A Shaw thing!
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics|May 2020
CMM reader Malcolm Shaw is a self-taught spanner-man with a penchant for making specials…
BERTIE SIMMONDS
A Shaw thing!

“Let me see. I have a GT750, a Z650, I’ve got an air-cooled RD350 along with aRD350 special being built with a Nico Bakker TZ frame. The engine needs a complete rebuild in that one. That bike has an Aprilia RS rear end and RS250 Aprilia forks – Aprilia wheels, too. The VFR tank on that looks like it was meant for it. I guess I’ve got around 17 bikes, nearly all two-strokes.”

Welcome to the world of Malc Shaw. A former nurse, now a self-taught specials builder and lover of classic bikes (ok, nearly all two-strokes, but the Fazer 1000 is four-stroke and modern. “It gets me to Spain and France in comfort,” says Malc.)

While Malc carries on talking I realise this isn’t the bike I wanted to come see. But it would be rude of me to interrupt when he’s in full flow!

He’s pointing at the RD350 with the Nico frame again. “I’m making the mountings for the Jim Lomas exhausts. I’ve built lots of stuff myself for it, you know, rear-sets and the like. I want to be able to ride them (I’ve got a shot right knee) so I look at the bike, look at seat heights, look at foot-peg position with blocks of wood – it’s more than an educated guess.”

Our Malc is even making moulds for the seat. “Yes, I chopped up an old Two-Four seat as I had a scabby one and altered it, then glassed it up to make a seat unit. It’s a crude way of doing it, but it works.”

Esta historia es de la edición May 2020 de Classic Motorcycle Mechanics.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición May 2020 de Classic Motorcycle Mechanics.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE MECHANICSVer todo
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

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…

time-read
2 minutos  |
September 2021
Mountain tension!
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Mountain tension!

Award-winning motorcycle engineer!

time-read
5 minutos  |
September 2021
Fazer set to STUN!
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

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!

time-read
6 minutos  |
September 2021
Project Suzuki 1984 RG250 part 4 BRUNO BARES ALL!
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

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…

time-read
6 minutos  |
September 2021
Project Kawasaki Z900 Stocker part 2 Ralph has a blast!
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

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.

time-read
10 minutos  |
September 2021
Project Suzuki TS400 Part 8 Loom with a view!
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

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?

time-read
6 minutos  |
September 2021
Project Yamaha TX750 Part 12 A question of balance…
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

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?

time-read
6 minutos  |
September 2021
Splitting links
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Splitting links

Ralph Ferrand works with tools all day long – he sells them too at bikerstoolbox.co.uk so he knows what works.

time-read
4 minutos  |
September 2021
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

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.

time-read
1 min  |
September 2021
Metal magic!
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Metal magic!

Ralph Ferrand works with tools all day long – he sells them too at bikerstoolbox co uk so he knows what works.. .

time-read
3 minutos  |
July 2021