TT on the the telly

Television coverage of the Isle of Man TT races start tonight at 21:00 on ITV4 here in the UK.

For other countries, follow this link for other broadcasters, and 'Access TT On-demand'.

Coupes Moto Légende 2016

This year’s Coupes Moto Légende was held on the weekend of May 21^st and 22^nd. This is a huge, and I mean HUGE, motorcycle event held at the Circuit de Dijon-Prenois near Dijon in France.

A few of us went a couple of years ago (Day1, Day 2) and I’ve been thinking of returning one year. It’s a classic/club/racing show, with invited guests, old race bikes and road bikes taken out onto the track, club stands, autojumbles, etc, etc.

Here’s some videos from this year’s event:

I know I say this just about every year, but I’m thinking of going next year. It’s usually held at the end of May/beginning of June, and as next year’s is the 25^th, it might be a bigger event. If anyone is interested, keep your eye on their website as they publish the following year’s dates towards the end of the year.
Details of this year's event on their Website, dates for next year's event should appear here in due course.

Friday bike

Just because......

It may not be exactly the invisible bike, but designer Joey Ruiter came pretty close with his "Moto Undone:"

At jruiter I.D. we want to re-set the definition of a motorbike stripping away historical attributes that make them so great. It’s hard to image a motorcycle without fancy paint, overpowered motors, exposed mechanical genius, and sweet exhaust tones.
Moto undone is pure generic transportation and by motorbike category definition it isn’t very cool.
There motorbike references are small and when someone is riding they are all you see. The bike almost disappears. The rider just floats along the streets silently.
Powered by a 1000w 48v electric hub motor, moto undone has a range of 90 miles or about 3 hours. All gauges and riding information, like speed and gps, is displayed through smart phones by downloadable apps.

Erskine Hospital bike events

Local to me is Erskine Hospital, which celebrates its centenary this year. It was founded during WW1 as a military hospital and has continued to treat servicemen and women ever since. They are holding a couple of bike events to raise funds for the Hospital.

Next Sunday (29^th May) they have their ‘Erskine Motorbike Meet’.

Website

On the weekend of 2^nd and 3^rd July they are holding a 'Poker Run’.

 

Idea is to ride from Erskine to Spean Bridge, work out your own route but take in a number of checkpoints where you will be given a playing card. Stay the night in/around Spean Bridge, then make your way to their home in Edinburgh collecting more cards on the way. Person whose cards make the best poker hand wins.

Website

Good excuse for a weekend in the Highlands!

You can read more about the history of the hospital here, in it there’s this chilling sentence concerning the level of casualties during WW1, hence the need for military hospitals:

‘In 1915, in the first two hours of the Battle of Loos, more British soldiers died than the total number of casualties on both sides on D-Day 1944.’

Friday bike

Now and again a new bike comes along that catches my eye.....

Yamaha MT-07 Tracer

The Tracer is a 'sports touring' version of the MT-07, similar to the MT-09 based Tracer. (I think the MT-07 is called the FJ-07 in the US). I like how it marries together the running gear of a sports bike with the riding position of an adventure sports.

Judging by the pictures on their website one being ridden through mountains with pillion and panniers,  Yamaha are clearly pitching it as a capable tourer with handling suitable for winding roads.

I really like the look of this bike, and if it's priced appropriately, should sell well. I particularly like the combined hand guards/ indicators/'wings'.

But the lack of rear mudguarding will ensure plenty of huggers will be available aftermarket! Just imagine how dirty the rear of the bike will get after a ride in the rain!

And don't start me on the lack of centrestand! If one doesn't become available as an option then it'll be off a lot of buyers' lists.

Technical specifications                                      

Engine

Engine type	2-Cylinder, 4-stroke, liquid-cooled, DOHC, 4-valves
Displacement	689cc
Bore x stroke	80.0 mm x 68.6 mm
Compression ratio	11.5 : 1
Maximum power	55.0 kW (74.8PS) @ 9,000 rpm
Limited power version	35.0 kW 7,500 rpm
Maximum Torque	68.0 Nm (6.93 kg-m) @ 6,500 rpm
Lubrication system	Wet sump
Clutch Type	Wet, Multiple Disc
Carburettor	Fuel Injection
Ignition system	TCI
Starter system	Electric
Transmission system	Constant Mesh, 6-speed
Final transmission	Chain
Fuel consumption	4.3 l/100km
CO2 emission	100 g/km

Chassis

Frame	Diamond
Front suspension system	Telescopic forks
Front travel	130 mm
Caster Angle	24.8º
Trail	90 mm
Rear suspension system	Swingarm, (link suspension)
Rear Travel	142 mm
Front brake	Hydraulic dual disc, Ø 282 mm
Rear brake	Hydraulic single disc, Ø 245 mm
Front tyre	120/70 R17 M/C 58W (tubeless)
Rear tyre	180/55 R17 M/C 73W (tubeless)

Dimensions

Overall length	2,138 mm
Overall width	806 mm
Overall height	1,270 mm
Seat height	835 mm
Wheel base	1,450 mm
Minimum ground clearance	140 mm
Wet weight (including full oil and fuel tank)	196 kg
Fuel tank capacity	17.0 L
Oil tank capacity	3.0 L

Honda CB 350 rebuild

As regular readers (are there any?) will know, I've got a 1972 Honda CL 350 that's undergoing a leisurely (ie very slow) rebuild. One day it will look as good as this one (honestly!)

I was sent a link to a large number of videos on YouTube of an owner in Canada who's rebuilding a CB 350, the CL's road cousin which shares about 90% of its parts. It'll take a long time to watch all of the videos as some are very long, but it should help with my restoration and any others being carried out.

Interestingly, the CB 350 has a front disc brake. Models sold here in the UK only came with a drum, so I don't know if this is a model we didn't get or the brake was updated later.

This is the first in the series:

Friday bike

Spotted this on Ebay.

It's a home made caravan based on a Soviet built 'Tula Muravey' scooter trike.

The Muravey was based off of the two wheeled Tula scooter and features a 200cc two stroke engine with a four speed gearbox.

This is what a standard Muravey looked like. I don't know what the power output is, but the later 'improved' version had an increased output of 10 bhp!

This proves that not only can you tour on a single, you can spend the night in one as well! Not sure that it would be an ideal vehicle for a tour taking in high Alpine passes!

Should this have whetted your appetite, it's listed on Ebay here. Don't all try and outbid each other!

Found this video in what I assume is Russian. Don't know what the guy is saying, but he demonstrates a Muravey in action: