siamesing the twins. (one from two) 82 GS1100G

[engel]

split commuting between five bikes this week. one per day. feels like value per rego dollar.

have collected my kwakkas and now need to consolidate and organise the sheds to allow work and storage to begin and coexist.

hope to rekit a 1100g master cylinder for the 650 this weekend as i love the brakes on it, and the current generic master just doesn't cut the mustard.

[Charlie G]

It's tough for me to keep track of your bikes. You need to post a family portrait someday.

cg

[engel]

yeah, got asked the other day how many bikes i had. six registered is the easy answer.

they wanted the hard answer and i honestly lose count. plus i don't count duplicates or parts bikes. should be ten on the road in oz once i'm finished. 3 honda fours from 400-1000, the three gs 4's, the mz, vincent, an rg250w, and a one from 4 gpz900r hotch potch.

the rd350 will only see the road every other year on my euro trips. my simson sr2 and italjet cx50r will never see road use and the dt200r is also deregistered.

picked up a spares katana 650 the other weekend with a good crank, gearbox and front and rear bevels. the cbr and gsx, are, with the mz and rapide not duplicated but all the others have at least the makings of a spare motor and most a spare chassis.

we have hit twenty three chassis. can scrap at least four of those and lose no sleep. might be time to stop.

nearly sound like i believe there hey.

[engel]

katrin and anna have new front and rear hoops respectively. anzyela also copped a new rear and it all consumed merely a sixpack.

the 1100 rear eases out better if the muffler is removed. less hassle than dropping panniers and rear shocks.

tested the katana two up (and less than lightly loaded, neither rider or pillion are compact editions) and am less scared about the cb400/750 than before. only 63 cubes between the shaftie kat and hondas one size fits all K1, and i think 6 less horses at lower revs shall still be fun. expexcting my one out of four gpz900r will leave all in its wake, but each one of the fleet has upsides irrespective of power or speed. ran the rapide today and love it for what it is even though its flawed in ways known only to the english.

quite glad to have stopped collecting too i must say. concentrate on the current herd and go from there.

[engel]

another weekend down and a thousand kay round trip covered on the katana.

found a few open roads along the way and let her sing a bit. very stable at speed even over bad pavement and despite the high average speeds, the tank reserve never showed up till about 350 kilometers. generally comfortable, great brakes, and never scary with its power delivery, and reasonably good lighting, i'm liking it for highways more and more.

[Charlie G]

Glen,

I find my 650 to be a fine all round bike. The only time I wish it was bigger is when I'm riding with liter bikes and we as a group are passing other cars. I tend to hold them up because I need more room to pass. I wish I got that kind of mileage between fill ups.

cg

[engel]

Is a bit surprising to be honest charlie. I don't imagine they would have altered the gearing from the katana to the roadster model for such a niche model. The weight between models and power surely isn't too heavily separated. Once you get her spooled she fairly floats along. While i'm sure the speedo is out to the ****house i saw 85 out of third which is well enough to get past a good size cluster of motorists over here and she got 125 up on straights. I'm far from light and it's on standard carbs, pipes, and visually undisturbed factory top end.

Other thing i love is its flexibility. While on a cruise behind some lowered cars over speed humps. Got sick of accelerating then braking in first and also second and simply began popping up cogs at a constant (1200 rpm or so in top) speed. No roughness or driveline snatch and once we'd returned to the main streets i left it in fifth and eased on throttle. Smooth from 1200 through 3000 in town and no real slug overall. For carbs that had ants in them which i've not bothered to synchronise, sparkplugs i've not cleaned/gapped/removed i'm fairly impressed.

Not saying you won't notice a pretty blatant difference between the baby shaftie and another six cubic inches per pot but for what they are and do the 650 is no disappointment to the dream i had to own one back when i was twelve.

[engel]

all six of the registered harem ridden this weekend. katana to work, then the MZ off to grab a beer and tour the town last night. and out to a bike club meeting and the parents place for mothers day on the rapide. 20 kay roundtrip while there on the GSX to charge the battery for dad as his ankle has been playing up the last few weeks. home and off to the supermarket on the 1100G filling the panniers to the brim with groceries when in the failing light of 5:30 in the afternoon i noticed the twin glow of the gpz900r tailight bulbs on the CBR1000F where i pushed her out the front to get at the HRD at 8AM and had only swung the ignition key to park thinking i'd hit lock. unsurprisingly the starter relay switch wouldn't even click so back on with the helmet and sandles once i'd put away the shopping to bumpstart the big trollop. third attempt she burst into life and so circuits of town were made to let the alternator do it's funky thang. off for a beer as well and followed homeward for ten kilometer by a patrolcar that wouldn't budge. rode super clinically safe and they got bored so home via a curvy detour to open the taps.

feels good.

[engel]

katrin is now solo seat registered and with the thirdparty refund i'll pay to get an 1100 seat converted and get the savings of 5 from 6 at 200 rather than 400 a year. threw another 1000 kay on it two weeks back and six hundred the weekend just gone. lovin the little girl.

[engel]

and we're home again. been to brisbane and back and anna is showing another 1300 miles. sadly the odometer drive gear cried enough so i've been in instrument strip and fix mode this evening and i'm swapping in blues gauge with blacks tacho needle affixed. test it for accuracy tomorrow but has been an entertaining exercise so far.

took katrin out today and she's as sweet as ever. affixed my VJMC stickers to the pair and may even wash them.

putting all three suzi fours in the local bike show this year at the start next month. MZ and rapide went in last year so a bit of variety might be warranted. hope to have a cb four or the gpz900 ready for next one so nose to grindstone time really.

[Charlie G]

I had the speedo drive, which is at the axle go out on me while I was 400 miles away from home. Interesting riding without a a functioning speed. You should consider doing a photo shoot of your old girls and posting it up. Pictures always draw interest. My riding season is in full swing now. I'm hoping to make it through without much shop time on my bikes.

Charlie G

[engel]

yep, tink spat hers about 60 kilometres shy of blackwater in may 2011 and received a replacement off black, then anna did the same with hers last november. have lubed katrins up but suspect it'll go the same way sooner or later as well. will see about a pic later in the month.

[engel]

i've made my first practical/performance modification to the katana. took two minutes, cost nothing, and required no new parts.

as its not registered as a two seater i'm reasoning that non-functioning pillion pegs from the passenger perch are acceptable. the registered owner having no intention to lend the bike or carry a pillion means that any two person activity involves theft by a pair of twats i'd wish an accident on anyway.

so what did i do?

i've inverted the pillion pegs for on the tank head down riding safety. as they were rearset when you put any backward load on them as per when ducked down from the front seat they'd fold up. quite disconcerting at speed. now they dip alarmingly with downward pressure as per pillion seat use which suits me fine.

pulled the split pins, pivot pins, turned the peg 180 in its mount, reinstalled all parts and am wrapt with the result. 200 kilometers of testing and all is good.

[engel]

shot this quickly this morning after i plucked Anna from the shed before Work. the three are on display till sunday but should be able to line them and the other two up sunday arve for a better picture.

[Charlie G]

That's a great shot of your bikes!
cg