Bike of the Month March 2020

As February has come and gone, you may have noticed a apparent lack of BOTM that month. They made that month too short; that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. It didn’t help that the weather was utterly miserable and riding bikes in the summer sun was a long distant memory. Cue March and we’re inching ever closer to spring. Yesterday was the first decent day of 2020 here and I even managed to get the bike out.

I don’t ride on the road very often anymore (not here anyway) but if there’s one thing I get the most gratification out off, it’s showing up modern machinery with our older bikes. Having the powerrangers scratch their Rossi-rep lids in disbelief how they just got left for dead by a bike older than themselves, usually ridden buy a guy in jeans and trainers. But, enough about me…

The above is best done on a bike that is very understated and one that, in the eyes of the unknowing, just looks “old” My pink-neon wheeled EFE doesn’t fit this category but the 1100M Oilyspanner built that you see above is one of the best I’ve ever seen.

Even if you do know what you’re looking at, you’d have to look twice to see all that has been done to the seemingly stock-looking bike. Starting off fairly standard a few years back when it replaced a (much) later model GSXR, all was done to have the older bike get in the realms of modern sportsbikes.

Weight was shed anywhere and everywhere possible; roughly 40kgs (!) saved over stock and with a modern frontend swapped with the endlessly outdated (and questionably sprung) original Slingy USD’s, the rear was balanced out with a very trick raceshock from Nitron.

The buildthread of this bike reads as though a proper hands-on journalist is using it as a longtermer, with a wealth of information on chassis and especially carb-setup. Jetting all done on the basis of experience, “feel” and the use of a private road (officer), the bike has become what it should’ve been in 1991, had our friends in Hamamatsu had the technology of today.

Still very much a project but you can’t help but tip your hat to the work already gone into this bike to make it what it is now.

Congratulations Oilyspanner, your bike is this months Bike of the Month

I’d have left the purple wheels though…

Discuss here

Buidthread here

Calliper Swaps

Caliper Swaps

It’s been noticed recently that a lot of people want to know what calipers are a straight swap to upgrade their bikes with no problems, and without having to go to the effort of making up a set of adapter plates.

So if your bike is listed in the same section as another bike below, you can change calipers without any worries.

For ease I shall just call the calipers type 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Calliper swaps

Fork Tube Sizes

Fork Sizes

A lot of site users want to know about fork details, length, diameter, etc. to allow easier swapping of components between models. I’ve compiled this list forks to help you get on your way, but if there’s any missing please let me know the appropriate dimensions so that I can add them in here.

A lot of site users want to know about fork details, length, diameter, etc. to allow easier swapping of components between models. I’ve compiled this list forks to help you get on your way, but if there’s any missing please let me know the appropriate dimensions so that I can add them in here.fork tube sizes