I’m a part-time farmer, well into my 50s and live in what we call ‘Near North’ Ontario, Canada, so that gives you an idea of the geography!
I've not been restoring bikes for that long (not yet 10 years), but before that, I was restoring vintage snowmobiles, and now I have 10 classic bikes in the collection including a Honda NS400R, Yamaha RZ500R, a Suzuki RG250, and others. I'd say I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my cars, bikes, etc., (pretty much everything!)... I like my stuff to be pristine.
So, let’s talk about my bike. It’s a 1988 Suzuki RGV250 VJ21 Model ‘J’. The J-model bikes were Japanese Domestic Market only and are getting pretty rare, with parts hard to find. Pistons only come in the standard OEM size from Suzuki (no oversize available), and several parts to these J-bikes are unique, as I was to find out!
I bought the bike in the summer of 2016 from my good friend and fellow bike restorer John B. He’d bought it from the person who had imported it from Japan. John and I are six hours apart and meet up halfway when I buy his bikes (this is the fourth bike I've bought off him). He's got first dibs on buying them back if and when I sell. I think it is all part of his evil plan to have me restore his bikes! That said, John's a talented restoration perfectionist and has an incredible collection. The bike was complete, and from general appearances solid, running, and hadn’t been obviously abused or wrecked, with 9800km on the odometer.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 2020 من Classic Motorcycle Mechanics.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 2020 من Classic Motorcycle Mechanics.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Honda VFR750R - RC30
If there’s a more worshipped V4 out there, we’ve yet to see it: welcome to our reboot of the awesome VFR750R RC30…
Mountain tension!
Award-winning motorcycle engineer!
Fazer set to STUN!
What do you get when you mix CRK’s lovely café racer kit to Yamaha’s budget middleweight and the recently-retired Martin Fox? Well, one helluva foxy Fazer!
Project Suzuki 1984 RG250 part 4 BRUNO BARES ALL!
This month, while we wait for backorder engine parts, we strip the chassis back to the bare frame, assess what is needed and plan the reassembly…
Project Kawasaki Z900 Stocker part 2 Ralph has a blast!
For the best finish on his Z900’s motor Ralph wants the best, so he visits Stephen Smethurst Casting Renovation to find out how it’s done properly.
Project Suzuki TS400 Part 8 Loom with a view!
We’re getting down into the nitty-gritty this time with component testing and loom building. What could go wrong?
Project Yamaha TX750 Part 12 A question of balance…
Only The Beach Boys had good vibrations… so what’s Mark been up to, to sort out the bad ones coming from his TX750?
Splitting links
Ralph Ferrand works with tools all day long – he sells them too at bikerstoolbox.co.uk so he knows what works.
STAVROS: PRINCE OF PRANKSTERS!
It’s probably fair to say that Stephen JamesParrish’s persona and overall levity throughout his life have muddied the waters as to just how good a bike racer he was back in the day.
Metal magic!
Ralph Ferrand works with tools all day long – he sells them too at bikerstoolbox co uk so he knows what works.. .