Q: I have a very clean 1981 Suzuki GSX1100, the one with the silver/blue tank colours. I’ve owned it for over tens years and use it daily to go to work and, enjoy weekend runs with the wife happily sitting on the back.

It has always been serviced and taken care of and has just over 81,000km on the clocks. However, recently it has started to vibrate badly on idle and seems to be a bit ‘juddery’ when I let the clutch out and pull off.

I’ve already taken out all of the clutch plates and springs, which all seem to be fine with plenty of ‘meat’ left on the friction plates in particular. The springs aren’t broken either and seem to have all the same tension on each.

So if you could pass on any advice to point me in the right direction I would be very grateful. I do know Bill used to drag race with these engines so he might be the one to ask?  Looking forward to your answer…

Peter Stoffard.

A:  I would say the problem still lies within the clutch, or basket to be more precise, and you’ll have to go back inside the motor to investigate further.

Take out the plates and centre hub and you’ll see a large nut (32mm), which is what you’ll need to remove. You don’t really need any special tools, just put into gear and hold down the rear brake, which should stop the clutch basket from rotating, then undo the nut after bending back the tab-washer.

Once the basket is in your hands look at the back-plate and damper springs, these normally cause this issue. The springs are too soft from stock and go ‘slack’, which can cause the back-plate to crack, causing vibration. If it has broken some pieces might be in the sump, so you’ll have to clean them out and make sure you find ALL the pieces.

The best thing is to replace the back-plate and springs with a heavy-duty conversion. Randburg Motorcycles in Jo’burg can assist with this and then your bike will last forever, and probably longer than you will.

Bill Hunter

Q: My current bike is a six-cylinder BMW 1600GT, which I’ve had the pleasure of owning for over two years. It’s always ‘looked’ after my wife and me, and we’ve covered many kilometers with zero problems, until now.

Recently the screen doesn’t go up and down as it used to. I’ve checked all the fuses and cleaned and oiled the linkages, as far as I can get into the top of the faring that is.

I’ve heard horror stories about replacing the electric motor that drives it, and other parts, that can cost over 20k. So we’re hoping you could possibly pass on some advice on where to look or try to repair things before I take it to BMW and lose my bank account, as we all know?

A: First question, I bet your battery went flat? It’s very common when this happens on this bike and therefore needs to be re-calibrated by a BMW dealer. When the battery goes flat the on-board computer loses its ‘memory’ so to speak and needs to be reset.

Or you can bring it to www.bikeworx.co.za as hey have the equipment now to get into any BMWs ‘brain’, and you’ll be happy to know it won’t cost much either.

Hello Bill,

I have a question about your review of the Suzuki V-Strom 250 which you fitted with a larger front chain sprocket.  The larger front sprocket would make the final gearing taller, meaning that for any given true speed, the engine (and therefore the gearbox & speedo sensor) would turn slower meaning the indicated speed would be closer to the real speed.  Your figures show the speedo error gets worse with the bigger front sprocket.  Could you have some of the figures in the wrong places?

I'm particularly interested in your article because I  have friends and family all over Australia and I'm looking for a bike with long legs and economy rather than fast acceleration.

I look forward to your reply, Regards Robin.

Hi Robin

Figures are correct as we used an accurate Racelogic Performance Box device.

The 'gap' is about the same but the bike did go faster and therefore revs less at any given speed. I would certainly change the front sprocket. Also, we're at 1500m altitude, which saps power to around 18%, so I'm sure at sea-level the bike will certainly need the gearing to be higher.

Fuel consumption will also be better at any given rpm, which is excellent to start with...

Q: I’ve just bought a 2019 Suzuki GSX-R1000 with only 4,500km on the clocks, and I must say it’s without doubt the best super bike I’ve ever owned and ridden?

It does have that massive stock silencer on it though, so that has to go. So my question is short and simple – do I opt for a full system, of some sort, or just a silencer replacement, which is quick and easy to do, not to mention much cheaper?

Looking forward to your answer and keep up the good work from the best ‘site in SA.

A: Unless you’re thinking of racing, and very good at it, we wouldn’t recommend fitting a very expensive full system. The stock headers are so efficient that it’s very difficult to improve power replacing them. The only benefit is a bit of weight saving.

Obviously the cat’ comes out, which again, surprisingly, has a minimal power advantage. You’ll also have to re-map the ECU to get the most from the new full exhaust, which again becomes expensive.

So if you’re a brisk road rider just fit a performance silencer, preferably from a recognised name (like Yoshimura), and off you go, with a far better sound as well.