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BSA A7/A10 service notes (pdf) BSA's 500cc parallel twin, the A7, was introduced in September 1946, though the initial design was laid down before 1939. It was a bit of a 'committee' engine — the basic layout is attributed to Val Page, Edward Turner laid hands on it during his time at BSA during the…

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Honda CB250 – you meet the nicest people on a Honda, etc… By 1967 Honda’s, by now almost legendary, CB72 could trace its ancestry back a decade. Although a phenomenal machine, its profit margins are believed to have been low. Honda decided to produce a more conventional, and therefore cost effective, machine that was less…

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Honda CB900F If ever a bike has lived in the shadow of another it’s the Honda CB900F. When the CB900 was launched in 1979 the press, and public alike, had their attention firmly fixed on the headline grabbing six-cylinder CBX1000. 31 years later it’s still the CBX that is the bike most fans of big…

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Give your exhausts an overhaul… There are now no longer any hard and fast rules to decoking two-strokes and the changes in two-stroke oil technology since the 1970s means a one-size-fits-all approach is no longer viable. Before the advent of ester-based synthetic oils it was pretty much guaranteed that the time-honoured caustic soda de-coke method…

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1970 Honda CB750K2 Our bike is a CB750 K1 manufactured in 1970 for the American market and is number 28,208 off the production line that year, with production starting from frame number CB750 – 1044650. The K1 has cosmetic and detail changes from the original model and was the first model to arrive here in…

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Honda CB750 engine, awaiting overhaul Click on the image gallery for step-by-step images and captions. Image captions Picture one: To begin the stripdown I've removed the points cover from the right-hand side of the engine. Unlike later Japanese fours this is a chromed steel pressing. Removal reveals a conventional points set-up with two sets of…

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Honda CB750K2 overhaul’s nearing the end… See the step-by-step instructions in the image gallery. Picture one: Last month I finished off the top end of the engine. Now I'm going to complete the motor before fitting it into the frame. First off, the gear selector mechanism engages into the right hand side of the lower…

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All done… See step-by-step images in the gallery. Image captions Picture one: The original wiring on this bike was in remarkably good condition, and I've had to do only a little cleaning up and retaping before refitting the harness. The major electrical components mount in the usual place to a plate on the left of…

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Yamaha 650 XS1 Our Yamaha engine wasn’t in bad overall condition, as we discovered in part one. A full strip of the engine revealed no major problems, only the front camchain slipper blade being in need of replacement. I’ve had the head and barrels bead blasted and we’ve opted to replace the camchain. So, armed…

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1984 Kawasaki GPZ900R In the development of the motorcycle there have always been radical ideas that have changed the way we see, perceive and ultimately buy our latest motorised bicycle. The universal adoption of the diamond pattern frame in the pioneer days, the move from side to overhead valve, rear suspension, twin then multiple cylinders…

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