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Nuts & Bolts
I
spotted something under
a green sheet in the
workshop last week, it
looked vaguely bike shaped,
but could so easily have been
some cardboard boxes full of
useful things. I have lots of
those. Throwing things away
is not something I am prone
to. Hence the new shed in the
yard, for storing some of the
larger ‘useful things’. People
tell me to sell them on eBay,
but I’d only end up buying
them back in a few years time,
for more money. Yes, I have
done that. Back to the greensheeted
bike shaped object.
It turned out to be a first
generation Suzuki SV650 that
went undercover over two and
a half years ago, I’d not really
forgotten it was there, it had
just blended in and become
overlooked. Which brings
me to the subject myth for
destruction this month.
Laying up a motorcycle.
Quite why any right-minded
person would want to do this,
I’ve no idea. Just ride the damn
thing or sell it on eBay. Don’t
collect the bloody things like
flattened cardboard boxes
and old knackered pistons.
OK, well if you must, here is
my laying up procedure. Ride
the bike into the garage or park
it up somewhere warm and
dry (your front room is ideal).
Throw a cover over it and
walk away.
In the past I’ve spent
a full day messing about
with draining fuel, carefully
overfilling with oil,
disconnecting the battery,
covering parts in oil, lifting the
wheels off the ground etc.
What a waste of time.
I charged up the SV battery,
which had been dead for 2.5
years, flipped the ignition
on and stabbed the starter.
She turned over for about 10
seconds then fired up. I guess
the delay was down to the old
fuel that would never work
and would definitely gum up
the carbs. Within a few seconds
she was off choke and ticking
over like stationary steam
engine on a summers day at
a country fair (probably when
you were about 8 years old,
wearing bright blue cords,
a stripey top and carrying a
toffee apple). Perfect.
Of course, there have been
a few problems, the front brake
callipers were a bit sticky; but
then again, it is a Suzuki, they
seize for a pastime even when
you’re using the bike every day.
One of the throttle spindles
was tight in the carburettor
body, I took the carbs off, freed
it off on the bench and popped
them back on. One fork seal
was leaking but I’m pretty
sure it was when I put it away,
I’ll probably junk the forks
anyway and fit something
that resembles a suspension
system instead.
Basically, pump the tyres
up and she’s good to go. What
I’m trying to say here is that no
matter how much time and
effort you put in to laying up
your bike, it will either be ok to
ride when you are ready, or it
won’t. Either way, you’re going
to have to check everything
before you do and the chances
are that something will have
gone wrong. There is no way
on earth that anyone could
have prevented my throttle
spindle from seizing in the carb
body unless they had stripped
the carbs off and taken them
apart as part of the laying up
process. Which would be a
seriously odd thing to do.
The most important thing
you can do is to keep the bike
somewhere dry. Beg, borrow or
steal some space in someone’s
garage or shed. Or polish it
until it’s physically painful to
even look at, then pop it in the
front room by the patio doors
(keep the curtains shut in case
anyone sees it, of course).
Meanwhile in an almost
perfect example of a
motorcycle project, my mate
has just acquired a bike that
I rescued as a project back in
2006. Since my ownership,
during which time it gained
a full set of nigh on perfect
fairings, but very little else, it’s
been sat in a garage, moved to
Devon to be robbed for spares,
left in a garden, uncovered
with the inlets exposed (pure
cruelty) and now, perhaps not
finally, rescued by my mate.
The bike? A rare jewel of a
bike, Honda’s Babyblade, the
NC29 CBR400RR. Just charge
the battery up my friend.
Happy Spannering!
26 WWW.THERIDERSDIGEST.CO.UK ISSUE 173 December 2012
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