A few years back, I posted a video onto YouTube showing the difference between the various exhausts I owned for my Ducati. Fairly basic stuff and only of interest to a few. Surprisingly, it has just passed 211k views and doesn’t really show too many signs of stopping any time soon. It attracted enough interest for Google to start running ads on the YouTube page. I didn’t get much, a few pence a day maybe, but it all ads up.

And now I’m the proud owner of a genuine Google Adsense cheque for £60.62. Well, I was. It’s been paid into the bank and I’ve made a donation of £60.62 to Riders for Health. I figured I didn’t actually earn the money and Riders for Health do such a good job providing motorcycle transport to Africa, they deserve it more than I do.

On a biking note, the SEO is pretty good. Just Googling “Ducati 748″ shows my video as the top result for videos. On YouTube, just typing “Ducati” puts me in the top 6 results, just below Valentino Rossi! And if that wasn’t funky enough, I was sat having a cup of tea and a pie at the Ace Cafe, the famous biker cafe in north London, when a guy recognised me from the video. Not exactly Justin Beiber level fame but it’s nice to be noticed once in a while.

And finally, here’s the video one more time…

Seems all my bikes are being blighted by brake issues. While the Ducati has reassuringly unpredictable electrical problems, the BMW has reassuringly German, old-fashioned mechanical problems.

So the symptoms were pretty simple. The rear brake jams on after a few miles of riding. Just happened out of the blue while commuting to work one day. Being a bit of a MacGyver type, I got my house key out and wiggled the brake pads back a bit. Wasn’t easy, especially as the brake was red hot from the friction. Took 10 minutes but it seemed to work eventually.

The rod that the pads slide along looked rusty so I assumed the winter road salt had done its worst. Same happened on the way home. So back at home, I stripped the brake caliper, regreased with copper grease and reassembled. Same happened the next day so that didn’t work! BTW. The rear caliper isn’t actually bolted to the swingarm. It sits on a free-floating ‘peg’ on the swingarm and is simply held in place by the brake disc running between the pads. So if you’re looking for the bolts to remove the rear caliper, you won’t find any. Just remove the rear wheel and the caliper falls off by itself.

I also adjusted the push-rod that connects to the Brembo master cylinder from the rear brake pedal. Same issue happened. I even took it off, bled all the brake fluid. Disassembled the Brembo cylinder, greased the internals checked the spring blah, blah… no joy. TIP. If you need to bleed the brake fluid and you have the ABS model, you need to rotate the rear wheel to push the fluid through. Took me ages before I realised.

As usual, online forums were full of confusing advice, as they were solving someone else’s problem, not mine. I have the ABS version, so lots of chat about the ABS sensor having issues.

Cutting to the chase, it WAS the Brembo master cylinder, but it needed a new one to solve the problem (or a rebuild kit I guess). It was as simple as the piston not quite returning to the resting position. The image above shows the ‘sticking’ one on the right and you can see the black piston is 5mm or so lower than the new one on the left. Therefore the brake fluid was being ‘pushed’ by the lever, but then being held there. The pads then stuck on, causing friction against the disc, causing heat, making the fluid expand, binding the pads even tighter. Explains why it took me 10 minutes of ‘fiddling’ that first morning before the brake worked again. It was the fluid cooling down and releasing the pads all by itself.

So I ordered a new master cylinder (they’re fitted to loads of bike models). Making sure I had the ‘in-line exit’ version (as the fluid came in from the side and out from the top… in-line with the body) and the slightly bigger piston version (13mm rather than 11mm) for more oomph. It’s part number 10.4776.60 so google “Brembo 10.4776.60″ and you should find one. I got one from this page on IntoBikes.co.uk for £43. Putting the old and new one side-by-side, it was immediately obvious the piston (the white ceramic looking thing) wasn’t returning to the starting position against the circlip/washer like the new one did.

Bolted it on, new fluid (making sure to pump it through by rotating the rear wheel). Problem solved! Been riding it for 2 months, no sign of any problem.

There was some chat online about needing a special tool to bleed the ABS internals as air bubbles would cause it to malfunction, but I didn’t have any problems. Tried it out a few times and works fine.

So, as usual, bodged my way to another fix. Hope that helps if you were having similar problems!

Just thought I’d share the latest fix for another classic Ducati intermittent fault.

I’d been having a few electrical problems, but tracked it down to a dodgy loom connector. Lots of stuff was going mental, lights were coming on, rev needles were moving by themselves. Replaced the loom. Sorted.

But some extra problems are still hanging about and I’m never sure if the loom may still have a dodgy connector. One problem was that my rear brake light would stay on. But not always. Grrrr! Mostly when I started her up, the light would be permanently on (like I had the brake pressed). I’d go for a ride and when I got back, the brake light was working normally. Maybe 40% repeatable.

Looked online and lots of chat about microswitches needing replacing, losing a dowel rod and foot brake sensors needing replacing. I wiggled everything in a half-arsed attempt to track it down. No joy. I disconnected the rear brake sensor (there’s a really obvious connector just above the clutch cover). The light stayed on. Must mean it’s the front brake somehow.

I turned my attention to the tiny microswitch behind the front brake lever. It had no obvious connector so I assumed it plugged into the headstock loom, which needs the front of the bike disassembling to reach. Not fun. I squirted it with WD40. Pressed it loads. No change.

I decided to unscrew the microswitch to check it. There are two tiny flathead screws and even more fiddly bolts at the back. Make sure you dont lose them! After removing it (brake lights were still on), I pressed the microswitch… brake lights went off. Eureka! Turns out the microswitch had moved maybe 1/10th of a mm back and now didn’t work. The switch’s natural state is on. You have to press it up against a little push-rod that connects to the lever to activate it… and switch the lights off. Confusing I know. When you pull the brake lever, it push-rod falls away (as there’s no brake lever pushing against it) and it deactivated the switch… which goes to it’s normal ‘brake light on’ state again. Makes sense I guess.

Anyhoo, long and rambling way of saying I simply reseated my microswitch a hair’s width closer to the push-rod / lever and it was enough to press the microswitch (turning the brake light off). Don’t move it too far in though, as it will require the brake lever to be pulled in a fair way before the rod has moved back far enough to deactivate the switch (turning the light on).

May not sort your problem out, but it’s definitely something to check.

I love bikes, but let’s be frank, cyclists commuting through London on recumbents are really embarrassing. Like those people who do offroad riding on unicycles. You know who you are. Stop it.

Anyway, if you ride a Tron Legacy bike backwards, I think you could get away with it…

UPDATE: This bike has been SOLD. Enjoy the pic though! :)

Ok, so it’s been through the Ebay mill and thankfully it emerged without too much fuss. Definitely not the place to sell a bike like this! So now it’s back in the real world, I still don’t really know what this is worth, so make me an offer if you’re interested. Just get in touch using the message form at the bottom of this page.

For sale is a rare Harris Matchless G80 with electric starter and dual disc brakes at the front. These were the ‘special’ versions and very few were made and is considered a collectors item. A recent (boxed) machine without the electric start and duel discs recently went for €7900!

This example is in really nice condition. No rust. All chrome is in excellent condition except for a little pitting on the rear of the headlamp. Fresh MOT and 10 month’s tax. It’s ready to ride, it’s great fun and it’s sure to bring a smile to your face.

About the Harris Matchless G80: Matchless is one of the oldest marques of British motorcycles with the first models manufactured in 1901. The Harris Matchless G80 comes from the stables of the late Les Harris, a hugely respected British bike maker, known for resurrecting the Triumph Bonneville as well as the Matchless motorcycles in the 1980′s. He is often referred to as the “saviour of the British motorcycle industry”. The Matchless G80 has a long history stretching back to 1949 and Les bought the rights in 1988. The resulting Harris Matchless G80 is what you see on this listing. Most were kick-start only but some (as this one does) had twin disc brakes up front and an electric start. They were based on hand-build frames and a single cylinder 494cc Rotax air-cooled engine.

The specs:

• 1988 Harris Matchless G80
• First year of registration, 1988 (F plate)
  
• 500cc single cylinder 4-stroke
• Single overhead cam engine
• Black with gold detail
• 5 speed manual
• Chain driven
• Electric Start
• Dual disc brake front, drum rear
• Power 33Bhp
• Mileage 6500
• Taxed, Mot, V5 present
  

The bike basics:

• Here is a video of it starting – STARTING THE MATCHLESS
• Everything works
• It has 10 months tax and a new MOT (until July 2011)
• The engine is a 4 stroke, air cooled, single overhead cam with light alloy crankcases, cylinder barrel and head.
• It has the electric starter (a real godsend!)
• It also has a kick-start for the brave and patient
• Performance wise, it’s really quite nippy. With your elbows in and a fair wind I suspect it’ll get up to 80-90mph.
• It’s black with gold trim
• All ‘bright work’ is in fantastic condition and polished
• Rims are original and un-tarnished
• Mudguards are also original, un-tarnished and have no slits or cracks
• The exhaust is original and makes a great noise
• Tyres are in great condition
• Seat is also in excellent condition, no rips and trim is all present. Matchless logo on back is a little faded though, but to be expected.
• It takes proper leaded petrol (via Dellorto 36mm carb) so ideally needs a cap full of fuel additive in each tank of unleaded (available at all petrol stations)
• The toolkit is present and the tools are the originals. There’s a spare spark plug thrown in too.
• It’s very light and easy to move around, especially if you find modern bike a bit of a handful.
• It’s recently had a new crank case gasket and full oil change, so no oily drips on the floor.
• It’s very light (150kg) and easy to move around, especially if you find modern bike a bit of a handful.
• It was built when bikes were bikes… it’s simple to work on and a great introduction to classics without all the oil and bother.
• It’s always been garaged and is only used on dry days.
• I do have the original owner’s manual (supplied) but it has seen better days after getting damp. I do have all manuals on a CD-ROM.
• I also have some basic leather throw-over panniers which I will include in the auction.

So why am I selling it?
I rode it precisely 161 miles last year and think it’s time for someone else to love it.

What needs a bit of TLC?

• The rev counter tends to get a bit over-excited past 4000 revs. Not really investigated it but may provide a sunny Sunday’s tinkering.
• The rear shocks could do with a service/refresh at some point.
• Could do with a little fetteling or carb tweak maybe as it’s not been ridden much.

Payment and important stuff …

• If you have any questions, please contact me by leaving a messaging (I will keep these private) or on O777O 918913.
• Cash on collection
• Bike will not leave my garage until all money is cleared.
• Strictly no canvassers
• Buyer collects unless by express agreement otherwise

And here are more photos …

Just digging through my photos of the Goodwood Festival of Speed back from 2009 and came across this gem. Sadly Peter Fonda passed away earlier this year so this photo is even more poignant.

I note the heath and safety brigade have added indicators, a front disc brake and mudguards to the Captain America replica. Man, the 60′s were wild (so I’ve told).

And if you have no idea what I’m talking about… he’s the one at the back.

Been a while since I started the track bike project and finally managed to ride it a few days ago. Thought I’d share a few thoughts.

1) I love it! Managed to build the entire thing for about £475 all in. Very pleased with the quirky looks.

2) Yes I did go for the orange Velocity wheels! :)

3) Wow, it’s interesting to get your head round not ‘coasting’. My first ride was a slightly rushed ‘hack’ into central London for a meeting. Not the best time to learn but I survived. I did have a proper panic on Highgate West Hill though when I realised that if my newly fitted and untested brakes didn’t work, I was only going to speed up until I hit something. On a mountain bike, I can hit 40+mph down that hill, so the outcome of a runaway fixie makes you shudder. Dislocated kneed and a fat lip at the very least.

4) I went on a taster course at the outdoor velodrome at Welwyn Garden City courtesy of Welwyn Wheelers. Turned up, paid a fiver to hire a bike and had an hour’s tuition and introduction into track cycling. It was brilliant. Ok, it’s out of season now so the hardcore stuff isn’t so hard, but come the new season, I’ll be back… and I have the bike for it too! Check it out if you can, really friendly, slightly scary and a great story for the pub.

5) It’s been interesting to see the difference in attitudes that exist in the cycling world, and nothing splits them like a ‘fixie’ bike it seems. I’m from hairy-legged, beer drinking, mountain bike stock and was amazed at relatively icy approach of the London fixie scene. I visited a special fixed wheel bike forum called londonfgss (London Fixed Gear and Single Speed) and, well, I may as well have turned up naked to a WI cake sale. Everyone seems to mildly hate each other and dismiss you if you have gears or like any colour other than silver or black. Very curious bunch and not somewhere I’d recommend a newbie fixie rider starts off. Maybe progress there when you have thick enough skin. It reminds me of the tension between skiers and snowboarders back in the day. It’ll pass, hopefully.

As a contrast, there’s a great forum for retro bikes called (unsurprisingly) RetroBike. Completely different scene. Same kind of narrow focus but packed with people you wouldn’t mind having a pint with.

Anyhoo, will report back if anything mad happens but for now, that’s the latest bike chapter closed. Now I just have to ride the damn thing.