It was a relatively quiet session in the workshop but never the less some progress was made... Honda CBR1000F... The petrol leak from between carburettors 3 and 4 had not been quelled, so off came the carburettors once more. It still seemed most likely that the seals on the fuel feed tee-piece between the carburettors needed replacement, so Graham undid the nuts on the ends of the two long threaded rods that kept the carburettors together.  This allowed carburettor 4 could be removed.  The pair of seals did not look too bad but they slipped in and out of their openings very easily. The float bowls of the same pair of carburettors were also removed to inspect the rubber seal fitted between the carburettor and the float bowl.   Whilst the seals were intact they seemed quite thin and it looked as though someone in the past had supplemented them with some clear sealant, so perhaps it was time for some of those new seals as well. Would the seals end the fuel leak? Y...

 Saturday October 18 th 2025.   It was a busy workshop session with lots going on…   Yamaha TX500… For those of you that don’t know much about the TX500 my friend Copilot has put together the following… Yamaha TX500: A Forgotten Pioneer of Four-Stroke Innovation In the early 1970s, Yamaha made a bold move to expand beyond its two-stroke legacy with the introduction of the TX500. Launched in 1973, this motorcycle was a technical marvel for its time, featuring a 498cc DOHC 8-valve parallel twin engine. Yamaha’s goal was clear: to challenge the dominance of British and European four-stroke twins with a machine that combined performance, refinement, and modern engineering. The TX500 boasted a counterbalancer system to tame vibration, a five-speed gearbox, and a top speed nearing 110 mph. Riders appreciated its fuel economy, which hovered between 40 and 55 mpg, and its sporty character. However, the bike’s promise was undermined by reliability issues, particularly overheating...

  Saturday October 11th 2025 The blog this week has a very different feel to it as it comprised of short videos instead of a typed blog.  I would like to thank Don for bringing in his Camcorder allowing me capture the videos you below. Yamaha TX500 (Circa 1978) Kawasaki KZ550LTD (Circa 1980) Suzuki GSF1200 Bandit (Cica 1999) Honda 650 Vigor Jiailing 125 Trails bike project Armstong MT500 Ducati 250cc Single Honda CBR1000F Yamaha 125 Majesty (Yer Majesty)

  Saturday October 4th 2025… I was not able to attend this session owing to feeling unwell.  However I was able to compose this blog entry with the aid of a huge amount of info and pictures sent to me during the session by our club chairman Phil McAthey and using images and info posted by our members on our Facebook pages. Yamaha Majesty… Work was done by the team to prep and spray the panel that had been repaired with Gareth's amazing superglue and Baking Powder mixture and staples from our new plastic repair kit. The panel would be fitted beneath the running boards, bringing the whole thing another step closer to looking ready to ride. Peter helping Andy as he works to prep the Majesty panel for spray painting. Kawasaki Z250 Scorpion… AJ and Peter Davies worked to flat down the bike’s tail piece and side panels in preparation for them to be resprayed.  Honda CBR1000F… Not a lot was done with the bike today but a new club member mucked in and worked to smarten up th...

  Saturday September 27th 2025 Honda CBR1000F… Graham and Don pondered and tinkered and pondered over how to get the bike’s four carburetors in their new inlet rubbers.  Every time the right hand carburetor slipped into its inlet rubber the left hand one popped out.  The trick to overcome this was to completely loosen the clamps on all four carburetors and in particular those on the middle two cylinders.  Then push the clamps on the middle two cylinders towards the engine (i.e. away from the carbs.) This allowed the inlet rubber to expand without any restriction.  Another problem on this particular bike was that there was a metal bracket on the frame that was getting in the way of the idle adjuster screw which projected out of the left hand side of the carburetors.  Once the bracket was bent slightly to get it out of the way the carburetors could be properly lined up and finally slipped easily into their respective inlet rubbers.  Then all the clamps w...

Saturday September 20th 2025 I was not personally present at the session, so we owe the following summary of what took place to club Chair person Phil McAthey... CBR100F:  Chris/Gareth/Don replaced the inlet rubbers after first removing the metal restrictor plates that were inside them. They were removed after comparing them with the old rubbers which didn't have them. Unfortunately new insulator band screws (like Jubilee clips) needed to be ordered to complete the job so we could put the carbs back on.. YAMAHA MAJESTY:  Chris and Harry worked on Yer Majesty.. The screen was located in the container and fitted at the workshop. The bike was then started and it ran well. Minor repairs to the plastics were all that it now needed. KAWASAKI Z550:   AJ, Dave Wooley and Ioan worked on the wiring and sorted out the indicator problem. Essentially the bike is finished. The starter button was also replaced. KAWASAKI Z250:  New member Dan removed the unw...