STRANGE BREWS

I’ve been around bikes for most of my life, from a humble BSA Sunbeam scooter to more exotic modern machinery. In all that time the bikes I have enjoyed riding and working on the most have been single cylinder machines. What really sold me was a ‘Sound of Singles’ race at Silverstone in the 1990s: the sound of those meaty singles was spine-tingling. Then I needed a project to keep me busy over the cold wet nights of winter. The café racer scene was just taking off...

CAFÉ NOIR

‘How about a Honda XBR500?’ somebody suggested. Hmm, an old man’s bike with an uncomfortable crouched over riding position. Well, I am an old man so I would just have to get used to the riding position. I had never ridden an XBR so it was a bit of a gamble to sink time and money into the unknown. One popped up on eBay, fairly local. The owner had got it in pieces and had put it together (thrown it together, as it turned out).

A deal was done and the XBR was transported home. It appeared to be complete, the engine started and all the electrics worked – great! But are those exhaust manifold nuts meant to be held on with Copperslip?

So the engine came out and was stripped for repair along with a front to rear restoration for the rest of the bike. I hand-painted the frame with Hammerite smooth black and it came out better than expected. The wiring loom was intact so all that was needed was to disconnect the unions and clean them.

The alloy cases, fork lowers and rear brake hub were subjected to my first attempts with a polishing wheel kit. It was dirty and hard work using a polishing wheel mounted in