URBAN EFFICIENCY
AS NIK'SALLUDEDTO IN HISEDITORIALS OF LATE,THE SIDE EFFECTSOF THIS YEAR' SC OVID -19 P AND EM IC' VE PROBABLY BEENAS DISASTROUSAS THE VIRUSITSELF, YET THEREARE SOME POSITIVESTHAT CAN BE TAKEN FROM THE TIME THAT MANY OF US'VESPENTIN ISOLATIONOR AT A SOCIAL DISTANCE.
Apart from the benefits that local communities've seen from folk keeping an eye out for neighbours, friends and family, we've also seen many people spending more time at home, thanks to the Government's furlough scheme. Consequently, more of us've been spending more time working on project bikes, and 2020 could actually end up being a vintage year with regards to the number of quality custom bikes that've been built. Mind you , some folk 've been simply churning out bikes like nothing's changed ...
Regular readers'll know that Robbie Robinson's something ofa prolific bike builder . He's one of those who not only has the ability to drag himself into his shed each and every day, but also seems to be incredibly efficient with his time when he's there (unlike yours truly , who spends what little time in my garage looking for 10mm sockets, and all the parts that I put in a Very Safe Place... ).
His most recent build is this Yam FJ1200, which is yet another bike that's been created from the odds and sods that've accumulated in his shed over a number of years. That in itself brings about a question: how does he seem to be able to stash more stuff inside his bijou little workspace than I manage to in an area four times the size? (And I still complain that I haven't got enough room to swing a spanner.)
The basis of this build is an old A&D Customs frame that'd originally been fitted with a Kawasaki ZSSOpowerplant, but that was knackered. He didn't have a replacement Zed motor, but did happen to have a spare FJ1200 engine (as one of his favourite engines, he has a spare or two!) so it made sense to fit the big Yamaha lump into the space where the dinky Kawasaki'd lived.
Naturally, it didn't bolt in straight away,and not just because of the physical dimensions (not only were new engine mounts required, but also he widened the frame, and changed the top tube while he was at it), as the most awkward issue was the fact that the Yamaha's exhaust headers wanted to live in the self-same space where the frame downtubes were, and a conventional exhaust wouldn't be easy to configure. So,
rather than replacing the frame downtubes, and trying to squeeze a conventional exhaust underneath the engine (and compromising ground clearance even more than the hardtail frame already had), he built a bespoke fourinto-two system with individual log-style manifolds for each cylinder, with turnouts at each end to stop the exhaust gases burning his legs. Bear this in mind until later ...
Turning to his stash of parts, he used a standard FJ front end, with a one-off top yoke in tubular steel that incorporates the drag bars, while a Suzuki GSX-R wheel with 180 section Bridgestone tyre was squeezed in at the rear. The bodywork was also from the exhaustive
Robinson collection of Things That'll Come In Handy One Day, including an aftermarket rear guard (suitably minimalist), a fuel tank from a BSA Bantam, a Bates single seat, and a Sportster headlight and cover, into which a couple of easily accessible swi tc hes' ve been fitted.
And there was no 'dry build' before a strip for paint, powder, and polish here - once wired up, again by himself, the finish was deliberatelyleft as it was, partly so that it could be ridden straight away,and partly because he wanted a finish that was similar to the rat rod look of his VB-engined Morris Minor pick-up. The fact that it could be ridden without any tarting up also meant that if anything needed to be changed, it could be. And, yes, something did need to be changed...
Those high-level pipes with the kicked-out tips were perfect for riding, right up to the point when he needed to stop at a set of traffic lights or a road junction - once he'd put his feet down, it was clear that the pipes, that'd cleared his legs while riding, were now pointing directly at his knees; knees that were getting hot, very hot, very quickly! They were changed after the pies were taken, and now point down before the rider's legs, making a big difference.
The bike was used for hooning about on for a couple of weeks (yes,folks, this bike was built before the viral crisis, when he had LESSspare time!), before being sold to a new owner. Meanwhile, Robbie'sbeen putting his furlough to good use, putting time into his V8 Moggie,as wellas a very neat stainless-framed GS550(more on that soon), a CBlOOOproject, a diesel bike, and more ...