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FEEDBACK
Readers, as well as those involved in the motorcycle industry, are invited to have their say about motorcycles they own or have owned. Anything is fair game: performance, handling, relia-
bility, service, parts availability, lovability, you name it. Suggestions: be objective, be fair, no wildly emotional but ill-founded invectives; include useful facts like mileage on odometer, time owned, model year, special equipment and accessories bought, etc.
HONDA CR250M ELSINORE
My bike was purchased in June for $1295 from a local dealer who also sells CZ and actively engages in motocross in our area. The bike, as with any other competition machine, of course, has no warranty or guarantee of any kind.
After about 25 or 30 hours on the bike, part of the piston crown around the ring lands disintegrated into quite a few bits and pieces, embedding themselves into the head. During this carrying on by my engine it managed to score the barrel enough to require a first oversize (0.025 in.) piston and rings. The culprit was me, aided and abetted by the air cleaner element.
The seal between the element and air box is extremely critical. The lip of the element must be snug and flush with the base of the air box, preferably with a coating of grease to ensure a dust free seal. As added insurance, a Filtron element (No. 545 if memory serves) was added over the top of the stock one and secured with a large hose clamp that’s supplied with the Filtron.
The only other modifications I’ve made are the substitution of a Champion N3G from the stock NGK B9EV and Uni Filter plastic levers. The stock levers are very malleable and can take a lot, but are not unbreakable. The plastic ones take everything in their stride and are guaranteed just in case the near impossible happens. A Trelleborg 4.00-18 replaced the stock Dunlop and up front a pair of Husky handlebars were subbed for the badly pranged chrome moly stock ones.
There is one question, however, that I must pose. Gossip and dealer banter seem to indicate that western Canada is the proving ground for the Elsinore. These bikes abound in Alberta and B.C. I have heard that these machines are relatively rare in the U.S. and even large (Continued on page 28) and prominent dealers often have only one or two in stock.
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The bike runs on a pre-mix ratio of 20: 1 or 5 oz. of Castrol Super TwoStroke to a gallon of high test gasoline. Smoking on starting and running is minimal and no plug fouling has been experienced with the above oil.
Some short comments: No adjustment of the clutch has ever been required since new, despite racing and almost daily use. Every few days or after every moto, check and/or tighten the spokes around the rim locks. These loosen quite easily. The tank dents very easily but perhaps a blast of compressed air into a sealed tank will pop them out.
Chain stretch is minimal and easily adjusted. The tang at the bottom of the kill switch should be cut or filed off as I have accidently shut off the engine while racing. Pseudo toolkit consists of the usual stamped tin plug wrench and tommy bar and surprise, a flywheel puller. The $4.95 owner service manual should be provided free with the bike.
Parts prices are as follows: head gasket, $5.86; base gasket, 85 cents; points, $12.90; piston, $19.85; rings, $9. Many parts are back ordered and the ones that are available are in short supply. This should be solved so that the privateer doesn’t spend Sunday watching his buddies race while he sits on the sidelines.
Handling and performance are fantastic. Soichiro, I’m waiting and drooling for a big-bore Elsinore.
Greg Bahrey Edmonton, Alberta, Can.
CL350 HONDA OWNER
I recently purchased a Candy Gold CL350 Honda Scrambler from Dick Bettencourt’s Honda in North Attleboro, Mass. I have never had to wait for service and the people there are always courteous to me.
I gave serious thought before I decided on a Honda, comparing brands and two-stroke vs. four-stroke. Being a beginner I really took it slow the first few hundred miles, making sure that I could handle the bike before exploring its limitations. I feel it is a great bike and is truly a versatile machine, especially for me, because I live in the country and do about 20 percent of my riding on the trails. I’m not a dirt rider, but do occasionally enjoy a jaunt in the woods. Its gearing is between the SL and the CB which gives you low enough gearing (sprocket) for the trails so you don’t bog down, but not so low that you rev the hell out of it on the freeway.
For a novice such as myself I feel the riding and handling qualities of this bike are really great. It’s heavy enough to cruise without rolling all over the highway yet light enough to turn around on hard packed trails without giving yourself a hernia.
The noise of the machine greatly swayed my final decision. I am against noise, especially from bikes. I don’t feel that a bike has to be loud to get its point across.
Wayne M. Zawadowicz Seekonk, Mass.
NO-LEAK TRIUMPH?
You will read this with astonishment and disbelief. I have a British motorcycle which absolutely does not leak oil from any source whatsoever! After looking rather wistfully at the new BMWs and Honda Fours running around with oil-free rear wheels and fenders, I bought a 1973 Triumph 750 Tiger anyway.
I jokingly told my fine dealer in nearby Palatine that provisions to protect my garage floor from the inevitable oily “dew drops” to be expected from my new machine had been made. He gave me a look of tender understanding, relieved, I am sure, that he had one customer who wasn’t going to bug him to death about the traditional British oil leaks.
The Tiger, carrying only one carburetor, is as smooth in the engine room as anything in the vertical Twin department since a G-9 Matchless I owned back in the early 50s. The claims of excellent handling and braking are completely justified, and fuel consumption is on a par with a lot of 250cc twostrokes, well in excess of 40 mpg. The starting drill of choke-on, one kick, works every time, but the neutralfinding nightmare you’ve read about is real! There is a more accessible neutral between third and fourth gear than in the programmed spot between first and second. But, if you keep your cool, no one riding next to you will notice you’ve sneaked into the wrong neutral before coming to a stop. And God help you if you don’t find one of the neutrals before you do stop. You are forever locked in whatever gear prevailed at the time.
My materia mechanica has always included Whitworth, BSF, SAE, and metric wrenches, taps and dies, etc., just to be on the safe side as a shadetree mechanic on these two-wheeled devils, but I was agreeably surprised to find that the only Whitworth fitting apparent is the oil pressure switch, made by the tradition-bound uncle Joe Lucas. Otherwise, standard American wrenches seem to do those necessary things we all (know about.
The handlebar switches, as publicized, are all but impossible to justify. The directional signals work in the opposite way one might expect, and if you have a 10-inch thumb you might be able to touch the kill button. There is also a mystery button, with no apparent function, but I’m afraid to touch it because it could have a delayed, selfdestruct action.
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Anyway, the Tiger 750 goes like stink, handles well, fixes easily (if you understand the British mystique like I do) and looks like a lot more money than it is.
Bob Jones Arlington Heights, 111.
G4TR TRAIL BOSS
Having ridden small-displacement dual purpose bikes for 10 years, the last three years have been especially satisfying. In February, 1970 I bought a new Kawasaki G4TR Trail Boss, a lOOcc bike. The five-speed gearbox, coupled with a two-speed transfer case, makes for one of the most versatile small bikes I’ve known.
On the road, the full knobbies are a little rough, but traction is surprisingly good. Top speed on the road is near 70, which is plenty fast for a lOOcc trail bike. On the trail, I can climb slopes up to 40 degrees and haven’t been stopped yet. The performance in stock form is exceptional and is utterly reliable and easy to maintain.
Most of my riding is in remote country, exploring back roads and trails. Out there, absolute handling and speed are secondary to ruggedness and reliability. I have yet to suffer any mechanical trouble on the trail. Slow speed handling, as in trials riding, is also surprisingly good, but could be improved with some modifications.
I’ve been surprised to see very few G4TRs on the road or on the trail. I can only assume that many people are passing up this fine little bike for larger and flashier machines. If rugged reliability and excellent performance in a small, versatile package are what they’re looking for, they’d do well to consider the G4TR.
Greg Goodsell Fairfield, Calif.
BULTACO MATADOR
Thought you might be interested in some observations and modifications to my almost new Bultaco Matador Six Days after 600 miles on the clock.
I stripped it down to cure some obvious ailments and came up with some interesting solutions. It was a good thing I took the front brake apart—I found the swivel pin for the brake shoes hadn’t been greased at the factory and was badly rusted. The front brake works fine now.
A real shocker was taking off the timing cover to the magneto section. It was dry inside but looked like somebody at the factory had left an oatmeal cookie in the case. Had to dust it out and re-seal it. A dial indicator check showed that the timing was still on as set at the factory—just 5/100ths of a millimeter retarded from the suggested 2.8mm advance setting. It may mean a fractional loss of horsepower but should keep any knocking at bay.
As on most Bultacos, the gas cap leaked like a sieve. Cutting a 14-in. neoprene gasket to replace the cork original cured that. Matter of fact it cured it so well that on one occasion heat from the engine pressurized the gas tank and poured gasoline through the carburetor tickler when the gas was turned on. Backing off on the gas cap lock nut cured that.
The Matador was prone to shorting out after being hosed down following a run. Gobs of silicone seal—especially over the terminal block on the main downtube —cured that.
The Bui was tricky to start for the first 250 miles. Now it fires up in two to three kicks and seems to be getting even better. For non-enduro running I removed the rubber number plates and the waterproof watch holder. Both items are non-breakable, but are amazingly heavy. I think I’ll try plastic plates next.
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One of the musts is to change the lighting to 12V bulbs. The originals kept popping at anything over 50 mph. The Allen-head bolts on the bike love to rust. They have to be greased liberally. The handlebar kill switch also needs silicone seal on the bottom side terminals.
As always, the Matador enclosed chain is the best invention since canned corn. A squirt of Castrol chain-lube drops some deposits in the housing but keeps the chain sexy, shiny black and oiled. The chromed rim around the headlight lens leaked and needed a strip of old inner tube to cure it. Silicone seal around the seam made it a hassle to change bulbs.
The other change was to drill a new hole in the side of the taillight housing to re-route the wire from the bottom to the top of the rear fender. I also installed a quick disconnect clip in the wire because it’s a straight through piece of wire on the stock Bul and makes for slow removal of the rear fender. Again, it has to be silicone-sealed. The biggest hassle to date was waiting for a shipment of brake and clutch levers to my local distributor in Toronto. Bultaco has gone to making their own alloy creations, but I had to wait for three months before they arrived from sunny Spain.
Otherwise, the Six Days is just what the legend says—the machine to take you where mountain goats fear to tread.
Andy Neimers St. Catharines, Ont., Can
KAWASAKI 125 F6
I am writing to tell you of the pleasure I have in reading your magazine and the help it has been to me. I have almost a hundred back issues, which makes a great reference library. I am also writing to tell you of the joys of owning a 1971 Kawasaki 125 cc F6. I have owned six or seven other bikes, but have found this one to satisfy all my desires. I have had my problems with it. When new, it was jetted too lean, which resulted in a basket full of B8 plugs and one piston and a set of rings. The original main jet was a 125 and I have gone to a 127.5 for slow use and a 130 for high-speed use.
One bit of warning to anyone wanting to remove the tachometer. I was sold a transmission plug for it that normally is used to cover the main jet removal hole. Stop, if you are using one of these, don’t put it in without shimming it up with a 3/16-in. washer. Otherwise it will lock up the tach drive gear and within moments of starting will break the nylon gear that drives the oil pump. I was fortunate and caught mine early, because the broken gear jammed the shifter arm.
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The bike has had few other problems in 4800 miles of very hard use. I used this bike for motocross for one summer and in stock trim, it left a little to be desired, which is mostly relative to my riding ability. With some tinkering, it made a decent showing. In an open field drag against some fine motocross bikes of similar displacement, it made a fantastic showing and also took several 175 cc and 185 cc bikes which was a surprise to all, except me.
As things go, my age told me I had better slow down, so trials came to mind. I have made several modifications to improve its slow speed handling, which have totaled $115. This is a fair amount of coin, but the difference in price between my bike and an all-out trials bike far exceeds this amount. These modifications are as follows: a 21-in. front wheel, rotating the footpegs back 3 in., desert pegs, Super Rat handlebars, Harley grips, 12-tooth countershaft sprocket, Yamaha 90HT1 rear shocks, large bash plate and the shift lever shortened 1 in. I also moved the fork tubes up all the way in the clamps and put in 10 wt. oil.
With these modifications, this is a great beginning trials bike. The engine pulls strong and clean all the way from idle. I am a machine designer when I am not riding and this is a fine machine.
One note, the Yamaha rear shocks lowered the rear 1% in. and softened up the spring action. The 21 in. front wheel raised the front end 1 Vz in. approximately. The dealer I go to is Cycle World Kawasaki of Kansas City, Mo., and a great guy runs it.
Philip Tyrrell Kansas City, Mo.
VIBRATION STOPPER
A few months ago I purchased a new Kawasaki 350-F9. It is a great bike, and lives up to every expectation except for one thing. I couldn’t seem to stop the vibration from the license plate. I tried everything from spring washers to rubber bands. It is especially annoying at high rpm in the lower gears, so finally I cut a piece of rubber-backed carpet the length of the license plate rack and about 2 in. in width and secured it between the license plate rack and the license plate. This completely solved my problem. Maybe this will benefit other bike owners who may be having the same problem.
Ferrell Murph Atmore, Ala.
