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Aliens tries to do all their own machining in-house. ''Saves time and money, says Steve Panter But first a quick history lesson Aliens Performance goes back to around 1983 when Phil Allen formed a motorcycle business in Nottinghamshire. He was a well-known character and indulged his passion in racing by nelping with the Sparton race machines, which were an amalgam of Barton Engineering and Spcndon frames. Phil got the Sparton working by buying jets and needles from Padgetts and then indulging...
The Top End
The Cheetah barrels as supplied neec some work. On the bottoms of the barrels there are fou' waterway lunking plugs. The tapered threads ir the barrels are so poor sometimes l blanking plugs stand proud and l cwe to be ground otf, sometimes they tr loose and need Aralditing in. s supplied the cylinder bores are too lu'fit and need specialist diamond 'fling to give at least 0.002in 0.06mm iarance. All the cylinder-stud holes the barrels need helicoiling too ause the threads strip very easily....
Achilles Heel
Anyway, the 535cc Cheetah YPVS has an achilles heel the transmission. In the 'Yamarilia' we ran with a 5.5-inch rear slick and there is no shock absorber in the TZ rear wheel. The only shock absorber In tre transmission Is the rubber in the clutch basket. Bear in mind that the clutch oasket and rubbers were designed for 34bhp and with the 535cc outting out approx 120bhp it used to shatter the shock absorber rubbers and basket. It gave our rider, Pat Mills, some nasty moments. I knew that using...
I Own One
Dave Ellis, from Penrith in Cumbria, has been a fan of lightweight Japanese bikes ever since he first owned an RD125B in 1977, since when he graduated up to a Honda CB250N Superdream. But it was down hill from then, he jokes. His biggest bike is an RD400 Daytona -the one shown on the classic Yamaha stand at Stafford this year - which he bought in Cologne, and his current collection of 17 machines includes and RD250F, an RD200DX and a DT175. Dave started getting back on FSlEs in the 1980s before...
Beefing Upthetransmission
The rose-ratio Nova gears don't have busheij amp tted, so the bushes from the standari tears have to be removed and pressed inlktwo of the Nova gears. The close-rat jgears ccme with their own new input s amp aaft and the splines have to be stonegkiown to take off the sharp edges. The cWik, gearbox and cases are then readyT r assembly. Next the primary drivmllsing a normal clutch basket, unlike mine, a set of straight-cut gears must be used. The reason is that the standard helical gears act like...
Info Gii
Progress picture of Dave Ellis's RD125 restoration goal is a showroom condition finish centre rib from the reed blocks, enlarged the opening, and fitted fibre Harpower reeds. The idea was to lift the revs at which peak power would be produced, and hopefully make mere of it. To feed the engine with more air, the 18mm Tekei carbs were bored and after running out of bigger main jets Stan resorted to drilling them larger. But nothing seemed to work. Stan was puzzled, as was I. So he fitted a set of...
Yamaha Xt500
Having spent the last 20 years restoring mostly trail bikes, and being an avid reader of CMM, Mark Smith thought it was about time to show us his latest iconic rebuild. Having seen XTs in my youth, it would only be a matter of time before the right bike had to appear - 30 years to be precise. This is my 1978 XT500 it was registered in late 1979 and has been owned prior to myself by one family. It hasn't done much in its life 8300 miles, just two MoTs and two tax discs, with the last one...
Hagon Wheel Services
www.newera-motorcycle-rei NEW ERA MOTORCYdl amp 530 452391 Mq Over 20 years' experience in restoring British andJapanese I 101484 667776 info clas icshow .org y w www.dassicshows.org j The 6th Malvern Rits N' Pieces Classic Car amp Bike Autojunible Three Counties Showground, Malvern, WorcsWR13 6NW Adult 5.00 Child 2.00 7-14 The Newbury Classic Car amp Bike Show amp Jumble Newbury Racecourse. Newbury Berks RG14 7NZ Adult 5.00 Child 2.00 7-14 JMaasa lwSMgs amp Fki i io Map tetoMI Intricate,...
I Bought An Xr69 Replica
Bob Chambers bought an XR69 replica from Trident Engineering In May 2010. He bought the race version of the bike and has been racing it in CRMC. He was giving it the berries at the CMM track day in October. It's a man's bike - well the clutch is anyway They need it. otherwise they do go through clutches. Why did I buy it I just wanted one. A mate of mine keeps Mick Grants XR69 - I love them. They handle lovely - really good actually. They don't go quite well enough though. I know of a few...
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These beauties will find their home on Steve's Benelli as part of his ignition kit project KRl-based carb for trials bikes with Aliens' own extended air-screw adjuster Cunning, magical and works of mechanical art These beauties will find their home on Steve's Benelli as part of his ignition kit project suited for the rrarket - a simple digital system, with a simple, smaller ECU, and just have the advance based on engine speed, rather than engire speed and throttle position, but that will be...
Honda Mr250 Elsinore
Brian Williams owns the first, last and only two stroke enduro bike made by Honda. This is my 1977 Honda MR250 Elsinore, based on the CR250M but with lights, different carb and engine details. It was only ever made for one year 1976-77 and only sold to the USA and Australia. This one was imported from sunny California I bought it via eBay in June 2009. It was an oily rag restoration the tank dedented and resprayed, new bars and shocks, but other than that it is original - there's no rus in the...
Peter James Insurance
Peter James Insurance is our exclusive Insurance Partner. Telephone 0121 506 6040 to discuss all your insurance needs. Cadwell Park thrummed to the sound of CMM readers enjoying their machines to the full at the inaugural Classic Motorcycle Mechanics trackday. Those who made the trip to leafy Lincolnshire were rewarded with riding on one of the best racetracks in the country. From restored Yamaha RD350LCs through BMW Boxers to a beautiful and rare Segale Kawasaki endurance racer there was an...