Cracking Up Under The Strain
Practical Sportsbikes|January 2018

Engine torn down to fix suspected gasket bother – but far worse reveals itself (naturally)

Cracking Up Under The Strain

What have I done now? When a lad at work announced he might sell his Honda CRM Mk1 I was all ears and suddenly loose of wallet, especially when he said he wanted around a grand for it. I’ve been promising myself a trailie for some winter green lane frolics for years now and the CRM was high on my list of potentials. There was of course a potential catch in the form of a mystery oil leak or, as it would transpire, more than one mystery oil leak.

Glen’s CRM had developed the anti-social and downright dangerous habit of chucking oil out of the gearbox breather and on to the back tyre. Trailies are for sliding around on, of course, but such antics are best saved for the more forgiving arena of green lanes rather than tarmac roads. The cure for this issue was simple and cheap. On the advice of off-road and more particularly CRM specialists, Leisure Trail – fast becoming my new best mates and  me theirs – I replaced a tiny seal in the oil pump. It is the function of said seal to stop two-stroke oil leaking into the gearbox and in this mission the old one had failed. The result was that two-stroke oil was raising the gearbox level which was then becoming pressurised and taking the only way out – through the breather.

Denne historien er fra January 2018-utgaven av Practical Sportsbikes.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra January 2018-utgaven av Practical Sportsbikes.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA PRACTICAL SPORTSBIKESSe alt
Practical Sportsbikes

Gold Rush

A stock 2014 CB11 is, let’s face it, a fairly dull device. But chuck some engine tweaks and a cosmetic makeover at it and all that changes.

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7 mins  |
January 2018
Practical Sportsbikes

Tony Scott​​​​​​​ - A Life In Engines ​​​​​​​

One of the greatest engine tuners of any generation, Tony Scott’s work is synonymous with Honda’s RC30. But Tony won TTs with every manufacturer, in a career spanning some of the greatest names and greatest bikes of the modern era.

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10+ mins  |
January 2018
Practical Sportsbikes

Origin Of The Species

In the 17 years between Suzuki’s GS1000S in 1979, via Yamaha’s 1989 FZR1000R EXUP, to Honda’s 1996 CBR900RR-T ’Blade, the face of big-bore sportsbikes changed beyond recognition. PS celebrates this huge evolution.

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10+ mins  |
January 2018
Practical Sportsbikes

Fettled Kettle

Tony Edwards, it’s fair to say, is obsessed with Harris Magnums. He’d never seen a Kettle engined Magnum 2, so he set about building one. Two years (and thirty four grand later) here it is.

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6 mins  |
January 2018
Practical Sportsbikes

Lester Harris

Hertfordshire’s most famous sons are now involved in developing new Royal Enfields, yet they’re still right in the thick of old school tubework and their stainless steel paddock stands are still the industry standard.

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3 mins  |
January 2018
Practical Sportsbikes

Shafted By The Weather Gods

The H1F’s crank was a sorry rusted mess. Now it is a thing of great beauty and strength.

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2 mins  |
January 2018
Special Build Of the Year
Practical Sportsbikes

Special Build Of the Year

Enter your stunning home-built special in to our Venhill Special Build of the Year competition and you could win our £1000 cash prize.

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1 min  |
March 2017
Practical Sportsbikes

Dukes And Hazards

The Isle Of Man is an unforgiving place for any machinery, not least big twins from Bologna. Despite meticulous prep, a small stone did forJames Hillier’s Classic TT.

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4 mins  |
November 2017
Practical Sportsbikes

Greek Tragedy (With A Happy Ending)

It arrived from Athens, a hound with a bag of nails in its jaws. After untold amounts of pain, suffering and expense, Tony Barrow’s RG finally emerged, as the pristine square four he always craved.

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10+ mins  |
November 2017
Practical Sportsbikes

Droop Snoot Beaut

It ‘only’ took Mike Newman four years to get his Bandit/’busa/ZX-9/10 hybrid into exactly the shape he wanted. Now it’s precisely the machine he had in his head all that time ago.

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7 mins  |
November 2017