Avoiding the pig in the poke – Part 1

Welcome to the perverse but fascinating world of Japanese classics – the experience is likely to be rewarding and frustrating at the same time but ultimately the ups massively outweigh the downs.

If bike night at the local is your thing then you are pretty much guaranteed some attention when you roll up on an old Japanese motorcycle. In fact, interest from non-classic owning riders often miffs those guys who’ve just bought the latest whatever – they can be seen in any dealers but your bike is genuinely rare. See? Life is different already.

Back peddling a bit, first off you’ll need your Japanese classic, which we covered last time to a degree but let’s reiterate. If you are not particularly mechanically skilled then please buy a working classic. Pretty much anything from the Big Four should be a safe bet but at this stage it’s probably best to avoid Bridgestone…Yes, the tyre manufacturer did once make stunning motorcycles! Bridgestones are great bikes but you may need the occasional spare and they aren’t exactly plentiful.

So we’ll make the assumption that you are riding classic wheels and now you want your first project. Bikes missing the odd side panel are generally doable but if the tank and seat are not in evidence then it’s going to be that much harder to sort. Missing or torn seat covers and/ or foams are not the headache they might appear to be. There are a fair number of companies who can supply (and fit) foams and covers for just about anything.

The base of the seat is a different matter and can genuinely be a showstopper. Until the mid-80s most were made from pressed steel and if exposed to water they can rot in spectacular fashion. One or two models may have aftermarket seat bases available but it’s not a commonly reproduced item and a repair of the original can be fraught. The steel is thin and relies on strengthening pressings for rigidity. Welding generally distorts the base badly and fibreglass repairs only work if there’s something solid to stick it to.

The next migraines in waiting are the mudguards or fenders. Normally they are made of steel on most Japanese classic and either painted if you are lucky or chrome if you’re not. All types rely on double-welded pressings for their mounting points and/or structural stiffness. On many examples the front forks rely on the integral brace to ensure the fork legs don’t ‘walk’. If the double skin of thin steel is compromised then you are looking at some skilled metal work to put things right and if the rot is through to the top surfaces then it’s even harder to effect cosmetically acceptable repairs. The metal is radiused in three plains and getting it right takes skill and time, which equates to money… lots of it. Know that a recent refurbishment of two mudguards and a pair of silencers from rusty crap back to stunning chrome has cost the owner nearly a grand and you can see why it pays to look long and hard at your first project.

Tanks, guards, panels and seat bases all come under the heading of tinware and can make or break a project in terms of viability. Often overlooked is the humble chain guard, which really needs to be present, as making one from scratch is not an easy fix. Amazingly it’s still possible to buy some ancient tinware from old dealers via eBay. Headlight brackets and bowls seem to turn up with almost annoying monotony. The paint might be chipped, but at least you’ll have a colour match and a viable part for your ongoing project.

If you’ve just read the above and wondered “why would I bother?” then well done you because you’ve seen that getting an old Japanese bike back up and running isn’t always simple and straightforward. If it was, a lot more people would be doing it and probably getting rich in the process. Taking a motorcycle that hasn’t run for a quarter of a century and getting it back on the road is a huge achievement. For many doing it once is enough, bike back up and running, box ticked etc. For some hardy individuals one is never enough and restoration is a chronic condition with no known cure. The term “serial restorer” was never more apt!