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Suzuki GT750 – finished at last Visit the image gallery for pics and step-by-step instructions. View Suzuki GT750 part one View Suzuki GT750: part two View Suzuki GT750: part three Picture one: After finishing off the engine build last month, next I needed to sort out all the wiring. Despite having a complete new loom,…

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Norton Classic and Suzuki RE5 On the face of it, rotary engines are an excellent idea for motorcycles. Relatively compact and light, it’s feasible that they could power small, agile, high performance bikes. And they could be competitive, too. Norton proved their potential with their John Player Special race bikes with astounding success at the…

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Honda Gold Wing GL1000 Back in 1976 Maurice Keen was serving in the Royal Navy based at Portsmouth. He had owned a string of Triumph twins, but was now looking for a bike that would provide the effortless long distance touring capability he needed, and his head was turned by the new 1000cc Honda Gold…

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Yamaha XT500 overhaul Sequential captions and images 1 to 12 are in part one. Picture 13: At the other side, the clutch lifter arm fits into the top of the crankcase and is located with an eccentric bolt and locknut (left) which serves as a clutch adjuster. With the clutch pushrod, lifter and plates all…

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Triumph Trident T150V engine overhaul The Triumph Trident was arguably the world’s first ever superbike. It’s difficult to imagine the impact this 750 triple had on the showrooms when it first appeared back in 1968 but up until then, if you wanted a bike you had a choice of one or two cylinders, and that…

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Triumph Trident T150V engine overhaul In part one I started work on Chris’s Triumph Trident engine which had come to me in a row of cardboard boxes after being stripped by a previous owner in the distant past. Though the major engine parts had already been reconditioned, assembling the pile of bits back into a…

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Yamaha XT500 restoration For step-by-step photos and captions, visit the image gallery. Picture one: Now the real fun can begin. The XT engine is a fairly light and manageable lump compared to some, but I still find it easiest to lay it on its right side and offer the frame up to it. The traditional…

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Suzuki GSX550 Poor old Suzuki. It’s not often that a bike that is technically advanced and a good performer gets sidelined very quickly, especially after it’s had a very positive reception from the press. However, it happened to the Suzuki GSX550. Back in the early 1980s, things were just starting to move in the sports…

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Suzuki TS125L trailbike Suzuki almost invented the concept of the trailbike with their radical TC120 Trail Cat, first imported into the UK in 1970. The bike was light and nimble for both on- and off-road use, and had a dual-purpose gearbox that allowed the rider to select a set of high- or low-ratio gears. The…

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BMW R90/S Every now and again a motorcycle comes along which sets completely new standards of performance, handling or sophistication and which proves to be, in time, a trend setter. The Honda Fireblade, Kawasaki GPZ900R, Kawasaki Z1… and the BMW R90/S. More than 25 years after its launch, most people have forgotten its initial impact.…

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