linuxrob

get to the gt550 and gt750 facebook groups. plenty jinfo and sale prices. we have just restored a 750 only major prob was rust in tank.

best thing is prob the n e bikers group on facebook. will try to get to thw wesrgate road reg sat thing next year

good luck and welcome from Rob in Darlington

have you thought of a NON-Acid car wheel cleaner? I use bilt-hamber Autowheel on the car and on the F wheel to remove stubborn brake dust. Bike gets a regular clean first with Bilt Hamber auto foam now called Touchless before a shampoo. The dedicated wheel cleaner is call Bilt hamber Korossol iron and fallout remover (autowheel is a mix or Korosol and their excellent de-greaser Surfex HD, don't use hot ,use and rinse ASAP. My bandit 6 -pots get ph neutral hot soap and water via stiff brushes of all sizes every 1000-1500 miles or so. pistons pumped out as far as i dare and then dried with air line. very small amount of Red Rubber Grease around the pistons before pushing back and they stay free and ALL come out more or less together. i change my fluid every 2 years and pads when only 2/3 worn to stop pistons coming out too far. in 65000 miles i have had zero issues with these brakes, the dust seals get the most muck, some leave them out, not me just keep them clean. pics and a link to my u-tube video of cleaning made in 2021 regards rob B

when i do mine on the bandit, every 50 miles i use 2 feelers and try not to over tighten the lock nuts just snug them down, also those cam cover bolts are soooo easy to strip, good video, this is me doing mine at around 55000 miles, also splashed out on the Suzuki tool instead if pliers, very cheap it is too.

Tomorrow I am off to the Whitby regatta on the 1980 Z500. Will be parking up nr the VJMC N Yorks stand on the green behind Whitby Pavilion. If you`ve not been before just follow the brown tourist signs for Whitby Pavilion. Lots to see and chat about. As usual at this event there will be a concours competition with members and the public voting on best in show. Sunday the VJMC s N york stand will be at Hornsea Bikefest which is held in Hall Garth Park just off the High St in Hornsea that runs from 10-5pm. I can not attend unfortunatly but there will be plenty to see and do.

Getting the 1980 Z500 ready for a 120 mile round trip to Stamford Bridge (Nr York) bike night at the old station Church road. If you are nr and at a loose end between 6pm and 8 pm get along, loads of bikes and good food and chat. Pics later when i get back before of to work. Looking forward to Whitby regatta Saturday's meeting up top. earlier meeting

Please God, no more cafe racers

Took advantage of the good weather and tidied up the rear footrests and side stand on the daily workhorse GS125. rubbed down the side stand, primed and painted, replated the spring and bolt. This made the frame section nr it look out of place so cleaned , rubbed down and painted that. Now the rear footrests were really letting the side down Brackets wire wheeled and painted, other bits cleaned blasted and plated. all in all a nice job, see how they survive this winter. Having to do bits at a time as i use the bike every day. Next the front engine mount.

Modded the Bandit always on low beam using a relay and switch while doing the hl repair/mod. PDF for you. Rob B Bandit headlight repair.pdf

Air gap is the best way, i use a syringe and a tube the right length down the fork and suck out oil till right level.

More info please, make model bike and pipe, any other mods????

About 20 odd years ago at around 69000 miles I fitted a spare set of carbs, which had done around 20000 miles to the Z. I was having an issue where the bike would stumble a bit just off idle and slow speed running. This I found to be the emulsion tubes getting oval due to the needles. The needles were fine but had worn the brass of the emulsion tubes to a point were the hole was slightly oval shaped and causing a rich mixture as the slides started to open. You can see the ovaling more on the 3rd from left which is the worst one. Apparently MK1 1200 Bandits do this too and a repair kit is readily available. The MK2 1200 Bandit I have has done over 61000 miles now and does not seam to have this problem (Yet) They have different carbs to the MK1. These Z500 spare carbs with unworn emulsion tubes have done approximately 11000 miles since then and until last year have worked faultless. I removed the plugs at the end of the riding year 2021 to pop some oil down the bores for winter storage and noticed No3 plug was a lot blacker than the rest, No3 must be either running rich or flooding a bit. The float heights were checked using the clear tubing method and were perfectly in spec, so, investigation was required. My MPG was down to 60 - 65 to the gallon and I put that down to the age of engine parts and the modern E5 fuel. Before the start of the 2022 riding season I removed the carbs and gave them a good inspection. All looked well until I noticed the “O”rings round the base of the emulsion tubes were a bit hard. I ordered some 5mm I.D. X 2mm cross section area Vitron "O" rings from a UK supplier and when fitting them No 3’s tube “O” ring was very hard and snapped on removal. Possibly a combination of ethanol in the fuel and the fact that I drain the carbs and tank fully at the end of the years riding, this draining may not be a good idea as the seals may have dried out too much even though I pop some GT85 in after draining. The other “O” rings of concern are the air screw adjuster’s these are 3mm I.D. X 1.5mm Cross section. They are still very pliable as they are not subject to any fuel. These are the spark plugs after 300miles running with the new “O” rings. The fuel used has been exclusively Shell V-Power E5 and speeds of around 55 – 60 mph on A roads. Air screws are still set to STD. 1 and 1/8th from fully in and ignition timing also STD. The bike is now averaging approx 75 MPG which is only 5 MPG lower than it did 35 years ago with std Unleaded fuel and a lot less miles on the clock. Engine response is excellent and smooth. Next time the Bandit carbs are off I will fit new emulsion tube "O" rings and see what happens.

Have use JT sprockets and iether DID or JT's own chains and have found them good quality and well priced. Use Gear oil exclusively now on all my chains, have a small bottle with gear oil and brake cleaner mixed 75 - 25 to get it thin to penetrate the rollers and keep the seals lubed.

Back protectors too. I would not take a 12K bike on a track day, get a SH SV650 or Triumph 675 and make it track safe (good brakes, good tyres, crash protection) and get a trailer then there is not restriction to circuits. Check out Jammie Whitthams track days. It will cost you a fortune no matter which route you take. All the best Rob