Classic Motorcycle Mechanics May 2022

I couldn’t help more than a shiver of excitement to see our very own Andy Bolas ride Yamaha’s TZR125 this issue. I was 16 when the TZR was first released and I can remember them proliferating on the streets of Thanet vividly. I so wanted one badly, however… OK, we heard last month that it’s time for me to shed some weight. Well. I’ve not ALWAYS been this way, but I’ve pretty much always been ‘above average’, or ‘well nourished’, or a ‘little on the larger side’. So, even aged 17 I would sit on my mate’s TZR125 and just think it was a bit on the wee side for me; how I wished I had been older so I could have ridden a 250 on L-plates… So, I figured…

Barry Sheene 1976-77 500cc champ This is the machine that Barry Sheene took to his final 500cc world title, which is now an astonishing 45 years ago. For many years his title-winning Suzuki RG500 XR14 took pride of place in Barry and Stephanie Sheene’s home on the Gold Coast of Australia. But, at the back end of 2015 Suzuki GB took delivery of the bike and it was fully restored along with other Sheene machines to be ready to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Sheene’s first title in 1976. Shrewd Sheene was canny when it came to the start of his 1977 season as it wasn’t certain that he would stay with the factory Suzuki team at all. It was rumoured that Barry could have Suzuki RG500s or even Yamahas…

ALPINESTARS CHROME STREET HOODIE This here hoodie is designed ‘for urban riding and commuting’, it says here! It’s a ‘lightweight Chrome Street Hoodie’ offering excellent abrasion resistance, thanks to the aramidic fibre reinforcements on the shoulders, elbows and back. It also has Nucleon Flex Plus protectors on the shoulders and elbows for superior impact protection and can accommodate the Tech-Air 5 Airbag System. Best of all it looks cool both on and off the bike. www.oxfordproducts.com BLUE WIRE The sky is the limit for our wire, says our own Ralph Ferrand… over to you, Ralph: “For many years there has been no supply of sky blue or light blue wire that various motorcycle manufacturers have used in their wiring looms. Why wire makers stopped making it I cannot say for…

DRAPER SMART CHARGER/MAINTAINER I’ve used many battery chargers/maintainers over the years and this one must be about the best. The Draper Smart Charger/Maintainer features a nice, chunky black/blue casing which I’ve found makes it pretty drop-proof; it’s fallen off the seats of various classics when I’ve swopped the crocodile clips over to link them to various machines. This is a portable 10A charger suitable for 6V and 12V batteries. The ‘smart’ part of the name means it can analyse and recondition a battery in 10 steps, which apparently makes it perfect for deeply discharged batteries. I’ve had it plugged into my BMW R1150 RT which it recovered a number of times – before winter and when I swopped the Draper over to another machine. No other chargers could revive the…

Three-time 500cc world champion Wayne Rainey will ride his 1992 title-winning Yamaha YZR500 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this year, marking 30 years since the Californian won his final Grand Prix title. Wayne was 500cc champion in 1990, 91 and 92, and sadly would suffer a life-changing injury at Misano in 1993 while wrestling Kevin Schwantz for the 1993 title. He was left paralysed from the chest down as a result. Since the accident he’s been a Grand Prix team boss and is currently in charge of the regeneration of MotoAmerica – what was the AMA series. Yamaha has already previously set up a YZF-R1 for Rainey to ride. The former champ took to the track at Willow Springs back in 2019 – but a 500cc two-stroke screamer? This…

Here at Classic Motorcycle Mechanics we need you to give us a helping hand… No, not just because the editor’s old bones are getting creaky – especially after thundering around the five-a-side football pitch – but because we want to make this magazine the best we can for you, our readers. To help us do that we’ve created a survey to help us learn more about you and the bikes you ride and want to see featured on our pages. It’s a chance to tell us the good bits, and the slightly less good bits, of your CMM. It will also help us ensure the adverts which appear on our pages are best suited to you and as relevant as possible. You’ll find the survey online at www.classicmechanics.com or you…