The magazine for classic Japanese motorcycles

Hello... January 2012

For some this will mean a strip and rebuild to concours levels and for others it will mean the opportunity to graft a set of forks into the bike that were never meant to be there. My project for this winter is to sort the suspension on my RG500. I’ll be stripping and cleaning the forks, and possibly fitting cartridge emulators in a bid to improve the handling.

Speaking of handling, in this issue John Nutting charts the rise of aftermarket frame builders who took Japanese engines and added a splash of racer handling. And our Reader’s Special is a Harris Magnum that’s been tweaked and fettled for 30 years.

Our cover bike this month is Suzuki’s GSX1100E. It’s something of a forgotten model – spanning the gap between the GS and the GSX-R. But it’s certainly the real deal. The engine could be considered the ultimate air-cooled four and it offers huge amount of Eighties air-cooled muscle for very little money.

Enjoy the mag.

Ben Wilkins,
Editor