vintage japanese motorcycle club magazine 118

March – April 2010Bi-Monthly Club Magwww.vjmc.org.au

VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE CLUB - AUSTRALIA

+ NEWS EVENTS CLASSIFIEDS RD RESTO AND MORE

VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE CLUB www.vjmc.org.au2

VJMC Inc AustraliaThe Australian branch of the VJMC is a registered association incorporated in the state of New South Wales.

Objectives of the VJMC: To foster the preservation, restoration, riding and enjoyment of older Japanese motorcycles.

Postal address: VJMC Australia Inc, PO Box 146, Fairfeld VIC 3078Website: www.vjmc.org.au

VJMC Australia CommitteePresident Jeff Eeles (03) 9482 1884 [email protected] Secretary Heather Garth 0416 358 882 [email protected] Treasurer Michael Catchpole (03) 9809 4046 [email protected] Area Rep Coordinator Jeff Eeles [email protected] Merchandise Phil Watkins (03) 9455 2777 [email protected] Librarian Lyndon Adams (02) 4945 1780 [email protected] Web Manager Raoul Punt [email protected]

BI-MONTHLY VJMC MAGAZINEThis is a forum for members in which they may advertise bikes and/or parts for sale or wanted, exchange ideas and restoration tips, seek advice, share opinions and experiences, or anything else relating to the club’s objectives. Contributions are very welcome.

Editor Tom Calderwood 0407 834 234 [email protected] address: 2/2 617 Spencer St, West Melbourne VIC 3003

V J M C I N C A U S T R A L I A

VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE CLUB www.vjmc.org.au 3

| 4 | President’s Report

| 6 | Ed Notes

| 8 | News & Upcoming Events

| 12 | Ride Report: Melbourne Metro

| 14 | Ride Report: SE Queensland

| 16 | National Rally Details

| 20 |Collectable: Suzuki XN85 Turbo

| 24 | Feature Bike: Flat Trackin’ CB360T

| 30 | Restoration: RD350

| 34 | VJMC Info & Services

| 36 | Classifieds

| 38 | Membership Renewal

C O N T E N T S


WELCOME TO 2010

Words Jeff Eeles

LAST NEWSLETTER, I STARTED OFF WITH THE COMMENT, “HELLO EV-ERYONE, AND WELCOME TO ANOTH-ER ERA OF THE VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE CLUB.” NOW, I FIND MYSELF HAVING TO SAY THE SAME THING OVER AGAIN.

A vid readers of the Club Newsletter (and I know you all are!) will be aware that the previous edition of the newsletter was

the last from our very long-term editor Lyndon.Thank you Lyndon, for the tremendous effort you’ve put in over a very long time, to bring to members, what was once, virtually the only method of communication between them.

THE VJMC MAGAZINEFrom this issue, we bring you the VJMC Magazine.Just as the Committee were beginning to look for a replacement for Lyndon, another member, Tom Calderwood, popped up with, “Err, excuse me, but I’m a magazine publisher by profession and, I was wondering if you needed any assistance?”Well, who were we to say no?At the time of writing this, I’m yet to see the final product. However, after having a look at the commercial products that come from Tom’s team at Pepper Publishing, I’m confident that the new look should impress.So, when you’ve had your fill of vintage Japanese bikes, if you’re into waterskiing, check out Pep-per Publishing’s ‘Australian Waterski Magazine’ or, ‘Wake Magazine’ if that’s more your thing.

2010 VJMC NATIONAL RALLY AND AGMArrangements for the forthcoming National Ral-ly are coming along well. The Rally organising committee, from the Melbourne Metro Region, have been working hard to get the event up and running in half the time normally available to an organising committee.The general consensus, at the 2009 Rally, was that the first quarter of the year was the pre-ferred time so, March 27-28 was locked in with the Healesville Racing Club to bring you the rally at the time the majority preferred.We have not secured a ‘naming rights’ sponsor for this year. Suzuki Australia, despite being particularly happy with the 2009 event, has been forced by the parent company to make budget cuts as a result of the Global Financial Crisis and, unfortunately, the VJMC became a casualty of those cuts.However, Suzuki has still indicated a willingness to continue to provide some sponsorship at a different level.The rally will continue to be an event, by the members, for the members. The rally committee has considered feedback from members who at-

P R E Z R E P O R T


P R E Z R E P O R T

tended the 2009 rally and will incorporate some changes to the program and logistics for this year’s event, while retaining the main features that ensure VJMC rallies appeal to club mem-bers and to other owners of vintage and classic Japanese motorcycles.We hope to see you all there!

VJMC WEBSITEMany members will be aware that the website ‘took a hit’ just prior to Christmas last year.The subsequent down-time was inconvenient for many and one hell of a headache for Raoul Punt, our webmaster.However, due to a lot of hard work by Raoul, later assisted by another member Dan Brem, the site came back, better than ever, in early February.I’d like to publicly thank Raoul and Dan for all the work they put in. Thanks guys!While on the subject of the website, in the Discussion Forum area, new ‘discussion groups’ have been created for a few of the Regional Groups. This is, by no means, an exhaustive list. If you’re aligned with a particular region, or would like to be, and would like a central place to communicate with others in your area, we’re happy to add a ‘discussion group’ for your region.Preferably, through your Area Rep., ask myself or Raoul to add in your region, and we’ll get it happening for you.

AREA REPRESENTATIVESWearing my ‘other hat’ of Area Rep. Co-ordina-tor, I’ve recently appointed member Paul Rowl-ing as VJMC Area Rep for the Tamworth Region.Paul has, initially, nominated the towns of At-tunga, Currabubula, Dungowan, Duri, Hallsville, Kootingal, Moonbi, Moore Creek, Nemingha & Tamworth as his ‘patch’. Whether, you’re in one of those towns, or somewhere else nearby, feel free to contact Paul on 0411 696 852 or at [email protected] and help him get Tamworth on the VJMC map.

I’m delighted to be able to announce that - just as we were going to print - we have finally been able to secure a new Melbourne Metro Area Rep. After mulling over the idea for a while, Neale Binnion has put up his hand, signed on the dotted line (but has yet to go through the initiation ceremo-ny!) and agreed to take on the role, at least until the end of the current Event Calendar period.If you’re all very nice to him, he might even stay on for a while longer.As soon as we can, we’ll get Neale authorised to sign Vicroads Rego forms and, I’ll hand over the few club records I’m holding.After the rally’s done and dusted, I intend to concentrate more time on Area Reps for South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia. For those, in those States, who have already contact-ed me or other Committee Members, I apologise for the delay but, I will get to you soon.

MEMBERSHIP RENEWALSIt’s acknowledged that some members have experienced some delay in the processing of membership renewals. At the time of writing, every renewal and every new membership ap-plication received, has now been processed.Please remember though, that the Club is ad-ministered by volunteers; people trying to have a normal social and family life, most often whilst earning a living out there in the workforce.By contrast, the Club was spoiled by having our previous secretary, Yvonne, doing membership renewals. Even Yvonne acknowledges that she had the luxury of being able to put in many hours throughout the day, in between being a domestic goddess!The pr ocess may take a little longer now that Yvonne isn’t in the job and, from time to time, there may be an occasional delay. Please just give us that little bit of leeway to get the job done. In no time, we’ll be on top of it, I’m sure.Regards to all, see you at the 2010 Rally!


E D N O T E S

OLD FAVOURITES

WELCOME TO A NEW DECADE AND A NEWFLAVOUR TO OUR VJMC MAGAZINE


F irstly, a sincere thankyou to Lyndon, who has put in countless hours over many years producing the VJMC

newsletter. Lyndon has done a great job, and deserves a well-earned break from production of this publication. I’m relatively new to the club, and to motorcy-cles in general. I’ve only been riding regularly for the past few years.It all started when I was around at a friend’s place for a bbq one night, and saw a 1980 Su-zuki 250GT X7 buried beneath old mattresses and general rubbish in the shed. Not the most desirable or collectable bike kicking around, but I loved its style ... and the fact it had been sitting in a dusty shed for the past 15 years just waiting to be rescued.

With the owner’s blessing, I found a mechanic and got the thing back on the road. Once again the streets of inner Melbourne were bathed in clouds of 2-stroke as I zipped about, thinking I was pretty cool on my retro bike.Much as I enjoyed the X7, I began looking for something a bit bigger. and got in contact with a friend of a friend who knew someone who might have an old Kawasaki for me. The old Kwaka turned out to be a KZ900, shipped in from he US. I instantly fell in love with the faded brown old beast, and it continues to serve me well.

There’s also a 78 Honda XL250 in pieces in the shed. A project that started with great momen-tum, but has kinda slowed up in recent times. Whether it ever sees the light of day remains to be seen, but at least my own very limited handyman skills give me an appreciation of the work that goes into many of the classic machines seen at club events. Anyway, my interest in a variety of older Japanese bikes inevitably led me to the VJMC, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with a such an interesting group of people who have some truly incredible bikes. I rocked up to my first meeting with the Mel-bourne Metro crew - at the Grandview Hotel in Fairfield - to find the car-park filled with the types of bikes I’ve dreamed about but rarely seen.

A Mach 1 Kawasaki, a beautiful Honda CB750, Suzuki RG500, and Honda CBX to name a few. Helping out with the newsletter/magazine seemed a logical step as I’ve been in and around various magazines and publications for some time. So here we are. Hopefully you will enjoy this little publica-tion. I’d love to hear from you if you have any feedback on the mag, or - even better - would like to make a contribution in future issues. See you at the National Rally ...

Tom Calderwood

ONCE AGAIN THE STREETS OF INNER MELBOURNE WERE BATHED IN CLOUDS OF 2-STROKE AS I ZIPPED ABOUT, THINKING I WAS PRETTY COOL ON MY RETRO BIKE.


INVERELL RALLYTHE INVERELL MOTORCYCLE RE-STORERS CLUB ANNUAL VINTAGE, CLASSIC AND MODERN RALLY IS BEING HELD ON THE 17TH AND 18TH OF APRIL.

T he rally caters for all types of bikes and member of the VJMC are most welcome to attend. It could be a great opportu-

nity for VJMC members in the north west area of NSW to all meet up.Saturday ride to the Bingara Blues Festival, presentation dinner Saturday night. Short ride and Vintage Dirt Bike display on Sunday.For details and entry form phone Jenny on 0267248454 or email [email protected].

VINCE REPORT JANUARY 2010 FROM HUNTER

W ell 2010 is here and we in the Hunter have hit the ground running. Before I get into the club stuff, I along with

others members of the VJMC have attended two Speedway meetings at Newcastle Showground. The first one was the last round of the Australian Championship and it was a cracker. I have been going to the Speedway since 1947 and I have seen some memorable and classic races, but this one in January 2010 would have to go down as one of the best. It had everything along with the last race deciding who would be Aussie champ. For those who are interested and don’t know, Chris Holder is now the Australian Champ. The Sidecar Masters was held on Australia Day at the same track, but I thought it was a very ordinary meeting with only 14 outfits turning up, sup-ported by quad bikes. They gave it everything they had, but it just came up short. The 3rd of April will see the Australian sidecar championships held at Newcastle Showground, and that should be a cracker. On the 16th Janu-ary we had a sausage sizzle at Bunning’s and we raised some much needed funds for our area. I would like to thank those members who gave a hand because we were flat out all day. Also I would like to remind everyone that we have a shed ride to Carl Norling’s on the February 28th, with a sausage sizzle. On the 6th March we have a club display at Graeme Boyd’s Suzuki Newcastle, so please bring as many bikes as possible, friends welcome with their bikes. I am inviting Sydney and surrounding areas to get involved. We had our first ride on Sunday January 24th ten bikes and three pillions went. We met up with Steve Watt and Scott McCrohon at Maitland, who took us on some back roads for hot dogs and coffee. It was a good ride, except for a few bone jarring bumps and pot holes ... I am amazed how the bikes stayed together. For Hunter members a new Hunter events cal-endar appears on page 10. I hope to have more in the next newsletter. Stay safe, Vince

N E W S & E V E N T S

T H E


SE QLD SUMMER/AUTUMN ITINERARYHERE ARE SOME UPCOMING EVENTS FOR OUR SE QLD MEMBERS

MARCH 2010

• Saturday6th: Night Ride to the Tivoli Drive-In Rock & Roll Diner north of Ipswich for dinner. Run by Colin & Brenda Chap-man. Latest release movies showing. $12 per person or $30 per car. Meet at the Caltex garage at Goodna (take next exit after Logan Motorway interchange) at 6pm.

• Tuesday9th; Club meeting at Belmont Tavern in the Belmont shopping centre cnr Belmont Rd and Burstall Ave Belmont at 7pm.

• Sun15th: Breakfast at the Beenleigh Historical Museum Café then browse the museum followed by a ride to Mount Tam-borine. Meet at the Beenleigh Museum Main St Beenleigh (take exit 35 off M1 and follow signs to Beenleigh then left at roundabout and 1st gate on left) 7am.

• Sun21st: Maleny Swap Meet at the Maleny showgrounds Stanley River Rd Maleny. Meet there.

• Friday26thtoSunday28th: 2010 VJMC National Rally at Healesville Racecourse in Healesville Victoria. Updates on the rally will appear on the VJMC and Netbikes websites.

APRIL 2010

• Tuesday13th: Club meeting at Belmont Tavern in the Belmont shopping centre cnr Belmont Rd and Burstall Ave Belmont at 7pm.

• Fri16thtoSun18th: Inverell Restorers Classic Motorcycle Rally in northern NSW. See Graeme for entry forms. Depart Brisbane Friday morning. Cabin accommodation. Rally ride Saturday morning. Rally Dinner and Presentation night Sat night. More info at meeting on 13th.

• Sun18th: Day ride to Woodford via Steve Irwin Way to Beerwah and Peachester. Lunch at Woodford Hotel. Leave Caltex Garage Gympie Rd Carseldine (on left just north of Beams Rd) at 9am.

• Fri23rd: Social night at Harry’s Diner 104 Newmarket Rd Windsor. Meet there at 7pm.

MAY 2010

Sat1sttoMon3rd: Honda CB750/4 Club ride to Tin Can Bay. For more info contact John.

• Sun9th: MOTHERS DAY! And don’t you forget it.

• Tuesday11th: Club meeting at Belmont Tavern in the Belmont shopping centre cnr Belmont Rd and Burstall Ave Belmont at 7pm.

• Sun16th: Barbecue ride to The Spit at Somerset Dam. BBQ supplied for gold coin donation. Soft drinks available. Boat ramp available if you want to bring yours Leave Caltex Garage Warrego Hwy Blacksoil at 8.30am.

• Sun23rd: Tamborine branch of the Historic Motorcycle Club presents the Ray Owen Concourse and Classic Bike Show at the Beaudesert Showgrounds. Last years show was a great day. Leave from BP Garage Mount Lindsey Hwy Browns Plains (top of hill op-posite wineglass water tower) at 9am.




THROUGH THE YEAR THERE WILL BE UPDATES OF THE EVENTS CALENDAR BECAUSE OF UNKNOWN DATES OF SWAP MEETS AND AND EVENTS.

All rides leave McDonalds Edgeworth 8.30 am unless otherwise stated.

FEBRUARY 12th Meeting Club Macquarie 7.15 pm28th Ride to Carl Norling’s sausage sizzle lunch

MARCH6th Display Greame Boyds11th Meeting club Macquarie 7.15pm13th Morisset swap21st Budgewoi Fish and Chip run27-28th National Rally Healesville Victoria APRIL4-5th Barry Sheene Memorial race meeting Eastern Creek8th Meeting at Club Macquarie 7.15 pm25th Lambs Valley Run

MAY13th Meeting Club Macquarie 7.15 pm23rd Pie in the Sky run Via the OldPacificHighway JUNE10th Meeting Club Macquarie 7.15 pm20th Gosford swap28th Chitchester Dam run

March 3: VJMC Sydney Monthly Meeting at Prospect Hotel, 7pm. Regular monthly meet-ingsonthefirstWednesdayeachmonth.

March 6: VJMC Hunter - display day at Graeme Boyd’s Suzuki dealership, Broad-meadow (Newcastle). Display from 8.30am onwards. Contact Vince 02 4973 1852.

March 6-7: Illawarra MCC Red Scarf Rally – Contact Lloyd Webb 02 4296 6768.

March 26-28: - VJMC National Rally 2010, Healesville Victoria. Contact Steve Phelps or Alan Dykstra for information. Non Japanese bikes welcome. Pick up trailer will be available.I have a space in my ute and room on an open trailer for anyone needing transport from Sydney to the Rally and back. Also if anyone wants to travel down in company let me know. Contact John Ingle (02) 9798 0360 or 0405 451 227.

March 28-4 April: Annual Easter Rally of Bathurst (VMCC). Contact Don Liddle (02) 9631 7971 or 0409-041474.

April 4-5: Barry Sheene Memorial Race Meeting, Eastern Creek. VJMC Sydney will schedule a club ride for this event on Sunday.

May 16: Kempsey Swap Meet, West Kempsey Racecourse.

June 20: Gosford Swap Meet, Gosford Showground.


TAMWORTH REPORTHELLO AND WELCOME TO THE FIRST REPORT FROM THE TAMWORTH DIS-TRICT. I GUESS AS THE NEWLY AP-POINTED VJMC AREA REP I SHOULD KICK OFF BY INTRODUCING MYSELF.

M y name is Paul Rowling (AKA: “motopaulie”) and some of you may already be familiar with the resto log

of my CB72, (see above), which you’ll find in the website’s forum pages. I have been a committed motorcyclist since the long past days of my youth and am quite unable to imagine a quality of life that does not include motorcycles. These days I have the good fortune to be married to a lass who understands, and in-deed frequently indulges, my passion for things two wheeled. To illustrate that point, Carol will happily go without her Subaru for a couple of

days while I’ve gone off to retrieve yet another rusty relic!! Pretty lucky, doncha think? Presently I am working on the restoration of a Honda CB400 Four and a Kwaka z650, and hope to have them back on the road in the not too distant future.At the time of writing we have all but finalized the plans for our first meet/greet/BBQ/ride day. Sunday March 14th has been chosen and at 11.00am we’ll be having a sausage sizzle, infor-mation and sign on day at the South Tamworth Lions Club Rest Area, located on the Sydney road just before the new equine centre. Immediately following the lunch meeting we’ll be setting off on a ride of approximately 60km. The proposed route will be suitable for bikes of all capacities and, as it basically circumnavigates the town, will provide ample opportunity for participants to peel off and shorten the distance to suit their individual needs/capabilities. We anticipate a roll up of somewhere between ten and two dozen bikes, judging from enquiries already received, and I believe that will be a fairly acceptable start to the area program. Let you know how it pans out. Regards, motopaulie.



MELB. METRO. AREA RIDE DAY JAN 9 2010 GISBORNE BACCHUS MARSH RIDE

Words & Photos Jeff Eeles

THIS RIDE HAS BECOME A ‘YEAR-OPENING’ TRADITION FOR THE MEL-BOURNE METRO. GROUP, THIS BEING THE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW THAT WE’VE RUN IT.

T he first year brought out somewhere around 18 bikes and was combined with the Central Vic. group. 2009 saw the

turn out bump up to about 24 or 25 bikes by the time we were joined with Central Vic again.Blessed with glorious sunshine again, 2010 didn’t see quite the attendance we’d had in the past. At the Calder Park Roadhouse, I arrived to find Colin Frost (Z13); Dave Hutchinson (XN85); David Fava (GS750); and, Joe Balassa (Kat 750 ‘pop-up’) waiting for me.

R I D E R E P O R T


At this stage, Colin was apparently copping some ‘friendly fire’ from the Suzuki Crew about how many cylinders were needed to power a bike … or some similar jibes. My arrival, on my Z13, soon brought some balance to the argument when we were able to point out that we only needed two motorcycles to make 12 cylinders rather than their 3 bikes.I’m not sure that ours was much of an argument but, if we hadn’t dazzled them with brilliance, we’d baffled them with bullshit!Soon afterward, new member Darren (CB900F), Steve Braybrook (Z650) and Matt Forbes (Z750) arrived, and it was time to think about heading off.As there was a chance that some Central Vic guys might have been able to make the ride too, we stopped briefly at Gisborne after a quick run up the Calder Highway. There was a few bikes around, but none looked like they might have been waiting for us.Joe had a family commitment, so had to nick back home to Sunbury. For the rest of us, it was back on the bikes and off to Bacchus Marsh.The long break at Bacchus Marsh gave us time to

settle down for drinks and a chat – always an en-joyable part of any ride. While there, we hooked up with Rob, a XS650 owner and member of the Williamstown and XS650 clubs. He was out on his lonesome, on a Williamstown Club ride where no one else had fronted.So, soon it came time to head back toward home. Rob joined us and we turned toward Diggers Rest for the run home.A short day out on the bike, but good to be back in the seat and get a few miles ‘under the belt’.Both legs of the ride are relatively short, and I found I was just getting ‘into the groove’ as we’d arrive at our next destination. Thinking about that, I remembered that we’d originally listed this ride, to cater for owners of smaller capacity bikes that might like to exercise their bikes occasionally. With that in mind, the ride made more sense.As it’s turned out, it’s mainly been 650/750 and over bikes that have been coming out and, with today’s smaller attendance, maybe the run has ‘had its day’.


SOUTH EAST QLD NEWS

Words & Photos: John McNair

2010 IS OFF TO A FLYING START AND IT FEELS LIKE CHRISTMAS WAS ONLY A WEEK OR TWO AGO. WE HAD A GOOD ROLL UP AT OUR JANUARY MEETING AT THE BELMONT TAVERN WITH PLENTY OF BIKES OUT THE FRONT. THIS WAS GOOD AS SEVERAL PEOPLE WOULD STILL HAVE BEEN ON HOLIDAYS.

T he weather of late has not been too good for motorcycling however morning of the Breakfast Ride to Mount Glorious

was a beautiful day. We had nearly 20 members at t he BP garage at The Gap which was our meeting point. Hadn’t seen an XS1100 Yamaha for quite a while however a young lady turned up at the garage on one and there were three more up on the mountain. The ride up through Mount Nebo and then on to Mount Glorious was most enjoyable with the only hazard being push bikes. There must have been about 40 of them on the road. Several beautiful old motorcycles had gone past while we were at the garage and there were more at the Mount Glorious Café along with a large group of other motorcycles as there always is on a Sunday morning. The café with its shelves of motorcycle mags is a regular stopover for day trippers with up to 100 there sometimes.The Wivenhoe Lookout where everybody was to meet is about 10 klms past the café and upon

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arrival we were greeted with a sea of bikes. Both carparks were filling up quickly with over 100 fantastic bikes already there. Everything from an Adler, to a Nimbus, a pre 1940 Harley, Triumphs, BMW’s and Honda’s. A bonus was the nice cool mountain air. Some of the members had a Barbie and then went for a ride to Toowoomba. Organised by the Queensland Historic Motorcycle Club it was a great day.On a sadder note, I was shocked to hear of the death of South Australian former motorcycle racer Greg Pretty. Greg was riding through the Adelaide Hills on his way to a Classic Rally on his 1971 Honda 750/4 when a 2006 Kawasaki sports bike lost control on a bend and collided head on with Greg’s machine. Both riders died at the scene. Greg rode in production races through out the country including the Castrol Six Hour in Sydney and the Adelaide 2 Hour Race with great results.Over the next few months we have some great events including the Swap Meet at the Austra-lian Motorcycle Museum and the Boonah-Queen

Mary Falls ride this month then the Breakfast at the Beenleigh Museum and the Inverell Classic Restorers Rally and a top ride to Woodford via Peachester Range. The Beenleigh Museum has a beaut café with a big deck overlooking a dam and they do a very reasonable priced meal. The museum also has a great collection of history relating to all of South East Queensland. The Boonah-Moogerah Dam ride has been changed to end at Queen Mary Falls with lunch at the café there. This is a great ride and they have better food than at Rathdowney. The Café at the recently re-opened Tivoli Drive In is run by Colin and Brenda Chapman who took over Ilana’s while she was overseas and I have been told their food is still great. There are chairs at the café to watch the movies or you can bring your car. Admission for motorcycles is $12 per person and a car is $30 for up to 9 passengers. Something a little different. Don’t forget, the 2010 National VJMC Rally is on March 26th to 28th at Healesville in Victoria.Keep it safe


VJMC NATIONAL RALLY RETURNS TO HEALESVILLE MARCH 2010 Words Michael Catchpole Photos: Tony Sculpher & Tim Catchpole

VJMC MEMBERS FROM ALL PARTS OF AUSTRALIA ARE INVITED TO RE-TURN TO HEALESVILLE IN VICTORIA’S YARRA RANGES ON THE WEEKEND OF MARCH 27-28 FOR THE 2010 VJMC NATIONAL RALLY.


T his will be the second successive VJMC rally held at Healesville, after the very successful rally in October 2009.

VJMC President and rally organising committee chairman Jeff Eeles said committee members had discussed whether it was possible to run the 2010 rally within six months of the 2009 event.“The very strong support of club members from many parts of Australia and the willingness of the organising committee to run a second rally in the traditional March-April period were crucial to the decision to run the 2010 rally,” Jeff said.“We also have the benefit of building on the success of the 2009 rally, and the lessons learnt in running that event, so we’ve been able to make a good start on the organisation and on

some of the changes that will make the 2010 rally better again.”The rally committee has considered feedback from members who attended the 2009 rally and will incorporate some changes to the program and logistics for this year’s event, while retain-ing the main features that ensure VJMC rallies appeal to club members and to other owners of vintage and classic Japanese motorcycles.“We anticipate that many members and non-members who attended the 2009 rally will return in March, and there’ll be some new faces who haven’t been to a VJMC rally before,” Jeff said.“We want to provide the best possible rally experience for our members and to attract other


like-minded clubs and individuals who are part of the wider vintage Japanese bike movement. “The 2009 VJMC rally drew a lot of positive coverage in the general media and in national motorcycle magazines, and this has really spread the word about the club and increased interest in the great bikes of the 60s, 70s and 80s.”The VJMC National Rally 2010 will be held at Healesville Racecourse, about an hour’s drive from Melbourne CBD, and features a Public Open Day on Saturday 27 March 2010.

Rally entry forms are available on the VJMC national website: www.vjmc.org.au

Inquiries can be directed to Jeff Eeles.Ph: 0411 051 902 or (03) 9482 1884 (ah) Email: [email protected]

For media and promotions, contact Michael Catchpole. Ph: 0408 129 169 Email: [email protected]


TURBO BLAST SUZUKI XN85 Words & Photos: Tom Calderwood

MELBOURNE VJMC MEMBER DAVE HUTCHINSON HAS A VARIETY OF DESIRABLE BIKES IN HIS SHED, BUT IT’S HARD TO GO PAST HIS PRISTINE, LOW-MILEAGE 1983 SUZUKI XN85 TURBO FOR COLLECTIBILITY.


T his bike is one of only 1153 made, and would certainly be one of the best examples anywhere.

Dave already had two Katanas (‘81 1100 and ’82 750), a Pro Link Honda CBX1000, and a num-ber of smaller bikes to keep him busy, but when he saw the blown Suzuki pop up on Ebay in the US state of Maryland in late 2006, he couldn’t help himself. The ad described a low mileage machine which had been taken apart and painstakingly reas-sembled “with white cotton gloves, to perfection”. The photos backed up the lengthy description of this “mint means mint” bike, so Dave took the punt and parted with US$7500 to secure his dream machine.He had to endure a nervous wait as the bike made its way to California before being shipped to Melbourne, but was relieved to see the condi-

tion was in keeping with the ad and photos. “It was a relief to see the bike for the first time. The finish is excellent, and mechanically it was very strong,” Dave said. “The only work I have had to do on it was remove and clean the fuel injectors as they had been out of action for some time.”Dave bought another far less pristine XN85 to practice working on, as he didn’t want to “bug-ger up the Yankee model.”He is now well and truly besotted with the bike, and enjoys the attention it draws. “It doesn’t matter where you park, this bike always has admirers, and old fans and riders like reminiscing.”The only other questions is, what’s it like to ride? It’s easy to imagine a turbocharged 674cc bike from 1983 is a fairly nasty piece of work. Dave says the bike is actually surprisingly pleasant to ride.

T U R B O B L A S T


“It’s not very heavy and it actually handles and stops a lot better than the Kats. Overall it’s very nice to ride, especially after the tyre pressures are corrected.“The turbo power comes on at about 5500rpm, and can take you to top speed very quickly. At full boost it pulls very hard and can cruise at high speed very smoothly. The screen is effective to stop any wind buffeting, so it’s a great bike for long rides. I also like the gauges, which are easy to read day or night ... although it’s a bit hard to watch the boost gauge, speedo and the road!”Suzuki was the third manufacturer (after Yamaha’s XJ650L and Honda with the CX500 and CX650), to join the turbo-charging craze which briefly swept the motorcycling world in the early to mid 80s. Kawasaki joined the party in 84 with the Z750 Turbo.Contemporary tests show the 85hp (hence the name) Suzuki had a top speed of around 132mph and did the quarter mile in the low 12 seconds. While the turbo competition from Honda and Yamaha were more oriented towards touring, the XN85, with its clip-on bars, sports fairing and crouch position, was more a sports bike. The XN85 was cutting-edge stuff for its time,

with a 16-inch front wheel, low clip-ons, rearset foot pegs, Suzuki’s ‘Full Floater’ monoshock rear suspension, and anti-dive plumbing in the Kay-aba front forks. The engine was an air-cooled, fuel-injected, turbocharged, eight-valve, 673cc inline-four, mated to a five-speed gearbox. At the time of its release, US publication Cycle Guide, tested the XN85 head-to-head with the Honda and Yamaha. It had this to say:“The Suzuki never had a fighting chance to win Best Overall Turbo honors simply because it is not, and was never intended to be, an ‘overall’ kind of motorcycle. It’s a specialist, a narrow-focus racer-replica built expressly for those who judge a bike solely on its ability to strafe a fast corner with sparks aflying, and to hell with everything else. If flat out cornering competence were the baseline for rating the turbo-bikes, the Suzuki would win going way.”As well as getting a lot of enjoyment from the bike, Dave also expects it to be a good invest-ment in years to come. “My brother’s Indians are worth about $38,000 at 63 years of age, so I figure the XN85 should come close to that at 63, and the Kats may be worth a quid as well. I guess I wont be around!“Strange thing though is that when we were kids and bought our first bikes they were 20 odd years old, and most people thought they were crap, and we wished we could buy newer ones. Now we buy the old ones and pay ridiculous prices for them!”


FLAT- TRACKIN’ CB360T Words & Photos: Michael Catchpole

JAPANESE-BASED CAFE RACERS ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY POPULAR, BUT CANBERRA’S SIMON WHITTAKER TOOK A ROAD LESS-TRAVELLED WHEN HE DECIDED TO DO A MAKEOVER ON AN UNSUSPECTING 1975 HONDA CB360T.


T he resulting American-inspired flat-tracker drew lots of attention at the 2009 VJMC National Rally, not least

because Simon’s careful planning and attention to detail was obvious in every feature of the fin-ished bike, even down to the name on the tank: “Cherry Bomb”.

Simon bought the Honda twin in mid-2007. He had a clear idea of what he wanted to do and approached the rebuild very methodically. The bike sat around for about 12 months while he as-sembled all the major parts he needed to realise his vision of an AMA-style flat-tracker.The original concept of a flat-tracker came from

F E A T U R E B I K E


a Classic Bike magazine article on 1972 AMA Grand National champion Mark Brelsford. Simon wanted to capture the look of Brelsford’s title-winning Harley-Davidson, so the CB360 might not have been the obvious place to start!“I sourced the XR Harley flat-track seat and tail-piece from the States,” Simon reports.

“The Honda fuel tank required a lot of work – I changed the fuel filler to take a push and turn cap, removed the badges and smoothed the mounting points ready for painting. The exhausts are Harley ‘BUB’ pipes with fabricated headers. I also fabricated many of the special parts, including the front fork brace, dash, bat-tery box, number plate bracket, tail-light and bracket, and the racing number-plates.”This fabrication work was done at C&D Sheetmetal in Queanbeyan, where owner Craig Crawford gave Simon access to the necessary equipment and helped out with the welding.Simon’s fabrication skills are evident in these parts and in the way the whole bike fits together. He gives much credit to others, such as Alex Gibbs, who made the covers for the swingarm pivot bolt and axle nut, and to Darryl at Moose Racing, for painting the hubs and re-lacing the wheels (with heavy duty stainless spokes). “I wanted the YSS shocks to have that alloy race-bike look, so Alex also had to fabricate a new bottom bracket on one side to lift the spring high enough to clear the chain,” he says. “I also cut all the extra brackets off the frame and smoothed the joints before having it painted in two-pack black by Matt, a workmate.”The paint job on the tank and tail-piece is an-other area where Matt applied his talents. “Matt came up with the mix after several tries, only because I wanted heaps of metalflake, and he applied the two-tone cherry red paint and pearl white.

“I SOURCED THE XR HAR-LEY FLAT-TRACK SEAT AND TAIL-PIECE FROM THE STATES,”


“Another good friend, Craig Helmers at Choice Signs, hand-painted the race numbers to have that worn look. He’s a signwriter, so we also did the HM Racing-Flat Track Edition and Cherry Bomb logos for the tank, from drawings I’d come up with. I sourced the AMA Championship sticker from the USA.”Before applying the paint and details, Simon had done a dry-build of the unpainted bike to make sure all the major parts fitted as he wanted. “One of the first things I had to check was that the rear wheel and tyre would fit inside the swing-arm. The rims are off a Honda motocross bike; the 18-inch rear carries a 130 tyre, and the 19-inch front has a 100, so they’re much bigger than the standard CB360 wheel-tyre combination.” Those rims were polished by Electroplating Technology, also in Queanbeyan, who were also

responsible for the nickel-plated swing-arm, chromed fork-brace and other plated parts.Simon rebuilt the stock Honda motor, fitting new pistons and rings among other parts, reas-sembled it and fitted Mikuni racing carburet-tors, again sourced from the U.S., and Unifil-ters. He modified the battery box, re-did the wiring and removed or replaced the standard lights and other electrical fittings. A chrome bracket carries a line of LED warning lights, the standard Honda switch-blocks were disas-sembled, polished and rebuilt, and when he’s riding the bike, there’s a four-inch headlight that mounts just above the handlebars.Simon also rebuilt the standard Honda front forks and it doesn’t take long for any observer to notice that there’s no front brake mounted to the neat, naked front hub. So how does it stop? “The

F L A T - T R A C K I N ’ C B 3 6 0 T


standard drum rear brake is OK; riding it just re-quires a bit more thought and care – the original disc front brake never worked very well anyway!“It’s great fun to ride. It keeps up with the pack at our rallies, even with a larger rear sprocket that I fitted to give it a bit more pick-up off the line. It tops out at 90-plus (mph), where the old motor was probably good for about eighty with standard ratios when I first bought the bike.”The rebuild itself took less than four months, with Simon just meeting his deadline of debut-ing the Honda flat-tracker at the 2009 Australia Day weekend Veteran and Vintage Motor Cycle Club Rally in Canberra. The bike won a trophy

on that first outing, and has since won awards at the Bombala motorcycle show and the South Coast Nationals. He attended the 2009 VJMC National Rally at Healesville in the company of fellow-Canberra enthusiast Ray Lalic, whose Honda CB400 Four café racer will be the subject of a future article. Simon enjoyed the 2009 VJMC Rally and plans to be back this year with his latest creation. Details of the new bike will have to await unveil-ing at the Rally, but based on his Honda CB360T Flat-Track Edition, we can expect something special when Simon rolls into Healesville in late-March!


RD RES-TORATION A TALE OF TWO RD’S

Words & Photos: Mike Palmer

THIS IS PRETTY MUCH AN INFORMA-TIVE ARTICLE-COME-STORY ABOUT GETTING, MAINTAINING AND RIDING AN OLD 2-STROKE, AND THE THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED ALONG THE WAY.

B ecause things can go drastically wrong with bikes I must say at the start of all this that what I have done to my bikes

has worked for me so far, but it is entirely pos-sible that I may be incorrect about some things (read the bit about carburetor slides!), and it is also possible that your bike may not like some of the things mentioned, so please note that you must be satisfied that anything described here will work for your bike before you try it out!A couple of years ago I decided I had been bikeless far too long (6 years!) for the first time since I was a teenager, mainly due to moving to Melbourne, and trying to get a house during the biggest property boom ever!Finally with our own house, a good job, and a baby to keep me busy, I decided my surfing opportunities were gone for a while, and it was time to seek adventure in some other form, namely a motorbike, mainly to ride to work and

R E S T O R A T I O N


back on. Another driving force was not having to catch the train any more! Not just any modern appliance, the bike had to be a bike of my dreams, something exciting to ride and look at, reasonably reliable for day to day riding, common or popular enough to get parts for, and not highly desirable to thieves. Age didn’t matter, as most of the exciting bikes to me happened before 1980 or after the early-90’s. The design and types of most bikes in the 80s within my budget range didn’t do much for me, but these days there are many bikes that ap-peal to me. Eventually I’ll get one once the house is paid off to a sensible level!I’d already had a few dream bikes including a GT250, a Commando (now $12000 instead of the $3000 I sold it for) and a Beemer, but I still hadn’t experienced the bike that had the most impression to me in high school – the air cooled RD350 – apart from a brief loans and test rides. It was one of the best looking bikes around at the time – metallic red and white, a bit of chrome, some polished alloy, and every part in harmony with the others. Everyone put Ace bars on them, as the acceleration was too much for the standard high-rise bars, which made you feel like falling off the back. There were obvious modern alternatives which are far superior, and one of which I will eventu-ally get, but I wanted to complete this gap in my earlier biking experience. I hadn’t seen or heard of any RD’s for a long time, on the road or in any advertisements.As it happened it was the end of the tax year and Central Motorcycles were clearing out a few bikes. I’d never heard of Central prior to this, but I happened to see the RD on the Internet while doing some preliminary trolling, and just from the picture and the description I decided to buy it. Not a hard decision because it was half the price of any other alternative bikes I’d come across (TX650’s, Bonnies and the like), and because it was particularly tidy with low mileage (8,000 miles) and very original. It had excellent compression and apparently the motor

had never been apart (certainly the condition of the bike as a whole indicated this too, and the engine and frame numbers matched).It did kind of bring home to me that thirty years had passed since I first wanted an RD! I also felt an initial sense of urgency to get spares for the bike, as it might take time to find critical parts if the bike broke down for some reason, but soon realised that there is an abundance of parts around, the only exception being barrels and mufflers, and even then there have been wrecks advertised from time to time with these parts OK, and it is always possible to get these parts made up for a price. There are heaps of aftermarket mufflers for the RD too.The initial things I checked on the RD to avoid problems were that the oil pump was correctly primed and functioning, the timing was correct, the air filter was clean, and that the chain was correctly adjusted, tyre pressures OK, cables lubricated and so on.Apart from maintaining the RD with lubrica-tion, a chain, sprockets, and new y-boot, the only mods were to replace the handlebars with Enfield bars (which have a forward riding posi-tion, but aren’t too low and curve nicely around the instruments), and the notoriously weak standard coils with Bosch GT40RT transformer coils (see picture over page). The latter are compact, easy on points, easy on power drain, and put the fattest spark ever into your motor. I haven’t had a fouled plug in 12 months of daily riding, and have only had to set the timing once in 6 months, and that was only a routine task, as the timing was still spot-on. I invested $40 in a dial calliper and checked the timing with that as well, the factory marks were pretty close to spot-on.I quickly changed to 2T semi-synthetic 2-stroke oil when I saw what was behind me on the freeway! The 2T is smokeless, and doesn’t smell acrid like the pure mineral oil, and I guess helpsthe motor last longer too. It also didn’t require a change in the oil pump setting, because I think pure synthetic has a different consistency.


The RD has been very reliable, the only hic-cup being when I fitted new manifolds over Christmas, and thought I’d partially seized it on the subsequent test ride as it ran very flat in the mid-range (the manifolds were connected with a u-tube for better torque) so I put the old manifold on and retested. The next startup it ran very roughly unless I opened the throttle right up. I thought I’d partially seized it and now it wouldn’t run normally from cold.I checked everything and found the pistons were a bit loose in the bore (as checked through the inlet port) – I could wobble them! Eeek! A more accurate check with a feeler gauge revealed they were 0.015mm, which is a tad over the max .01 mm from the .004 rebore recommendation. By the way, the compression is still very good at 140 each and apart from it sounding a bit like a die-sel with some piston slap at idle it runs very well. It’s running so well that unless the piston slap gets real bad I’ll just keep using it, I just won’t plan any long trips! Don’t worry, it’s lined up for a rebore when I have the spare bike running.

Anyhow, to cut a long (6 week) story short, on the verge of despair and about to rebore thecylinders, I heard that it was possible to mix the slides up, which results in the cutaway facing the wrong way, resulting in said symptoms. This was entirely possible because I get to work on the bike in short ‘timebites’ in between baby minding and renovations, often during the night when I’ve been up once too often and can’t get to sleep easily. Sure enough, the slides were mixed up, and a quick swap resulted in smooth running and one of the happiest evenings of my life!I found the reason why the RD was running ap-parently weak (with symptoms of seizure), with the u-tube, was that the American bikes have a baffled air filter (i.e. with metal baffle tubes in the air filter, not hollow), and a 105 jet instead of the standard 140 jet. This constraint made it run quite badly with the u-tube.Apparently no rejetting is needed with the u-tube but I haven’t been game to retry it yet. The manifolds were very cheap (US$20 off


eindiancompanies.com) and good quality, and they are well established as a way of improving bottom-end torque and starting. The RD is an asthmatic starter as it just has the one choke and a token tube to the other carbu-rettor. Hence one cylinder fires up readily but the other takes a while to wake up.Since then I have put a ‘stock replacement’ K&N air filter in (same as the standard hollow air filter), and changed the main jets to the standard 140. The plugs indicate it is running a little rich at idle and at full throttle, however the Clymer manual says needle position 4 is standard (I guess this is the needle lowered by 1 position from 3). A surprising improvement in petrol consump-tion has occurred – now 45-50mpg instead of a constant 35mpg commuting. This is significant when the tank only has 2 gallons before reserve!And I sometimes forget to turn off the petrol tap, which results in a fair bit of wasted fuel by thenext ride. The moment I walk into the garage I

know if I’ve forgotten the tap! My GT250 had a vacuum tap which was great for avoiding this hassle. It also had bolt-on oil lines to the bearings and the inlets, a much better arrangement than the press-fit plugs only into the inlets on the RD.The only other features that I found a nuisance on the RD because of the American spec were the possibly irreplaceable sealed beam (with very spe-cific bracketing) and the 13L peanut tank, which was apparently standard size on the first RD, and was upsized 3.5L on subsequent models. Initially with the US jetting at 35mpg in the city this saw me at the pump every 70 miles. I now have sev-eral larger tanks, one of which I will repaint in the beautiful metallic red and white scheme.As far as spares go, I’ve found them fairly easy to organize from Peter Stevens, HVCCycle in the states, eindiancompanies.com in India (they made the Rajdoot 350 until 1992 – same bike, just no disc brake), eBay, the Trading post, and Google (found the RD and a spare tank and panel set this way). There are other sites – motocarerra for one. And several good forums including USA 2strokers and RDDreams.I acquired an overpriced spare motor minus barrels and heads last year; I’ve found since that the crank, mains and gearbox pretty much don’t wear out on these bikes unless something ridiculous is done to them - letting them fill with water for example, or not running any oil. This seems to bear out with the condition of the 4 motors that I have, the cranks and gearboxes are all excellent still. If you leave an RD out in the weather without the air filter cap on, the air filter box then acts like a funnel into the motor. Rain will soak through the seat, into the air box, then down the y-boot, through the carbs and into the motor.Yes – I did mention 4 motors. Just a few weeks ago I found a note on the RD inviting me to check out a couple of RD350B’s for sale. It turns out they were $400 for the two, one being OK and the other good for parts. This is effectively Christmas every day for me at the moment, and forms part 2 of this article ... tune in next issue.


C L U B I N F O

VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE CLUB INC

T he VJMC is a worldwide club. There are independent branches in North America (USA/Canada), UK, New Zealand and

Australia. Some enthusiasts are members of more than one branch.

Direct enquiries for overseas branches of the VJMC to:

North America President: Stuart Coving-ton, 55 Howard St, Lunenburg, MA 01462 USA. Website: www.vjmc.org Email: [email protected]

United Kingdom Chairman: Malcolm Linsley, VJMC PO Box 21671 Falkirk, FK1 9AL. Website: www.vjmc.com Email: [email protected]

New Zealand: Ross & Trudy Charlton, 2 Te Miti St, Paekakariki, Wellington. Email: [email protected]

HISTORIC REGONSW CONDITIONAL REGISTRATION Sydney Roadworthy Inspections David Bernardi | (02) 9808 1482 [email protected] other NSW areas contact Lyndon Adams | (02) 4945 1780 [email protected]

ACTStan Perry | (02) 6296 [email protected]

VICTORIA CLUB PERMIT SCHEMEMelbourne Brian Cutler | 0409 024 482Central Vic Graeme Climas | (03) 5446 3844

The club has a sizeable library of magazines, workshop manuals and parts manuals for members to use. Enquires: [email protected]

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ACT Canberra

Stan Perry | (02) 6296 7274 [email protected]

NSW Bathurst

Wayne Talbot | (02) 6331 5410 [email protected]

Far North Coast Rob Andrews | (02) 6621 4083 [email protected]

Goulburn Malcolm Peden | (02) 4821 5060 [email protected]

Hunter Vince Foreman | (02) 4973 1852 [email protected]

Manning Steve Wardle | (02) 6551 5546 [email protected]

Mid North Coast Trevor Ellis | (02) 6655 5911 [email protected]

North West Graeme Tonkin | (02) 6724 8454 [email protected]

Queanbeyan Rob Hogan | (02) 6299 7579 [email protected]

South Coast Patrick Sager | (02) 4473 6191 [email protected]

Sydney David Bernardi | (02) 9808 1482 [email protected]

Sydney Inner Steve O’Farrell | (02) 9517 3490 [email protected]

Tamworth Paul Rowling | 0411 696 [email protected]

QUEENSLAND SE Queensland

John McNair | (07) 3133 0191 [email protected]

Sunshine Coast Rob Skewes | (07) 5451 1972 [email protected]

Mackay Peter & Helen Douglas | (07) 4954 3653

VIC Melbourne

Neale Binnion | (03) 9857 5256 [email protected]

Central Victoria Ivan Eeles | (03) 5448 4746 [email protected]

Western VictoriaAlan & Pam Stork | 0401 995 060 [email protected]

SA / WA / TAS Reps needed.

C L U B I N F O

CONTACT JEFF EELES(03) 9482 1884 if you are interested in getting VJMC happening in your area.

M O R E

REPRESENTATIVESRegional


C L A S S I F I E D S

FOR SALEHonda SS125, 1970. Engine reconditioned, tank & badges done, not running yet but partly assembled. Contact: Bob Young, Sydney. Ph: (02) 9533 3365.

FOR SALEHonda XR 350RG 1986. Runs well, starts easy, single carby. Been well maintained over the years. Has spare 18” rear wheel, removable rear foot pegs. Rec Reg July 2010, 78235. $2500. Warragul, Victoria. Ph: Ken on 0428 379 051

FOR SALE

Honda 185s trail bike, 11th Month 1988, needs another headlight, another tail light, blink-ers, and a few other minor parts to be made roadworthy again. This motorcycle is at present being ridden around the property. It has no registration on it at all. $1000 o.n.o. Ph: Bruce Elliott 0488 566 780.

FOR SALESuzuki GT750A. Registered to December 2010. Very good original bike, fitted with 3 into 1 pipe, very strong engine. Contact Steve Ph: 0412 472 901.

FOR SALEYamaha FZ 750, 1985. N. Turramurra. Has a 5 valve motor. Power unit dismantled to rectify a failed output bearing in trans. Motor was running perfectly - it is complete apart from belly pan. Black / gold wheels. Have O/H manual, also owners manual. Call George 0418 249 994 or Jack Cairns 0428 646 320. Any reasonable offer accepted.

FOR SALEYamaha YZ80B yellow, nearly complete, #92-017291, Vin 492-017291, $500. Yamaha 90cc, #YHB4, late 60s, $100. XS650, Motor #447-204555, $50. XR75 tank, $50. CT90 yel-low, basket case, Vin 1710328, $50. ST90 frame only, Vin 1028981, $50. CB360E #2222428, $100. Warragul, Victoria. Ph: Ken on 0428 379 051.

FOR SALEYamaha TY 175 fuel tank and tail pipe. Also Yamaha DT 3 seat base. Ph: Graeme (02) 6724 8454.

FOR SALEYamaha XS1.1, 1982. Mostly original, new seat, battery & tyres. Registered to August 2010. Contact Greg for more information etc. Contact: Greg Mungoven, Newcastle. Ph: (02) 4938 5898.

WANTEDKawasaki 1976 KH 250 - B1 Triple; right and left side side covers, with or without badges. Also an owners manual (not workshop or parts manual). This is the book that comes with the bike when they are first new. Ph: Rodney 0402 094 036 or email [email protected]

WANTEDHonda CB400/4 tacho, speedo and master cylinder. Ph: Allan 0417 421 211


C L A S S I F I E D S

EXPRESSIONS OF INTERESTHonda wheel restoration. I am looking for owners of Hondas with gold riveted wheels (CB1100R, CX500T, VF750F etc) who are interested in having these wheels completely reconditioned to brand new condition.Previously there hasn’t been anything that could be done once the anodizing has worn off. However, I have been working with an expert in alloy who he owns a foundry, has extensive knowledge in anodizing, and is a highly accom-plished engineer. He has devised a way to recon-dition wheels and make them look like they have come straight from the showroom. The colour match is perfect and the rivets will even have the H stamped on them again once rebuilt.There is a degree of tooling up that will be

required to do this, so we need approximately 40 wheels worldwide to make it happen. The cost is yet unknown, but will be in the vicinity of 1k per wheel, excluding shipping.Please contact me at [email protected] if you are interested.

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