Should have known better..... And non VFR bike's updates

[keny]

Sunday spin whit a quiet regular stop

a cafe along my favorite road

Then it was like I been through a teleport 

But no, not on Dutch ground, just a spin thro town next to mine that has a wind mil

 

Transalp is still doing great 👍 

[keny]

Out on a spin whit Transalp on my favorite road's again, just can't get enough of this road 

And now 2 week s vaccination starts, so more time to ride as work on bikes 😊

[keny]

After adjusting valve clearance on the other VFR in the morning decided to go for a ice cream in the afternoon on the Transalp, as today it's finally like Summer and 25°C (so you want to ride not 35-45°C line mid/south Europe)

And Yes, I still fit my size 48 leathers!

 

I'm perhaps boring, but I just love to ride my favorite road to that same cafe 

And a picture from on way home 

I guess my tires are safe for my roads I prefer to ride

A tiny bit of chicken strip still but almost to edge.

The Transalp is perfectly capable to have fun on twisty tarmac road's 😎 So much fun as joy!

[keny]

What is better than a afternoon ride after some vfr work in the garage, especially as weather is nice, 26°C at highest and sunny ☀️ 😎 

This time to a other cafe that has a bit bigger road there, "the green hell" I call it, lots of small elevation change's as curves, shame half the road has a 60km/h restriction these days, your driver's license is sure out in the wind.....

But still a delight to ride !

[keny]

The SevenFifty exhaust is off as the opened silencers cut off

I must say the exhaust is more corroded than you could see as it's mounted, so it needs a bit more care than planned. Next I did smooth the old weld's of headers as oncoming silencers.

Next to mount back as wait for my friend to have time and come and weld the healthy silencers on.

[keny]

The CB SevenFifty exhaust is on awaiting to be welded 

Then inspected closer the reason Transalp handlebar wobble a little, it started after after I changed the front tire, so it suspected the head bearing, more that the tire was not seated properly and usually on the inner tube spoke rims it seat's as you use the bike, but this didn't disappear. As you stod up and looked on the tire riding slowly it looked rolling even but as I had front wheel off and rolled it slowly it has a dip

 

So even I have had 2 of these same Duro front tire's whiteout issues this is faulty ☹️

Found a cheap Bridgestone A41 to temporarily replace it whit 

More a street tire but will do for now, hopefully no off-road riding plans by my gravel roads pals in near future...

 

I have contacted the seller of this Duro tire and let's see what his response is. It's a cheap tire but still I would like a refund as tire is crap. If I get refund (or not)I have to start consider what to get, if I get a new Duro then 🤞 it's a good one..

[keny]

Out testing the front tire I had to do

Quit a different feeling bike now the Transalp! Faster steering as much more giving feedback in corners, I really like it. Ice cream because it's+27C° today, warmest this summer! And yes I would not mind to test ride that Ducati!

[keny]

So today I got the exhaust to the SevenFifty that has been away to get the unmodified silencers welded on

Next is to clean the corrosion from the middle part as paint that part as weld's, then mount it as see if it runs better. Might be the carbs need to be open as cleaned one more time but hope it's not needed.

 

Last week I had to learn the hard way the reserv on Transalp fuel tap doesn't work! I was lucky through, it died about one kilometer from nearest petrol station.

Same spot as in picture above, back in the picture you can see the petrol station's (3 of them). I had filled up the fuel tank before needing reserve before at about 200 km on trip, now it did show 265kms, so fuel mileage is quite great as 11,5 liter's did fill the 17 liter tank up. So need to look into the fuel tap....

 

Today some riding in the still lasting heat wave where I live (now 17th day whit above+30° C ), a bit to warm to ride Frankly 

But still fun!

 

One more thing, a set of oversized pistons ordered for the ZR7S Kawasaki...

[keny]

Riding on whit the Transalp, seen far less gravel roads than planned but it's doing great on the twisy local road's 

Still the 90/10 Bridgestone A41 in front, paired whit the much 50/50 or 60/40 like CST rear. The rear is really great on tarmac, so a good match to the front actually, only noicy a bit, it's actually more a street tire whit a off-road attitude tread pattern, on gravel roads it grip ok but then suddenly looses grip and riding in a nice slide is quite tricky actually. So it's ore 80/20 tire despite the looks.

 

Yesterday it arrived, the box from Japan, whit a set of Pistons for the ZR7S, actually Zephyr 750 pistons but as the engines are aside cosmic difference in cylinder as head for look mostly, the engines share most parts, actually the old GPZ750 unitrac also has basically same engine! Only these pistons need a bore whit tolerance for Zephyr as orginal ZR7 pistons use silicone alloy that the Zephyr doesn't. Nice looking pits.

And these are 0.5mm oversize.

[keny]

Some work done to the SevenFifty during weekend, exhaust cleaned from rust and painted 

And then mounted as a short spin made to a friend, just a few bad picture to prove 

It runs better now whit the orginal silencers unopened, through not perfect, probably from sitting for months whit fuel in them, but I hope BG stuff do the trick 🤞

 

The Transalp has been my ride until now, and has worked ok aside a few small things 

And today was a milestone day for it

So it became a "new" motorcycle lol

I don't know if first time or second or....

A thing I noticed riding slow the last meters to take pictures of the Odo, the fan for the radiator doesn't kick in. Also something odd whit clutch, make noice as pulled in sometime as felt slipping a few times yesterday as today as you accerelate hard, and sometimes clutch pull is light sometimes a bit more stiff. Then as the reserve don't work and now riding home whit 160ish km on odo it shows sign running low on fuel so needs to be inspected. So time to go through stuff on it. I really like it through!

[keny]

Today decided to look into the fuel tap of the Transalp, as it was foggy as fairly cold outside.

But there was nothing glogging the fuel flow, all screens where clean as dirt free.

But as I opened the vacuum opereited part of fuel tap the reason for fuel not flowing good, 3 hours to get tank almost empty, was found.

There is 2 diagram, one that the vacuum effect on and a other that is in contact whit the fuel as shut the fuel flow, but they should be connected obviously as otherwise the fuel flow don't open property.

So should be like this

And then mounted

And then fuel tap put back together 

But this not tested today....

 

Instead first good ride on the 1995 CB SevenFifty, even I did ride it to work last week, 

Not enough milage to tell how it works, and the BG stuff seems to work, it runs better mile by mile.

Do I like it. Yes. Engine is silky smooth, but has a nice pull at 3k+, fast steering as trail is just 91mm and really strong break's! That even I did put back the OEM brake pads, as the other new I put in was just to to aggressive to my liking.

The Avon Roadrider front tire sure doesn't fit this bike well, makes a fast steering bike a bit nervous, follow everything uneven as grip could be betas you easily look up the tire even it's warm! Also it wants to get bike back up straight as much in lean as it wants to change a line riding straight. So I ordered a matching tire for the front to the like new rear, a Dunlop GPR300, perhaps considered a budget tire but still gets quit ok reviews specially for good handling. 

Even the brake has great power the non adjustable level that makes the pull to far away from handlebar, so looking into the thing I found out aftermarket adjustable brake lever listed for the SevenFifty is same as the VFR800, so as a set of orgin VFR800 levels was for sale cheap on local marketplace I pulled the trigger, need a clutch lever for other RC24 VFR anyway. So some upgrades coming, as is fall... New to me riding a naked motorcycle, colder as you get element's straight on you but no need to chase  high speed's also. 

So might be a keeper....

[keny]

https://youtu.be/GwDOsD9TAuQ?feature=shared

 

A video of a ride on my favorite road to my favorite Cafe....

[keny]

So as I did ride quit much this week 

As warm still after work it's time for some upgrades 

First a matching Dunlop gpr300 front, needed no ballance weights!

as upgrade to adjustable brake level 

[keny]

Skrub in ride of front tire done 

Must say the tire change was for the better, still a light steering motorcycle but far more stable and holds given line far better!

On way home I got it's behavior in rain tested to, as I got hit by a heavy rain shower, the tire worked fine in rain, compared to my ride gear, that got soaked as my underwear 😅

In upper picture the rain front in a distance as a screenshot of the shower as I did hit it, man it was heavy rain, about 5cm (2") of water on the road at most...

[V4 Rosso]

Fresh tyres and rain is not the best combo 😁

That CB looks good from every angle. 👍

[mello dude]

Good looking CB!

[DrErgal]

Very nice bike!
Elegant, discreet, humble but with a certain noble aplomb. Like it!!

[keny]

On 8/24/2025 at 12:41 PM, DrErgal said:

Very nice bike!
Elegant, discreet, humble but with a certain noble aplomb. Like it!!

The funny is many seems to like this color on the SevenFifty, but I actually not that much, I would actually like to respray it in Japanese market 2004-2008 colors 

Of witch I like the blue white better thro red white is ok good looking actually better looking if whit gold wheels 

But I actually prefer the orginal exhaust design over a 4-1 whit a normal race silencer 

[keny]

First some pictures of SevenFifty from this week 

Been a nice autumn week aside today, chilly in morning but ok temp's in afternoon.

I must say the more I ride the SevenFifty the more I'm liking it!

Today it raining through so did take the headlights off the SevenFifty, as the parking light was not working.

Well it sure was shoot but looking closer on both drive light as parking light bulb 

Both are marked Japan, so starting to wonder if they are the ones put in from factory, all replacement sold here are usually made in Europe. Bike has 39k kms on odo. Did I find a real low mileage bike whit this one?

[keny]

Well even I know VFRD is for motorcycle's, car's has kept me from doing as much as I wanted on my motorcycle's lately. And that's not my own car, it's mostly been son's car.

The MK3 Golf I posted earlier at some point, it has had run issues, strange one's.

Well I finally found the reason but my son lost faith in it so it's up for sale.

So he wanted a other car and I found one that had some small fault but big enough so owner didn't want to repair them. 

It's a bit odd car for a Japanese car, a 1995 Mazda 323 C Neo

The biggest bonus was it came whit 15" alloys I want for my MK2 Golf 

So as this Mazda is now inspected as road worthy I hope for more time to work on my motorcycle's. Have had time to ride a bit through 

Enjoying the SevenFifty more every ride!

[mello dude]

Boy, that 750 is sweet! 

[keny]

Well I decided to dig into the Transalp clutch.

2 reason, had a odd noice while pulled in a few times lately and the clutch pull do wary a bit I think. So apart

Did actually not find anything wrong, all friction plates where inside new spec according Haynes manual, metall plates had marks from sitting but no wear you could see or feel.

It's a bit odd the outer friction plate has its own spot

But this is how should be mounted. The small spring inside outer friction plate, don't know what way it was mounted but now correct according Haynes manual.

Did put the orginal springs back as they came whit the bike, the onec in was stiffer after market one

As I had to have crash bars off, decided to take both off and lighten the bike about 5 kg!

Aslo mounted off the side case holders, don't know what they weighted, didn't weight them.

The see if any difference you need a ride 

The clutch works better now I think, at least the pull is more consistent as much lighter, a thing I really like whit Transalp/Africa Twin's!

The Transalp has company whit a Kawasaki ZX12R that was in stunning condition!

And a ice cream was spot on in summer like September weather.

[keny]

So it's fall even been like summer weather this week aside Friday that was rainy. Even sunt as warm o the day it was foggy other morning early in the week 

 

The Transalp fuel tap started to leak, not much, just getting wet doesn't drop. But still should not be like this, so ordered a new rebuild kit.

So been riding the SevenFifty 

It got a good wash on a lunch break at work 

Even it works good I like to ride the red RC24 this fall as standard before doing modifications during the winter, some final bits are on the way, so swamped around in the garage/basement this morning 

So the RWB RC24 is moved into the back to wait for the camshaft repair, Red RC24 to the garage to get together to ridable spec, the Zephyr Cafe is ready to roll into the garage to get electric sorted so I get it running and possible will sell it I think 🤔 

 

 

[keny]

So as I been riding the Transalp whit basically a street tire front, a Bridgestone A41, after the 60/40 front Duro carcas got a defect, it's not a tire to enjoy gravel roads, so as I found a as new Michelin Anakee Wild for a good price I pulled the trigger 

Quit different indeed. So I did mouth it on Sunday morning in a hurry as was heading out for a ride midday.

I was surprised how stiff this Michelin was, as I'm used to Michelin tires, actually like them a lot, and former mc/enduro Michelin tires has been very easy to change, this one needed a bit more effort. I was also surprised it did need a lot of balance weights, 50 grams.

So off for the ride

Weather was excellent on Sunday, actually like summer temperatures in pass mid September!

The tire, mixed feelings, it didn't feel as sure footed on tarmac as the A41, sure didn't expect it to be, but difference was huge, totally different from reviews I been reading. It also vibrated quit much, not like out of ballance but you felt vibration like wobble.

Closer check at work om Monday did show other side had not seattle 100%, even close.

So decided it take tire off and see why.

Actually rim was fine, but checking my tire lube it seems to dry out really fast, sure it's old, I don't use it that much, 1kg has lasted 10 years I think.

So got a spray can whit spray on lube for rubber from a friend, magic stuff. Tire now mounted again, now also twisted half a turn so bar-code that was at air valve before is on opposite side of it, result

Only 5g of weight needed, will mount all Michelin tires so bar-code is opposite side of air valve from now on.

Still strange the tire is not as easy to mount as before, well it's a tubeless tire so CA be one reason, also as it's made in Thailand might be a other? Anyway, was no vibrations on ride to work today so success.

[keny]

What can I say, fall is here

Local Ducati club had a fall ride to my favorite cafe 

The DesertX is a nice looking motorcycle in my eyes.

On way home on fresh smooth tarmac 

Lovely fall day for a spin