Steve’s Blog

This bike is a little gem.

Recently tested by Roland Brown and featured in a Classic & Motorcycle Mechanics test (April 2008), it was whisked off by our friends at MCN last week for a “Comparative Technology” test. 25 years of progress. So that’s our CBX550 up against a CBR600RR then!

Not to worry; no racing was involved. I don’t know (yet) exactly what was involved but it was “mentioned” that a run at Bruntingthorpe saw 117mph on the electronic gizmo. Not bad for a 25 year old bike.

As soon as I know the details of any MCN article, I’ll post here.  Watch this space.

UPDATE (8th August 2008)

Just got back from a week in France on my Sprint ST and they’ve published it while I was away. I haven’t even seen it yet…

Blatent bit of self-congratulatory blogging here…

Last May (2007) I joined Thames Vale Advanced Motorcyclists (TVAM – www.tvam.org ) with the aim of polishing up my riding skills. After all, I passed my test 33 years ago and have had no additional training in that time. TVAM is the largest of the local IAM Motorcycling groups with nearly 1000 members. Luckily they meet only 3 miles down the road from me at St Crispins School in Wokingham, Berkshire.

For those not familiar with the “form”, here it is:

You go along as a guest and go out for a ride with (usually) another guest and an Observer (note the capital “O” – very important people if you want to become an Advanced Motorcyclist!). This ride was (for me) fairly informal. We went to Henley on a glorious sunny Sunday last May and drank coffee by the river whilst discussing the pros and cons of the ride so far. On returning to base, you can join up on the spot, go away and think about it, or just go away! The joining fee includes your IAM test fee and a year’s membership of TVAM. Once signed up, you are assigned an Observer and encouraged to go out with him/her regularly. My Observer was Gary Berresford of GS Motorcycle Tyres ( www.gsmotorcycletyres.co.uk ) – having a motorcycle tyre technician as an Observer was a bit of a bonus. I must admit to being fairly slow off the mark and didn’t really get down to it until earlier this year. As both Gary and I are effectively self-employed, we just timetabled a fortnightly ride on a Thursday evening and did it like that.

After each observed ride there’s a debrief (usually in a local pub) and a chance to discuss the ride and any questions arising. Then you get a grade..!..

When you get regular “A” grades (indicating a “pass”), you are cross-checked by a different Observer who will then recommend that you go for the test and give you the application form to sign and send off. My x-check was carried out by Howie Pyett on his brand new ‘busa. It was pretty tough and lasted about two hours.

The Examiner called me a week or so later to arrange a mutually convenient time and place for the test. Why did I chose 6pm on a Monday evening in S Reading? I don’t know but that’s where I was last night. The traffic was heavy, but not too bad. We headed off out of town and onto the M4, some fast A roads, bendy country roads, tricky junctions and back to McDonalds for a coffee and debrief. Before he would let me relax, though, he made me do lock-to-lock slow riding figure eights (that was the hardest part).

I passed.

His final advice to me was: “Go home and have a beer. Don’t go out for a ride!”  So I did (go home and have a beer that is).

The replacement rear disc arrived (via a circuitous route) and I spent the best part of today tearing into the rear wheel of the old green Trophy.

Biggest problem. Why did Triumph introduce so many new fixings?

Call me old fashioned, but I bought most of my tools in the 70’s and they’ve stood me well ever since.

But Torx? And 12mm Allen screws?? C’mon guys, what was wrong with good old fashioned hex bolts?

So now I’m the proud owner of a set of large Torx sockets and a spanking set of (Halfords) 6-12mm hex sockets.

The job was really easy (as long as you have an impact driver), I fitted new rear pads and the new disc. How to re-align the rear wheel – well I think I’ll have to re-read the manual as it’s not as obvious as it should be.

There’s no spark on #3 and I suspect the ignition coil. I’ve changed the plug and swapped the igniter circuit so I’m pretty sure that the coil is dead. I’ll swap one from the Daytona 900 just to make sure before heading off to eBay to look for a replacement.

Watch this space.

UPDATE: (30th May 2008)

Well, the Daytona coil did the trick! I must admit to being a little surprised as there’s not a lot to break in an ignition coil. Still, now its running on all three cylinders. The rear brake is still sticking and I suspect that I’ll have to take the caliper apart and clean it. The bike’s been used and sitting with worn pads for a while which exposes a large area of the piston to the outside world. Fitting new pads means that pistons need to resume their life “indoors” so they’ll probably need a good scrub before I refit them.

The wheel alignment is easy when you read the instructions…

UPDATE: (2nd June 2008)

Rear brake fixed. Bit the bullet and took the caliper to bits, removed pistons and cleaned with Scotchbrite and brake fluid (now nice and shiney). Removed the two “dust” seals and cleaned the square groove with a toothpick. Refitted seals, cleaned out caliper, refitted and flushed through with new fluid. Job done!

UPDATE: (18th June 2008)

I don’t really enjoy riding this bike. It’s too much like the Trident, on which I feel far more at home.

So it’s for sale on www.nirvana-motorcycles.com

39k miles, £1400 check the site for more details