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Post by Deleted on May 7, 2014 7:11:55 GMT
Looks belting but I would hate to have such a long winter. I thought it was bad here
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Post by ContourMac on May 17, 2014 17:15:34 GMT
With the evenings drawing out I've had a bit more time lately to tinker with the GT so I thought I'd post an update
Front brake caliper has been rebuilt and repainted
Wiring loom has been repaired where required and rewound. Airbox and Battery store repainted plus Carbs refurbished.
I'm waiting for the rear light bracket, gear lever and kickstart to come back from the chromers and then we should be nearly there.
I am looking for a couple of parts should anyone have them. The front brake master cylinder (round reservoir type) and indicators. PM me should you happen to have a set in the back of the garage
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Post by pilgrim on May 17, 2014 18:49:17 GMT
Hi Mac, I like where you've taken the project very much. Question: How do you refurb the head and cylinder fins like new or is it just the length of a wire brush?
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Post by ContourMac on May 17, 2014 21:40:51 GMT
The engine was stripped down and all casings and heads were blasted. Any residual grit was removed by putting the parts through the dishwasher
Sent from my GT-I9305 using proboards
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Post by CD on Jul 30, 2014 18:57:46 GMT
Somewhere I have the details of a platers that are happy to do exhausts. They said the pipes have to be pickled & that cleans all the oily gunk out so the pipes won't mess up the plating tank. www.chromerestorationspecialist.co.uk/faq/Just saw this thread on the pooter. Info a bit late. A totally fab looking job it is. Getting those casting to look original is amazing. A normal polish can just be buffed up. But these bikes had a sort of matt finish that could never stand the test of time. BTW my Kettle will be getting soda blasted and repolished when the time eventually comes.
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Post by ContourMac on Feb 2, 2015 19:53:03 GMT
Been a while since I posted up a progress photo but the GT250 project is nearly complete bar a niggling electrical problem
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Post by HRHpenfold on Feb 2, 2015 22:01:31 GMT
Been a while since I posted up a progress photo but the GT250 project is nearly complete bar a niggling electrical problem
Looks great Mac, What's the electrical problem?
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Post by billywhizz on Feb 9, 2015 11:02:23 GMT
WOW... can't wait ! well, i can till it gets warm and dry.. eh Mac,, eh eh
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Post by ContourMac on Feb 9, 2015 17:55:17 GMT
WOW... can't wait ! well, i can till it gets warm and dry.. eh Mac,, eh eh
By the time it gets to warm and dry I might have got the f***ing thing to start!!
If all else fails you could always fall back on my more recent project..
Now resprayed to this
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Post by ContourMac on May 10, 2015 17:43:37 GMT
Finally got the GT250 finished
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Post by m40man on May 10, 2015 18:08:49 GMT
Finally got the GT250 finished Looks stunning ! If you have rechromers etc you'd recommend, stick their details in the recommendations board . I'm guessing it needs running-in. I could undertake that task for you if you like .
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Post by bev on May 10, 2015 18:50:03 GMT
Looks fantastic. Used to want to get my leg over one of these almost as much as I lusted after Stevie Nicks.
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Post by HRHpenfold on May 10, 2015 19:44:46 GMT
Finally got the GT250 finished
Looks stunning, how does it ride?
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Post by satnav on May 10, 2015 19:49:11 GMT
What a stunning job. Never had one, I was an RD man myself.
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Post by HRHpenfold on May 10, 2015 20:33:48 GMT
What a stunning job. Never had one, I was an RD man myself. I much preferred the Rd250 purely because they had a right hand kickstart and better gearing/ tractable engine, Suzuki changed that with the X7 though, the x7 added reed valves and right hand kickstart, but the Finnish wasn't as good as the Rd, the Rd250E gave about the same top end power, but was far heavier, so slower, Suzuki though were not great at QC so they made slow and fast X7's, depending on the parts that got fitted from the factory, the earlier GT250 models were better built, because they shared parts from the bigger models, and they were pretty quick when they hit the power band, the X7 were as light as a modern 125, The original magazine 100mph x7 was owned by Mac's brother, probably still owns it!
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Post by GAv on May 10, 2015 23:04:54 GMT
He's Got a Silver Machine(Hawkwind)as I write, there is an old TOTPs from the 80s on and David Essex miming to the song from the film Silver Dream Racer and this is the very bike I went to see that film apon, my little GT185'B. Yep they had the matt black side panels. It had both left foot kicker and electric start, which was great I the winter as country roads were traversed gently so it wouldn't start on the electric which (apart from being a tightwad)had made for me the decision not to get a 250 GT easier. However I regretted that decision for a second time within a few months and about 3 hundred yards away, in each direction,I had to take avoiding action, thank to a careless 4 wheel driver, again.bThe first time front crash bars helped but not my arm which had to be stitched up, the second maybe those hefty leather panniers cushioned som of the impact. Anyway my ankle was caught under the starter housing and it still pains me as did/does a second strike on my arm, that limits movement. Some locum fella said I was suffering from tennis elbow some time on and gave me a cortezone injection. Perhaps the pain from a not straightforward Triple Bypass was worse, but accidents nothwithstanding that was seriously vexing. Suffice to say I did not return for a second one that was supposed to follow. Anyways my security boss heard of the misshap and visited the hospital, after the near miss with a four wheel milk float, his words of encouragement, @suppose you've buggered up another uniform, nice chap, he did then ask if I was OK? Then the Essex Ambulance Authority tried to charge me 30 quid for an ambulance that was never in attendance, as the milk man took me there. Well there were much better memories of those times and that little Suzi. maybe should have got a GT250 but who knows I didnt, (liked the 380 )and wasn't keen on the Coffin tank RDs but eventually went the KH Triple route, and despite quirkiness they were the best 250(and 400) back then. Lovely to see a GT250 as like new, and with current buoyant prices a possible investment, well done.
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Post by satnav on May 10, 2015 23:40:37 GMT
What a stunning job. Never had one, I was an RD man myself. I much preferred the Rd250 purely because they had a right hand kickstart and better gearing/ tractable engine, Suzuki changed that with the X7 though, the x7 added reed valves and right hand kickstart, but the Finnish wasn't as good as the Rd, the Rd250E gave about the same top end power, but was far heavier, so slower, Suzuki though were not great at QC so they made slow and fast X7's, depending on the parts that got fitted from the factory, the earlier GT250 models were better built, because they shared parts from the bigger models, and they were pretty quick when they hit the power band, the X7 were as light as a modern 125, The original magazine 100mph x7 was owned by Mac's brother, probably still owns it! We didn't care about any of that when I was a lad. There was the GT camp and the RD camp, and you either joined one or the other based mainly on personalities. There were a couple of lads who had Kwakas, but that was only because their fathers had too much money. As you can see I'm not in the least bit bitter As to which was the quickest. That was more down to the size of the rider's testies than the bike they were riding.
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Post by HRHpenfold on May 11, 2015 7:39:18 GMT
I much preferred the Rd250 purely because they had a right hand kickstart and better gearing/ tractable engine, Suzuki changed that with the X7 though, the x7 added reed valves and right hand kickstart, but the Finnish wasn't as good as the Rd, the Rd250E gave about the same top end power, but was far heavier, so slower, Suzuki though were not great at QC so they made slow and fast X7's, depending on the parts that got fitted from the factory, the earlier GT250 models were better built, because they shared parts from the bigger models, and they were pretty quick when they hit the power band, the X7 were as light as a modern 125, The original magazine 100mph x7 was owned by Mac's brother, probably still owns it! We didn't care about any of that when I was a lad. There was the GT camp and the RD camp, and you either joined one or the other based mainly on personalities. There were a couple of lads who had Kwakas, but that was only because their fathers had too much money. As you can see I'm not in the least bit bitter As to which was the quickest. That was more down to the size of the rider's testies than the bike they were riding. There was none of that around Jarrow, anyhow a lot of my mates were slightly older, so had 250's well before I was old enough, we spent many a weekend camping in Borrowdale, and the rest of the time racing up Westgate road, or Ocean road in South Shields, or thrashing it down the A19 to the little chef in a group, then back, it was a time when bikers were refused entry to many places!
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Post by ContourMac on May 11, 2015 10:19:49 GMT
What a stunning job. Never had one, I was an RD man myself. I much preferred the Rd250 purely because they had a right hand kickstart and better gearing/ tractable engine, Suzuki changed that with the X7 though, the x7 added reed valves and right hand kickstart, but the Finnish wasn't as good as the Rd, the Rd250E gave about the same top end power, but was far heavier, so slower, Suzuki though were not great at QC so they made slow and fast X7's, depending on the parts that got fitted from the factory, the earlier GT250 models were better built, because they shared parts from the bigger models, and they were pretty quick when they hit the power band, the X7 were as light as a modern 125, The original magazine 100mph x7 was owned by Mac's brother, probably still owns it! Yup! It was the one at the NEC show last year.
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Post by satnav on May 11, 2015 10:34:51 GMT
We didn't care about any of that when I was a lad. There was the GT camp and the RD camp, and you either joined one or the other based mainly on personalities. There were a couple of lads who had Kwakas, but that was only because their fathers had too much money. As you can see I'm not in the least bit bitter As to which was the quickest. That was more down to the size of the rider's testies than the bike they were riding. There was none of that around Jarrow, anyhow a lot of my mates were slightly older, so had 250's well before I was old enough, we spent many a weekend camping in Borrowdale, and the rest of the time racing up Westgate road, or Ocean road in South Shields, or thrashing it down the A19 to the little chef in a group, then back, it was a time when bikers were refused entry to many places! If there was as much in Jarrow then as there is now then there was nowt anyway. Sorry to dis your home town, but sadly it's a fairly dismal place now, I mean even people from Hebburn take the p*ss. It's where dreams go to die. No racing up Ocean Rd anymore either. Kerbs, sorry speed humps, and other traffic calming has put paid to that. The police now regularly patrol the A19 and all Little Chefs have gone; though there is now an American Diner just north of Middlesbrough. Borrowdale eh? So you just terrorised the poor travellers along the A66 instead? No dual carriageways in those days; just lots of full throttle, heart in the mouth and wind in the underwear, overtaking manoeuvres.
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Post by HRHpenfold on May 11, 2015 11:17:14 GMT
There was none of that around Jarrow, anyhow a lot of my mates were slightly older, so had 250's well before I was old enough, we spent many a weekend camping in Borrowdale, and the rest of the time racing up Westgate road, or Ocean road in South Shields, or thrashing it down the A19 to the little chef in a group, then back, it was a time when bikers were refused entry to many places! If there was as much in Jarrow then as there is now then there was nowt anyway. Sorry to dis your home town, but sadly it's a fairly dismal place now, I mean even people from Hebburn take the p*ss. It's where dreams go to die. No racing up Ocean Rd anymore either. Kerbs, sorry speed humps, and other traffic calming has put paid to that. The police now regularly patrol the A19 and all Little Chefs have gone; though there is now an American Diner just north of Middlesbrough. Borrowdale eh? So you just terrorised the poor travellers along the A66 instead? No dual carriageways in those days; just lots of full throttle, heart in the mouth and wind in the underwear, overtaking manoeuvres. I wasn't as much then, and I left as soon as it was possible and have never been tempted to live there since, we used the Hartside road then, slow up, fast down, well 55 ish on a fizzie!
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Post by CD on May 12, 2015 22:39:33 GMT
I found the standard Suzuki rear suspension was too stiffly sprung and too under damped to really use the bike. Fuel consumption was also an issue for any stroker. This oil crisis was by no means over. I instead went for a Honda XL250K0 Motorsport. Not as fast but with big knobblies far more cool. Of course it couldnt handle wet roads and don't even mention mud.
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Post by satnav on May 12, 2015 22:46:19 GMT
I found the standard Suzuki rear suspension was too stiffly sprung and too under damped to really use the bike. Fuel consumption was also an issue for any stroker. This oil crisis was by no means over. I instead went for a Honda XL250K0 Motorsport. Not as fast but with big knobblies far more cool. Of course it couldnt handle wet roads and don't even mention mud. You heathen. Turn up in the farthest flung corners of Doncaster with one one of those and your family and loved ones would never have heard from you again. Ever seen Deliverance? Now as penance repeat the following whilst being flayed with birch twigs: Two stroke good, four stroke bad, two stroke good, four stroke bad.....
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Post by GAv on May 13, 2015 1:45:31 GMT
So you remained truly- madly- deeply, faithfully committed to the cause then?
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Post by satnav on May 13, 2015 8:00:20 GMT
So you remained truly- madly- deeply, faithfully committed to the cause then? I only came over to the church of the four stroke to enlighten those who walk in the dark. Plus where the hell do you get a 900cc stroker these days? Seriously if Mrs Satnav would allow more than one bike I would have a small stroker to play with.
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Post by HRHpenfold on May 13, 2015 8:17:41 GMT
in the day two strokes were super cool, four strokes at 250cc were super dull, so dull in fact the Japanese would call them Dream, or superdream, trying to convince buyers they were less dull than reality, the other Japanese manufactures made 4 strokes that looked like 2 strokes, leading to that well known saying, "don't be a dope, buy a 2 stroke"!
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Post by GAv on May 13, 2015 11:30:17 GMT
Apart from making a wonderous six pot 750 Sei, and later 900 version, as well as small capacity 4s Moto Guzzi/ Benelli did their own versions as well as some Strokers. There is a rather appealing 250 Electronique up for grabs on Fleabay right now. I also recal going up to Olympia way back when(just sold my little Suzi Wolf)to the bike show, with the Harlow MC on a coach, and Harley(sorry my iPad keeps changing the first part of the name, honest,)Davidson were in bed with An Italian firm, forming AMF,before the U.S. Government came to the rescue, and not only was quality highly suspect, but there were 125 and 250 Strokers on offer too. I recall that in the 90s when I was quite heavily involved in the American car scene one guy used to bring a 250 HD AMF, along behind his Ford Granada(American version)on a trailer. They weren't really considered collectable back then as neither were my KH250 and 400s in bits scattered all over the place back in that day.
Totally disregarding any of the head spinning advice, on that coach outing, and still with only a car licence that covered me for on an up to 250 cc provisional, I got the 185, and ironically, it was the later law change to 125 learner status, whereby having got the full ticket, got a KH dirt cheap. Next time around I went to the bike show on the 185.
A couple of years later, the last time I Visited my Dad in hospital, he urged me to get rid of that thing, meaning the 185. Also fed up with freezing the proverbials off, went back to cars, but then temptation came a knocking, again first with the Kwaka 250(50 pounds initially, then after stolen returned with water cooling,) I sourced a 400 three quarters complete for 15 pounds. Made a goodun out of the two, ten years later it was a V400F, (with the Kwakas in bits
)and another rebirth, but then took a Honda 100 in exchange for that, and later a Rayleigh Activator, as new, mountain bike from a guy at work who kept onto me about selling the 100 to him. Another decade on after a succession of Honda Melodies Visions and such, the 125 Aprilia joined the fold, but I also had a 175 CZ and 351 MZ around the place then as well.
Sorry Dad wherever, have long since gave up booze and smokes, that finished you off,but haven't been able to kick the bike addiction habit.
I can't really think of any time since the 1970s when there hasn't been a stroker knocking about various places, if just something like Puch Maxis, great little bikes, my Father gave me his one, and had two more further down the line, oh and a Tomas too.
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Post by HRHpenfold on May 13, 2015 12:01:43 GMT
Apart from making a wonderous six pot 750 Sei, and later 900 version, as well as small capacity 4s Moto Guzzi/ Benelli did their own versions as well as some Strokers. There is a rather appealing 250 Electronique up for grabs on Fleabay right now. I also recal going up to Olympia way back when(just sold my little Suzi Wolf)to the bike show, with the Harlow MC on a coach, and tractor(sorry my iPad keeps changing the first part of the name, honest,)Davidson were in bed with An Italian firm, forming AMF,before the U.S. Government came to the rescue, and not only was quality highly suspect, but there were 125 and 250 Strokers on offer too. I recall that in the 90s when I was quite heavily involved in the American car scene one guy used to bring a 250 HD AMF, along behind his Ford Granada(American version)on a trailer. They weren't really considered collectable back then as neither were my KH250 and 400s in bits scattered all over the place back in that day. Totally disregarding any of the head spinning advice, on that coach outing, and still with only a car licence that covered me for on an up to 250 cc provisional, I got the 185, and ironically, it was the later law change to 125 learner status, whereby having got the full ticket, got a KH dirt cheap. Next time around I went to the bike show on the 185. A couple of years later, the last time I Visited my Dad in hospital, he urged me to get rid of that thing, meaning the 185. Also fed up with freezing the proverbials off, went back to cars, but then temptation came a knocking, again first with the Kwaka 250(50 pounds initially, then after stolen returned with water cooling,) I sourced a 400 three quarters complete for 15 pounds. Made a goodun out of the two, ten years later it was a V400F, (with the Kwakas in bits )and another rebirth, but then took a Honda 100 in exchange for that, and later a Rayleigh Activator, as new, mountain bike from a guy at work who kept onto me about selling the 100 to him. Another decade on after a succession of Honda Melodies Visions and such, the 125 Aprilia joined the fold, but I also had a 175 CZ and 351 MZ around the place then as well. Sorry Dad wherever, have long since gave up booze and smokes, that finished you off,but haven't been able to kick the bike addiction habit. I can't really think of any time since the 1970s when there hasn't been a stroker knocking about various places, if just something like Puch Maxis, great little bikes, my Father gave me his one, and had two more further down the line, oh and a Tomas too. Aermacchi were the italian manufacturer, that HD bought into in the 60's, eventually sold out to HD in the mid 70's to form AMF-HD , who sold it on in the late 70's to Cagiva, Aermacchi were a WW2 aircraft manufacturer! you could get a Benelli 250 and moto guzzi 250 two stroke as well as 4 cylinder 250's four stoke, all badge engineered during the De Tomaso era, the two strokes were nothing special though, dodgy electrics and switchgear like most italian bikes of the era!
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Post by bev on May 13, 2015 12:02:09 GMT
So you remained truly- madly- deeply, faithfully committed to the cause then? I only came over to the church of the four stroke to enlighten those who walk in the dark. Plus where the hell do you get a 900cc stroker these days? Seriously if Mrs Satnav would allow more than one bike I would have a small stroker to play with. Don't tell her, when she notices say 'oh this old thing I've had it for ages' seems to work for women's wardrobe contents, if they think we're that gullible then they must be too.
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Post by GAv on May 13, 2015 15:07:52 GMT
in the day two strokes were super cool, four strokes at 250cc were super dull, so dull in fact the Japanese would call them Dream, or superdream, trying to convince buyers they were less dull than reality, the other Japanese manufactures made 4 strokes that looked like 2 strokes, leading to that well known saying, "don't be a dope, buy a 2 stroke"! Thanks for for the info , ringing some bells in the few good grey brain cells left. Funny how Honda copied the Boxer 4 (or technically square 4)from the Brough Superior Golden Dream, circa 1939. They of course called their's Gold Wing and there is probably a bigger following in the States, where they are made, for Wings than home spun V-Twins, never ridden either but did ride pillion once on a 1500 version of the Honda. I recall going into the Colchester Lions Show, one year in the Castle Park and the whole of one side of the entrance was lined with HDs, the other with Wings probably outnumbering the HDs 3 to one.
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