Risk of Dying today ?

[Old Koreelah]

The unspoken etiquette of riding in a group seems to have changed. Yonks ago it was an achievement to get there without a prang or breakdown, so your companions would always stop and wait if you didn't show up at an agreed stopping place. The group I most recently did regular rides with did none of that. One bloke would fail to show up and nobody cared- they'd just ride on.

 

 

[spacesailor]

I was out in my suv Delica in SA. Victoria & NSW. Hundreds of bikies 3 & 4 abreast at times.

 

All heading for Camberra. To a big police funeral .

 

When asked they told us it is the police motor bike club.

 

How do they Not get tarred with the same brush as al the other clubs ?.

 

spacesailor

 

 

[facthunter]

Why bother riding with that group OME (I mean OK)? Nev

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

Nev if you meant OK, I gave it up, sold the Brick and now have only a beautiful Lario awaiting much restoration.

 

 

[facthunter]

What is the Brick? Did you get the Lario for the electric start? Nev

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

At last- a chance to talk about important things!

 

The 1986 Brick:

 

[ATTACH]49496._xfImport[/ATTACH]

 

Yes Nev, it has an electric starter but it's a tiny, efficient one, unlike the enormous starter on the 1984 Lario:

 

[ATTACH]49497._xfImport[/ATTACH]

 

[spacesailor]

Try kick starting a Vincent Black Prince.

 

You can stand on that kick-start waiting for the compression to drain. before using the decompression lever.

 

spacesailer

 

 

[Marty_d]

My first bike was a Honda XL185 road/trail.

 

Despite the small size, that single cylinder made it damn hard to kick-start on cold mornings.

 

 

[facthunter]

OK. brick is right. You can get those Beemers for a dime a dozen. They used to boil the fuel, are heavy and not that powerful.. Nev

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

...but rock solid, stable, loveable and go forever.

 

 

[facthunter]

If you love it, that's OK, OK. . Hope your Lario is what you like It's fairly light and easy to manage. Getting on and off it. Nev

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

Nev I know nothing of the problems you associate with Bricks. They have a loyal following and mine kept it's value. Both bikes are from the same era, but the Brick was more reliable than the Lario and rock solid on bumpy roads.

 

It was a hard decision, but I sold the Brick because it was too heavy for my dodgy knee when I laid it down in a slippery carpark. The Lario is loveable, light, nimble and wears one of my Phoenix Five fairings to keep the elements off.

 

Unfortunately, it hasn't run for year, so needs new seals, hoses, etc.

 

One more project to keep me off the streets...

 

 

[Phil Perry]

Try kick starting a Vincent Black Prince.You can stand on that kick-start waiting for the compression to drain. before using the decompression lever.

 

spacesailer

My Youngest Brother has a single Cylinder 500cc Aprilia. Total heap of krap. I have recovered him and bike in my van more times than I can recall. THAT is a swine to start on the kicker too when cold !

 

 

[facthunter]

OK I'm a person who reckons a bike should be as close to a speedway bike conceptually as possible consistent with comfort and simplicity of servicing.. I like it to be able to handle a 1/2 day of dirt outback road if one has to also. The Bike you like is a car engine on it's side with nickasil bores( hard to repair there IF something happens) and should last well but it not light or nimble on turns and does overheat the fuel tank and the power is on the low side. It's just not my thing . Don't let that worry you... Nev

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

OK I'm a person who reckons a bike should be as close to a speedway bike conceptually as possible consistent with comfort and simplicity of servicing.. I like it to be able to handle a 1/2 day of dirt outback road if one has to also. The Bike you like is a car engine on it's side with nickasil bores( hard to repair there IF something happens) and should last well but it not light or nimble on turns and does overheat the fuel tank and the power is on the low side. It's just not my thing . Don't let that worry you... Nev

I agree about keeping it light and simple, Nev. Too many bikes these days are more like installations: a wheel each end, loads of plastic and gadgets in between.

 

My K-75 was the only bike I've owned that had more than two cylinders. You're right that they are a bit down on low end grunt, but I flogged mine around Hidden Valley and it impressed me.

 

Never heard of one overheating the fuel tank. I rode mine at considerable pace from Darwin to Cairns then home without a problem. I had it checked by a German mechanic in Innisfail and he said to just change the oil and they'll go forever.

 

Ease of repair? I replaced the brushes in the starter. The hardest part of that job was finding the damned thing! Nothing wrong with having a car engine in a bike, as long as it's not too heavy.

 

My Lario started as a sport bike and I turned it into a comfortable touring machine which is surprisingly good on dirt roads, considering the 16" wheels.

 

All Guzzis seem to have nikasil bores; just wish my Jab did.

 

 

[facthunter]

No I was referring to the Beemer. It's hard to repair a block that has nikasil. when something damages it. It doesn't happen that often. The 75 is a 3 . I thought you had the 4. They overheat the fuel in traffic, not on long runs where there's constant airflow. I would have no doubt they would last a long time if you change the oil regularly. The shaft turns in the wrong plane. Oops so does the Guzzi. What are the gear changes like in both bikes? as you find /found them?

 

Guzzi owners are like a family Apparently they look after you well in Italia if you go to the factory. Mandello del Lario with museum there . as well. Nev

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

Nev you can distinguish the K75 from the K100 because the triple has the cut down seat. (Almost a girl's bike...)

 

The gearshift is straight BM, because everything behind the engine is pretty much the same as an R80. I didn't find any false neutrals, unlike the Guzzi. Although both have single-plate dry clutches and are only two years apart, the BM clutch is light like the best Japanese. The Lario clutch is so heavy that riding in city traffic can become an ordeal.

 

That German mechanic was a font of info. He told me about endurance testing Beemers around Nurburgring, and how one factory engineer, frustrated with working on the same old design, had installed a four cylinder engine from a Peugeot into a boxer frame. After testing and some nice finishing off, he displayed it at a bike show. The public liked it so much that the factory developed the K series.

 

Sounds like Japanese drive shafts might last longer because the front end is running in oil, while the BMs and Guzzis have a dry clutch. Lubricating the front end splines is a big job. His advice: don't use the factory-supplied grease- use the Honda stuff because it's heaps better.

 

 

[facthunter]

You are correct about looking after splines by regular servicing. . Most shaft drives have a engine on-off effect on bike pitching which I don't tike. The one Jap bike with shaft drive I had the drive was a LH BMW copy. Last forever if you serviced it.. Toothed belt or an "O" ring chain do me these days. The shaft drive restricts tyre size choice.. Nev

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

I fell out of love with shaft driven cams after my Ducati stripped all the teeth off the top shaft.

 

Replacing and resetting the clearances was an interesting job. Having wasted much time trying to enclose the drive chain to control the damned oil, I eventually transitioned to shaft-driven bikes- then discovered even shafts have problems.

 

I finally found one Harley feature that I approved of: belt drive.

 

 

[Marty_d]

Interesting - I'd always assumed shaft drives had far fewer problems and maintenance requirements than chain.

 

 

[facthunter]

Ordinary chain .Yes. "O, Z, X" ring Chains last about 20,000 Kms . Shafts have a uni or CV joint and splines. as well as a precision spiral bevel gear sometimes both ends.. They also need a shock absorber like the Rotax 912. Loss of power and reaction to drive torque. Heavy costly and not quite the answer. Nev

 

 

[David2ayo]

Belt on my Harley RoadKing is original at 56,000K, going well. Belt on previous machine, Springer, had a hole in it covering about a quarter or more of the width. Never gave any issues, I rode it for about 30,000km. Need to keep them tight - one of our gang members (Christian Motorcyclist Association) lost forward motion due to cross bars of rubber spitting off, eventually enough dropped off to kill the grip. In hindsight (wonderful thing, that!) if we had tightened it up and rode gently he would have made it home.

 

David

 

.

 

 

[facthunter]

The belts are fine as long as a rock or bit of tree doesn't go through it. Rare enough but I've seen it happen twice. A highway always person would be unlucky to have a problem.. I don't really like being on highways. Buffetting , fumes, small rocks are no fun. Nev

 

 

[Soleair]

I fell out of love with shaft driven cams after my Ducati stripped all the teeth off the top shaft.Replacing and resetting the clearances was an interesting job. Having wasted much time trying to enclose the drive chain to control the damned oil, I eventually transitioned to shaft-driven bikes- then discovered even shafts have problems.

 

I finally found one Harley feature that I approved of: belt drive.

After a few old Britbikes (BSA A5; Royal Enfield Bullet; Triumph 3TA) I bought a Honda 550K4. It was a ratbike, to be fair, but it went well. On my way to work there was a straight bit of road that I kept trying to reach the magic ton on, but never quite made it. Then one day, just after the straight, when I'd slowed down to 30 or so approaching a roundabout, there was a bang & the rear wheel locked. I got the clutch in quickly, so stayed on board. Turned out the timing chain had jumped off the sprocket & seized the engine. But if it had happened a minute earlier I would have been hurting. . .

 

So when I returned to biking in my 40's, I bought a Honda VFR 750FV with gear driven cams. Bullet proof V4 engine, superb sound; impeccable handling. Loved that bike.

 

Bruce

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

... there was a bang & the rear wheel locked. I got the clutch in quickly, so stayed on board. Turned out the timing chain had jumped off the sprocket & seized the engine...

Days of excitement, Bruce! I had the timing chain fail on my XS-650 Yamaha (also while trying to "do a ton").

 

I too was ready, and immediately grabbed a handful of clutch as the bike free wheeled several hundred metres to a stop.

 

Later I realised that, given my reaction time and the engine speed, the valves got hammered by pistons at least a hundred times before I made a move.