My journey to the SilverWing

Long story short..
In 2012 I built the "Acer Experience" display site at the 2012 Olympics site. Walked away the day before they opened, it was that tight...
Then I had a week or two off, I was pretty much worn out after 15 weeks of immense pressure, where at one point I had to remind LOCOG quite forcefully that Acer were supplying all the computing power at the Olympics, and if they didn't want the MD on their backs they had better wind their frigging necks in...

I had a few weeks off, then took on a nice easy job at the Railway Triangle at Cosham, closest job to home I had ever had...
And I started to lose weight, got very tired quite easily, found myself huffing and puffing climbing stairs and thought perhaps I should pay my GP a visit. He took one look at me, ordered blood tests, scans, a camera up the backside, net result I was confirmed with Bowel cancer, in 12 weeks I had the op. I was also confirmed as bieng a Coeliac. In fact that's what they think triggered the c.
I was told after the op I should retire, take all the benefits etc. Not me, not that kind of guy. So I set myself targets, the last one was getting out on my VFR again. Took me 9 months, I dropped it unfortunately, but managed to pick it up too. My left hand started to hurt.. I was also had a bone density scan, my skeleton wasn't what it should be so I have to take supplements now. The post op check found some anomalies in the lymph cells they removed so I was Dukes stage 3. Not good.
All my scans after that came back clear. I bought another VFR, a 2015 one with full luggage etc. Then I went for my last scan before being "cleared". And they found more cancer..

So... 2nd time around it was not so easy. I was on the table for 9 hours, lost 2.4 litres of blood, had a bit of heart wobble and to cap it all, Sepsis reared it's head. At one bit I thought I want going to make it, them I gave myself a good talking to. Not ready yet..
But I finished up with Lymph system weakness in my right leg, eventually diagnosed as Lyphadaema, and my skeletal weakness on my left side started to show a few upsetting symptoms. Plus, well, I don't have a bowel now. That's the bit that "sucks" all the water out of digested food for want of a better explanation. Meant toilet calls became my main concern for three months, kind of hard to plan anything when you can "let go" without warning. But I mastered that, was diagnosed with depression... It was a bit of a challenge. Got there in the end, and my "target" to get back on my bike I achieved after 7 months this time.
But. I'm fast losing the ability to grip anything for any length of time, and using the clutch on my VFR when filtering or sat in traffic was becoming tricky. So I started looking at options. I still want the freedom and queue busting a bike gives me but I needed to find a solution.
So I tried a Honda VFR1200 with it's dual clutch transmission. Wow. What a machine. But too heavy for me sadly.
Then I tried an NC750X with DCT, it's really weird having the bike go up and down the gearbox on it's own...and having a handbrake control too. But a bit dear given I'd been out of work few months.
So I tried an SH300. It was nippy but once it got to 60mph you had to wait quite a while for it to get to 70mph, and any thing after that, or climbing a hill was close to it's limit. I tried the Forza, it's apparently lighter, same engine, built in Italy apparently and that's not a bad thing, Italy is good at scooters... But I found it a bit light for me, I'm sure it will be fine for bombing around locally, but up and down the A3 and around the M25,? As I weigh 14 stone, I think it would be a big ask for a 25bhp engine.. Dashboard was too "busy" for me too. Don't really care what mpg I'm getting, I just fill up when the light comes on...But I had that niggle in my head about the journey being just on the wrong side of it's comfort zone. That's enough to make me say no.

Looked at a Bergman too, bit too fussy, I could see me having problems repairing it if it fell over. Then my labourer at work mentioned his mate was selling his Silver Wing. Tried it, it has wonderful balance, I was feet up at about 3mph, doing easy circles in no time. It's not perfect, a bit tatty, and needs some love. But the price was right. So I negotiated a small discount... And only just managed to fit it in my Peugeot Expert van...

So it's do the bits I need to fix, handbrake, mudguard, tidy the paint, and start using it to commute to Watford from Hayling Island. Next week if the weekend goes to plan.
And my new exhaust turned up yesterday as well.

I keep reading about these "Dr Pulley" things. Are they relevant in this country? I mean it might help the fuel economy if it revved slightly lower at 80 kleptons, but would that hurt the get up and go part?

Don't worry about the Dr Pulley things, look up John Grinsel' s posts (keep it standard stupid) and save your money, make sure the drive belt is good and just wind open that throttle

While I, personally, very much appreciate the upgrades available from Dr Pulley, let me categorically state that there is nothing wrong with an out-of-the-box Silverwing. Except, depending on one's physical size, the windscreen.

Carpé deim. Just ride

Tim

Totally agree Timothy.  Bog standard out of the showroom, change the screen, fit a rear rack and top box, a set of heated grips and lower wind deflectors for cold and wet and you're good to go.

Then it's gradually adding small items like a front mud flap, fork protectors, mirror extenders, upgrading bulbs, Iridium plugs, leads for an Optimate, and replacement tyres.

Maybe a tunnel bag, soft panniers, a sat nav/GPS mount and an Ortlieb bag or two if you're into touring. I have all these and usually just use the sat nav mount and Ortlieb bags.

I find that my new 26G DrPulley sliders have dampened the vibrations somewhat, enough for me to tell the difference. I hit 160 km/h the other day, chasing a Fiat bunny uphill. I passed it but the bike also was tapped out !
Too soon to tell if there is any mileage gain.

Jay.

I have a spare Tomtom mount, a choice of Givi boxes, I'll have to look at recommendations re the screen too. And wind deflectors sound like a good plan. I have to put in a power supply for my heated waistcoat too. And I still need a mud guard unless I can repair what is left of the old one. Might only need a bit of plastic weld, it's covered in gaffer tape at the moment. I'm starting to think I'll be getting rid of my VFR's, I put the "low effort" slave on it last Sunday, and whilst it's significantly lighter than the original, my thumb cracks every time I use it.. It hurts in other words.

160kph is about 100mph? That's got to be enough on a small wheel bike surely? Mine has Michelin City things on it, I will be seeking some slightly more advanced rubber.. Don't want any chicken strips on my 'Wing.

If
silverwing has Michelin Grips on front and rear----front is wrong size---City Grips are not made in the proper front size for SilverWing.

I found in over 90,000 miles of SilverWing use (2 new bikes) Michelin Power Pure SC work fine as they wear round.

Winter grip on the front... So it definitely needs tyres then.. I prefer Dunlop, have to see if they list a Road Smart for the bike.. And it's date stamped 1
2014 as well.

I have Shinko's on mine. New rear tire, front one is on its third rear and still has plenty tread. I was riding on a clear day, and the Fiat bunny passed me on the flat at 110 km/h. I don't do this often. I normally don't endorse such foolishness.

Jay.

"I hit 160 km/h the other day, chasing a Fiat bunny uphill."

You people are cray cray, man. OUT yo' minds!

I've done 80 mph on my Wing and that was plenty. I had a BMW R1150R that I nudged over 100 twice to see what it felt like. It was terrifying. The margin for error felt too thin and the potential for bodily carnage too ominous.

Not saying you're wrong or foolish (first sentence was just teasing ;o). If you have the mindset and enjoy that kind of speed, go for it. I'll be the guy giving you a thumbs up in your rear view.

I have to admit that once, just once, I hit 105 mph on my SWing. I was on an open road with clear vision front to back and side to side. I just wanted to see what she'd do. I got it up there the backed down right away. Now I know what she's capable of. I did it while I still only had two wheels. I would never try it on the trike.

We'll, I had my CBR1100XX flat out once. You get tunnel vision at those speeds... And you mustn't EVER sit up out of the screen bubble. I went through the timing light at Bruntingthorpe aerodrome at just over 186mph. And almost didn't get enough speed off to take the right hander at the end of the run way. The bike speedo was showing just under 200mph, it had aftermarket cans, a different map and was on the red line. It killed the rear tyre too..
You have to do it once in your life. I did it 5 times...Always thinking "It can go faster". Maybe the bike could, my yellow stripe wouldn't let me...

To be honest, average "open road" speed on the A3 is circa 75, as long as the Wing can do that and still have a bit in reserve, that's all I need. If it can do that and keep me dry and warm, and do 160 miles between fill ups I'll be asking myself why I didn't get one ten years ago.

Lost it wrote:

To be honest, average "open road" speed on the A3 is circa 75, as long as the Wing can do that and still have a bit in reserve, that's all I need. If it can do that and keep me dry and warm, and do 160 miles between fill ups I'll be asking myself why I didn't get one ten years ago.

And that is it in a nutshell. The SW is a cruiser that can just about crack the ton, but it in its happy zone 40 - 80. And of course it more fun than it has any right to be in the twisty bits.
Brilliant 2 up tourer too.

Hey, Lost It, based on all your health issues, you needed the SWing to balance the good with the bad. Hope that great machine gives you tons of fun. Ride on to forget all issues. That's what most of us agers do to keep the darkness at bay.

The SWing does its best to allay grip pain, foot pain, cramps, balancing issues, etc. Makes it soooo nice too extend life on two wheels. Me, too, "asking myself why I didn't get one ten years ago."

For what it's worth, Honda state 115mph top speed for the Silverwing.
The Crowman has done a tad over 90mph on one or two occasions; the legal speed-limit (70mph in the UK) plus a bit is quite fast enough for me.

I've been looking at a few "options" and one I'd really like is a cross bar brace to put between the bars on my bike. To which I could mount the satnag if nothing else.

I guess I could go the whole hog and change the bars complketely, but a cross brace will do what I need for now.

When I finally get this bike fettled, it's going to get so much road under it's wheels it will think it's been reborn.

I have a Roadbook Roller - I like having paper maps to follow so print my routes.
I bought two RAM mounts, the ones that bolt on to the clamps which retain brake reservoirs, levers and so on and made a bar which stretches between them for me to mount the Roadbook on.
It means that I don't have to have a bar across all the time.
I could mount my Satnav on it but I have a DenisB one for that.

What's a "DenisB"?

DenisB was a leading light on this forum; he has now retired from it and moved on to other things.

He was (probably still is) a clever fabricator of add-ons for the Silverwing, including a tow-bar, a spot-light mount for the fairing and a mount for a GPS which bolted on to the two bolts that hold the handlebar shroud in front of the dials.

Fora reasonable fee he made them for forum members.

He also made plug-in connectors for front and rear wiring-harnesses which made the addition of things like Admore Light Bars very simple.

Others have copied his ideas because they are so good and no longer available - imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Eee by gum... Well, you know how it all starts..

I had the wheel off to sort it out, cleaned the corrosion off, painted and lacquered it, I've already been told the front tyre is the wrong size so I was waiting for my new Dunlops to come. They arrived last Friday, along with the disc.

Now I've said the front disc is the same as the Honda Blackbird Rear disc. And the Honda rear disc is a third of the price of a Silver Wing front one...

Well, it's the same size, width, thickness but the "holes" for the water drainage part of the disc kind of rotate the other way. Should have spotted that, the rear disc on the Blackbird being on the right of the hub... Maybe I'll strike lucky and have a front disc that "sings" when the brake is applied. Used to like that about my old Honda SP1.

Any way, the wheel was off, the forks looked like they had never been touched, so I took them off, drained the slurry that was inside them, (a kind of grey evil smelling water consistancy stuff) and flushed them out with ATF untl it came out clean, then put 300ml of brand new ATF Dexron 3 in each leg. They are now actually damping..

I think I've mentioned I use Dexron as a damping medium in all of my bike forks, because it being a transmission fluid, it has to "work" in all temperatures, from -15C to + 60C so with that kind of property I believe (and I might well be wrong) that it will give me damping even when the roads are covered in ice. That's the theory anyway. And as most confidence when riding comes from believing you have it under control, that works for me.

And I thought whilst I was there, clean the fork stantions and give them a lick of paint. So Satin Black with clear lacquer it is. They look really nice. I know they should be Silver, but it's such a bind to get them into a good enough state that you can lacquer them with any kind of confidence. Black Satin paint however, well you really have to look for the runs.

And thats when I discovered the head race bearings are completely shot. Heaven knows how this thing got through it's last MOT with them in that state. Completely shot as in self centering shot.

So I'll be on the web to WEMOTO for a set of steering head bearings today.

This bike is starting to cost me money that I wasn't planning spending, but at least I know it will be "right" once it's done.

I also started plastic welding the front mudguard on Saturday, I need to find a chunk of old ABS so that I can make up a piece for the side where the bolt hole is missing. As I used to "track day" bikes, I must have a chunk of old fairing somewhere?

My mate is rebuilding a little Peugeot scooter around at ours, because I have all the kit, compressor, more tools than the average Snap off van, that kind of thing... for his soon to be 16 years old son. He was round with his dad cleaning a few bike bits up and I let him have a bash at some plastic welding... Bit embarrassing to discover he's better at it than me...

And I took the radiator off so I could get it to my mate Robin for a looksee. If he can't rebuild it I guess the best option would be to go new? Can't find any 2nd hand ones anywhere. That might make the "Bike bank balance" squint a bit...

The joys of Biking eh?

Well keep the faith, its worth it as a wonderful bike when on song.

Once really right you will enjoy it even more.

Its funny the SW goes just as fast round corners as a T max , well just about but does`nt` feel it sort of thing.

Just ordered a Michelin pure SC for the front for mine from Demon Tweeks just under £44 delivered ( ebay ), to go with the City Grip on the rear ( really recommend those at the back, lost it has one already ).

Hope all goes well.

I've gone for Dunlop ScootSmart. Been using the "bike sized" RoadSmart series since they first came out, I have a mate who thinks I'm psychotic when I'm cornering, and that's all down to confidence. So I read up on these, they use the same tech. So I'll run out of nerve before the tyres run out of grip. Which is what I want.

I did not like the Michelin pure SC because it would follow imperfections on the road like tar snakes, and rail road tracks. Had it on the rear and liked it. But that is my feeling. I do like the IRCs that came original with the bike. Already changed the rear after 15k miles.

Hi I agree re the SC pures following the grooves etc but they are fairly soft and absorbey too.

I`ve got Hyperpro springs in the front so quite stiff and the SC`s help there.

But SC`s front and rear really are a No No on the strange following side of things.

One thing I would like to find is Gaitors for the Silverwing you can fit without taking off the forks.

Might try a Scoot Smart next time.

Can you give them a squeeze/press for me please when they land Lost it, thanks.

My Radiator turned up Yesterday.

So it's full steam ahead (hope not)..

Rebuild the front end Saturday, new head bearings, refit the forks, see if my "repaired" mudguard will do the job, radiator, fan, refill and check for leaks and that I have no airlocks, start putting the plastics back on.

Then I can change the rear tyre and be just about done.
Have to take my time though, I keep being told off by the wife for "doing too much".

I've put up the spare garden sun shade to give me a chance rain or shine.

With a bit of luck, I'll be Winging to work next week.

Well, front end wise, new head bearings installed, the 2nd hand radiator was cleaned, pressure checked and painted on Saturday so I could install it Sunday, had my Brother and his wife come to visit us from Yorkshire so didn't get as much done as I wanted to on Saturday.
New disc, new pads, found out what a beeitch it is to get to the headlamp to change a duff side lamp, fitted my "repaired" front mudguard, I went a bit postal on it and cut about an inch off the trailing edge, by the time I had welded it up there was more weld than mudguard so I chopped it off, I'll get a fender extender for it and restore it to it's original length. In the meantime I'm still looking for a good used or even new one.
Wheel is on, I found some old metallic greeen paint that I used a while ago when my wife wiped her Lexus sill out on a low wall, so I used that to keep the wheel corrosion free until I could get the right colour wheel paint.
But it looked so nice, I laquered it and fitted it anyway. Blue bike, black forks, green wheel. I won't lose that in a car park in a hurry... (Where do you think my moniker comes from?)

Rebuilt forks are on, stripped the caliper down and cleaned/lubed the sliders to make sure it's all working as it should, cleaned the pistons using wifeys tooth brush, I'm sure she won't notice. I mean I got away with it when I used it to clean the dog poo off my trainers, so a bit of old brake dust she probably won't even notice. About time she got an electric one, it would be much easier to use for these kinds of cleaning jobs.


The cooling system bled surprisingly easily considering the thermiktwot is miles away from the radiator, the fan works too.
I finished repairing the underside of the plastics, the bit that goes behind the side stand, the weld repair is visible if you are looking, but it's far better than the cable tie "fix" that was in place when I found it.
Rubbed down, painted and laquered. I still want to clean the underside of the motor yet, to see if the oil leak I suspect I have is in fact there and not just a sympton of the barely tight oil filter as I found it, so I'll put these plastics on next week. Depending on how far I get with the back end... See below.

And finally took the rear wheel off. Sad to say the inside of the frame, the inside of the removable swing arm, the inside of the gearcase are all in a shocking state, doesn't look like they have ever been cleaned. So that's on the cards, best time to do it is now. The wheel needs a bit of fettling too. I'll try the jetwash tonight, if that won't clean it I'll have to revert to the old methods. Gunk isn't what it once was...
I have a new rear tyre to go on as well.
I've been reading about what oil should go into the drive casing, must admit from what I've read I think I'll be putting normal engine oil in there not synthetic EP85.

This bike had better be worth the effort I've been putting into it... It's never going to be spotless, show standard, but it will be fettled.

Oh. And a heads up to Halfords. I asked them to get me two 400ml aerosols of the correct colour coded paint. It didn't come within the promised time scale so I cancelled it and got the refund and bought from the local refinishing suppliers instead, so I could crack on with the bodywork repairs.
When I next went into Halfords, the paint had come the next day so they handed it to me. I offered to pay for it, they said no, it's been charged to their supplier as they apparently completely forgot to mix it... The colour match on the halfords paint is absolutely spot on, I compounded a bit of the old stuff and whilst you can tell a difference, you probably wouldn't unless you were looking for it. I have enough paint now to do the whole of the bike.

I'm kind of toying with doing the repaired underside a contrasting colour to break the bike outline up a bit, it is rather "slabby" in one colour. Hmm. Wonder what other colour paint I have spare in my shed.
So. The bike I bought to "put to use" immediately is getting a bit of a make over. Don't think it's a bad thing in the long run.

The new slave cylinder I bought for my VFR is doing what I needed it to do, and I'm really enjoying using the bike for work. I actually really enjoy "commuting" on the M25 in rush hour. Nothing boring about filtering past all the stationary traffic parked on there between the hours of 16:00 and 21:00hrs. But I think the 'Wing is a fair bit wider, so I might not be able to squeeze through the gaps I presently do on my Vif. Pretty sure it won't respond to the throttle in the same manner. I'll find out soon enough.

Oh. It's going to need a new screen as well.

Done a hell of a lot of work there, and you will know the bike inside out and in the knowledge that it's done right

Well, I finally got fed up of messing with it and decided I needed to stop rubbing paint off and get it put together so I could use it.

And it was used yesterday and today, to get me to Watford. Initial thoughts, I really don't like the bars but I'll get used to them, they seem to be too far back even though I have swung them forward as far as I can without them touching the screen on full lock..

The screen.. I need a screen, although I can see over the top it's not ideal.

I really had forgotten how bloody rubbish cross ply tyres were... Yes the grips there, but they white line like it's going out of fashion..

And the rear hub nut, the one that holds the wheel on keeps undoing itself, I haven't figured this out yet, the bearing in the swing arm is fine, but twice now I've noticed the bike "wandering". The first time I checked everything and found the hub nut was loose, I tightened it as much as I could with a half inch drive socket set one of the lads had, and torqued it to 90 ft lbs when I got home, but today it's got loose again.

So either it's had it or I'm simply not tightening it enough. Did I mention I had forgotten how bloody awfull cross ply tyres are?

It leans well, it even stops reasonably now the brake have re-bedded themselves in.
And I'm getting 55mpg on my commute, but the tank isn't quite big enough to get me the 180 mile round trip.
I'm not completely confident filtering, because I haven't got used to how wide TB2 is yet. But I do know a few of the "regular" riders I meet on my trip seem to have got really upset when I've passed them on the 'wing...
Have I mentioned I had forgotten how bloody awfull cross ply tyres are?

I have dropped the friont tytre pressure to 26psi, bike seems to steer better and not bounce off cats eyes so much, the rear shocks I've settled on position 2, but they are shot so I'll change them soon.
Oh. It's a far "colder" bike than the VFR is, I guess not having an engine between your legs passing heat into your legs is the reason I'm finding it to be a cold bike, but to be fair when I'm riding home this weather, that's not a bad thing.
So. It's done over 360 miles, it had a bit of an oil leak from somewhere but that seems to have stopped now, and no, not because it's all run out... It was coming from the right hand side as you sit on the bike, but I couldn't find the source as I had washed the engine off... So I thought I'd wait until it started showing a trail, it's literally a drop every hour or so. Nowhere near enough to worry me that the engine is going to run dry. But again it seems to have stopped now.
I got home today and checked the drive belt again, and changed the final drive oil again, because the stuff that came out originally looked like EP90, gloopy as heck, and I know it should have engine oil in there...
Oh. Did I mention crossply tyres are bloody awfull?

I've decided I'll sort the paintwork properly over winter.
And I'll call Honda and get myself a new nut for that drive shaft. Probable the lock plastic has got past it's sell by date? And a new washer. In fact I might just pull the swing arm off again and change the bearing in the hub.

So my "list" is getting shorter. Definite I need a better screen, I don't think I'll be able to "polish" the one that's on clear again, and I really must find some Radial tyres for it. Heated grips, new brake pads, perhaps a headlight upgrade? New rear shocks. I think that will do for now.

Blimey you had had so much to do etc.

Glad I got mine with 8k on and pretty much OK. 26k now though.

Might it be worth considering buying a later little used one possibly if you can afford it ?

They can be had very cheaply if you catch it right.

Mine was middle of the road good value private wise but the odd ones go very cheaply from an older chap going back to 4 wheels etc.

Good luck whatever.

PS I`d be surprised if the Michelins available were not a fair bit better than the scootsmarts.

Re Loosening rear axle nut. A friend's 2005 had a similar problem. We changed the nut a couple of times, even added a washer and split-ring lock washer. But never were confident that it would remain secure. IIRC the problem started after he changed the rear tire but forgot to put the axle nut collar in place. The rear wheel splines became quite worn in short order but the axle nut problem persisted even with a new wheel. The axle splines were in good condition though.

We never did find out the fix though because the scoot got wrecked a few months later.

Tim

Maybe it's a common issue then? I'll take the whole thing off and have a good look at that internal spacer cone thing.

Kinda enjoy messing with bikes, so I buy the cheaper ones anyway.

I believe what Tim is mentioning is that there is a second spacer/collar outside of the rear bearing just under the axle nut. Without that spacer/collar you will not be able to torque the axle nut correctly. Your rear wheel will wobble. Both of my brake calipers were destroyed by the brake rotor as the wheel wobbled.

I split Lost It's post re the axle nut coming loose and copper grease to it's own topic.

See: https://www.silverwing600.com/t11251-dangers-of-too-much-copper-grease#114555

Cosmic_Jumper wrote:

I split Lost It's post re the axle nut coming loose and copper grease to it's own topic.

See: https://www.silverwing600.com/t11251-dangers-of-too-much-copper-grease#114555

Ok... Why? It's surely a subject that has come up before?
Just curious.

Personally, I'm grateful to Lost it's mention of copper grease. I had no idea it could be so nasty. Most fellow bikers and DIYers I know are using it for the wrong purpose. From now on I don't think I have any use for it at all.

Lost it....Tim has moved it so that it can be found more easily on the forum. If a member was looking for an article on the use of copper grease they probably wouldn't think of looking for it under the heading 'my journey to the silverwing'. I hope I'm right in thinking that the general forum is for day to day topics and issues and comments. We can find specific topics under the search facility.

I'm sure Tim will clarify things if necessary. The forum can become very clogged and complicated if things aren't monitored and classified.

Thanks again to Lost it for some very useful facts and information. He's clearly a very knowledgeable guy and a great asset to the forum.

Hey Lost It your one hell of a guy my friend, very humbled to read your story, glad your part of the fold, maybe we should all meet up one day as I am not sure if there is a Silverwing Club in the UK. Off to MotoGP at Silverstone in September , hate the track but love the racing but if your about let us know. All the best !

Lost it wrote:

Cosmic_Jumper wrote:

I split Lost It's post re the axle nut coming loose and copper grease to it's own topic.

Ok... Why? It's surely a subject that has come up before?
Just curious.

While copper grease has been mentioned as an anti-seize here in the past, there has never been any report of the damage it could cause when used incorrectly.

Loosebearing is correct. Your insightful post deserves to stand on its own where it can be found in the future.

Thank you for enlightening us. We all benefit from shared information.

Tim

I am humbled. I made an assumption that the whole world knew about the horrible stuff known as CopperSlip. Copper Ease, or any other such name.

I've seen the effects of people assuming it's a lubricant, from wheel bearings to head stock bearings to brake pads.
Worst one I ever saw was a guy who used it to grease a Trunnion on his Triumph TR6 front suspension. It completely stripped the threads in the trunnion and the front wheel made a break for the inner wing. If the car hadn't been his pride and joy, it would have gone to the breakers. Because as usual, he had stopped at a T junction when it collapsed, not whilst the car was travelling at any kind of speed. Lucky guy in that respect.

Back in the Eighties, myself and loads of other guys in the MZ Riders Club used to regularly flip off the front brake dust cover of the various MZ ETZ models we owned, Then pull out the brake pins and brake pads of the East German Brembo copy disc brake, and give both the pins and the back of the disc pads a smear of whatever copper grease we favoured, then slide the brake pads back and push the retaining pins back.

I can't remember why I started doing this, there were no forums back then so it was either word of mouth, a tip published in the MZRC magazine, or something I picked up at a MZ Rally. 

Anyway I did it for years in good faith with no detrimental effects to braking on the various MZ's I owned.