LondonClassic
Senior Retro Guru
On that subject - seems the market is flooded with counterfeit NGK spark plugs and even some reputable shops have been caught out.
Motorcycle recommission project - Suzuki GS750
- Thread starter LondonClassic
- Start date
bikeworkshop
Old School Grand Master
Hopefully this will push manufacturers back to having a primary national distributor.
I dont think you would find fake shimano in a bike shop because its nearly all coming from madison and i'm 100% certain their stock is genuine.
Somebody in the commercial chain knows the plugs are fake - I wonder who?
It's fraud, after all, a criminal offence.
LondonClassic
Senior Retro Guru
Always going to be some grey market supplies making dodge products easier to infiltrate the legit supply chain. Didn't CRC get stung for (unintentionally) aquiring fake Shimano a decade or so ago? Or was that a fightback rumour from my LBS I wonder, who seemed very pleased when they told me this.
LondonClassic
Senior Retro Guru
Anyway, NGK rebranded to 'Niterra' - I don't know if that was connected to the number of fakes. There is fake Denso out there too.
Yep. We had a nightmare at work with duff plugs...and that was in bulk from a national distributor! Practically every big brand seems to be faked now and at high levels.
If the engine is making funny sounds when hot, have you checked the timing or that the advance is doing what it should? You can easily overheat an engine with poor timing or stuck fly weights on the advance.
If the engine is making funny sounds when hot, have you checked the timing or that the advance is doing what it should? You can easily overheat an engine with poor timing or stuck fly weights on the advance.
As for the fork legs...nice job. I know it seems expensive, but they will be far far better than repro crap from italy or worse utter rubbish from india. Those you have will be good for another 30 years. I've seen repro go rusty and wear through in 5 years!
Keep your spirits up....once it starts going back together you will feel much better.
Keep your spirits up....once it starts going back together you will feel much better.
bikeworkshop
Old School Grand Master
The front end will start getting a lot cheaper once you move on to the back end
LondonClassic
Senior Retro Guru
Thanks for the kind words. You're absolutely right I think.
LondonClassic
Senior Retro Guru
After some hiatus things are moving again. This is the weather to sort the frame out.
The stainless headset cups were a total sod to get out. A mixture of creating grooves in the material with a Dremel and then levering out enough to get a screwdriver sized gap below where the cup meets the heat tube.
Hopefully I never have to do that again! Now the frame and swingarm* is ready to be media blasted for some 2K epoxy primer. I'm going to mask off the VIN sticker to ensure I get to keep it, replacements are available for £20 but instead I intend to paint around, carefully.
*When did 'swinging arm' become the American 'swingarm'? I seem to recall at the start of my motorcycle career in the late 80s it was definitely 'swinging arm'.
The stainless headset cups were a total sod to get out. A mixture of creating grooves in the material with a Dremel and then levering out enough to get a screwdriver sized gap below where the cup meets the heat tube.
Hopefully I never have to do that again! Now the frame and swingarm* is ready to be media blasted for some 2K epoxy primer. I'm going to mask off the VIN sticker to ensure I get to keep it, replacements are available for £20 but instead I intend to paint around, carefully.
*When did 'swinging arm' become the American 'swingarm'? I seem to recall at the start of my motorcycle career in the late 80s it was definitely 'swinging arm'.
