Crispy fried Honda XL500

16 x 3.00 rims both ends. Nuff said.

Crispy Fried Suzuki TS250X Motard Concepts

Concepts for a Suzuki TS250X with my 16x3 cafe wheels, which were originally budget motard wheels. The rear is a bolt in affair with custom spacers, but the front is much trickier. I am considering modifying the front hub to take a brake disc. Can be done, but at what cost?

Crispy Fried Yamaha DT175's

The Motard / Supermoto concept is simply the ubiquitous Yamaha DT175 with early 80s Suzuki RG250 Gamma front end and rear wheel. Both share the same rear axle sizes. I think its way cool and would be a lotta fun! Its funny, the smaller the bike the more fun it is!
The late 70s to early 80s road racer concept is also Yamaha DT175 with early 80s Suzuki RG250 Gamma front end and rear wheel and TZ250/350 seat and tank. The tank will need to be shorter to suit the DT. This is my favorite concept since coming up with the DR400 vintage supermoto!
I would like to do this project in this order - first building the Supermoto and then later the micro-road-racer.

Hand Made Vintage Customs - Bike Show 7th April 2013

Attended the Hand Made Vintage Kustoms Bike show in Malaga just yesterday, and here are a couple of happy snaps. Great variety of bikes and some cars too. Real hot-rod kind of atmosphere. Was also great to get a look in the HMVK shop and see what builds are in progress. For further details check out their facebook page.

My Kawasaki ZX12R Long Term Review

I purchased my 2000 model Kawasaki ZX12R just over six years ago and I would have to say that I have mostly loved owning it in that time. There have been only a couple of small problems which ZX12s share, all of which I have experienced
- warped front discs due to seized calipers

- the clutch grumbles like crazy in the early models due to oil   starvation in the clutch basket

- difficult battery access

 The only way to solve the warping discs problem is to regularly clean the pistons in the brake calipers. If you are having hot start problems then it is 99% likely that your battery needs replacing, I have read that batteries tend to get hot because they are fully enclosed and right behind the engine. Access to the battery in the 'twelve' is a painful process which involves removing the tank cover, then five screws on the cover plate and then removing some cables! If your ZX12 gets ridden only now and then, definitely invest in a trickle charger and wire it up so you can plug it in with everything in situ.
It is a brilliant 'highway blaster' being very stable and not to mention comfortable for long periods. I actually bought the ZX12 because I wanted a sportsbike that was comfortable and capable a commuter. It does run fairly hot in slow traffic even on cold days and does not like travelling at anything below 40km/h anyway, so I have yet to overheat it! I live in a fairly warm climate where summer days often go above 40 degress celcius (110 farenheit). My bike is not a high mileage unit having only done just over 36,000km (only having 19,000km when I bought it).

 In the time I have had it, the neutral sender was replaced under warranty, had two batteries, had the  front dics replaced with MetalGear discs, sprockets and chain and both tyres. On the subject of tyres I am now running Michelin Pilot Powers front and rear. The old rear tyre was a 200 wide tyre, but was replaced with a 190 wide tyre to improve turn-in, which is noticeable. I am very happy with the bike because I still own it!

 

Cheap Budget Track Day Bike

Just the other night I was thinking about what would be the cheapest way to get into a track bike that could be used on a road course or a kart track. It needs to be reasonably quick, have good suspension and brakes and not cost a squillion to maintain. Durability is also very important, so if I throw it down the road at speed it won't shatter into tiny pieces.Chinese bikes are out, eighties sport bikes while cheap to buy will need lots of cash throwing at them, and seventies bikes are definitely worn out?

Turns out the best bang for your buck at the moment is late 80s to early 90s two-stroke motocross bikes. These can be had for around $2000 in good condition. At around 45hp and 95kg they have good power-to-weight (1988 KX250 pictured above). I know the usual route is to fit motard wheels, but at $1500 for a good used set-up, its a bit pricey. So instead just fit some road tyres or dual sport tyres like the anakee 3s at a cost of around $450 fitted(see pic above). Probably will also need to fit some axle sliders (home made $50) and some handguards to protect the levers at around $50.

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