Vintage Single-cylinder bike

[KZ]

I've always been interested in the SRX6, everytime I saw one I said to myself: maybe I'll get one... But that's a long time ago and since bikes have developed so much in a short time I'm not into 'oldtimers'... Ten years ago I had two XS650s, fun to ride bikes but a bit heavy, nice to putter around on. But funds are limited and nowadays I'd go for a newer bike, there are some interesting ones around. Surprisingly the engines of a 250 Ninja, KLX250, VTR250 and lots of other bikes go back twenty years - but are fresh from the factory, improved over time and stone reliable.

 

[Franz]

Weekend was busy again with fitting the switches onto the handlebars, the housing for the headlight and got all electrical connections sorted out, a windscreen and the original exhaust system were fitted, the seat, some levers, quite a lot of work.....Anyway during fitting the headlight housing, I noticed my frontfork gaskets bleeding, s... did forget these ones, so next weekend out with the frontshocks, in with new gaskets and also fit the double diskbrake from the spareparts bike, gives more braking power, so why not. Still to do: carbs, brakecalipers, topcaseholder and tank & valves. Bike will be finished within 2 weeks and then I will post some pictures of the result. Klaus if you're into sporty bikes, TonyBkk's Ninja 250 goes like hell; and where in Thailand do you really drive more than 170 km/h....... I just redo my old ones and wait what the new market brings in 2009 (ER6N .......WR450.......any KTM's via their Phuket dealer........F800GS..........). At least once I finish them all they will be easily sold for good money as they are all legally registered & technically overhauled. Cheers, Franz

 

[KZ]

Franz, I envy you, working on bikes, fixing them up and install new stuff is a great hobby, kind of like therapy! It reminds me of living in the US where used bikes can be real cheap and I had several projects at the same time. I'll attach a photo of my garage when I had seven bikes, there's a Intruder 1400 under the cover and a 81 XS650 next to it. The blue K100 came with a fairing but I sold it, it became my "rat" bike.

 

[KZ]

Let's try that again...

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[KZ]

Here's a pic of my Intruder, with self-made exhaust, the US version had only 4 gears. Drag bar, seat, turn signals, running lights... those were the days!
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[Franz]

Klaus, wow, the Intruder really is a nice piece of motorcycle work !!!! K100 is something like, hmmmmm, I would leave it at the scrapyard...... But the XS again would be a nice job. I do this work as it frees my brain from my job related problems and gives me the strenght to lurch forward every working day with new and even more problems coming up. Sometimes you feel like a lemon, the upper half getting squeezed by your bosses, the lower half by your staff...... . So once SRX4-
#1 is finished, I'll do the SRX6, and with what is left I'm gonna rebuild the SRX4-#2 for selling off cheap as not registere. Then the NT400Bros and last bur not least the AX1...........Cheers, Franz

 

[KZ]

The K100 was never a big sales success, but what I liked about it was the drivetrain. Engineered by germans, the bike was reliable, lasted forever, and even though the early versions had barely 80 hp it had torque and was good for traveling, if you're not a racer.
The engine was lying flat on its side, low center of gravity, the crank on the right side, valve train on the left. The extension of the crank was the shaft going straight to the rear wheel. Between the crank case and the transmission was a dry clutch, like in a car, the tranny needed different oil than the engine.
You could overhaul the complete engine while in the frame - pop the left cover, there are the valves! Injectors on top, exhaust on the bottom. No taking off the tank, seat aso to adjust the valves.
Pop the right cover, there's the crank and the bearings. Big air filter box on top of the engine. Replace it with a K&N filter and there's open space between engine and tank. Steel tube frame was a back bone with a trellis holding the engine from the top as a supporting member. Single swingarm with paralever - if you had a flat tire, put the bike on the center stand (yes, it had one!), take out four bolts like on a car and take the wheel out, brakes stay on the swingarm. Cool!
Lots of smart thinking for a bike developed in the early eighties - to replace the boxer, which it never did. There were later some powerful 1200cc 4-valve versions which looked better, but the new K1200 has the usual upright engine configuration. Seems after all, the japanese know best how to make a motorcycle! But I like any innovative approach.
My favorite BMW was the K75S ABS with a half fairing and a howling 3-cylinder engine, lighter and sportier.

 

[KZ]

The K100 and later K1100 and 1200 were great touring bikes with sufficient hp and lots of torque. But the lighter and sportier K75 was more fun. It had all the power I needed, even though "only" 75 horses, probably less if you put the bike on a dyno. But it had a smooth counterbalanced engine, and with a Supertrapp it sounded quite cool. While older british triples sounded like a Porsche, the Beemer sounded more like an old Healey with an inline six, especially at low revs.
In the States lots of people would say: "I didn't know that BMW made motorcycles..." to which I replied: "They made bikes before they made cars!"
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[monsterman]

Both nice looking projects ,, i have to start restoring my wifes 250 rebel soon, paint , wheels ,Chrome etc might need some supplier tips.

 

[Franz]

SRX4 is nearly finished. Just missing some small jobs but already driveable. Need to reweld-paint-mount the topcase bracket, change the fuellines once more and find a broken backlight cable. Performance is very smooth, backbrake lever a little too high, need to be rewelded, no adjustment possible......So here's 2 fotos of the old-new toy which I'm gonna use for daily commuting from/to work:

Next bike to be done simultaneously is the SRX6 and the second SRX4, Nt 400 has to wait...............cheers, Franz

 

[KZ]

Beautiful! Congrats! The bike looks like new!
Must be a good feeling to get a classic bike back on the road in good shape - and legal!
Love that stubby exhaust, looks like Yamaha was already ahead of the time...

 

[Franz]

Klaus, many thanks for your nice words !! I love this bike, she's not the quickest one but a very nice one to drive and handle !! I commute now daily to work with the SRX and use just a little bit more petrol compared to a Wave or Spark............
Finally she's done, there's nothing more to be adjusted, cleaned, added and so on.........................
Next one (one more SRX4 and the SRX6) are already waiting..........

 

[KZ]

This is how a bike is supposed to look! Basic and simple. Visible engine, not much plastic, no long drain-pipe exhaust, short fenders. Guess I'm getting old and my taste is stuck in the eighties!
I had a 450 Nighthawk with an air-cooled three-valve twin, very smooth engine, enough power to get around on. Every time I see an old picture I say to myself: that's how a bike should look! Got my first XS650 after that.
Most of the new japanese bikes are not attractive to me, seems like they're trying too hard. Lots of bikes with 100+ hp, but not many interesting bikes with 50 horses. The Versys 650 is an interesting all-round bike but the looks turn me off! Make it look like an old KZ750 and I'll buy it.
The SRX6 is a cool bike, it should have a better power to weight ratio than the SRX4, 200cc more make a big difference. That's a keeper!

 

[Franz]

Yes Klaus, once the SRX6 is done I'm gonna sell the SRX4 because as you said the 600 is a keeper. The sparparts SRX4 which is not registered I'm gonna sell off very cheap to a Thai friend of mine who wants to rebuild her to a track bike. It was my intention to get a registered SRX6 in the first place but there were none around at that time so therefor the 2 SRX4's. Finally I intend to have the FJR1300A for long overland tours, the SRX6 for daily commuting and maybe in the future the F800GS for mountain rides. Step 125 is just here for 7/11 trips. 2 SRX4's will have to go as will the AX1 and maybe the NT400. Like you I like a bike that looks classical these days with just the FJR - UFO as an exception. Cheers, Franz

 

[Franz]

Finally, both SRX4's sold and now there's the real job to be done, restoring my SRX6, already stripped her apart except the engine, got parts I needed from Pee, some from Ebay,some locally and some from the unplated SRX4. You'll see on the picture below that the SRX6 was completely messed, wrong brake calipers in front, while braking, touching the rim with the housing. swingarm from anyother bike but not SRX, so were the shocks and much too long, tyre scratched the back fairing once 2 up, front fork left side no oil filled (not leaking), carbs messed with, engine leaks at every gasket, completely wrong coil, exhaust just a pipe with nothing in there (you get deaf while riding only 200 meters), all bolts loose !!!! The description goes on and on, not to mention the electrics......
But that's what I like to do now, get the mess from the local "mechanic" sorted out and bring her back to an original state.

Here she is as bought:

Will keep you updated on the progress.

 

[pee]

Good luck Franz.
The SRX6 is a very pleasant bike to ride even if it's not the most comfortable choice for touring with bags...

 

[Franz]

Eric, many thanks !! Well I already enjoyed the SRX400, the way it handles and goes into turns, through it's low center of gravity, its slimness it is soooooo much easier to handle than all the biggies around. Only real negative point is the narrow bench, but driving 200 kms in one go on the SRX4 I didn't have too much pain, but any longer I'm sure a cushion would be the only option. By the way yours looked very nice, even with loads of bags on it :lol: . Once more many thanks for the engine rep-set !! Cheers, Franz

 

[pee]

"Narrow bench"...
If you don't mind compromising a bit with aesthetic you could get the seat slightly enlarged. Only a few centimeters make a big difference on the bum side.
I had it done for my DRZs in Chiang Mai, Wulai road. The shop is on the right side of the road exiting the city, no more than 500 meters from the intersection starting from the mot.
Best Regards

 

[Franz]

To add a little to this never ending story, here's an update on the SRX6.
Well bike still looks the same as when I came to CNX; while taking the engine apart, I always found some new surprises.....by Somchai..... :cry:

Front without screen looks much more attractive, further on did I get clamps with mirror holders from Ebay which now moves both mirrors to similar height and position. Just replacing the holding clamp for the front brake cylinder housing & tank.

Sides look now really nice but still some more work to be done:

Now the engine, while taking off the head, found that none of the valves ever closed so had to completely clean this one up, replace the valve top seals and grind them into a new seat. But then came the big surprise. Engine was fitted with a new sleeve, while pulling the original one out, Mr. Sc also damaged all 4 threads for mounting the cylinder head and fitted them with inserts, just look at the screwed-up inserts......no wonder this one was bleeding from every cranny.....Further on did he press in a non fitting sleeve from I think a SR500 and thus reduced the replacement from 600 to 500 cc. While fitting the piston Mr. Sc found out that the valves will crash into the piston, so he grinded the piston well off with a handheld angle grinder, not caring of also grinding away some sleeve surface. just see the marks on both sleeve and piston. Not enough, Mr. Sc also saw that the new modification didn't work as the piston will crash into the crankshaft, so angle grinder again and here you go.....look at the underside of the piston.......

So now the engine's strapped bare, just found out that a non fitting brass gliding bearring was fitted into the pushrod which shouldn't be there but the 500's piston rod is lightly smaller than the 600's. so take this one out and restore to original. Had to get a used cylinder & piston from Ebay so hopefully next weekend I can start to reassemble the engine. Want it to be ready for Dec. 5th.

Hopefully I can ride her when Ms. Dougal and Marco are coming up on their long trip.

Cheers, Franz

 

[Franz]

One more detail I forgot, just look at the very nice looking front disk brake, well, got that one new from Craig-Esib who will start to bring in parts from overseas for our convenience with a Bkk based company, but I don't want to elaborate more, his job..... , Craig u read this, when will you post & be ready ????????? :roll: :roll: :roll:
Shocks are from YSS Bangkok and have original lenght.
Cheers, Franz

 

[hs0zfe]

One of my SR 500s got broken up when thugs attacked me in the Tallagh mountains outside Dublin. The engine is complete...

The cylinder head needs a mod - to improve oil getting there. Always start the engine, then put on the gloves etc. as it is important for the oil to circulate before riding...

Be careful - I see small eateries hurting and closing over here every where.

Chris

 

[Franz]

Be careful - I see small eateries hurting and closing over here every where.

Yes Chris, business is no good in these times but that's worldwide, good that I didn't open up a shop previously and just do this as my private pleasure with no commercial interest in my free time when I'm not a work in the plant in Lamphun.

Just to support local shops, do quite a lot of out-work at Pistonshop on Assadatorn Road which delivers on time and in a pricewise good manner. Never let me down and knows what he's doing. Highly recommendable, I think Davidfl is using him too.

Concerning these old single thumpers, yes, kickstarting it to life and have them idle on low revs before riding on them was always the idea even with my old XT500 some 20 years ago.... , cheers, Franz

 

[pee]

Thanks for posting your SRX saga Franz... It will stay in history...
Not being a skilled mechanic as you are I had to rely on local mechanics to get my SRX in good shape. The place where I first bought the bike (now disappeared)

It was then a marathon from place to place. The most helpful was a guy on Rama 6 at the end of Soi 19 along the railways. He managed to get the engine running perfectly and allowed me to take the bike to Lao.
I was so focused on the engine that I didn't pay enough attention to the accessory side of the trip. So it was limited luggage: 1 tank bag + 1 backpack.

Fortunately I have a great partner who kept her cheerful mood despite the uncomfortable seat + backpack+me-trying to have fun in the Kasi-Phou Khoun section (Road 13).

... Looking forward to hear your baby's sound when you will have finally overcome adversity. These bikes produce such great rythtm line:

It reminds me of a1980's solo album from Jean-Jacques Burnel (The Stranglers bass player) "Euroman Cometh" where he uses a Triumph as the rythtm section for one of the track.
Hope you can soon join Saxonator band!
Cheers
Eric
P.S. You probably know this website however just in case:
http://www.srx600.f2s.com/srx600/index.php

 

[Franz]

Hi Eric, nice story of your lost one !!!! :lol:
Well I do not intend on travelling 2 up with this one, for that purpose the FJR will do just fine. But as my partner will have his NT400 also restored in the same time we will be out riding 1+1. Both bikes will be fitted with a topcase with 34 Liters which will give ample space, and what's more needed, well, will have to fit in a small bagpack....Won't do 1.000's of kilometers in one go....
Thanks for the links, have seen them all & more..... :wink:
First thing I always do is finding a download of a repair manual before I even buy the bike, if available then it's a go.....
Sound will be a throaty one as I will fit a Supertrapp, to make it more 'heard' as the stock muffler does what it says: it muffles away any sound..... :cry: ...........cheers, Franz

 

[Franz]

Oh boy, that was a close finish :roll: ; wanted to go to CNX bikeweek on her and nearly failed, but right now I'm the proud rider of one restored SRX6 which thumps like hell :evil: and will be much fun to ride :lol: . Although some more small things still need to be fixed like the decompressor :x which works only sometimes. Need to park this bike wherever there's a lot of fellow riders otherwise I kill myself in run-starting this thumper. She really was a nasty thing in the last nights and didn't want to start. My right leg grew I think by at least an inch in diameter.... :twisted: , so here she is waiting to ride to the X-Center in an hour...........:
Her left side

Her right side and the Supertrapp, frontdisk from EBC by Craig-EBC (Craig-Esib) and original lenght backshocks from YSS.

And up front

Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeers, Franz