Is there any such thing as a quick fix?
When you get to the point where the project’s rideable – and you remember why you wanted that particular bike in the first place – do you REALLY need to go any further? There’s a school of thought that says no. And they’re the riders riding.
“I don’t want a show bike, just a tidy Japanese classic I can ride as and when. I’ve found a two-stroke and it has really cool aftermarket exhausts,” said my mate John. At first glance that’s a perfectly reasonable statement as not everyone wants or can afford a show pony. The only trouble was that John had already made up his mind and it looked like he’d be hard to shift from his increasingly entrenched position. Despite teeing him up with a rather nice early Honda twin with only 4000 miles on the clock, John had set his heart on a slightly careworn Kawasaki KH250. Although not a bad choice in anyone’s books, the green meanie 250 had led a much harder life than the mature grey Honda. John’s observation that the KH was actually cheaper should’ve sounded alarm bells in his head but the combination of a bargain allied with a two- stroke fitted with period expansion chambers won the day.
With paperwork done, cash exchanged the bike is loaded into a mate’s van and taken back to John’s where it gets a good going over. For the money it’s not a bad bike, nothing obviously wrong and at first glance a damn good clean and polish plus service will immediately enhance both its usability and value.
The bike runs and makes no untoward sounds either so perhaps he has actually secured a decent bargain. Yet after the cleaning the bike refuses to fire and having discounted wet plug caps we find the ignition switch’s leads have been badly repaired with pre-insulated terminals and one is arcing out to its neighbour. Sorted, the bike now runs again but this triggers a deeper inspection of the wiring loom. What’s on display looks fine, if a tad old, but inside the headlamp and beneath the tank there are further signs of interference. We agree a minor makeover with the correct terminals is a good plan: a day’s work at most. Oh, and both side panels have damaged mounts but that can be fixed in an afternoon, no hassle.
Insured and taxed the bike gets used over the summer and it’s okay, not outstanding but okay; this is the reality of buying some old bikes. Fettled and tweaked, adjusted and checked the bike does what it should but never really shines. Of course the exhaust baffles are blocked with carbon so we need a decoke. Another day’s work, and yes of course some of the cylinder studs are either seized or snap off... at least another day at the bench plus parts and a thread repair kit and new gaskets. And to add insult to injury the swing arm bushes feel like they have play in them. Inspection reveals everything inside is scrap; yes, another day’s strip down and reassembly once we’ve bought the parts so that’s almost five days’ spannering and £250. And then John observes casually that the one of the shock absorber nuts came off really easily and can we have a look please? The thread is totally and utterly stripped, someone has tried to rethread it making a dog’s breakfast of it in the process.
It’s beyond a simple repair so to be safe the entire boss needs to be machined out of the frame, a new one turned up (it never was a service part) and then expertly and securely welded back in. John is now talking about a sympathetic restoration and working his way right through the bike. He’s trying hard to avoid the cost of re-chroming, plating and fresh paint so we’ll see what happens but it’s going to cost a lot more than that rather nice Honda. Don’t you just love old motorcycles… sometimes?
“Fettled and tweaked, adjusted and checked the bike does what it should but never really shines.”