Workshop

Suzuki GS750 The motor was in basically sound condition but will be going back together with a new camchain and a couple of second-hand gears to cure the problem Jason had had with it jumping out of gear. The piston rings measured well within factory tolerances so the new valve stem seals I’ve fitted into…

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Harley-Davidson Sportster Harley-Davidson’s Evolution Sportster has become a firm favourite among bikers looking for something a little bit different. Light, compact and torquey the Sportster series combines modern standards of reliability and performance with the traditional feel of a torquey four stroke twin. And it comes with the kudos of the HD tank badge at…

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Seats can be rejuventated with a new cover At some point when owning an old bike or during a restoration it’s likely that the seat will need re-covering. There are several well known companies that offer an excellent service and I’ve used at least a couple for my various projects. However, I like to do…

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Honda C77 motorcycle restoration (pdf) Rebuilds often stall at the farming out stage. Parts disappear into the ether, worthy professionals are often busy stretching time estimates and many of us move goal posts which irritates the service providers slowing the job down. With the C77, all welding, brazing, machining, assembly and wiring were tasks for…

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Norton gearbox overhaul The late Norton gearbox must be one of the best-known units ever made, although it was in fact an AMC design. Introduced on Norton, AJS and Matchless bikes in the 1956/57 season it was used on the former's products from then until production ceased with the Commando. Internal ratios are not identical…

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Harley-Davidson Dyna Glide Unlike the smaller Sportster series, the Harley big twins are essentially a pre-unit design with entirely separate engine, gearbox and primary drive. In that respect the layout of the power plant will be familiar to anyone who has worked on British bikes of the 1950s. However, Harley-Davidson do use top quality materials…

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Yamaha 650 XS1 Despite the ravages of time the engine proved fairly straightforward to dismantle and I can now turn my attention to examining the internals to see what parts need attention before the rebuild. For step-by-step images of the overhaul, see the image gallery The second part of the rebuild is subscriber only. Please…

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Wheel building I have always farmed out wheel re-spoking to a specialist, and since discovering the talents of Paul Jackson (01422 378100) many years ago, have always been more than happy to keep turning up at his workshop, drop my hubs and rims in a pile on the floor (with a note of offsets, of…

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Honda CB750 frame and ancillaries come back from powder coaters The first job is clean up all the engine parts for some cosmetic refinishing… View the step-by-step instructions in the image gallery. Image captions Picture one: The most unpleasant part of any restoration is the hours of cleaning, scrubbing and degreasing to remove years of…

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Measuring camshaft clearances We tend to take camshafts for granted, or at least I did until quite recently. Coaxing a little more power out of our Suzuki Katana meant that, like it or not, I had to get to grips with a little cam technology. But before we plunge too deeply into the strange world…

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