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Saying hello... and an enforced goodbye :-(


Fire3500

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Posted (edited)

Just saying a quick hello from Lincolnshire, as I've signed up this evening for the forum. 

I've presently got a couple of oil-boilers, plus one of my Dad's bikes, lurking in the garage that fit the OSS description. 

My 1989 750 Slingshot is a nice old bus, and I seem to have recently done a deal that's resulted in an '85 Slabbie being sat in there too... not too sure what to do about that one though, as I wasn't actually supposed to be looking for another project... d'oh. Let's see though. 

There's also my Dad's 1994 GSX600F that he doesn't know what to do with, it's a 12k bike that he's had from new and in pretty decent nick really. It needs a chain and sprockets, a repaint of the frame and the wheels refinishing but otherwise isn't bad at all. It's tucked up out of the way until we figure that out too. 

 

So yeah, hello! 

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Edited by Fire3500
  • Like 4
Posted

Hi Buddy -  very smart looking bikes too - the Slabbie is a Japanese market bike by the look of it, it has the extra gauge (fuel), nice looking in the red and black, it doesn't look like it needs much doing to it ?

Posted

Thanks folks, haven't really got my sleeves rolled up with the Slabby yet.

Oilyspanner is right, it's a Japanese import and seems pretty original. I'm not sure about the front indicators but everything else seems present and correct, and all works too! The plan at the moment is to get a fresh set of tyres on it, a new chain and sprocket set (do I go OEM or get a modern chain conversion?) and give it a deep clean, hunting for things to fix. It's got fresh oil in already but needs the carbs balancing and I'd imagine it won't hurt to give the forks a bit of a freshen up, fresh brake and clutch fluid etc. It's mega-comfy, actually feels more like an armchair than a sportsbike... that was one of the biggest revelations of the Slingy when I got that, how comfy it is! The Slabby feels even more so. I think initially she needs just fettling and cleaning as there's a lovely patina to her, and you only get to wipe that away once I guess? Things like the faded clock needles are the sort of thing that I'd want to do something about, but my god... the luxury of a fuel gauge! That's something only known to my Dad's teapot previously.

I've had the Slingy about a year now and she's not a bad old girl, was painted by Dream Machine and fettled by Bob Farnham before I got her. She was owned by an RAF Harrier Jump Jet pilot who seems to have cared for her well. Not mint though, and I've already replaced the mirrors with NOS items sourced from Tel Aviv and Tokyo and added a new screen as the original was yellowed, I've tucked that away. Also swapped the clocks as the original speedo had a very odd home-made needle on it and the tach was a bit dinged and rusty on the back, the replacement starts at "1" though, not "3", which bugs me. I had a bit of a learning curve with it, including the vac' coming off the top of the carbs and that flummoxing me for a bit, and for some reason I keep leaving it on reserve, so I've drained the tank a couple of times. It had some old Dunlop Sportmax on it until a couple of months back and I've replaced those with Bridgestone Battlax BT016PRO and they have given me a lot more confidence to chuck it about, in fact I need to go through the suspension on it next... I've been toying with the idea of getting some "L" forks and a steering damper. My all-time want was for a 750L, my K is close enough but there's something about an L that just does it for me. :x Other things on the to-do include an end-of-season deep clean and a thorough service, as I've a slight weep on a fork seal so those shall be stripped, polished, resealed and given some fresh oil, while there's also a new (secondhand) set of headlamps and fairing brace to fit to further tidy up the cockpit. Other wants would be either an amber headlamp cover or a one-eyed top fairing for a more endurance look, the Yoshi system is a bit tired looking but polishes up alright and the "pass" button doesn't work on the LH switchgear. I don't have a pillion seat either, so the pegs could be jettisoned if I gave that some thought. I've not bothered so far as I haven't wanted to relocate the seat lock. The top of the cam-cover occasionally gets a misting of oil too so there's something else to look at when I get a minute... Mostly though, she gets ridden and I really enjoy the performance, which is fast enough to feel fast without being litre-bike bonkers, and other than a bit of wallowing from the front end the handling is good enough to keep most things within nibbling distance in the bendy bits. Comfy enough to do London and back from Lincolnshire in a day, and actually pretty decent on fuel when ridden in distance mode. 

I've read the rules, I probably should have posted this "hello" thread in a different part of the forum so thanks for not crucifying me. I like rules, and hope that picture content helped make up for my wrongdoing. ;)

Posted

Thanks for the welcome, folks. It looks like I've jinxed myself... circumstances over the last couple of weeks mean that these and a few other of my bikes are going to have to be put up for sale. Jesus, 2016 has sucked in just about every way imaginable. 

2017 had better be better... Grrrrrr :|

Posted

Thanks dudes, I've got them both advertised but I'm hoping the Slabby goes as I've more of a deep bond with my Slingy, market will decide which, if either, I get to keep. Just grumblings of real life interfering with my bikes... dammit. :(

Posted

As an act of resistance, I'm fettling... also going to try and flog a couple of other non-OSS bikes to keep the wolf from the door... fingers crossed. 

On a less negative note, the Slingy will have a fork overhaul this week and the Slabbie is going off to Chris Gunster in Grimsby for carb-balancing and MOT! (y) :-)

Posted

Slabby has an MOT... after new calliper seals front and rear, new chain and sprockets, new throttle cables, full service and a good going over of the carbs... :D 

  • Like 1
  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...
Posted
On 23/01/2017 at 0:00 PM, Steve45 said:

Lovely looking bikes pal .

 

On 14/01/2017 at 9:10 PM, MarkGsxr said:

Nice bikes fella,hope you got to keep both,class(y)

Thank you fellas, sincerely appreciate the encouragement. Let's have some decent weather and I'm sure a few rides will sort my head out! :-) 

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