Thinking of a Monster......

[Blah blah]

The earlier 750s did indeed have a different clutch actuator (is that the right word?) thing setup with the end of the hose attached to the top of the crankcase as can be seen on my old 1997 Monster (any excuse to post a picture of it!) So, nowhere to bolt an oberon one on



The hose lengths are also different to the later versions as I found out when I ordered one.

[motomartin11]

Yes that looks pretty much like my bike. If only I could post up a photo but I've still got to grapple with these damn photo hosting sites being pretty untech savvy.

[900Rebuilder]

Originally Posted by motomartin11

Yes that looks pretty much like my bike. If only I could post up a photo but I've still got to grapple with these damn photo hosting sites being pretty untech savvy.

I've used Postimages as was suggested and whilst it does feel like going back in time compared to uploading to social media sites etc its actually quite easy if a little bit of a pain to do + its free

[motomartin11]

Thanks. I'll see if I can use it, especially as it's free.

[Brian.]

Hi Motomartin,

I have a couple of pictures of the Oberon slave cylinder - I took them because it didn't look original and I'd never heard of Oberon, and wanted to check up on it.

I'll have a go at posting them, and see if I have a picture of the bike with the cylinder showing on it too.

[Brian.]

Photos of slave cylinder.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/o9ywbiz7w3..._4747.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/yeg652ti4x..._4748.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/wqug954drp..._4817.jpg?dl=0

I hope those links work !

[Zimbo]

Hi Brian, the Oberon is a popular upgrade on clutch slave cylinders, they have a larger diameter piston than standard which lightens the clutch lever effort, at the expense of slightly reduced travel of the actuator rod. This may potentially be contributing to the clutch "drag" when cold, but it's a good quality upgrade and worth having. My solution in the past has been to select neutral before coming to a complete stop, as it's much easier to select when the gears are still moving, or rocking the bike and forth when stationary to select. I learned this on the old "brit" classic bikes I have owned in the past, mainly Nortons. Grade of oil used might also be a factor.

The photo links worked, by the way!

[motomartin11]

So does this mean you've bought a M750 then Brian?

[Brian.]

Originally Posted by motomartin11

So does this mean you've bought a M750 then Brian?

I thought I'd found one that ticked all my boxes, Motomartin. Low miles, low ownership, reasonable price and an hour from my home. But when I got there, there was tyre crumb galore on the tyres. I said to the seller that it looked like he'd obviously been riding it with great enthusiasm, he quite openly said he'd been using it on track days.

I really wasn't expecting that! The motor sounds great though, and the bike is in generally good order. But it's obviously had at least some really hard use, and is virtually impossible impossible to get it from first to neutral when cold. A bit too much clunk from neutral to first too.

So, it could just need the clutch bleeding, but the seller seems well competent enough to have tried that. It could apparently, from Zimbo above, perhaps be associated with the Oberon master cylinder. (Could that have been an attemp to cure it?) Or maybe clutch plates being warped from hard use? Or maybe there is a fault in the gearbox?

I could deal with most of those, but a gearbox fault could be expensive as well as being beyond my skills and toolkit.

So I don't know quite what to do! What do you think?

[motomartin11]

Brian, if it were me I would be cautious and steer well clear .There are a few about and unless you are in a hurry the next few months might be a good time to buy before next spring.
However i don't consider myself to be an expert so others may have a different view.
Just to re-cap on mine the gearbox can be a tad noisy when engaging first from cold and the clutch does then drag but with a warm motor I can get into neutral at rest with careful footwork.
The clutch is slipping on mine under heavy acceleration but not if ridden gently.
I got mine off this Forum 2 years ago and yes it's been a case of one thing after the other but it's a 26 year old Italian bike with quite a few former keepers and I've no idea how well it's been treated before I got it although the PO seemed to be as on the ball as I like to think I am. I've no idea of the true mileage but it could be approaching 30K. I am still of the view that it's worth all the effort and only to be expected given the above and I still get a big thrill from firing it up and riding it.
Having said that I'm still awaiting clutch plates on back order and also have to sort out a misfire and a few other issues. Happy days.Luckily I have other bikes I can use. Martin

[Brian.]

Thank you Martin,

I am in no rush whatsoever; much as I am tempted, you and a couple of others whose opinions I also value say the same thing - walk away. So I reckon on this one I am going to let head rule heart.

I think.......

[Flip]

The other thing you can do to stop the dreaded suicide stand flip up scenario is simply hack-saw the sticky out part of the bolt that rests on the actuator plate.

Yes it is possible to dismantle the original Bosch headlight. Once the you have removed the reflector from the bowl, the reflector can be separated from the glass by releasing the 'W' clips, this will then allow you to clean the misty glass with something like Methylated Spirit.

As for your snotty tyres from track days conundrum, it is worth remembering that tyres will bead up fairly quickly due to the more grippy asphalt used on the track surface which may not necessarily mean it has an overly hard time.

In addition there are now a lot of classic bike only track days that are proving popular with owners of older, less track focussed machines and give owners the opportunity to enjoy their bikes in a slightly more spirited fashion without having to avoid myopic car drivers and the pot holes that seem to be the new way to slow traffic.

As others have said, all the air cooled models are getting on in years and with that will require a little more tinkering to keep them sweet.

Fuel lines and Vacuum hoses along with the Vacuum fuel tap and pump all suffer horrendously from the effects Ethanol.

The five speed gearbox is a little more clunky (agricultural?) than the six cog version possibly due to a bit wider ratios between the gears, so again you may be worrying about nothing- I would say a test ride would give you a good idea of any serious issues.

[Brian.]

Thank you Flip.

Can the petrol tap be rebuilt with ethanol resistant diaphragm etc? I've done this on my Suzuki, along with replacing fuel pipes etc. I still run that on E5 though, or preferably the Esso one with (allegedly!) no ethanol at the moment.

And what about the fuel pump? Are the pump and fuel lines etc OK with E5, or is that causing issues too?

Thank you again.

[Flip]

I carried out a bit of a refresh on my 1997 900 around 2016 but like I said with these earlier models getting on a bit it is kind of an on going thing doing little jobs here and there to keep them at their best- unless of course you go full restoration like Albie for example.

As for the fuel issue, mine was not entirely the result of Ethanol but also simply the effects of aging which manifested itself as fuel vapour lock in a combination of hot weather and being in slow moving traffic causing the bike to run very rough and eventually out. Once cooled down it would run normally again but there was an obvious problem that needed to be addressed.

I went the 'replace the lot' route as I didn't want a continual string of stripping it and replacing parts. Moto Rapido (as usual) were amazing in getting me replacement fuel and vacuum hoses along with the non-rebuildable vacuum fuel tap (about £30). The vacuum fuel pump is a Mikuni item (used on snow mobiles of all things) and a rebuild kit for this is available from Allens Performance.

I don't think any of it is specifically Ethanol safe but I am a lot more vigilant at fill ups to use Super Unleaded (Esso if possible) and particularly when I know I won't be using the bike for a while to use a fuel stabiliser which so far all seems to have worked.

Fuel Pipes:


Parts:


Fuel Pump:


Insides:


Fuel Tap:

[Flip]

Oh! If we're posting gratuitous Monster photos, here's mine, and at twenty five years old coming up to forty thousand miles on the clock is not looking too bad and is still putting the biggest grin on my face.