The Bikeshite Thread

[Hawkeyethenoo]

1972 CB500K Update. New and improved exhaust end can and link pipe. Reused exhaust stay clamp as it is pretty sturdy and does the job fine. Airbox should arrive today so should be able to test-run later and check for leaks.

 

[Hawkeyethenoo]

Running with the help of TopDon booster pack. I think I preferred it noisy!  collector clamp needs tweaking. New old stock left and right points have arrived. Made in Japan, ken! 

[hairnet]

On 27/04/2025 at 16:43, Barry Cade said:

 

 

never liked the rear on these although always wanted an earlier one but clip on always meant no

same reason i dont like the current 660

[myglaren]

 

[Stinkwheel]

Another nice day for it, my mate on his FJ1200 came for a bimble about, I really would recommend motorcycles to anyone and everyone 

 

[andyberg]

17 minutes ago, Stinkwheel said:

 I really would recommend motorcycles to anyone and everyone 

 

This is a given. On a good day not much can beat riding a bike. 

[UltraWomble]

3 hours ago, myglaren said:

 

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/cyclist-injury-lime-bike-shoreditch-tfl-london-bus-b1225450.html#:~:text=A Lime bike rider who,since being posted on Wednesday.

Quote

It appeared the front wheel of the rental e-bike hit a piece of metal panelling protruding from the side of the bus – causing the rider to go over the handlebars at speed, with the heavy bike landing on top of her as she lay on the road.

Complete pro bicyclist bollocks London Standard.

Before:

After

[Bmwdumptruck]

4 hours ago, myglaren said:

 

Bus drivers fault, shouldn’t have stopped in the cyclists way.  He’ll lose his job and probably serve 6 months for nearly killing her. 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🙄

[bangernomics]

So Portugal has decided that road going motocycles/tricycles/ quads no longer need annual inspection (MOT). Seems to be move to get more persons on small two wheelers for environmental reasons.



https://www.olx.pt/carros-motos-e-barcos/motociclos-scooters/?page=3&search[order]=filter_float_price%3Aasc

Just as France brings them in. Bizarre

[catsinthewelder]

Sounds like potentially epic collection threads on the Spanish equivalent of here.

[Hawkeyethenoo]

Generic petcock sprung a leak seemed to be at the bowl, added O ring and rebuilt, no longer leaks but only providing fuel on reserve. New one on order is 20mm x 1.5mm thread. With the quieter exhaust I can hear the engine. Downpipes seemed to be rattling a little, gently tightened studs a wee bit. Away to fit new points; watching a couple of timing lights on eBay ending tonight. 👀

[Hawkeyethenoo]

New points fitted gap set and immediately improved starting & running. Starts first kick! £25 well spent.👍

 

 

[robt100]

One for those of you with multiple carb setups...

Mrs Robt100 purchased the ZX6r that was on here a week or so ago, and has been trying to get it running. First job, take out all the old fuel, take off the carbs and clean the jets. Put them back on, and it'd start and rev, but the revs would hang on the way down. So, carbs out again, a secondary clean (incase any crap from the pipes had been pushed through with the new fuel) and also the needle jet side of things cleaned up (which were quite varnished), new pilot screws set to factory settings, and floats adjusted to what I think its the correct spec (no high point on the float to measure to, so gone for the centre). Ran much better and seems to be improving with every start, but....

It now starts fine with a little choke, but as it warms up it seems to get a little smoky out the exhaust. Revs up and drops back fine without hanging, but will randomly decide to raise to 3k rpm and sit there for 5-30 seconds then drop again. Will also drop right away with a blip of the throttle. Also looks like it may have had fluids topped up whilst on the side stand, as when stood upright the coolant was low and the oil is overfilled a little. Going to drain a bit of the oil to see if that stops the smoking (incase its just being vented through the crankcase breather), but unsure as to what might be doing the random rev. Old pilot screws were at all kinds of settings, should be 2 & 3/4 turns, had anything from 2 to 4 and a bit across the 4 carbs! Wondering if maybe they aren't balanced and one is running away with itself dragging the others to 3k before they take charge again?
At one point it definitely seemed like 1 of the 4 'puffs' per rotation out of the exhaust was stronger than the rest. Sadly I dont have anything like a colourtune or balancing dooberry (or the funds left for buying one) to check that way. So thought id see if the Autoshite hive mind had an idea? Mrs robt100 is very keen to go on a drive, but is concerned at driving something unpredictable like that with little experience. New genuine replacement pilot jets are on order, as one seemed to never become 100% clear, the hole in the end never seemed to go fully 'round' even after 2hrs in carb cleaner, multiple compressed air sprays, and a good heat up with a lighter to melt any remaining varnish, so that may also be the issue. Any tips or physical help welcome!

[hairnet]

must go back

[Cavcraft]

112 miles today. Was going to go to Shrewsbury, down the A49 past Church Stretton and then turn right before Ludlow, then through Knighton and Crossgates before dropping down through Dolfor, into Newtown and home. Not the sunniest or warmest day though, so went past Oswestry, right at Llynclys crossroads and eventually onto Lake Vyrnwy.  Cup of tea and home bought picnic at the cafe, then a slow but amazing route to Bala, through roads that could be in the Highlands. Luckily (narrow, steep and single track) there wasn't much coming the other way.

Had wanted to go to Lake Vyrnwy for years and years, but never made it there. It was well worth the wait though, proper nice place and the roads are made for bikes.

Ali Express wanker radiator guard, headlight grille and bigger screen. The screen extender and some handguards turned into disaster, so sent them back.

[Hawkeyethenoo]

New/old signal lights housing added with authentic wood trim. Didn't come with bulb holders, but think I can fix that with the right size of LEDs...   Old housing still attached the now so I can keep track of the wiring, we have working indicators and main beam lamp and that's about enough for anyone right? 

 

[Barry Cade]

19 hours ago, robt100 said:

One for those of you with multiple carb setups...

Mrs Robt100 purchased the ZX6r that was on here a week or so ago, and has been trying to get it running. First job, take out all the old fuel, take off the carbs and clean the jets. Put them back on, and it'd start and rev, but the revs would hang on the way down. So, carbs out again, a secondary clean (incase any crap from the pipes had been pushed through with the new fuel) and also the needle jet side of things cleaned up (which were quite varnished), new pilot screws set to factory settings, and floats adjusted to what I think its the correct spec (no high point on the float to measure to, so gone for the centre). Ran much better and seems to be improving with every start, but....

It now starts fine with a little choke, but as it warms up it seems to get a little smoky out the exhaust. Revs up and drops back fine without hanging, but will randomly decide to raise to 3k rpm and sit there for 5-30 seconds then drop again. Will also drop right away with a blip of the throttle. Also looks like it may have had fluids topped up whilst on the side stand, as when stood upright the coolant was low and the oil is overfilled a little. Going to drain a bit of the oil to see if that stops the smoking (incase its just being vented through the crankcase breather), but unsure as to what might be doing the random rev. Old pilot screws were at all kinds of settings, should be 2 & 3/4 turns, had anything from 2 to 4 and a bit across the 4 carbs! Wondering if maybe they aren't balanced and one is running away with itself dragging the others to 3k before they take charge again?
At one point it definitely seemed like 1 of the 4 'puffs' per rotation out of the exhaust was stronger than the rest. Sadly I dont have anything like a colourtune or balancing dooberry (or the funds left for buying one) to check that way. So thought id see if the Autoshite hive mind had an idea? Mrs robt100 is very keen to go on a drive, but is concerned at driving something unpredictable like that with little experience. New genuine replacement pilot jets are on order, as one seemed to never become 100% clear, the hole in the end never seemed to go fully 'round' even after 2hrs in carb cleaner, multiple compressed air sprays, and a good heat up with a lighter to melt any remaining varnish, so that may also be the issue. Any tips or physical help welcome!

@RobTAny ripped diaphragms? Check them carefully as these can cause the issues you're having. Also on Kwaks, the middle carbs can be jetted slightly differently to the outers..

[robt100]

3 hours ago, Barry Cade said:

@RobTAny ripped diaphragms? Check them carefully as these can cause the issues you're having. Also on Kwaks, the middle carbs can be jetted slightly differently to the outers..

Had a good look and the diaphragms seem ok, there is a couple of lighter marks (looks like maybe a bit of dust/grit has rubbed against it at some point) but all intact as far as can be seen. Also checked the boots the carbs sit in on the engine inlet and they all seem fine. Jets in the a1p version are the same on innners and outers, and have been checked they are correct. I mean, its a lot better than when it started and wouldnt even rev, and the 2nd time where the revs would hang after a rev. But the diaphragm thing is something I did wonder about given how far it revs up, though at that point its probably still running (just about) on the pilot jets?
Only other thing I can think of, is one of the pilot screws was a long way out vs the rest, I wonder if that carb is out of sync and trying to run a lot higher rpm than the others?

[mat_the_cat]

On 18/04/2025 at 10:50, mat_the_cat said:

(Weirdly it looks better on camera than in real life - the last digit is actually completely unreadable).

Judging from the number for sale with the same problem it seems fairly common at this age. Good to know what finished it off; I will try and avoid too much direct sunlight (shouldn't be too hard around here!)

It will get sorted one way or another - the original clock is a bit more integrated with the dashboard than I expected, with remote adjustment buttons. Which makes it a little more tricky to drop in a different clock module. But perhaps a radio-synchronised clock module would work well. Watch this space!

After being caught out with a "fully working" set of clocks, with a worse LCD than mine, I had an offer accepted on a set which was cosmetically tatty but definitely working. So after an hour or so taking them all apart, I was able to assemble mine using the best bits from all three.

I should now be able to make up a reasonable set to sell (albeit with a partially visible clock display), and retain the spares from the one which came with knackered plastics. Oh, and while it was apart I realised that the clock should actually be illuminated. I'm not used to this level of sophistication on a bike!

[Bren]

MOT'd for another year. I was toying with the idea of selling as middle age and hayabusas are not good bedfellows but I have been watching ebay and nothing is selling unless it is a no reserve auction. So it may be staying.

[hairnet]

1 minute ago, Bren said:

as middle age 

🤣

yeah that

mighta done one 15 years ago but even then............ 😕

[Jerzy Woking]

I'd still like to buy a Hayabusa (even though I'm the wrong side of middle age), but not many decent ones here for sale that I have seen.

On the otherhand, I could drive a van over to Portugal and buy up a load of two stroke mopeds and small capacity two stroke motorbikes. I love some of the bikes Casal made

[Jazoli]

1 hour ago, Jerzy Woking said:

I'd still like to buy a Hayabusa (even though I'm the wrong side of middle age), but not many decent ones here for sale that I have seen.

I really didn't like my Hayabusa (same as Bren's but silver and blue), my ZZR11 was much comfier, the 'busa was insanely quick but cramped with crap brakes and a bit of a barge around the corners but an iconic bike that's for sure and I'm glad I had one.

I really want a ZZR1400 at some point, in green.

 

 

[Rustybullethole]

8 minutes ago, Jazoli said:

I really didn't like my Hayabusa (same as Bren's but silver and blue), my ZZR11 was much comfier, the 'busa was insanely quick but cramped with crap brakes and a bit of a barge around the corners but an iconic bike that's for sure and I'm glad I had one.

I really want a ZZR1400 at some point, in green.

 

 

Followed a 1400 kwaka through New Cross and Deptford today. Struck me how big they are. He was hustling it about pretty well in the heavy traffic but i smoked him on the Himalayan with better line choice at the bottom of Blackheath hill. Fortunately the heavy traffic gave no opportunity for the power advantage to come i to play else id of clearly been left for dead. 

[Barry Cade]

21 hours ago, robt100 said:

Had a good look and the diaphragms seem ok, there is a couple of lighter marks (looks like maybe a bit of dust/grit has rubbed against it at some point) but all intact as far as can be seen. Also checked the boots the carbs sit in on the engine inlet and they all seem fine. Jets in the a1p version are the same on innners and outers, and have been checked they are correct. I mean, its a lot better than when it started and wouldnt even rev, and the 2nd time where the revs would hang after a rev. But the diaphragm thing is something I did wonder about given how far it revs up, though at that point its probably still running (just about) on the pilot jets?
Only other thing I can think of, is one of the pilot screws was a long way out vs the rest, I wonder if that carb is out of sync and trying to run a lot higher rpm than the others?

No binding needles or slides?  Do the slides "flutter" under a light throttle? I'd just set all the screws to 2.5 turns out, and check all the butterflies sit the same  and go from there. Balance doesn't tend to cause the issues you're having. No air leaks from a redundant scottoiler or similar? Or the vaccum pipe to the petrol tap ? No sticking choke levers on the big slide- Kwaks really idle scarily high on choke, 1 could be sticking on..?

But your description really sounds like it was lean before. These should be really crisp and instant on the throttle with no hesitation when cracked open, and drop down instantly when closed. If 1 pilot screw is right out, someone's been trying to richen, so points to an air leak again in that carb..

This was my ZX9R after going through the carbs and rebuilding the gearbox, still on choke so idling high, a bit boggy because airbox wasn't fitted,  and not yet balanced, just set by eye.. 

https://youtube.com/shorts/ia_oNbcy_SQ?si=z7x4cVyXDsjsOAFX

 

And an FZR400RR which would hardly run and wouldn't idle. 1 whole can of seafoam in the tank and 20 mins later it ran like this. I was shocked!

https://youtu.be/pe_UBspHHZ8?si=typ_vVwDJsxRglct

 

[robt100]

3 hours ago, Barry Cade said:

No binding needles or slides?  Do the slides "flutter" under a light throttle? I'd just set all the screws to 2.5 turns out, and check all the butterflies sit the same  and go from there. Balance doesn't tend to cause the issues you're having. No air leaks from a redundant scottoiler or similar? Or the vaccum pipe to the petrol tap ? No sticking choke levers on the big slide- Kwaks really idle scarily high on choke, 1 could be sticking on..?

But your description really sounds like it was lean before. These should be really crisp and instant on the throttle with no hesitation when cracked open, and drop down instantly when closed. If 1 pilot screw is right out, someone's been trying to richen, so points to an air leak again in that carb..

This was my ZX9R after going through the carbs and rebuilding the gearbox, still on choke so idling high, a bit boggy because airbox wasn't fitted,  and not yet balanced, just set by eye.. 

https://youtube.com/shorts/ia_oNbcy_SQ?si=z7x4cVyXDsjsOAFX

 

And an FZR400RR which would hardly run and wouldn't idle. 1 whole can of seafoam in the tank and 20 mins later it ran like this. I was shocked!

https://youtu.be/pe_UBspHHZ8?si=typ_vVwDJsxRglct

 

If I knew what a scottoiler was I could tell you😅
As for vacuum pipe to the petrol tap, is that the tap on the bottom of the tank? If so, no pipes apart from the fuel pipe are on there, and one overflow/vent hose on the tank that dangles down by the rear spring.

As for how the engine runs, it revs nice and responsiely like in the videos you posted and drops back to idle fine... just randomly decides to raise up to 3k rpm for no reason then drop sometimes, or if not, a blip of the throttle will drop it.

Chokes all seemed to move fine, though addmitedly we didn't remove them to clean up as they seemed so free, didn't think fuel got over that way that could gum them up? Needles and slides move fine by hand, they were pretty gummed up before but all been cleaned now. No idea how they react on throttle as I dont have a funnel to feed the fuel with the tank off, Mrs robt100 has usualy rebuilt everything by the time I come back from making a cuppa (she's got pretty fast at stripping the bike down now😄). I shall try and get a video tomorrow or later in the week, might make it obvious as to what is happening.

On a side note, the oil smells quite fuelly, so going to change that. When it came to us it stank of fuel when idling/starting, I think the blocked jets/needles were overflowing the bowl, and that extra rich setting on carb 1 probably didnt help. Hopefully can also do the simple thing we haven't got to yet (as this is probably the first time its ran semi-properly) and thats check the plugs! 😬

[Stinkwheel]

8 hours ago, robt100 said:

If I knew what a scottoiler was I could tell you😅
As for vacuum pipe to the petrol tap, is that the tap on the bottom of the tank? If so, no pipes apart from the fuel pipe are on there, and one overflow/vent hose on the tank that dangles down by the rear spring.

As for how the engine runs, it revs nice and responsiely like in the videos you posted and drops back to idle fine... just randomly decides to raise up to 3k rpm for no reason then drop sometimes, or if not, a blip of the throttle will drop it.

Chokes all seemed to move fine, though addmitedly we didn't remove them to clean up as they seemed so free, didn't think fuel got over that way that could gum them up? Needles and slides move fine by hand, they were pretty gummed up before but all been cleaned now. No idea how they react on throttle as I dont have a funnel to feed the fuel with the tank off, Mrs robt100 has usualy rebuilt everything by the time I come back from making a cuppa (she's got pretty fast at stripping the bike down now😄). I shall try and get a video tomorrow or later in the week, might make it obvious as to what is happening.

On a side note, the oil smells quite fuelly, so going to change that. When it came to us it stank of fuel when idling/starting, I think the blocked jets/needles were overflowing the bowl, and that extra rich setting on carb 1 probably didnt help. Hopefully can also do the simple thing we haven't got to yet (as this is probably the first time its ran semi-properly) and thats check the plugs! 😬

Stinks of fuel when idling might suggest one of the carbs has a sticky float needle valve.

Also wondering if the high revs occasionally is an air leak around the rubbers of inlet stuff

Obviously diagnosis is difficult over the forum but certainly things to check

[Iamgroot]

Has anyone got a cable drive mph Speedo suitable for a 17" front wheel laying about? Fed up with buying aftermarket ones which are shit and I need just a Speedo to fit in the gap for it.

Also a pair of eye to eye rear shocks in the region of 330-340mm hole centres? My hagons (350mm) are too long and too hard.

Want to get some of them last jobs done on the Z750 as I think I might end up selling it.

[catsinthewelder]

@Cavcraft if you're down this way again swing by for a brew.

[Cavcraft]

On 07/05/2025 at 16:18, Iamgroot said:

Has anyone got a cable drive mph Speedo suitable for a 17" front wheel laying about? Fed up with buying aftermarket ones which are shit and I need just a Speedo to fit in the gap for it.

Also a pair of eye to eye rear shocks in the region of 330-340mm hole centres? My hagons (350mm) are too long and too hard.

Want to get some of them last jobs done on the Z750 as I think I might end up selling it.

There's a (very) outside chance I will have some shocks that might suit, as GSX250E ones seem to suggest the same dimension and there was a box of spares that came with my bike.  Failing that, have you tried S&D bike breakers on Bank Top industrial estate at St Martins? I just Googled to see if they are still going and to my surprise, they are. Incidentally, if you get really stuck a digital GPS speedo from a push bike does the job, you just need a power bank to supply the feed.  This sort of things, but obvs. probably something better looking or more flush...

 

9 hours ago, catsinthewelder said:

@Cavcraft if you're down this way again swing by for a brew.

 Thanks, I'd love to do that.