were tweaked to you any problems
include rear wheel lift control and a
quickshifter was added. Engine tweaks allowed
Aprilia to claim 3bhp more and a litre and a half
were added to the fuel capacity. The forks were reworked
for a little more refinement.
So stuffed full of power and torque and far from being a
sportsbike with all the best bits lopped off, even though
the hardware was not the top-shelf selections of its racier
stablemate, the V4R Tuono was a tempting prospect,
especially in APRC trim.
However, much was by no means as mechanically
robust as it could have been. In that regard, the later 1100
is the one to go for. Still, a sorted 1000 might still be
worthy of your consideration at the right price.

MAY 2020 | PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK 89

 ZERO SR/S
The ‘normal’ electric bike is getting slightly better: ’leccy-only manufacturer
Zero’s new sports roadster is their best yet (which isn’t saying much)
Words Adam Child | Photography Milagro
O
n the dyno the SR/S makes peak torque
from less than 500rpm, then it’s a flat
curve of 140lb.ft. There are four main
ride modes to control the power: eco,
rain, street, and sport, plus custom
modes. Each mode shifts the power characteristics
along with peak torque. They also modify the level of
traction control intervention and re-gen braking (which
is like conventional engine braking but also re-charges
the battery). If you download the app you can even
change the modes remotely from your phone, while
drinking overpriced coffee.
In eco mode the power is muted, and top speed is
limited to 74mph. There is a obvious step up on power
from eco and rain to street. The Zero is more
comparable to a Suzuki SV650. Flick into the full sports
mode and the SR/S wants to party. There is no lag, no
hesitancy, you’re instantaneously propelled up the road.
Acceleration from 60mph to 80mph took me by surprise
– it’s surprisingly strong. Unlike a petrol bike you don’t
have to kick back a few gears for instant power, it’s
always there, and immensely impressive too. The only
downside of the sports mode is that it rips power from
the battery, which in turn reduces range.
90 PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK | MAY 2020
The electricity you pour in
here won’t last long, but at
least you won’t catch
Covid-19 from a petrol pump
You didn’t expect it to look normal, did you?
You’ll go far (or maybe not)
In the real world after a stable ride, with a very short
blast on the motorway, I travelled 23 miles, used 20%
of the battery’s charge and had a range of 86 miles left.
Further along, using eco and street modes, I had 43
miles done, 58% battery remaining and a 64 mile
range. Finally, after a very brisk ride, motorway, plus
more town work and 70 miles done, I had 26% battery
remaining and 29 miles remaining. Roughly speaking
that’s a 100-mile range, with the rider starting to think
about recharging after 75-80miles of ‘normal’ riding.
However, this could be less in the UK on faster roads,
and also determined by the weight and size of the rider.
A normal 3kw fast charger will have the SR/S back to
full power from empty in 4.5 hours on the standard
bike, and just 2.4 hours on the premium model. But, as
you should have 15-25% battery left, you’re looking at
considerably less time. On a fast charger it will take 1.3
hours for a 95% charge and just one hour on the
premium model. It’s worth noting the last 5% of charge
takes the longest, around 30 minutes as the bike
optimises the battery. Therefore 30-minutes on a fast
charge could see, percentage rise from 30% to 90%.
Although the Zero SR/S is hefty, it handles well, and
 “How far away are you? 101 miles, you say.
Oh, won’t be able to make it. Sorry”

more comparable to a large sporty, fully-fuelled naked

bike. The ride is on the sporty side; which results in a
sturdy ride. It also has a 180-section rear and traction
control, where earlier Zeros had a 140, and no rider
aids. With instant torque, they were good for a highside
with far less provocation than you’d think…
The firm ride is fine for smooth French roads but I’d
prefer it to be plusher, especially on bumpy B-roads.
However, the flip side is the way it controls the weight
of the bike, particularly in fast corners and when you
apply the strong brakes.
There is no hiding the fact the ‘top-spec’ Zero SR/S is
pricey at £19,590 for the base model or £21,590 for the
premium model, which includes a 6kw rapid charger,
heated grips, and aluminium bar ends, oddly. But, let’s
not forget the monetary savings on purchasing an
electric bike. A cable to plug it in to a UK power outlet is
an additional £445, despite most Zero customers using
Motor output/swinger configured in coaxial fashion, so
this as their main, if not sole, charging option. there’s no drive force reactions created
Buy and run an SV650 at list price for three years,
covering 5000 miles a year, assuming you’re careful
and achieve 50mpg, and it’ll cost you roughly £23,000,
with petrol at around £1.25/litre. The Zero’s list price is
rapidly offset by the minimal charging/servicing costs
– the same miles amount to a cost of around £21,500,
once you receive the £1500 rebate from the government
for going green. So the long term cost is similar, if not
slightly better than typical middleweights.

Verdict
The range/charging availability issue is still off-putting.
The SR/S is a decent all-rounder, but not if you
regularly expect to go beyond 100 miles.

THE SPECS

ENGINE
Type: electric
Capacity: None
Engine layout: Interior magnet AC motor
Bore x stroke: EV fans do tend to be bores
Battery capacity: 14.4kWh
Range: (combined use, tested) 99-110 miles
Transmission: 211bhp@13,000rpm
Power: 82KW@5000rpm (claimed)
Torque: 140lb-ft @ 500rpm (claimed)
Top speed: 124mph (claimed)

CHASSIS
Frame: Tubular steel trellis
Front suspension: 43mm Showa USD,
fully-adjustable
Rear suspension: Single Showa monoshock,
fully-adjustable
Front brake: 2x320mm disc, J-Juan
radially-mounted four-piston calipers
Rear brake: 240mm disc, J-Juan and single Here’s a pre-lockdown
piston caliper Chad, buzzing around sunny
France, enjoying a electric
DIMENSIONS bike against all odds
Wheelbase: 1450mm
Rake/Trail: 24.5°/94mm
Kerb weight): 229kg (234kg premium model)
Seat height: 787mm

TECHNOLOGY
Lean-sensitive ABS standard traction control

BUYING
Prices: £19,590 From £19,590
(£21,590 premium as tested)

MAY 2020 | PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK 91


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 Another victim smiles
bravely through his
ordeal with Medium G
and The Bard Of Bude
THIS MONTH
94 RESTO SOS
A good old CBR6 Steelie gets the once
over from Gary and Alan as owner Stu
Collins attempts to get his head round
the resto/recommissioning game

98 WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

What actually constitutes a problem?
Under the current conditions it could be
argued that motorcycle-related issues
are not really problems. But a problem is
a problem is a problem. Is it not?

100 PROJECT ZX990 TURBO

32
The Medium One is hard at it offering up
myriad turbo parts to the GSX-R1000

PA GEE SL lump in the ZX-7R chassis. Progress is

being made. Hail to the G
TIA
ESS N
OF HOP
WORKSOM 94 106 360º GARAGE
WISD It’s an unassuming garage way out South
West – but it’s nothing short of a full-on
machine shop inside

112 2-TTOP ENDS

Combustion chamber volume and squish
clearance are critical to the health and
prosperity of your two-stroke engine

116 ON OUR BENCH

Alan finds his Morini under a pile of old
tyres and checks the valve gear, MG
nices-up the FZ750 forks, John McAvoy
completes his annual inspection of RGV
bits, Chris prepares his 996 for a long
lay-off, and Damo, yes Damian Smith,

BUY IT. FIX IT. actually gets his hands dirty on the
RSV-R – by mistake.

130 PROJECT HUNTER

OR DON’T BUY IT. THEN YOU WON’T The commendably sensible Gary Hurd
HAVE TO FIX IT. IT’S YOUR DECISION applies his hard-won wisdom to this
precarious world of potential pitfalls

112 116

124

Practical Sportsbikes 93
 Stu has been sponsored
by Timotei since
he was 17

“IF YOU GUYS CAN TELL ME

WHAT I SHOULD LOOK AT AND
THE ORDER TO DO THINGS IN,
I PROMISE I’LL ONLY CALL YOU
WHEN I GET REALLY STUCK”

94 Practical Sportsbikes

YOUR STALLED
PROJECTS RESTARTED
BY PS’s EXPERTS
If you’re going to dive into the bike recommissioning
game, Honda’s fine old CBR600F is as good a place to
start as any. And you’ll have a capable, dependable bike
to enjoy at the end. So the theory goes
Words: Alan Seeley | Pictures:Stuart Collins
esto SOS was looking a
little uncertain this month
with non-essential travel
and social contact being
off the menu. Fortunately
the solution was right on our doorstep – or
outside on the driveway in the interests
of social distancing. Stuart Collins has
long been part of our cohort of freelance
Above: Mingin’ air-cleaner element like
something from a chippy’s fryer vent
Right: Alan confirms the screen is indeed
a tinted aftermarket item. They’d be lost
without him, they really would
photographers although his own riding
career began just five years ago.
Perhaps Stu’s been spending too
much time around the PS sphere of bad
influence lately; he rang us to say he’d
acquired a 1996 Honda CBR600FT on
which to cut his mechanical teeth. His
regular ride is another Honda, a 2006 650
Transalp, a well-used specimen troubled by
RESTO SOS
1996 Honda CBR600F-T
Working on a Honda means latex gloves for Gary
mechanical gremlins on an all-too regular
basis for a self-employed snapper.
“Fixing the Transalp isn’t fun because
I’m always in a hurry to get it sorted when
it goes wrong because I want to use it
for work,” says Stu. “It’s more a chore
than anything else as the bike wasn’t
looked after before it came to me and it’s
even more frustrating because I’m not
an experienced or confident mechanic.
So I figured that if I got a project to
recommission I could take my time, learn
and hone my skills in the process. If you
guys can tell me what I should look at and
the order to do things in, I promise I’ll only
call you when I’m really stuck.”
It’s a worthy plan and the CBR600 is an
excellent choice for Stu’s purposes. There
are plenty of new and used spares to be
had, build quality is decent plus he’ll have
a brilliant bike at the end of it.
The bike he’s bagged came with a
replacement used fuel tank, the original
having rotted out during five years of
storage prior to Stu buying it. The previous
owner had got the Honda running on an
auxiliary fuel tank so Stu could hear the
engine but it was predictably rough and
uneven: filth in the jets, no doubt.
Gary lifts the lid on the airbox to reveal
a particle-blackened filter. “There’s the
first thing for your shopping list, Stu,” says
Gary. “But there’s no rush because you’ll
be taking the airbox off to remove the
carbs for a proper strip and clean. While
you’re that far in it will be easy enough
to remove the rocker cover and check the
valve clearances. The odometer is showing
nearly 32k and by that sort of mileage it
should be coming up for its third valve
clearance inspection. If it’s had any of
those, I’ll bet it’s had one of them at most
and the first of them at that. Obviously
Practical Sportsbikes 95

! Matters requiring urgent attention
1 Strip down and clean out carbs – they’re probably full
of debris from the old tank.
2 Repair or replace fuel pump. A repair kit is around £20.
Simple and well worth a go.
3 Check valve clearances while the airbox is off the bike.
4 Clean and grease all the chassis bearings.
5 Fit new brake pads front and rear.
Gary takes enormous
trouble matching his hair
colour to his track pants
96 Practical Sportsbikes
Gary and Stu are uncomfortable
this close to Alan. And social
distancing hadn’t even come in yet
there’s a chance they’re within spec – but
why risk it? And you did say you were
keen to learn. Change the plugs while
you’re in there. New oil and coolant are a
no-brainer. Right, what’s next?”
“Oh yeah,” says Stu. “There’s something
up with the fuel pump. The bloke
mentioned that when he was trying to get
it fired up for me – had to gravity feed
it straight to the carbs in the end.” This
revelation brings a smile to Big G’s face,
as it gives him an opportunity to use and
show off his new favourite tool, a Snap-
On 12 V DC digital display circuit tester.
Having established that there is voltage to
the unit, he offers the options. “There are
three ways to go here: rebuild with a 20
quid repair kit, pay £200 for a new one or
source a good used one. I happen to know
the Kawasaki ZX-7R uses the same unit
should you need to widen your internet
search for a replacement,” says Gary.
Aware that Stu has endured a couple of
electrical problems on his Transalp, Gary
suggest he gets some contact cleaner (we
favour Servisol Super 10) and open up the
block connectors and give them all a right
good clean out. He’ll be needing a new
battery too.
Idly fondling the clutch lever with
a latex-gloved hand as he delivers his
wisdom, Gary notices that its action is a
tad stiff. Inspection of the other controls
reveals all of the levers reluctant to move
smoothly. “That’s the kind of stuff you
always want to sort and hardly anyone
ever does. While the grease pot’s out you
might as well do the rear suspension
linkage and swingarm pivot. The fork legs
will be coming out for fresh oil so that’s
the time to grease the head bearings too,”
suggests Gary. “And don’t forget the sliding
pins on the brake calipers either.”
Gary shows off the positive probe on his posh circuit tester
 RESTO SOS
1996 Honda CBR600F-T

ESTIMATED COSTS & TIME

Task Time Money
Strip and clean carbs 3 hours £10
Repair fuel pump 1 hour £20

DO YOU LOVE
Check valve clearances 3 hours £0
Fit rear brake hose/bleed brakes 1 hours £66

JAPANESE
Fit new brake pads 30 minutes £58.50
New spark plugs 10 minutes £40
New air filter 10 minutes £18
Chain and sprockets
Grease control lever pivots
45 minutes
1 hour
£120
£0 MOTORCYCLES?
The
Clean electrical connectors 1 hour £7.50

VJMC
New battery 10 minutes £40
Refit tank and bodywork 30 minutes £0
New tyres 1 hour £200
MoT 30 minutes £29.65
TOTAL 13 hours 45 minutes £609.65
is the club
Nothing too pricy for Stu to shell out
for yet; the greatest demands will be on for you!!
his time. Still, if he wants more to do,
Only
£30
we’re not quite done yet. He’ll have to
open his wallet too. A new and chain and Club
sprockets wouldn’t go amiss. “Suppose I’ll Benefits: per annum!
need a riveting tool too,” says Stu, “I’m a Local and
little lacking in the workshop equipment National Shows
department.” We suggest he buys special Local section meets
tools as he goes. The best chain tool for and ride outs
our money remains the pricey but Bi-monthly magazine
brilliant Whale.
Machine dating service
Stu also intends to replace
a truly ragtag and incomplete
Discounted bike parts*
selection of spanners and sockets. Chain and sprockets
Technical Data
We tell him to look out for one of are up for renewal. Discounted Insurance*
Halfords regular offers on their
Rear brake weak
and sloppy, still
Free lunchtime parades
Advanced socket and spanner wearing a baggy oe with the CRMC
sets. While he’s in there he might rubber hose And much, much more...
want to pick up a feeler gauge *applies to certain companies
for the valve clearances and
an adjustable C-spanner for
the head bearings. A torque
wrench wouldn’t go amiss
either. The internet will supply a set of
Karl Spenceley
JIS screwdrivers. Stu will have a fighting 1992 Honda FireBlade CBR900RR-N
chance with that lot. “Well, the output shaft seal is here. This isn’t
going in with a hammer that’s for sure and the
The Metzeler Racetec tyres could stand bottom crankcase needs to come off. Engine
replacement. Brake pads are showing their coming out imminently, will keep you posted.”

UPDATES
age and the rear hose is old and baggy,
although the fronts are Goodridge and will
be fine. Some EBC HH pads and a rear
Venhill braided hose will see Stu right in
that department. The discs are all straight
and fit for purpose.
Overall this CBR600 is a decent
prospect. Just enough tasks to keep Stu
interested and deepen his mechanical
experience and understanding. And
A happy Karl (above) and a concerned Medium G with the Seeley
nothing too scary for a self-confessed
novice. Most of the expense is in
consumables and the £600 Stu paid for the GET YOUR BUILD BACK ON TRACK
bike took consideration of that. Get to it, We’re looking for more readers with stalled projects in need of
s-
Stu. You’ve got the makings of a solid old
some expert help and opinion: as well as the benefit of the PS In the shed and at the show
CBR steelie there.
team’s experience. Contact: alan.seeley@pspb.co.uk from commuter to superbike

www.vjmc.com
probl m?
What’s the
e g right? Our experts have
Bike not runnin e toughest questions
th
the answers to
Catch me out
The fuel cap latch
mechanism on my latest
acquisition, a 1993 Triumph
Trophy 1200 is corroded solid.
I took the Allen bolts out before
remembering there are some
under the cap. Then I soaked the
lock in penetrating oil for five
days – still stuck.
Next I bashed the fuel cap and
surround with a rubber mallet in
the hope that any corrosion may
loosen off – it didn’t. After that
I removed the tank from the
bike, undid the petcock and fuel
sender. I sprayed penetrating
“Coz they remind
them of happier
days. Now get on
with your work.”
“Why do all these
people want to
know where their
old bikes are?”
The DVLA
Don’t ask…
Would the DVLA divulge who is the
current owner of bikes that many of the
readership used to own?
There is much talk about this generally as
people, like me, would love to track down the
bikes of their youth. Some people say that
they have had success after contacting DVLA
but I’m very sceptical of this. The application
Alan Seeley
O U R E X P E RT S
Alan (currently
alphabetizing his
records and CDs)
is now on N. He’s
found the right
spots for Nancy Sinatra and
Nazareth, but the New Seekers
are causing problems... N or S?
98 Practical Sportsbikes
Triumph Trophy 1200
oil inside the tank in the general
direction of the latch and left it
for a couple of days – still stuck.
Then I poured some diesel into
the tank and agitated it every Massive filler cap aggro
day for 10 days, and guess what? on a bike that really likes
a drink, natch
Still stuck.
I watched a YouTube video Gary Hurd says: “I feel
where someone used an orbital your pain here, I really do. find a screwdriver or bar to fit
sander less the disc and the Reminds me of the time Al had the slot for the now vacated
vibration dislodged enough open a seized cap on our old VFR barrel. With plenty of WD40
corrosion for the latch to free up. – although once he did the tank and some patient working of the
Tried it – nope. was rotten inside anyway. Even if latch in each direction it should
I’m now out of ideas. I don’t you mullered the top of the cap eventually yield. Now you’ll need
want to force the lock with a to access the other Allen bolts, another barrel or complete cap
screwdriver if I don’t have to as the cap is still latched in the tank assembly. To retain the original
I’d like to retain the original key. filler neck. So you’re going to key you will have to rearrange
Lee Howell, email have to drill the barrel out then and file the lock tumblers to suit.
form says you need ‘reasonable cause’ and
I don’t think that Mr Bloggs will have any
Wibble wobble
success in stating that his reasonable cause In common with many of your readers, it
would appear, I own a Honda VFR750, in
is nostalgia.
my case a 1987 model. I can’t get a socket
Could you put this to bed for your
onto the nuts to remove the rear exhaust
readership once and for all?
downpipes. Did Honda assemble the bike
Andy Davis, email around the rear head? It’s the only viable
possibility. I’ve got a universal ‘knuckle’ drive
Alan Seeley says: “This is a topic that but there just isn’t room for it. Am I an idiot?
editor Chris knows a thing or two about: Mike Fowler, email
‘Previously the DVLA would only do this in
the past given good reason (involved in a hit- Gary Hurd says: “It’s tight around there
and-run or whatever), but now they won’t at alright but it can be done. You’re unlikely to
all for GDPR reasons. You may have noticed get a 1/2in-drive socket and wobble drive in
that logbooks don’t come with the address there. If it’s a squeeze with your 3/8in head
of the last keeper on now either for the same then go down to a 1/4in drive. Put the socket
reason, so it’s not open to the general public in on the nut first, then push in the wobble drive,
any way now. then the extension.”
‘Even access for the police is tightly
controlled – it’s all logged and incorrect use Honda VFR750
is a disciplinary offence. We even know of an
officer who lost his job after looking into a
family member’s old bike.
‘As usual with the web, most of what you’ve
probably read is outdated or guesswork
based in fact: short of trawling owners’ clubs/
groups/sites, there’s not much you can do.
Maybe it’s time for us to add a column to the
mag for lost-and-found.’”
Gary Hurd Ferret Saul Towers Griff Woolley
PS’s celebrity Ferret of If Saul at Yamaha He knows all
magazine owner Ferret’s Custom specialists Flitwick there is to know
has taken up stamp- Electrickery Motorcycles (01525 about Prillers.
collecting while (07765 712197) doesn’t He’d say he
he self-isolates in 832420) knows know what’s wrong didn’t, but he’s
his garage. If anyone has a 4 Yen all there is to know about... yes, with your Yam, then no one will. a modest chap. He runs AP
Suzuki GSX1100EFE first day that’s correct – electrics .Truly, Which is a bit of a problem if Saul Workshops in Tamworth
edition, he’d be happy for a swap. he is the King of Kurrent. gets stuck. Never happens though. (01827 285500).
If you’ve got a problem with your bike, send an email titled ‘What’s the Problem?’ to editorial@pspb.co.uk. Due to Coronavirus, we’re not in the office and therefore
unable to accept postal submission. Save your stamps. If you have any relevant pictures, be sure to send/attach those too to assist our boffins in their enquiries.
 WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

ALWAYS RESERVE ONE Ally bottom yoke makes a swap

drawer in the toolbox for easier than with a steel one
a few cheap and damaged
tools that might need to be
sacrificed in the name of
butchery.

Got it taped
What is the best way to get old duct tape
off your plastic without harming it?
Ray Sanders, PS Facebook Group

Alan Seeley says: “I keep a can of WD40 in

the workshop for two things and two things
only. The first is working off old duct tape and
the white glue residue it leaves behind. Its
supremacy in this is uncontested. It’s brilliant

Yamaha FZR1000
Alan would, as they say, be all
over this with his WD40
EXUP fork up
I need advice on fitting Yamaha YZF-R1
4C8 forks and yokes to an FZR1000
EXUP. The EXUP stem is longer and of a
smaller diameter.
Marc Rees, PS Facebook Group
Saul Towers says: “If your model of
EXUP’s bottom yoke is ally, get the
stem pushed out then bushed to fit the R1
yokes and size the length at the same time.
Aprilia RSV1000R
A decent engineering firm would be all over
it, the key is getting the measurements
right. However a steel bottom yoke is
another matter as the stem is welded in
and its removal rather trickier.
Worst case is having your engineer
make a new stem. The R1 front wheel has
no speedo drive either. You can buy GPS
speedos that are a close size/appearance
match for OE clocks to solve that.”

It’s the economy…

My 2005 Aprilia RSV1000R gets
“And turn right into the disused bus depot...” Accessorise
through the fuel. I use it for commuting, a I fitted one of those
30-mile urban trip, and fast weekend blasts. new-fangled sat-navs to my
The reserve light flashes on at 80 miles and bike. I was pleased with my
the tank is completely drained by 120 miles. efforts, having wired the
That’s something less than 25 miles to the charging harness direct to the
gallon. The bike is on standard cans and set to battery.
map 1 although it did have aftermarket cans
Then my mate told me I should
fitted previously.
have tee’d it into the ignition
I don’t expect a sportsbike to be frugal but
this seems a bit much. circuit so it would be switched
off and on with the bike and also
Kev Lindsey, email fused.
Bryn Deayton, email
Griff Woolley says:
“Hate to say it but 80 Ferret says: “As long as you
miles to the fuel Gen 2 RSVs are don’t mind the sat-nav
very fond of
light coming on isn’t switching on and off with the
petrol. So don’t
actually that far off worry about it key then yes, fine, do what your
what a lot of other guys too much mate says. But the ignition
are getting on a Gen 2 system (or main) fuse will be of
RSV that gets spanked way too high an amperage to
regularly. offer much protection to the
However you can try sat-nav, so I’d recommend going
and improve the situation straight from battery with a
by making sure the plugs dedicated fuse of the correct
are fresh and the air filter rating if there isn’t already a
clean. A CO set up will help fuse in the charging cradle or
fuel economy, throttle sat-nav itself. Just remember to
response and smooth any switch it off if you leave it on the
fuelling flat spots usually bike when it’s parked up.”
found around 4-6000rpm.”

Practical Sportsbikes 99
 It’s March. g/two...
An
it’s Christm d Kid/sweetshop, do
as

100 Practical Sportsbikes

 PROJECT ZX990 Turbo
THE PLAN
To give a ’90s icon, the
ZX-7R, the power and
handling to trounce
a new Kawasaki H2,
PART
with a GSX-R1000
12
motor... and a turbo.

PR OJ ECT

ZX990 TURBO
THE MAIN
EVENT
Our turbo project has been conspicuously missing that
crucial component. No more: a box from Holeshot arrives...
Words/pics: Chris Newbigging

ary’s not had a hand in the ZX-
990 since the grubby days of
the initial stripdown, and given
he’s at least as fascinated by
the idea of a forced induction
bike as I am, it only seemed fair to share the
fun of fitting the Holeshot Racing turbo kit.
That, and there was no space to fit it in at my
house before the office was declared out of
bounds to assist the anti-Coronavirus efforts,
but it’s nice to share anyway…
I’ll admit I was jealous when Gary sent me
pics as he unboxed them: we selected Jack
Frost and Holeshot partly for his workmanship,
which came highly recommended by Guy
Martin, and his experience with two of his
installs. The exhaust/turbo manifold is a
machined stainless wonder, with the four dinky
headers neatly welded to the flowed union.
The modern Garrett GT-28 is a compact little
number, accompanied by the tidy Turbosmart
external wastegate unit.
On the intake side, the plenum is nicely done
too. Nothing smacks of cheap, everything
points toward thought and experience hard
won on drag strips, dynos and roads over many
years. We did the right thing.
It took a while, but Big G eventually stopped
dribbling on it all and set about fitting it.
Straight in with the glamourous end: nice and
easy, as the manifold bolts to the untouched
GSX-R exhaust studs, and there’s nothing at
the front of the block to interfere. A V-band
clamp mounts the Garrett to the manifold,
another the wastegate to manifold, another
two mount the 2-1 wastegate/turbo exhaust.
Further down the line, we want a
conventional side-exit exhaust, so rather than
the familiar slash-cut open pipe, Jack made a
header section to get us started. It runs close
to the sump and will only need the very end
tweaking so it diverts inboard a little to keep
it inside the Kawasaki fairing. There’s plenty of
room where the original collector box would

The whole kit and caboodle does not come short of clamps and whatnots It’s a real shame to have to mount these merged headers behind a radiator

Practical Sportsbikes 101

That lovely plenum
chamber shouldn’t really be
messed with. We’ll cut and
shut the tank to make it fit

And you just know he

wears yellow gloves for
Yamahas, green ones for
Kawasakis...

Big bore (above, and left), while front wheel to

blower interface is just about OK (ish). Maybe

102 Practical Sportsbikes


Turbosmart wastegate
another top quality item
We know the Holeshot stuff fits. No question
And you know it’s even smoother on the inside where gas travels at 10,000,000 metres per second
Now we’ve got to build the ZX-7R around it
PROJECT ZX990 Turbo
“NEXT: THE PLENUM
CHAMBER, THERE’S
NOT ENOUGH ROOM
UNDER THE TANK.
PLENUM VOLUME
ISN’T CRITICAL, BUT
WE’D PREFER TO CUT
THE TANK ABOUT
TO SAVE MESSING
WITH JACK’S PROVEN
DESIGN ANY MORE
THAN WE HAVE TO”
have gone near the suspension linkage.
Then we stood back to admire it. Well, Gary
did – I was already stood well back, banned
from touching his tools, and not just because
I abused his Snap-On ratchet once. Gary’s
rightly taking social distancing seriously, as a
57-year-old asthmatic. Good chap. I just took
pics and offered verbal ‘help’…
The front tyre is very close: another day, we
need to undo the fork caps and let the forks
bottom out to check, but I suspect the tyre
may touch before we use all the travel. As I see
it, there are two options. Easiest (relatively
speaking) is a gull-shaped top yoke – it would
allow us to push the forks down further and
move the wheel’s range of travel away from the
turbo housing.
Option two may require the same, but with
a new bottom yoke too, in order to change
the offset. If we can avoid it, we will – arsing
around with geometry too much isn’t wise.
More research will be required if it comes to
that – we don’t want it to handle like a pig when
it has the power to reach 200mph…
Next: the plenum chamber. Again, it plops
straight on using the supplied silicone inlets,
but offering the tank up confirms what we
thought might be the case, is the case: there’s
not enough room under the tank.
Even with a natty set of QR front tank
mounts (sold by Classic TT winning ZXR750
builder, Alastair Cowan, via eBay), which add a
few mm under the front, only got us marginally
closer to getting it down. We’ll have to cut the
tank and/or plenum. It’s not a huge amount off,
but it’s beyond a love-tap with a mallet to make
sufficient space. There’s plenty of room rear of
the plenum – perhaps we can make up for the
loss with more tank capacity there.
Gary has noted the silicone join tubes and
the plenum spigots have a little excess we
can trim too – every little bit we can gain will
help. Plenum volume isn’t super-critical, but
we’d still prefer not to mess with Jack’s proven
design more than we have to.
Further intake considerations are presented
by the pressurised air-feed from turbo to
plenum. On a GSX-R build, Jack supplies a
ready-made alloy/silicone pipework kit. It runs
up in front of the headers and rad, in to the ram
air duct cut-out in the frame, and to the front of
Practical Sportsbikes 103
PROJECT ZX990 Turbo
“GIVEN THE EXTREME, SUSTAINED G-FORCE
THE ZX-990 WILL EXERT ON EVERYTHING,
WE’RE LIKELY TO SEE SOME OIL SURGE”
the plenum. But the way our engine fits in the
frame, and also the fact that the oval shaped-
ducts are narrower than the GSX-R, the tube
hasn’t a hope in hell of going through them.
So we’ve got the tubes and bends supplied
unwelded. We’ve a lot of room in front of
the cylinder head, behind the headstock and
behind the radiator, so instead we need to
route it up the inside, where there’s a straight
shot into the front of the plenum.
None of which is insurmountable, and there’s
plenty of fettling to be doing in the meantime
(a further box is due when some of the smaller
ancillaries come into stock – the wiring parts,
injectors, fuel pump and so on. But once we’ve
worked out a solution to routing the intake, it’s
going to need welding. Fingers crossed the UK
is in a better place when it gets to that stage,
and we can get jobs done without CV-19 risk.
You’ll also notice there’s another sump
pan. The original oil line fittings aren’t used –
104 Practical Sportsbikes
Lots of Siamesed,
bifurcated beauty here.
Free power too
they’re switched for a set compatible with the
turbo’s oil feeds. When we come to switch it,
we’re going to need to consider baffling it and
possibly modifying the pick-up. The only way to
get the engine in the frame was to tilt it slightly
backwards, compareto how it was intended.
Some of this will be mitigated by raising
the rear ride height to give the Kwak better
steering characteristics (as has long been the
wisdom with the 7R), but given the extreme,
sustained G-force the ZX-990 wil exert on
everything, we’re likely to see some oil surge.
We’ll have to look at that to be sure we’re
always getting lubricating, cooling oil to the
turbo as well as the motor. Although it’s a
ball-bearing turbo, they still like a good soak.
There’s a lot to do to do: at least we all have
some time for now.
Contact:
Holeshot Racing – holeshotracing.online
 PLUS
I S S U E 1 1 6 O N S A L E 1 3 M AY

NEXT
MONTH BIKES OF
THE DECADE:

We rate the best bikes from the decade

that spawned modern motorcycling
(and some of the worst…)

PLUS
Tony Rutter:
1941 - 2020
Unseen archive gems
to celebrate the life of a
British racing legend
Tweak a
Kawasaki ZX-9R
How to make Kawasaki’s
bargain superbike really
fly. It’s got a lot going for it

Shaun Churchill
A West Country lair where
engineering magic happens
Words: Jon Urry | Pictures: Paul Bryant
rom the outside Dorest lad Shaun
Churchill’s garage doesn’t appear
that special. Tucked in a small
village, it overlooks some beautiful
scenery and is a pretty normal double
garage with some rather smart roller-shutter
doors hiding its contents from the outside
world. However once the shutters open, you
spot a remarkable plethora of fairly serious
engineering tools that Shaun uses to keep
himself amused as he fabricates parts for his
many projects.
“I moved here about three years ago with
my partner Sally-Anne and the garage was
in a bit of a state,” Shaun remembers. “The
electrics were all over the place and the
doors had huge gaps under them and were
basically hanging off. I said to Sally-Anne
our priorities were to spend on fencing to
Properly tooled-up – and he knows how to use them
15
16
106 Practical Sportsbikes
6m
contain the dogs and doors for my garage.
Luckily the roof was water-tight, which GARAGE
6m
meant I could move in my heavy tools and DIMENSIONS
bikes, which was a bit of a mission.”
When Shaun says ‘heavy tools’ what he
actually means is a collection of lathes, mills
and other fabrication devices that he uses to “To be honest, I enjoy the fabrication part
entertain himself in his spare time as well as more than the riding or racing,” says Shaun.
build bespoke parts for him various vehicles. “I only trackday the kart now than rather
“Moving everything was a hellish task,” than race it and the GSX-R hasn’t been
Shaun remembers with a shudder. used in anger for a few years as I’m always
Surprisingly for a man who is technically fiddling with upgrading parts whenever I
a Risk Management Consultant (yep, that’s can. I’m still mad about bikes and kind of
health and safety to the rest of us…), Shaun fancy the idea of building a special soon,
isn’t averse to going fast and as well as but it’s time and money – three years in
racing a kart, he takes his highly modified and while the garage is done, I’m still to
GSX-R1000 K6 on trackdays. But it’s the finish working on the house.” Why does that
engineering side that really floats his boat. statement sound so familiar in the pages of
“I was an R&D toolmaker in a beer this magazine…
pump manufacturer in my early days,
which involved a lot of fabrication work
using lathes and mills,” Shaun explains “So
I learnt the old-school engineering ways
from some superb old machinists. It was
an amazing grounding and that has always
been my passion. After the company closed,
I put that training to good work doing
something totally un-health and safety.”
As well as tuning and modifying his kart’s
engine and chassis, Shaun has hand-built
a huge number of bespoke parts for his
Suzuki and even restored a few World War
II generators. Everyone has to have a hobby
outside bikes and he is a self-confessed
massive WW2 geek.
11
 1. Roller-shutters
“These Securoglides
are the only brand
of roller-shutter
I’ve found that
automatically lock
when down, which
gives you an insurance
discount, and they also
have a built-in alarm
and are insulated.
They are British-built
and very well made.
They aren’t cheap at
about £3500 fitted
for the pair but are
worth the investment.”
2. Air line
“This was a middle-
row special at Aldi or
Lidl but is worth the
very small amount
it cost. I run it off a
small compressor
and it even came with
an air regulator and
moisture drain, which
will be handy if I ever
get around to do spray
painting.”
3. Stihl jetwash
“Forget the common
brands, they are crap
compared to a Stihl
item. I know a man
who makes pressure
washers and it all
boils down to the fact
cheap washers use an
electric drill’s motor
and have a plastic
body on the pump. The
Stihl motor weighs
a ton and the pump
4
3
10 5 12
has a bronze body.
Not cheap but worth
every penny and I also
have an excellent Stihl
hoover, which was
surprisingly cheap.”
4. Practice kart
“This was my original
kart that is now more
a test-bed for parts
I’m developing before
I stick them on the
better kart such as
the titanium pistons
I made for its brake
calipers.”
5. Bench grinder
“This is quite
aggressive and I
only really use it for
sharpening lathe
tools, the linisher is far
better for precision
work. It is a fairly
serious grinder in
terms of its power and
Metabo are a good
budget brand.”
6. Soldering station
“I do a bit of cable
jointing and the like
and I always like to do
it properly with heat-
shrink and soldered
Japanese connectors.
Halfords’ pre-
insulated connectors
are just crap.”
7. Ultrasonic cleaner
“These are really
handy bits of kit when
it comes to cleaning
6
out the crap that
accumulates in carbs
over the winter due
to modern fuel with
ethanol. I don’t bother
with proper cleaning
solution, any water-
based solvent does
the job as it’s the heat
and ultrasonic that
does the cleaning.”
8. Cabinets
“This cabinet came out
of an office clearance
and was next to that allows me to cut beautiful lathe and it is weigh about 25kg! I
nothing but great aluminium, which is very rare as it is a long renovated it and take it
for storing my tools handy. You can’t cut bed model. I bought to shows where I start
in. Always keep your steel as it isn’t up to it.” it on eBay as a 50th it up and let it run.”
ear out for any office present to myself – it
updates as they are 11. Ammo box wasn’t cheap but is a 15 Bench
a goldmine for handy “I found this on great lathe.” “I built the bench
storage units.” Sailsbury Plain. The myself and have just
army are meant 13. NAFFI sign resurfaced it with
9. Fluids to take everything “This is an original phenolic resin board.
“When you are doing home with them, but WW2 NAFFI sign, Phenolic is super hard
proper engineering this must have been which is the name for and is generally used
jobs you needs lots overlooked and I think the military tuckshop. on horsebox floors. It
of fluids such as it is quite cool.” It is a lovely piece of isn’t cheap, but is very
cutting fluid, red memorabilia and I hard and easy to find.
rubber grease, bearing 12. Myford lathe believe is from RAF I have a green cutting
grease, thread lock “This model of lathe Wimborne, which is board on the bench as
etc. I tend to buy nearly broke Myford where the gliders flew it is ‘self-healing’ and
quality brands to be on as it was a loss-leader. from for the Pegasus good for working on.”
the safe side. As karts In the 1980s they Bridge battle in 1944.”
rattle themselves decided to move from 16. Non-precision junk
to pieces I use a lot the home DIY market 14. WW2 generator “I keep all non-precision
of thread lock on to a more high-end “This is a 35cc parts that may be
everything.” product, which was generator that was useful under the bench.
the 280 and 254. dropped from planes I also actually store my
10. Chop saw They over-engineered in WW2. There are torque wrenches under
“Although this was everything and it stories of these being there as I believe an
bought for jobs turned out to be way dropped attached to engineer should know
around the house as more expensive to paratroopers’ legs, by feel how much to
a moving-in gift from build than they could which is amazing torque up a non-safety
my wife, I have a blade sell it for. This is a considering they critical bolt…”
13
9
14
Practical Sportsbikes 107
 WW2 decoy generator
“This is a very rare decoy lighting
generator. In the war it was used
to create the effect of a target
so that the bombers would hit it
and not the proper target – hence
they are very rare. A lot were
blown to bits. I have refurbished
it and it works perfectly and I’ve
also researched all its markings
so I know its history.”
1. Multifix tool
“This is an amazing
tools post for my lathe.
You usually have a
tools post to hold the
tool, which only has
four positions. With
a Multifix you have
40 and that makes
it far more versatile.
Sadly the company
that builds them has
now gone bust and the
patent has expired, so
there are sub-standard
copies around. If you
can find a genuine
Multifix, buy it.”
108 Practical Sportsbikes
Another military relic. He seems to
have a thing about generators
Band saw
“This is far quicker than
trying to cut a metal billet
my hand. I bought it for £20
as it had a duff switch, which
I replaced in ten minutes.
Tools do take up space if
you’re in a small garage
but if you use them enough
they justify the room they
take up.”
5 favourite tools...
From complex to incredibly simple, to the unreservedly sentimental
2. Interapid DTI
“This Dial Test Indicator
is essential for clocking
in. When you put a vice
onto a milling machine
you need to accurately
set it up parallel to the
axis of the machine to
ensure everything you
do is correct and precise.
The DTI allows you to do
this perfectly because
it is incredibly accurate.
You can buy other
brands, but the Interapid
is the best DTI I have
ever used and worth
every single penny.”
Vice
“This was dad’s vice and
I always have a pair of
soft-grips fitted to prevent
marking soft metal with
its serrated jaws. After a
bit of searching around I
discovered some soft grips
which are magnetically-
mounted, which stops
them falling off the vice.”
3. Linisher 4. De-burring tool 5. Dad’s ¼-inch
“I use this linisher all “I made this tool as an socket set
the time to de-burr or engineering apprentice “My father passed
sharpen items. When many years ago and I away when I was about
you are fabricating you still use it nearly every 15-years-old and I still
are always dealing with day. It is so simple, just have his old Snap-on
sharp edges and the a handle and a hook of socket set. He wasn’t
linisher is a great tool metal, but it is such an an engineer as such, he
and far less aggressive essential piece of garage was an auto-electrician
than a standard grinder. equipment and I’d be who built motorhomes,
It is also excellent lost without it. Its swivel but whenever I use it
for putting a radius design means it easily I think of Derek. I did
on a piece of metal deals with angles and lose one socket once
or sharpening worn insides of any cut-outs and I immediately went
screwdrivers, and is my and I just love using it. onto eBay to find an
second linisher as I used Swarf is nasty stuff, exact replacement
the old one so much I especially brass which because I didn’t want it
burnt it out.” gives you bad splinters.” being mismatched.”
 360˚ GARAGE

Titanium pressure plate

“I built this myself from titanium to replace the
standard Suzuki item, which is made from crap
metal and rusts almost instantly. It sits between
the swingarm and wheel spacer on the left-hand
side of the bike and is a pressure plate. It makes
next to no difference to the bike’s performance
and you can’t even see it, but I know it is there…”

New titanium pressure plate (left).

You can’t see it but you know it’s there

Tos lathe Wheel storage rig

“Tos are Czech “I kept tripping over the GSX-R’s wheels, so I got
company who some threaded rod and some hard plastic spacers
make instrument and hung them out of the way from the rafters.”
lathes, which are
highly accurate.
I use this for
very precision
machining
such as thread
cutting.”

Mini-trolley jack
“This was a promotional toy and I ended up
acquiring it. Believe it or not, it is actually quite
collectable and can jack up to 100kg. I just love it.”

Pillar drill
“When I was working as an apprentice this was in
the fitting shop, hence all the damage on its bed
that I’ve filled in with weld. It was destined for
scrap and so I took it home and fixed it.”

Mill
“This is a fairly normal
mill but I fitted a
Chain care kit digital gauge to it
“I have my own way of treating and dressing that measures the X
a bike’s chain. I always wipe it down with a rag and Y axis precisely
soaked in EP90 transmission oil, which pulls and then shows it
off all the dirt but leaves a residue of oil behind, on a digital display. I
and then I use motocross chain lube that lacks made all the brackets
any solvent and propellent. You have to leave it to fit it myself and
overnight but it goes incredibly tacky and is an oil it’s a wonderful piece
rather than wax. Never put it on then ride the bike of equipment for
straight afterwards as it goes everywhere.” precision work.”

Practical Sportsbikes 109

 360˚ GARAGE

THE BIKES

2006 Suzuki GSX-R1000 K6
“I bought this as a mint one-year-old bike after
a scaffolder was forced to sell it as he kept it in
his house, and the health worker took exception
to this when he had his first kid. It is technically
a Phantom model, which basically means it has
grey paint and came with a Yoshimura exhaust
that was branded ‘Yoshimura Suzuki’ and also
different spark plugs. Some say there are
also other changes such as a variation in the
swingarm but I’m not 100% on that.
“I have modified it with Marchesini Genisi
Seven forged-aluminium wheels, which are
seven-spoke, and the last set of K6-specific
Öhlins forks in Europe, which I found in Greece of
all places. These hold Brembo billet calipers and
they grip some very trick Braketech ductile iron
discs, which are cut from solid bar and then heat
and cryogenically treated for ultimate stopping
performance.
“The rearsets are genuine Yoshi items, which
I got from a mate after he had them stripped
to be plated but then were damaged when the
bearings were removed. I just cleaned them up,
fitted new bearings and they are like new. I still
have their box and it has a rather huge number in
yen signifying their price tag when new. I’ve also
added a few of my own-design titanium parts to
them. The rear of the bike has an Öhlins shock,
tail tidy and a dual-exit race Yoshi, which isn’t
the Yoshi that came with the bike. The clutch
cover also has a Gilles shifter-rod support to
reduce the wear on the bearing, which is a great
modification and really improves the bike’s gear
change action as it tightens it right up.
“The rest of the bike has lots of small parts
that I made myself by replicating Suzuki’s parts
but in a higher quality metal such as titanium. A
lot of the rods such as the gear change rod are
now titanium and there are parts that are trick
but only I know about as they are subtle, which
really appeals to me.
“I used to trackday the bike but it is now more a
sunny Sunday ride as I almost enjoy the fiddling
and improving more than the riding.”

Birel kart gasket and a big old 24mm carb.

“This is not a Go-kart, that’s what
you drive on a stag do. There is
some serious tech in a proper kart
and this is a fairly impressive bit
of kit I’ve done lots of work on.
The engine is a Honda GX200
four-stroke pushrod motor that
I have stripped down and tuned
from 5.5bhp to nearly 18bhp
thanks to a billet conrod, some
bloody enormous valves, a billet
flywheel and a skimmed head that
I did myself with a wafer-thin head
It’s now good for over 60mph,
which is bloody fast when your
bum is 25mm from the floor.
The chassis is proper trick with
adjustable geometry and titanium
parts here and there that I built
myself. Oddly enough, the biggest
thing on a kart is to ensure the seat
is set correctly to get weight over
the rear axle. And having a small
head makes a huge difference to
the weight distribution when you
go round a corner.”

If you have a workshop garage or shed that should be on

WANT TO BE IN THE NEXT 360˚ GARAGE? these pages email us at chris.newbigging@pspb.co.uk

110 Practical Sportsbikes

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 HOW TO

W
hen you think of a
two-stroke race bike

MEASURE A people often think of high

wear and attrition of
mechanical parts – and to

2-T TOP END

a certain extent this is true. Add melted or
holed pistons, seizures and so on. All of
which can and do happen – mostly through
poor set-up.
The technical specification in setting up
Cylinder head volumes and squish clearance are the top end on any highly-tuned two-stroke
critical to making your stroker sing the right tune engine has to be spot-on. There is no room
for guesswork, it has to be measured exactly.
Words and pictures: Bruce Dunn My recently acquired 1995 Honda RS250
won’t be turning a wheel without the engine
being stripped and fitted with all fresh
consumables and service, etc. Measuring-up
Concentrate hard and all the top end is the most critical: you can
will be well. Don’t wander apply this inspection and maintenance to
off and lose your thread any two-stroke you want the best from.
I will be running the bike on Avgas and
this dictates a precise head volume, accurate
squish clearance and bang-on ignition
timing. If the previous owner ran the bike
on more exotic race fuel, with a high lead
content and super high octane, it’s most
likely that the heads were specced-up with
tighter volumes to combust the fuel’s extra
potential. So if I tried to run it on Avgas it
would without question cause problems,
such as pre-ignition or detonation resulting
in buggered pistons and heads, along with
wasted time and money at the circuit.
One of the problems with my RS250 is
that it came with 10 different cylinder
heads. This instantly rang alarm bells as it’s
obvious the previous owners have
experimented with different spec heads,
which is all very well, but I don’t know if
any of these heads run the fuel I want to
run. To make things worse, each head has
nonsensical numbers and figures scribed on
it, which of course are only meaningful to
whoever did it. To me, it just looks like
graffiti. Another point is that the previous
owner might not have measured the specs
correctly anyway, so it’s even more sketchy.
I’ve been around 250GP bikes like the
RS250s and TZ250s for decades, so I pretty
much know where I need to be with the
specification required for the various fuels.
But I never assume anything.
There are three things to measure to get
the existing spec of the top end: piston
height, squish thickness, and head volume.
First; the piston height, or deck height as it’s
sometimes called. This is the height of the
piston at TDC in relation to the top of the
cylinder. This is expressed in three ways:
‘Neutral’ this means that it’s flush or level
with the cylinder, ‘positive’ or + , this means
it protrudes above the top of the cylinder,
and ‘negative’ or - , is below the level of the
top of the cylinder. This measurement can
be changed by different thicknesses of base
gasket. But when changed via this method
the port timing is also altered, so it’s vital to
 HOW TO SORT 2-T TOP ENDS

know the optimum height for port timing.

The squish is the measurement where the There is absolutely no
piston is closest to the squish band – the point in having something
like this unless it’s cock-on
outside of the piston crown where the fuel
mixture starts to compress and is forced
towards the sparkplug as the piston
approaches the top of its stroke. At this
point (top dead centre, TDC) it’s very close.
So much so that it is super-critical for it to be
correct, an error here will cause the piston
to hit the head. A typical clearance for a
250cc twin (or 125cc road racer) will be
around 0.65mm to 0.70mm.
Head volume is the amount of space
inside the head when the piston is at TDC.
With the piston in this position the fuel/air
mixture is squeezed tight inside the head
and then ignited. This volume inside the
head can vary depending on what type of
fuel you are using. An unleaded fuel will
require nearly 20% more volume than a
high-octane leaded race fuel.
It is likely that old cylinders have been
replated a time or two. But one of the things
done in this process is that the top of the
cylinder is skimmed, this changes the piston
deck height and therefore the squish and
volume of the head.
If you have had cylinders replated recently
and are unsure whether the top of the
cylinder has been skimmed, measure the
depth of the O-ring groove with a vernier.
The depth of the groove should be 0.3mm
(Honda RS250/RS125) smaller than the 02 High-end tools are nothing
thickness of the O-ring. Or you could to be scared of, it’s the
reference the difference between the black latex glove you want
replated cylinder and a standard one. to worry about

MEASURING
DECK HEIGHT

01

Step 01: Clean mating surfaces
The first thing to do is make sure the cylinder
base and crankcase mating surfaces are clean.
Clean away any remaining gasket material on
both the cylinder and the crankcases. The
1995 RS250 retains optimal port timing with
a 0.5mm base gasket. So I’ll be using this as a
start point to measure the deck height. Fit the
cylinder to the cases with a piston in and
torque the bolts down to the correct value.
Step 02: Do it perfectly accurately – or don’t bother doing it at all
Measuring the piston/deck height needs to be done accurately, so I use a proper tool. VHM sell a
cracking bit of kit that does it perfectly with absolute precision (£115)
Ideally you’d be measuring the piston height with a new piston. If for some reason you are using an
old one, make sure you clean off any carbon deposits as this will affect the measurement.
The first thing to do is set the dial gauge to ‘0’ on a flat plate, then put it on top of the cylinder.
Slowly turn the crank so the piston rises and reads ‘0’. This value is the top of the piston level with
the cylinder top. Carry on turning very slowly until the needle on the gauge stops and starts to go
back down. Find the peak value and this will be the amount of distance that the piston protrudes
through the cylinder. My domed Honda piston is + 2.1mm protruding out of the cylinder.

Practical Sportsbikes 113

2-T TOPS

03
MEASURING
SQUISH
Step 03: Solder does the job
You can measure the squish a couple of
different ways: the most common way is to do
it using solder. You are measuring the distance
between the outer crown of the piston and the
extremities of the combustion chamber.
For my Honda I’ll need the clearance to be no
less than 0.65mm and no more than 0.70mm.
As I know the desired squish value I will use an
appropriately sized length of solder, roughly
0.9mm thick.
Place the length of solder on top of the piston
left to right where the gudgeon pin runs.
Ideally use a new piston, or gently clean the
old one back to metal. Put a kink in the middle
of the solder to stop it rolling to one side.

Step 04: Squash gives you squish

Put the cylinder head back on and torque it up 04 05
to spec. Then gently turn the engine over by
the flywheel, you should feel the solder offer a
bit of resistance as it gets squashed against
the head, when it’s gone over TDC, it should
free off. Take the head off and the ends of the
solder should have been squashed at the
outer edges. Measure with a micrometer. This
value will be the squish. At 0.67mm I’m OK.
Make a note of what it is and repeat on the
other cylinder/s.

06
MEASURING
HEAD VOLUME

Step 5: Grease seals the deal

Use a dial gauge to set the piston to TDC,
and then with the gauge still fitted carefully
remove the cylinder and head together. Take
the piston off the conrod and then push the
piston into the cylinder until it reaches TDC
on the gauge. Now take the head off
carefully without moving the piston. Apply a
thin film of grease around the outside of the
piston to seal the gap between it and the
cylinder wall.
Step 6: Top or bottom – check
Use a burette or pipette that can accurately
dispense a mixture of two-stroke pre-mix
through the spark plug hole. The scale needs
to be in cubic centimetres, at least down to
tenths. Open the tap to allow a steady
stream of fluid to fill the chamber. Check
with manufacturer/tuner if head is to be
filled to bottom or top of spark plug thread.
IT’S ALL IN THE HEAD
I measured all the heads my RS250 came
with – and the only ones with the correct
spec were in poor condition. The way
forward from this was quite
straightforward: I ordered a set of two-piece
VHM heads with the spec I required. The
really cool thing is that if I want to run a
different fuel or try an alternative set-up I
can order new interchangeable combustion
chambers form VHM.
07

Step 7: Flush with success

Fill the plug hole so the fluid level is flush
with the top of the last thread where the
spark plug seats (on VHM heads). Check the
level and work out from the starting point on
the scale what the total volume is.

114 Practical Sportsbikes

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*As of February 2019. For full Ts & Cs go to https://quotes.mcncompare.com/bike/Terms-Conditions.aspx
**Source: https://www.reviews.co.uk/company-reviews/store/mcn-compare
 Alan revisits his Morini, MG sorts
FZ forks, John McAvoy jumps back
into his RGV, Chris shakes down his
996, and Damo finally gets an
MoT for his Priller RSV-R
Alan Seeley
1975 Morini 31/2 Sport
Comedy... it’s all about timing
After a (too) long sabbatical, Alan returns to the Morini’s top end. Now... where was he?
tep away from a project for more
than a week and if you’re anything
like me, you’ll struggle to remember
where you were at with it. I can’t even
remember the last time I laid a spanner on the
Morini so it’s almost like having a new project.
Somewhere at the back of my mind there are
vague concerns about cam timing and valve
gear. Luckily there are a couple of Morini
experts in my orbit and both of them will
prove invaluable.
Before getting too far into any of it I have
to refit the front cylinder head, removed
in order to effect a repair to the thread for
the inlet stub – a recollection that stirs the
memory banks if only a little. As I go to do so I
can’t help but notice that one of the pushrods
is bent. I also can’t understand how I failed
to spot this last time I fitted it. In placing
them side-by-side, I also notice that one is
116 Practical Sportsbikes
Bath-time for Chris’s Showas
longer than the other. Many levels of wrong. by dismantling the too-long rods and turning
Referring to the manual reminds me that the down their aluminium shafts to bring them
front pair should be shorter (both 180mm) within spec. Indeed the parts book reveals the
than the rear pair (181.5mm). Suspecting three component parts of each individual rod
that I’ve simply mixed them up despite were at one time available as spares.
marking them when I rebuilt the engine, I By now, with more questions than answers,
pull the rears out to find that they too are of it’s time to call Benjy Straw of Straw Auto
different lengths and one is bent. So someone
else mixed them up during a previous rebuild
and I compounded their error by not checking.
No worries – I have a another set from a
Kanguro engine bought cheap for spares.
However these aren’t all exactly straight
either and the steel rule reveals them all to
be longer than the ones specified for my
early Sport engine. I do what everyone does
these days and hit the internet in search of
good replacements. The asking prices for
the few available make me wonder if I might
instead make good with what I have, perhaps Bent pushrod? Hell, just straighten it in a vice

Screw and locknut valve clearance adjustment could not be simpler – once rocker sideplay is adjusted
Cambelt way before Ducati Pantahs got them
Correct cambelt tension is 6mm deflection
Moto Electrico (07771 554570). Benjy’s
Morini knowledge is unsurpassed; some will
remember the days when he traded under
the Wee Vee banner. Benjy says that while it
was undoubtedly possible to dismantle the
pushrods he had never felt the need to do so.
“If the run-out is a millimetre or less, you’ll
be fine,” he advises. “See if you can carefully
straighten yours in a vice before getting into
dismantling and modifying the others.”
While I’ve got him on the line, I ask Benjy
Rocker sideplay as important as valve clearance
Alan Seeley in ‘correct use of special tool’ shock
Belt is a common or garden 124 L 075 (£5)
about the business of cam timing. I’d had to
destroy the engine’s previous crank cambelt
pulley to remove it during the rebuild. The
pulleys have seven possible slots for the
crank Woodruff key. These slots are at
irregular spacings and you need to use the
correct one for your engine. I’d just kind of
stuck the replacement on there at a position
where the cambelt slid fairly easily onto the
pulleys so knew I’d have to check the cam
timing at some point, a process the manual
says demands measuring valve lift.
Benjy offers an easier way and one that has
never let him down. “The correct slot is the
one where a pulley tooth’s right-side edge
perfectly bisects the key as you slide it on,”
he says. This is the stuff you don’t find in the
manual. Benjy’s final advice to me concerns
cambelt tension. He tells me to take up the
slack on the left run and check that deflection
on the right is less than 6mm.
Back at the workshop I cut off the old belt
Good old Brewin – he
and use the special puller really
to remove the
does know
crank pulley. Obviously it’s been on the wrong
what he’s doing
PROJECT BIKES
I’D STUCK THE
REPLACEMENT ON
THERE AT A POSITION
WHERE THE CAMBELT
SLID FAIRLY EASILY
ONTO THE PULLEYS SO I
KNEW I’D HAVE TO
CHECK THE CAM TIMING
AT SOME POINT
slot and I try all seven just to be satisfied
I’ve got the right one. There’s a dimple on the
pulley that lines up with the timing mark on
the crankcase when I’m in the right slot. This
should have been a clue but of course is not
infallible, correct though it is this time.
Morini graded cambelts A, B or C to allow for
manufacturing tolerances of their engines.
The cam pulley on mine is marked ‘B’. The
belts are of a generic type (124 L 075) used
in all kinds of machinery. Graded belts cost
around £30 from specialists, while ungraded
from an industrial supplier is a fiver. I buy a
Continental one from RS Online and it fits
fine at the right tension.
My other expert is colleague and former
Morini racer – yes, Morini racer – Mark
Graham. With the errant pushrods cajoled
and tweaked sufficiently straight in the vice
the rocker arms and trunnions can go back
on. Mark is conversant with the process for
setting the side play of the rocker arms. This
involves slackening the trunnions and gently
drifting the rocker arm spindle until there is
0.15mm side clearance for each rocker.
I then set the tappet clearances and feel
that maybe the Morini project is finally back
on track. Supposing I haven’t forgotten what
I’m meant to be doing by the time I get to it.
Magnet on a bendy stick
How long: 10 years
Cost: £6
Contact: halfords.com (and other)
EVEN THE MOST manually adept among us are
not exempt from moments of fumbling foolery.
This thing has proved indispensable on more than
one occasion when small items of high ferrous
content have been inadvertently dropped into
otherwise inaccessible areas. Got my elderly
neighbour’s house keys out of a drain one time
too [He means his own – CN].
Practical Sportsbikes 117

Mark Graham
1990 Yamaha FZ750
Obstinate forks conquered
Life is full of little trials – it’s what makes it such fun. And here we are... winning again
low and steady wins the race. It’s
not race to get the FZ finished and
ready for riding – just as well. The
braided clutch hose from Venhill turned out to
be 11-inches too long, so that had to go back
to get shortened. Paul at Reece Motorsport
is still doing the fancy new cooling hoses, so
it seemed like a good idea to give the forks a
new lease of death.
Having hoisted the Yam from the garage
ceiling joists via some old Kawasaki fork
stanchions and a couple of tie-downs, it
all came apart easily enough with the only
horrors some dreadful overspray when
someone decided to tart up the fairing
brackets without removing, or even masking
off, the fork legs. Honestly…
So, with a fresh pair of Sifam seals and a
tin of 10W Putoline it’s off to see the Seeley
so I can borrow his seal driver, and use Pete’s
jumbo parts washer to nice-up the internals.
Problem one is getting the damper securing
118 Practical Sportsbikes
Rafters in a garage are an
absolute blessing. Front
stand? See ya later
bolts out of the bottoms. Not only are they
in tight enough to defeat the wind gun, but
one has been bodged in with an oversize
copper washer from a brake banjo which has
deformed and galled the alloy seat. After
much cursing and blinding it comes out after
a good bashing with (of all things) an old crash
bung stem inserted down the slider.
The internals, for what must have been
aeons judging by the rancid odour of what
little fork oil emerged, scrub up nicely. And
although the bushes show signs of wear,
they’re still good to go. The stanchions have
the beginnings of pitting toward to the top
of the working surfaces, but nothing drastic
enough to require a rechrome or replacement.
Dressing the high spots with an oil stone
removes any burrs that might give the new
seals too hard a time.
When it comes to refitting the damper rods
and springs we run into some bother. The
nylon bush at the bottom of the damper rod Old fork oil is disgusting, worse than old gear oil
 PROJECT BIKES

DAFT AS THIS
MIGHT SOUND... ALWAYS
PUT THE FORK LEG AS
LOW AS IT WILL GO IN
THE VICE (WITH SOFT
ALLOY JAWS). THAT WAY
YOU CAN GET YOUR
SHOULDER AND WEIGHT
OVER THE SPRING TO
ENGAGE THE THREAD

Fancy dual rate springs, close windings go at the top (we actually remembered to check. Yeah, amazing)

keeps insisting on falling off just as we drop

the assembly into the slider. This prevents
the spring from compressing enough top bet
the fork caps back on. We eventually work out
that dropping the slider onto the stanchion
instead of vice versa will solve this. D’oh!
The seal circlips and dust caps are in decent
nick, so after drifting the new seals in square
with the 39mm slide knocker, it’s time to
ping in the circlips and then the dust seals.
408cc of fork oil in each, then on with the fork
caps after setting the preload adjusters to
minimum for an easier life. Daft as this might
Be sure to scrape the gunge from all recesses MG not qualified to use seal basher. O’Dell job
sound… always put the fork leg as low as it
will go in the vice (with alloy soft jaws). That
way you can get your shoulder and weight
over the spring to make sure the cap has the
best chance of engaging the fine thread in the
stanchion. After a bit more sweat, the tops
are on and the forks are good to go.
When the new radiator hoses appear, it’s
time to throw it all back together and then
attack the back end. A YSS shock will replace
the tired original, Afam sprockets (std.
gearing) and a DID O-ring chain will take care
of the rest. Now where did I put the carbs?
Bush (centre) has seen some work, more to do Use a bit of plastic to ease seal onto stanchion

Faithfull (sic) torch 9

How long: one month 10
Cost: £24.37
Contact: faithfulltools.com
Having lost my old camping gas blow torch
somewhere (if I knew where it wouldn’t be
lost), I had to jump in and get a replacement.
This is thinner and easier to use than the old
one – and it has the
luxury of push-button
ignition where the old
job needed a lighter
or matches. Flame
adjustment is much
more predictable too.
The old one would
jump from nothing
to full bore if the gas
canister was less than
a quarter full. And... the packshot: all wrong. Castrol/Putoline? Save the best bit until last. All tickety-boo now

Practical Sportsbikes 119

There’s a cloth in the case to
catch the circlip. Promise
John McAvoy
1992 Suzuki RGV250
Welcome to the new ice age
If you enjoy watching paint dry you’ll be most excited by Project Glacier’s progress
it by bit, piece by piece, and true
to form, Project Glacier has taken
another nudge in the right direction
towards, well... technically being finished.
Of course the finish line is still so far in the
distance, it’s out of sight, so the whole project
has to be broken down into small victories
and milestones. Otherwise, I’d be struggling
to keep some momentum going.
Now entering its seventh year and
having been nothing but trouble since the
beginning, I’m just one last beating of my
credit card away from having in my garage,
a fully restored chassis hosting a fully
restored engine. So now for my excuses... A
combination of having to spend the first year
of the project just selling the bits that were
120 Practical Sportsbikes
described as 1991 vintage and sourcing bits
that were 1992 proved arduous. Selling bits
that weren’t even RGV, to then source and buy
bits that actually were was surprisingly hard
too. For me at least.
Once I had all the right bits to make a start,
the chassis came together relatively simply
to where it is now. Far from complete, but
blasted, painted or powdercoated, and with
new bearings, it all now supports itself and
rolls from one side of the garage to the other.
It doesn’t sounds like much, but from where it
all started, it was a big moment. It still doesn’t
have brakes, a shock absorber and other
essentials but a rolling chassis it kinda is.
Then I decided to bite the bullet and take
a look at the engine which at the time of Slowly (very, very slowly) attacking the clutch

Newbigging selected the best clutch basket and hub from JMac’s spares. A new centre bush went in too
Suzuki Vintage Parts scheme delivers pistons
purchase I was assured had just had the
bottom end rebuilt. Needless to say this also
turned out to be pure fiction. So about three
years ago, I took the decision to commit to
getting the engine sorted and to not even
look at any other part of the project.
Cases were vapour-blasted, three new
pinions went into the gearbox, a full set of
new bearings too. The crank was beyond
rebuilding, so another was sourced, and taken
to SEP in Kegworth to be rebuilt. Various
bushes, washers, spacers, check valves, and
springs all had to be bought to get to the
point where the bottom end was done.
Then I got distracted by writing the Michael
Rutter book which in a way has helped Project
Glacier by allowing a period of recovery for
my credit card, and time to build up funds for
new barrels and pistons.
The ones I found in the bottom of one of the
boxes were scrap, so when I priced up getting
some better secondhand ones and getting
them restored, it wasn’t that much more of a
push to the price tag of brand new ones from
the Suzuki vintage parts scheme.
If he stopped playing with it the job’d be done
New oil check valves ready to be fed fully-synth
He’s got to pick up the pace. Watch this space
PROJECT BIKES
I GOT DISTRACTED
BY WRITING THE
MICHAEL RUTTER BOOK
WHICH ALLOWED A
PERIOD OF RECOVERY
FOR MY CREDIT CARD,
TIME TO BUILD FUNDS
FOR NEW BARRELS AND
PISTONS
At £1500 this was by far the single biggest
purchase, much bigger than even the initial
cost of the bike. But I’m nothing if not
steadfast on my commitment that having
decided to get involved in the boxes of shite
that I’d bought I was going to do it perfectly.
A trip over to Old Farmer Newbigging to
take advantage of his far superior selection
of tools, specifically his torque wrench and
biscuit barrel, paid off. An hour or so later,
the motor had both new barrels and pistons
fitted. All I need to get now are some studs
for the cylinder heads, and the engine can go
back in the frame, probably for the first time
in well over a decade. Even though the bike
will be miles off being finished, it will feel like
a very big moment.
Once that’s done, I’m going to pick on
some quick (and cheap) wins to focus on the
bike, before I get into things like the power
valves and carbs. It’ll be getting the exhausts
repainted and fitted, connecting up the front
brakes, and if anyone has a nice, cheap rear
shock for it, I’m all ears [What happened to
doing it perfectly? – CN].
The next instalment of Project Glacier
will be a biggie, and will move the whole job
from boxes of rubbish to it being an actual
motorbike, albeit one that’s still a long way
off turning a wheel under its own power. But it
might just might move along at a quicker pace
with the two of biggest and most expensive
parts of the project ticked off.
Venhill VT87 torque spanner
How long: 3 years
8
Cost: £123
10
Contact: venhill.co.uk
The RGV’s barrel nuts fit close to the casting,
so you can’t get a regular torque wrench and
socket on them. This Venhill torque spanner
solves that – the 5-25Nm range is enough for
this sort of fiddly job. There is also a 3/8 ratchet
head, so it can double up as a low-range wrench
for fragile
threads.
Without this
we’d have
had to risk
tightening the
RGV’s barrels
without. Not a
good move.
Practical Sportsbikes 121
There’s little more
rewarding than a
mod well done
Chris Newbigging
2000 Ducati 996
First and last ride (for now)
A quick shakedown for the Duc… just In time to be confined to the home. Oh well
here was no sense getting the
Ducati out until Spring: the 996
thrives on warm tyres, clean and
grippy roads – not cold and salty surfaces.
The time finally came… just as BoJo switched
from brushing off Covid-19 as something
fixable by washing your paws once in a while,
to insisting we all avoid each other. Arse.
But there was a single day before they got
really serious, and locked us down, which was
also fine and dry. Cautiously, I headed out.
Or tried to: as the Ducati began warming
up, a drip of fuel appeared from the bellypan.
The quick release bodywork made diagnosis
simple: the feed to the front injector was
weeping from the end of the hose. Tracing
the hose up to the tank, it seems repeated
removal/refitting had it running tightly
around a coil pack: on top of that, in fitting
one of the new Samco coolant hoses last
month, I think I’d probably strained it while
replacing one directly below the fuel line.
122 Practical Sportsbikes
Easily solved – a bevel screwdriver gave and ride quality is improved too. The springs
me access to loosen the clamp, reroute the might be stiffer, but they allow me to run
hose and then tighten it back up. The hoses correct sag settings with a sensible amount
themselves probably warrant replacement of preload. The suspension response has
soon – they’re not rock solid, but they’re past improved, especially the damping. Although
their best. I didn’t feel the need to touch any adjusters
Still, it got me on the road while the yet – it’s best to let everything ‘settle in’, and
gubbermint was still deliberating on what to besides, I wasn’t giving it serious enough
do. My dad – the previous owner of the bike beans to become critical. Even so, the notably
– joined me. Not on the 1198 he bought to reduced pounding from the shock and forks
replace it, but his Tiger, with heated grips. So
much for tough Glaswegians…
We got around 100 miles in – no more, as
we’d opted not to enjoy the usual luxury of
a café lunch or the like. Just one contactless
fuel-up. But more than enough to feel the
benefit of K-Tech’s suspension refresh work
(stiffer, but linear rate springs, plus a proper
clean and rebuild with fresh oil).
Unsurprisingly, it’s much better. Feel and
steering are much imrpoved, as you might
expect with race-bred expertise on the job, Old Farmer Chris inspects top field grass verge
 PROJECT BIKES

made a difference, in comfort, stability, and

New springs mean
confidence too.
less pounding for the
Farmer’s ’taters I let Dad try it for the first time since he
sold it to me. It doesn’t look much different,
but with fuelling, brakes, suspension and a
few little details like correct tyre fitment
attended to, it’s moved on a lot since he last
rode it in 2018.
“That’s much better – I immediately noticed
it didn’t need the clutch slipped so hard to
pull away because the fuelling and response
is much better. It always needed a handful
before. It feels a bit punchier too – I always
liked it because I tend to ride bikes in the
midrange rather than revving them anyway.
“It handles nicely too, it goes wherever you
put it, but it’s not as harsh as I remember it. It
just works now – I used to find I’d only ride it
when I was really in the mood for it because
it was a bit awkward, but it behaves normally
now. It’s still a hardcore Ducati sportsbike, but
it’s a nicer bike to ride more of the time. The
clip-ons are still killer low though, I don’t miss
that on the 1198.”
He makes a good point: if I’m up for it and
giving it some, the riding position is great –
though any particularly strenuous braking
zones (like Mansfield at Cadwell) do hammer
my wrists. But sensible, or even (sensiblish)
road riding eventually ends in strain. Not
I USED TO FIND I’D enough to chop the bike in, but it does need
ONLY RIDE IT WHEN I addressing, so a set of clip-ons with a rise or

WAS REALLY IN THE

different offset are now on my radar. It should
improve the 996’s accessibility without
MOOD FOR IT BECAUSE sacrificing its performance edge.

IT WAS A BIT AWKWARD, When it’s back on the road, that is: no
time soon, as I write, so it’s now SORNed:
BUT IT BEHAVES as much as I’d like to get out for a thrap, the
NORMALLY NOW. IT’S A ramifications of having a tumble or getting hit

NICER BIKE TO RIDE are more serious than ever – and not just for
me. It’s a luxury, not a necessity: it’s the right
MORE OF THE TIME Senior heads for the nearest apex on the 996 thing to do. So we’re both staying at home.

Two generations of Bevel screwdriver set 5

Farmer Newbigging
admire their tractor In use for: one use 10
Cost: Around £50
Contact: eBay/Google shopping, etc
I don’t remember where I got this, but I’ve never
had the need for it until now: I guess if you did
a lot of work meddling with pilot screws on
inline motors, it might be useful. That’s really
its only use though – it’s too long and flexible
to exert pressure on anything tight. Useful for
adjustments, and OK if you can apply pressure
on the bevel head to keep it in place. But it’s a
fair chunk for a tool with limited applications.

Practical Sportsbikes 123


Damian Smith
2003 Aprilia RSV1000R
Priller good to go
It’d kill him to thank anyone, but Damo’s ready to rumble
he Priller still needs some spanner
throwing, fairing cutting, bracket
making and vigorous polishing to
get her ready for a fresh MoT. After watching
MG and Farmer Chris struggle on their
knees, in the gloom of the PS lock-up, I have
managed to liberate the RSV-R and relocate
it to a more accommodating setting. With the
CV-19 situation worsening by the day and an
impending lockdown looming I vanned the bike
over to the garage of Si Lee (PSPB Snapper)
who just so happens to be quite handy with the
spanners and electrical tape, plus he can make a
decent cup of coffee and is local to me.
The Farmer and MG managed to button-up
the front winkers last month, but as with the
fronts, the rear has a myriad of homebrew
electrical spaghetti spewing from the rear light
into a heavily shrink wrapped loom. The LED
taillight is destined for the bin to be replaced
with a secondhand OEM unit (once the LED
device is cut free due to a seized bolt). The three
wires for the LED rear light needed to be six
for the OEM unit, so we reached for the wire
strippers and shrink-wrap solder joints once
again. Splicing the homebrew wiring with more,
er... homebrew wiring.
Attention then turns to the seat unit, and
rather than invite penetrating sprays and
skinned knuckles, Si goes straight in with the
Dremel to remove yet another mingin’ bolt with
exquisite precision. The OEM unit is bolted on
with new stainless fasteners and is good to go.
124 Practical Sportsbikes
Rear winkers and taillight done, we drop in the
new battery, a lightweight lithium-ion item from
Wemoto. It’s is somewhat shorter than stock
and is supplied with self-adhesive foam risers to
sit in the bottom of your battery box, this works
a treat with one of the 25mm blocks providing
the correct amount of lift. Battery connected,
and all lighting performing as required we are
now one step closer to skids ‘n’ wheelies.
Pipewerx did a great job with the new zorsts,
I didn’t bother taking the bellypan when I took
the bike to them, and slotting the bodywork
back into place revealed a couple of points
that needed to be addressed. First, the right
side of the belly pan fouls the exhaust, so once
again its out with the Dremel. Si marks the
cut line with electrical tape then goes at it to
create a clean cut. It almost looks factory – if
you squint. Hard. The back belly pan section has
no way of attaching without the original pipe
Fancy new battery sits on a big, comfy foam pad
If you’ve got this lot, nothing stands in your way
Not a bad job considering it was Damo and Simon
surround flapping in the wind. What follows is
a temporary fix until Si can manufacture some
aesthetically pleasing aluminum brackets. But
as we are in a pinch, two 55mm Jubilee clips
with a hole drilled in the tail were just the job.
Cheers Halfords.
Two tall skinny Mocaccino Ricettas (with
extra foam) later we delve into a box clearly
marked New ‘n’ Shiny Stuff and pull out some
simply stunning Aprilia Performance rearsets.
These are a fully-adjustable direct replacement
for the OEM units. They also move the rear
mastercylinder from its position on the engine,
Bath-time for Chris’s Showas
to the rearset, which solves the issue of engine
heat degrading the brake fluid
The rearsets that were on it are baggy to say
the least, and the (incorrect) left side footpeg
has been interfacing with the swingarm –
causing damage too. The new ’sets look really
sweet, and feel amazing. The ’pegs have deep
knurling offering your boots proper grip, and the
matt finish looks great too. Looking forward to
getting some miles on these.
Al’s refreshed carbon parts are also bolted
into place with all new stainless fasteners,
and they make the other carbon bits look a bit
shabby: looks like more work coming your way
Mr. Seeley [Do your own work – AS]
Gotta love Priller’s afterburner-style tail lights
 PROJECT BIKES

3x British Champion Kyle Ryde clinched

his 2019 GP2 title with IRC Tyre Warmers

Snazzy new rearsets from AP Workshops (01827 285500)

Digital Controller Scan for video

ADVANCED 12K CARBON FIBRE ELEMENTS

Because of the high-quality of their warmers, IRC have been supplying top
There is one scabby, unsightly item to be teams in MotoGP and WSBK for many years. Manufactured in Italy, these
Automatic RS addressed (no, not MG): the Brembo master feature a digital controller with the most advanced 12K Carbon Fibre heating
wire-stripper cylinder reservoir cap. The bare aluminum is technology, providing 30% higher efficiency than traditional copper wires.
tool furred-up and not looking its best. A blast of
• Adjustable from 40 to 120˚C for Sports Tyres, Race Slicks & Wets
How long: 15 years GT85, some wire brush action followed by
• Durable Carbon Fibre elements which don’t become brittle over time
Scotchbrite – and we’re back in business. • Includes UK & European plugs - perfect for overseas circuits
Cost: £17
I head to Northfields Garage for the MoT, • 2 Year Warranty
Contact: RS components quietly confident. The waiting room has a
This tool became part spattering of magazines, good to see some IRC distributed by HPS Only £289 inc. VAT
of my armoury over PS in the pile too, but I’m too nervous to read.
15 years ago and has Tester Jason pops his head in with a thumbs up. PLUS... PROTECT YOUR WHEELS & DISCS
been a regular source
of enjoyment since.
“Yes Buh” (as they say around here) and we’re in FOR LESS THAN THE
There’s a wonderful
sense of gratification
business. Just in time for lockdown.
PRICE OF A TYRE!
when you squeeze Thanks to HPS HEAVY DUTY
the trigger and it Northfields Garage Stamford, 01780 763066 PADDED WHEEL &
cleanly strips away
the insulation leaving TYRE CARRY BAGS
an undamaged core
behind. This came
from RS Components
and has hardened
steel blades, these
are adjustable to suit
the diameter of the
wire being stripped
0.2mm – 6mm. The
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allow the exact amount Just £129.96 inc. VAT
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01773 831122
...bodywork trimmed, rearsets that work. Heaven
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Practical Sportsbikes 125 • UK
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 Classifieds

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BUYING, FIXING &

RIDING THE BEST
BIKES FROM THE
70s, 80s & 90s

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Practical Sportsbikes 127

 Classifieds
Bikes for sale
HONDA XLV600 1992
Good runner and condition £895
TEL: 07892 479806 DONCASTER

KAWASAKI ZEPHYR 1100

1993
Average condition for year,
needs some TLC, currently on
SORN, starts runs stops as it
should phone after six £2000
TEL: 07857 207793
PETERBOROUGH

Kawasaki ZR-7 2000 W-

reg
30,116 miles £1500 TEL: 01472
280994 STALLINBOROUGH

SUZUKI GSX R750 2008

19973 miles, in fantastic
condition, extremely well looked
after and maintianed, MoT until
mid April 2020, comes with crash
bungs, rear hugger and number
plate £4495 TEL: 01569 543212
WEST YORKSHIRE

SUZUKI GSXR750 WN
1992
20000 miles, non standard
swinging arm, new coils, top
fairing, needs someone to finish,
tank not rusted TEL: 01283
509381 STAFFORDSHIRE

Suzuki, GSXR750W SRAD

2000
V5 present, 26430 miles, BUYING, FIXING &
complete (minus screen + RIDING THE BEST
battery), running, no MOT, black/ BIKES FROM THE
silver, needs work (mainly
cosmetic), injection (appreciating 70s, 80s & 90s
model), need space - call for info
£1000 ONO TEL: 07875300512
HAMPSHIRE

T REX 420CC
Bigbore powervalve motor
Wicked longstroke cranl, Mikuni
VM36mm, Cylinders rebored,
Lomas expansion chambers,
Zeeltronic ignition, Original YPVS
motor included, buyer to arrange
transport and pickup £4000 TEL:
00479 9532052 NORWAY

TRITON T140 BONNEVILLE

1975
5 speed engine, Norton wideline
frame tax and MoT exempt,
good condition, 600 miles, offers
around £9500 TEL: 07966
794250

YAMAHA 600 FZR 1995

SORN in garage for 2 years,
excellent condition throughout,
only done 10000 miles, looks like
brand new, white/purple, MoT'd
for 1 year, nice fairing £1850
ONO TEL: 02072 863344
LONDON

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128 Practical Sportsbikes
 Classifieds

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Autojumble

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HAYNES MANUAL SUZUKI

100cc to 250cc, air cooled trail
bikes 1979 to 1989 £4 TEL:
01162 833055 LEICESTER

MANUALS
Yamaha FZ6 fazer new £10,
Honda VFR 97 01 new £10 TEL:
01432 265726 HEREFORD

MOTORCYCLE CLOTHING
Helmet m £20, jacket m £45,
trousers 32 £15, gloves m £10,
£80 for all TEL: 07949 642830

MOTORCYCLE SPORT
MAGAZINES 1974-2002
Approx 300 TEL: 01213 534646
WEST MIDLANDS

Bikes Wanted
HONDA CB250 K4
REG NBA 493M, do you own this
bike or know who run my old
Honda, bought new in 1973 TEL:
07905 866972 MANCHESTER

HONDA CG125/C90/C70/
C50
Please ring anytime, any other
bike TEL: 02072 863344
LONDON

Practical Sportsbikes 129

 SOLD
F O
£650R

Covid-19 hasn’t yet Too much for a half-broken rarity

collapsed the secondhand
bike market. In fact it’s KTM DUKE 620
thriving maybe because Like to live dangerously? Invest in a 25-year-old supermoto with less than perfect parts
back-up, and modest values for good, running bikes… I think this one is a parts bike
of, and not in spite of, the only – the seller admits he couldn’t find an engine to replace the one that’s knocking,
crisis. Be careful out there... and there’s no brake disc, no exhaust and other bits and pieces aren’t there. A couple
of grand will buy a decent one – by the time you’ve found what’s missing, and sorted it
WE’RE IN TO STRANGE, out, you may as well have bought a good one. I’d wouldn’t have given more than £400.
uncertain times and people
are suddenly finding
themselves out of jobs. It’s Don’t be scared of Prillers. V-twin’s
scary – yet the people lucky are bombproof and they scrub up OK
enough to be well, and
have security, seem to be
occupying themselves buying bikes.
Not all of the bikes I’ve looked at this
month sold during this crisis, but I’ve been
watching lots – there’s still a lot of interest
around project bikes. I guess spending hours
in the shed, if you’re not in a vital role or
suffering, is a good way to keep occupied
and not cause trouble for the NHS. I know
that’s what I’ll be doing. Chris has isolated
the ZX990 with me... and I’ve got my own R
D FO
stuff that needs work if I can still get bits. S OL 0
7
I’ll say this: be bloody careful if you’re
working on stuff. Wear goggles and safety £13
gear. Don’t put the pillar drill through your
hand, or cut your finger off with a grinder.
It ain’t the time to need an ambulance APRILIA RSV1000R
because you’ve cocked-up arsing around on This was cheap, and it’s all there too. I was really surprised it went for so little, even though
bikes. I’ve got mates in the NHS – the poor it’s only the base model. I think bad-running Aprilias scare people more than other bikes, but it
buggers are under massive stress and they shouldn’t be too hard to sort. If you know what you’re doing, that’s a seriously cheap, fast bike
don’t need me or you making a mess of that handles well. It’s a bit crusty up close, but the big bits are OK – it’ll clean up with some graft.
ourselves in the garage.

KAWASAKI
R GPZ750 R1
SOLD FO
£800 Bargain of the month for me, if
it’s even half as good as it looks.
Z1000Js and GPz1100s are big
money, but this looks the same and
cost less than a grand. He’s chosen
nice updated running gear, it’s all
there and tasteful. He reckons the
paint isn’t the tidiest,and it’s a later
Zephyr engine, but that wouldn’t
bother me – what a cheap, cool thing
to knock around on. You can always
play around with an 810 kit and
cams to give it more attitude.

No, it’s not a 1000 or an 11, but it looks bob-on

You’d have to be certifiable to
even think about bidding SUZUKI
GT125 X4
It amazes me what people bid on. I get
why people have X5s, X7s, even X1s to
some extent – but the X4? It’s pig ugly,
UP FOR they weren’t sold here, and this one’s a
£500 rotter. It’s really bad – you’d sink so much
into it, for what? Put the beer down, throw
your keyboard out of the window and think
about what you’re doing.

Might be round again

HONDA NS400R Look hard, read the sell closely, and

this is not a bad deal. It’s still there
At first glance this NS-R
didn’t look great. Iffy track
NO SALE
bodywork might be fitted,
but the original stuff is YAMAHA £2151
there too. No telling what R1-Z
state it’s in, but worth MG and CN were sniffing around this, though
investigation. It’s not neither of them pulled the trigger on it…
registered, but as long as They’re a great little bike – nostalgia value
it’s on NOVA that’s no grief aside, every bit as fun as an LC (if not more),
– it also had a big bore kit in with a distinct, more modern style. The TZR
it. With those fitted, they’ll engine is a cracking lump, and this was about
cream a standard RG500, NO SALE the best specification, too. Looks like a really
and the Honda handles clean import and it’s running: that’s a rolling
properly too. The seller
£4500 project I can’t see being too much grief. I’d
didn’t let it go though. guess the reserve was £2500 – still not bad in
two-stroke terms. A good TDR is double that.

Check out that ‘period’ instrument binnacle. And One of Cagiva’s

note photograph taken next to a skip. Just saying better efforts
SOLD FOR
£5,500

SOLD FOR
CAGIVA £2600
ELEFANT
Shame it’s not a Lucky Explorer, they’re
cooler than cool. These are getting more
collectable – adventure bikes are firmly
HARRIS MAGNUM 1 in fashion, and the best of the pioneer
Special frame bikes are funny things – some go for big money, some for peanuts. Same for models are sought after. No need to fear
Bimotas, too. Yes, they’re rare and trick, but the people who actually want one are rare too. So the 900SS engine, especially at only
they’re very sensitive to what’s up for sale, and the number of people competing for them. 16,000 miles – they’re pretty simple to
I think this one classes as ‘fair’ value: it’s straight with good period bits on it. It only wants a work on, the service bits are cheap, seller
bit of paint, and a few details could be done tidier with modern finishes and fabrication. You reckons all the hard to find Cagiva parts
won’t just order a few bits from the web and get it going. Commitment and love needed. are there too. Looks straightforward.

Practical Sportsbikes 131