The Bikeshite Thread

[Cavcraft]

Local ride out Sunday, met with some bikers for a peaceful demo ride down to the river. Swift ride into town followed, an Italian restaurant owner wanted a photo with some scooters outside. They didn't actually say 'no Chinese copies' though, so that's what I took.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Would have taken the Lambretta, but it's still not fixed.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

1 hour ago, Cavcraft said:

Local ride out Sunday, met with some bikers for a peaceful demo ride down to the river. Swift ride into town followed, an Italian restaurant owner wanted a photo with some scooters outside. They didn't actually say 'no Chinese copies' though, so that's what I took.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Would have taken the Lambretta, but it's still not fixed.

I've lost track. Which Lammy have you got, and what's wrong with it?

[Cavcraft]

5 hours ago, Dick Longbridge said:

I've lost track. Which Lammy have you got, and what's wrong with it?

There's a reason modern automatic scooters are becoming so popular.

Just had new carb (22mm Scootopia), re-bore, new piston etc etc. Pulls a lot better than it ever did (still running it in) but when warm it struggles to tick-over. On the move it's fine, but if holding the throttle steady at (an estimated) say 2,000 revs, it just fluctuates very wildly with clutch in or in neutral. My mate thinks it might be the small (idle?) jet that's blocked. It also once weirdly dumped petrol every where after the rebuild, then refused to start but hasn't done it since.

Good job I love riding it or it'd have been long gone by now.  

[Dick Cheeseburger]

56 minutes ago, Cavcraft said:

There's a reason modern automatic scooters are becoming so popular.

Just had new carb (22mm Scootopia), re-bore, new piston etc etc. Pulls a lot better than it ever did (still running it in) but when warm it struggles to tick-over. On the move it's fine, but if holding the throttle steady at (an estimated) say 2,000 revs, it just fluctuates very wildly with clutch in or in neutral. My mate thinks it might be the small (idle?) jet that's blocked. It also once weirdly dumped petrol every where after the rebuild, then refused to start but hasn't done it since.

Good job I love riding it or it'd have been long gone by now.  

Bugger. My old Imola kitted SX150 with electronic kit was always ultra reliable. I had to have the stator plate rewound at one point but had no issues apart from that. Luck of the draw I suppose?

Don't sell yours though. In theory, it's still better than money in the bank...

[Cavcraft]

10 hours ago, Dick Longbridge said:

Bugger. My old Imola kitted SX150 with electronic kit was always ultra reliable. I had to have the stator plate rewound at one point but had no issues apart from that. Luck of the draw I suppose?

Don't sell yours though. In theory, it's still better than money in the bank...

Thanks, it's had (amongst the above) a new GP lightened fly wheel, clutch, some sort of engine casing welding and more stuff as would like to keep it, and plan to do so. It's gone back in today, specifically went to work in the van so I could drop it off and pick the MBX up, but the latter wasn't ready so they're now both at the garage.

[Jerzy Woking]

Got the Street Triple ITV'd (Spanish MOT) this evening.

Luckily one of the centres is just 10.minutes away. All they do is MOTs. Take you current ITV and Spanish "log book" to the office, pay your €23 fee, and wait your turn. I was the only one there, so i was waved straight on for the bike to be tested. 5 minutes later I had a new ITV, valid for two years.

Bit odd not chatting to the tester like I had done for years in the UK. I missed that.

 

[tobyd]

Replacing the shock on my SV as its getting a bit bumpy and vague. Looks like the original is still fitted and the bolts were pretty unimpressed at trying to be undone.

Only 4 of them to do but they put up a real fight against my lidl impact gun. The final one holding the lever arrangement onto the frame out-lasted the impact gun and needed much additional leverage. All off now though, the bearings are all utterly fucked and will be replaced when the replacement damper arrives tomorrow. Not quite sure how I'll press the new bearings in yet, or get the last one out, but there is a threaded rod plan. Or its all off to a machine shop since I discovered a bench-press is £260...

Rust never fails to disappoint...

Also, WTAF, how comes the Erhandlersersserser (machine mart? screwfix?) impact socket set features multiple deep/regular sockets for several sizes but no 14mm socket at all? There is an 11 (never used in 15 years) but no 14...

[Mike D]

I bought this Beaver Brown Beauty last night - I've been hankering for an old nobber for a while and this is the spit of my first ever field bike, although it is in far nicer condition. I've ordered some XCP rust blocker to give it a good dowsing in, i'd quite like to keep its oily rag patina. It rode the 40 miles home quite happily, I had a right grin on

 

[Jerzy Woking]

Just love the Honda 90, great memories of thrashing them around fields for hours on end.

And despite the 100's and 100's of scooters and small bikes I see here every month, I can't recall seeing a Honda 50/70/90 at all.

 

[Mike D]

The nostalgia is what swayed me to buy it, I've got so many happy memories of tanning the old thing 'down Peaksy' (the old Grimsby to Louth railway) before they ruined it by building a road on it...

 

 

Mike

[Jerzy Woking]

My parents house had the disused railway between Braintree and Dunmow behind it, which we used quite a lot. There or the Sand pits, depending where we kept the bikes we owned as a group of friends.

Now the Flitch Way walk, where motorbikes are banned. 

[Cavcraft]

Suppose it was inevitable, really...

 

The top photograph makes it look like it was collected, but actually the Supreme Leader of Glorious Mopeds (AKA @strangeangel) very kindly delivered it today.

 

Later on went to collect the little Honda and the Lambretta was ready but didn't have enough room to collect that...

 

Actually out of room now, time for a small clear out.

[andyberg]

I see the MBX has the obligatory micron/all speed. Very well done that man, you are indeed a purist 2 stroke gentleman 

[LightBulbFun]

one for the bikeshite people I think?

been trying to figure out what this is, I did not think Tomos's went back to 1929? or just good ol DVLA shenanigans? 

 

 

(as a side note, I have noticed a good amount of pre 1931 vehicles being registered today with the DVLA are motorcycles...)

[martc]

7 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

one for the bikeshite people I think?

been trying to figure out what this is, I did not think Tomos's went back to 1929? or just good ol DVLA shenanigans? 

 

 

(as a side note, I have noticed a amount of pre 1931 vehicles being registered today with the DVLA are motorcycles...)

Looks like a DVLA cock-up. Either the vehicle name is wrong or the year of manufacture is. Tomos started in the mid 50's and went bust last year. Their peak in the UK was in the 80's, so if it is a Tomos the year of manufacture could be 1979 or 1989 (in theory it could also be '59, '69 or '99 assuming the 19 is correct).

I can't think of any motorbike made in the 1920's that had a name similar enough to Tomos for it to be mis-interpreted.

Another strange aspect is the number itself, when numbers where manually issued the 'short' ones were often reserved for motorbikes as space was at a premium - in particular the front mudguard goolie chopper. Of course this was not a rule and some old bikes did have long numbers. In fact I have just googled  ' motorcycle "1929" uk'  and there are three bikes with a BF reg on the first page. Has the DVLA issued a block of BF numbers which weren't used in 1929?

 

 

[LightBulbFun]

interesting, yeah I had a feeling it was a cockup somewhere, I did a little bit of googling and as you say Tomos looks to have started in the 50s, not 1929!

 

BFxxxx is the current age related series issued to vehicles manufactured before 1931, (BF only very briefly  got issued in period as back then BF stood for Bloody fool and people did not want that on their cars!)

I brought it up in my thread, a few days ago as you can see they are nearing the end, and I am wondering what they will issue when they run out, off the top of my head the only 2 letter 4 digit plate series not issued is WCxxxx so we might finally see that issued (although there might be some remote scottish 2 letter 4 number combos that never fully got issued, they have used these in the past but i figured they would have issued them all first before moving onto BF, however I know for example ASxxxx was issued right until December 1964, when suffix plates became mandatory on January 1st 1965, so may have unused numbers still, that would be amusing if it got issued after BF  )

 

but since only 1 pre 1931 age related plate series is currently being issued, you can track all the fresh imports and re-registrations etc via the DVLA checker 

heres another interesting one! Pre 1931 age related plate but Year of manufacture 2011! I suspect, it accidentally got registered as a 2011 motorcycle, but then someone just now in 2020 corrected the mistake and so the bike got issued a new appropriate age related plate, but the rest of the system is yet to update

 

does correctly show up on the MOT checker, with a daytime MOT which is not something you see all that often!

[Dave_Q]

Would guess the trumpet was first registered in 2011, whether that is imported or dragged out of a hedge and put on the computerized system.

Could it have been on a Q and now been put on age related?

Or imported 2011, motd on chassis number, sat since then and now registered without an MOT as not needed.

[LightBulbFun]

24 minutes ago, Dave_Q said:

Would guess the trumpet was first registered in 2011, whether that is imported or dragged out of a hedge and put on the computerized system.

Could it have been on a Q and now been put on age related?

Or imported 2011, motd on chassis number, sat since then and now registered without an MOT as not needed.

yeah its still "fresh" so not showing up on the ol special 3rd party tool just yet, but ill revisit it in a few days and see if I can figure out whats what

(I find vehicles MOT'ed on chassis numbers or foreign reg numbers dont show that MOT on their British registration number, but I have not had a particularly large sample size there)

[martc]

7 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

interesting, yeah I had a feeling it was a cockup somewhere, I did a little bit of googling and as you say Tomos looks to have started in the 50s, not 1929!

BFxxxx is the current age related series issued to vehicles manufactured before 1931, (BF only very briefly  got issued in period as back then BF stood for Bloody fool and people did not want that on their cars!)

I'm kicking myself - I should have spotted the BF reference. I started work in the early 80's and a wonderful old duffer working there was just about to retire; he'd started there in the mid 1930's and he regularly referred to the Senior Management as a 'bunch of BF's'.

It looks like the date maybe correct if BF's are issued for per 1931 it makes sense. I wonder if the DVLA scribe picks the manufacturers name from a drop down box? For bikes I think Tomos would be just above (or even directly above?)Triumph on the list and could have been selected by mistake.

[Psycho Charlie Knobcheese]

On 9/17/2020 at 7:08 PM, Cavcraft said:

Suppose it was inevitable, really...

 

The top photograph makes it look like it was collected, but actually the Supreme Leader of Glorious Mopeds (AKA @strangeangel) very kindly delivered it today.

 

Later on went to collect the little Honda and the Lambretta was ready but didn't have enough room to collect that...

 

Actually out of room now, time for a small clear out.

That looks better than they usually did 30 years ago- What a find.

 

[LightBulbFun]

1 hour ago, martc said:

I'm kicking myself - I should have spotted the BF reference. I started work in the early 80's and a wonderful old duffer working there was just about to retire; he'd started there in the mid 1930's and he regularly referred to the Senior Management as a 'bunch of BF's'.

It looks like the date maybe correct if BF's are issued for per 1931 it makes sense. I wonder if the DVLA scribe picks the manufacturers name from a drop down box? For bikes I think Tomos would be just above (or even directly above?)Triumph on the list and could have been selected by mistake.

thats not a bad theory, I do know that a lot of makes have their own "DTP Make code" which is a unique code for a given vehicle manufacture I think it is something that goes way back to the start of the computerisation, I would not be surprised if vehicle records where stored in codes rather then full words to save space, but im not 100% sure (googling DTP Make code does bring up much sadly!)

I know for example "INVACAR" is ZA, "AC (ELECTRIC)" is Z0 and "TIPPEN DELTA" is Z5, so it obviously goes some way back if they have a dedicated make code for Invacar and Tippen Delta!  (and for those curious all the obscure makes and things with typos etc just get lumped under the code G9)

and I know back in the day when looking up a vehicle on the DVLA checker you had to type it in and it would give you a drop down list chose the make it was

so perhaps they still use a similar system on the back end? (I know the body type of a vehicle is also stored in code "invalid vehicle" is 08 and "Tricycle" is 09 and 02 is "4 Door saloon" for example)

 

perhaps when the V55/5 or whatever reaches their end the clerk first checks if the make written on the form already exists on the DVLA computer already and if it does they chose it from the drop down menu, and if it does not they enter it manually?

 

heres a web archive link to an old version of the DLVA checker, obviously does not work, but you can start typing makes and it will bring up the drop down menu 

http://web.archive.org/web/20140716041918/https://www.vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/

 

and for those curious about past pre 1931 age related plate's issued

 

On 07/09/2020 at 17:16, LightBulbFun said:

I THINK all those have already been used up AFAIK LOL

 EL1000-1500, DS6574+, SL9737+ BS8000+ SV4001+ and BF are all the pre 1931 age related marks  I know of issued or currently being issued

perhaps there are some more small scottish areas that never finished issuing all their original allocation of 2 letter 4 number plates? 

I know for example ASxxxx was issued right to December 1964, but I dont know if they happened to use all of them up or not

(they never issued any AAAxxx plates jumping to AAS-C when in 1965 the Ministry forced everyone onto suffix plates so perhaps after BFxxxx runs out we will see some ASxxxx plates issued? LOL)

 

(wonder if I should have just dragged this whole thing back over to my thread!)

[andyberg]

The ex @UltraWomble CB250 passed her MOT this morning, no advisories. Dead chuffed. She really is all I need in a bike, a definite keeper. The tester said he hadn't seen one in a few years and couldn't believe the mileage on her, 60800 now. Still sounding sweet as a nut. She will be put into winter storage now along side my sons speedfight and my mobylette, out of shot as I am just changing the carburettor for a new dellorto as the 50+ year old Gurtner is well past its best. 

[martc]

18 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

http://web.archive.org/web/20140716041918/https://www.vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/

 

 

Interesting link - if I type in Tom... I get a choice of Tomos or de Tomaso, Tri... gives Triumph, Norton Villiers Triumph and Trigano (one for the cars I didn't know about until recently thread - in fact they are a French caravan and carvanette maker). On the basis of this I think my theory is a dud.

[schonker]

My brother in law passed away on Wednesday,he was only 52 and I'm tasked with sorting some of his stuff out.

He has a Yamaha 125 DT (1984)in his shed, not sure about condition but its supposed to be in pretty good nick.

Are these worth a lot and where do you think its best to sell it?

 

[strangeangel]

On 9/19/2020 at 5:47 PM, schonker said:

My brother in law passed away on Wednesday,he was only 52 and I'm tasked with sorting some of his stuff out.

He has a Yamaha 125 DT (1984)in his shed, not sure about condition but its supposed to be in pretty good nick.

Are these worth a lot and where do you think its best to sell it?

 

 

Sorry for your loss, chap. Like most classic 125s, this bike has significant value - subject to condition, of course. There's a tidy-looking 1984 DT125 on eBay at the moment being offered for £3000. Even if it's a basket case it'll be worth something. Do an advanced search on eBay for sold listings to get a more accurate idea.

 

I would shove it on eBay, personally, but not an auction as they seem to attract far too many throbbers for my liking. I'd stick it on as a classified with best offer and see how that goes.

 

[schonker]

Great,thanks I was thinking ebay.Lets see what it looks like when I pick it up this week

[Cavcraft]

Sorry to hear of your news, Schonker.  Agree with Strangeangel, these are quite sought after bikes now and hopefully you'll get a good price for it.

 

 

 

[Cavcraft]

Right, the Lambretta is back from the garage. Some sort of exhaust thing had loosened itself and caused the problem. Seems ok now (ha!) and a very pleasant maybe 4 mile test ride was enjoyed today. If there's a better mechanical sound than a two stroke with an expansion pipe as it's coming off a bit of throttle, I haven't heard it.

 

Obvs. though, not content with the back lens nearly coming off as one of the screws had worked its way loose and the other was nearly off, today the leg shield rubber trim tried to jump ship.

[Cavcraft]

Log book here for the Derbi, so charged battery ready. 

Takes a few goes to start, then is an absolute bastard once even mildly warmed up. Some v.quick on line research suggests the plug is probably the culprit, and the one in it is not what the recommended one is supposed to be. Think I have a spare BR8ES somewhere, will try that or a 9 and see what it's like.

The back brake is quite shit, but everything else seems to work so might try and get it for an MOT and see what they say.

 

[strangeangel]

18 minutes ago, Cavcraft said:

The back brake is quite shit, but everything else seems to work so might try and get it for an MOT and see what they say.

 

 

I find rear discs a ballache on smaller bikes; the rear brake does so little in reality that it's easy for the caliper to partially seize. The C1 I'm working on now has done exactly this.