I almost died that way on the Pasadena freeway. No, I wasn't on my Hodaka but a borrowed Honda 450. I had come to a sudden stop behind a backup in traffic, right behind a bumper. I heard the squealing tires behind me and banged the bike into first and lifted the front end up and launched it at the b...

I haven't personally had any experience with them, but there are lighting 'solutions' -as they call things these days - for mountain bikes and Ebikes that have some pretty amazing output and are designed to be, well, headlights. I have no idea of the supply voltages and such involved, but it might b...

First Post Here Ever! For my '71 100 B+, …….is there an LED 6v option? The 15 watt standard headlight works fine and lasts forever as it never gets hot. It's great in the daytime. It's only at night there's a problem. Even then it's pretty good up to maybe twenty miles an hour if you aim it a bit l...

I don't think a picture would be necessary. It's just like a sharpened hexagonal pencil, clamped in a vicegrip to make it easy to hold and tap in.

It's a bit early to celebrate on this method; so far only a sample of one, but it sure worked well the first time. I think the easy out might work better in steel than brass. The other thing is that hammering the key in also may help in breaking up the corrosion or crud that made it hard to remove t...

I've encountered quite a few pilot jets that have had their 'ears' stripped off. My usual method was to drill them out to disengage the tapered business end from the threaded part and usually the remains can be picked out. I've heard of reverse drills working but never had one. It's a bit hairy as y...

Those are the later style adjustable shocks that started on the 100B. If your bike has the covered fork tubes and a 17" wheel they don't fit. Original ones that work should be easy enough to find. I'd use big C clamps over a 20 ton unless I had really fine control and some practice. It's a bit ...

Given that the shock will otherwise go to the bin of history, you could try bending it back. Probably the seal will be damaged, but you could get lucky. Typically, the bend will be at 90 degrees to the eye hole so some creative C clamping on a bench top might do it. Bend it back at full extension; u...

I know it's been about a year and a half since this was posted, but.......I finally decided to pull the primary cover and replace the kooky clutch cover plate. It now works like it should- yipee!- and even the lever pull is smoother. You have to wonder how many other ones got drilled off centre. Som...

Good to know. There aren't many old bikes that still have a parts supply. I love old Spanish bikes but I get the feeling that those parts are either over or soon to be. I like to ride my bikes, and that requires a parts supply, just as it did when they were new. Al, what is the vibration/noise facto...

I've always wanted an A 100, Suzuki blue of course. I like the alloy barrel [don't disappoint me by saying it's just silver paint] and the rotary valve, but the four speed box seems a little dated. I looked at the pictures and the ring lands looked to be the same height, but it's hard to see .4mm. O...

A while back I did some sleuthing on possible alternatives for Ace 100 standard rings. You would think that, with 50X50 being such an obvious 100cc combo, some other bike would be the same. I came up empty. Today, by accident, I stumbled on the Suzuki A100 which was made from about '68 to '78 and I ...

Ackshilly, the manual says 2.50 F and 2.75 R. I put a 2.75 F and 3.00 R Shinko 241 on mine and it looks and works great. The 244 looks too post millennial for the bike in my opinion, and is really designed for something faster/heavier, in my experience. They seem stiffer, but then I don't weigh that...

I disagree that lubrication at idle is low. Oil leaves exponentially with rpm, which is why you need a richer ratio in road racers while trials bikes can run on a quarter as much. Prolonged idle will load up an engine with excess oil, which is why injection systems often run a rate that varies betwe...

You see this question asked a lot on thegsresources.com. If he isn't already 'there' he should be. It is possible to run those rims tubeless if you machine the holes for a tubeless stem. However, you don't have the little ridge that keeps the tire beaded up if you lose pressure; those came out in '8...

ddvorak wrote: ↑Mon Jan 11, 2021 12:22 pm I have never understood the issue with greasing the steering head. With the triple tree stem in place there just is not that much volume to fill with grease. The top bearings do get greased in the process. Am I missing something?

No, you're right. I wasn't.

The fitting on the shifter shaft just doesn't work. The ridge is too sharp and won't allow the hose to click shut. If you look at a 'real' zerk and file the profile to look the same you'll be in business. It shouldn't have happened but it did, and probably led to the early 'ovalation' of many cases....

Thank you guys for the help once again. A) I think my bike is missing the brake switch for the rear. Luckily I can test the circuit still because I found the wires a while ago when looking things over. Thanks for telling me about the correct location of things. B) Al, I will email you. I'm a bit co...

In OFF the IG is connected to ground; essentially a kill switch. In first or DAY position the BAT terminal is connected to ground. This activates the DC system and makes things connected to the battery work such as brake light and horn. The second position Night then connects HL and C2 to feed the a...

The thingy inside the pipe is the spark arrestor. The removable section is the baffle. I wouldn't expect it to do all that much even with new packing, but it will take some high edge off. The pipe should be 'barbecued' or at least take a torch to the arrestor before you paint it. There's not much po...

When you use Night you switch on the other half of the lighting coil. The lighting is AC but the battery and brake light are DC with both systems interconnected but independent. As long as everything is connected properly it works, but you need to follow the official system. On Day you've only got h...

A 12v tail light bulb works better than you would think, BUT... it also draws huge current for not much light, thus running the battery down way faster than the generator can keep up. I got one with a taillight I installed and had lots of grief until I pulled the dusty old bulb out to find it was a ...

I love the 90's back wheel being on backwards on what looks like an extended swing arm.

There's a magic to the way the 90s run; you just have to not be in a hurry and it all makes sense.

The dipstick is read After being screwed back in, bike level. Unusual, but that's the correct way.

I'd check the air cleaner element also. By now the original will probably have crumbled away; new ones are available.

I think a certain amount of clutch drag is inevitable because the clutch is crank mounted and thus spinning 3+ times faster than if it were on the big gear. Being smaller diameter, the interpolate speed should be similar. There is less surface area, but also no gear up on the drag. If you've had it ...