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.......

[Nickj]

Originally Posted by Brian.

is virtually impossible impossible to get it from first to neutral when cold. A bit too much clunk from neutral to first too.
What do you think?

The first to second / neutral to first is often down to chain tension, the 750's I've had and the S2R were/are very touchy about it.
Round town the clutch could be an issue as they tend to be heavy, depends on traffic but the motor is very flexible. Slightly more cranked levers also help.

[Brian.]

Hi all, and thank you again.

I'm going to have to make my mind up about this one. Earlier contributors to this thread, plus a couple of friends that I've talked to, have suggested that perhaps it'd be best to walk away from this one and that was what I had decided to do.

But - it's in good physical condition, clean & tidy, and the engine sounds really good. It's still got the pillion cowl, has not had a tail chop, and is pretty much standard spec throughout including the silencers. Has a twin front disc conversion. Under 15,000 miles, and three owners including the current one. Very sensible price in comparison to others. But no service history to speak of, prior to the current owner there's been several gaps in the MOT history, it's been used on track days - how much I don't know - the tank has been repaired (but in fairness, very well) & been lined, and has the 1st to neutral problem.

Maybe go for a proper ride on it. It's sorned at the moment so I've only been up & down the seller's road. Maybe bung him a tenner (if he wants it) to tax it for a month and go out on it for half an hour.

I'm not usually one for umming & aahhing like this. It's a case of heart vs head, I want it but my gut feeling is walk away.

But if I don't have this one, I'm definitely having another one.

I'll let you all know - thank you all again for your advice & opinions. Really, thank you.

Brian.

[motomartin11]

Echo what Flip says. He recommended I too replace the fuel lines, pump and tap on my M750 with new but as a skinflint I only replaced some of the fuel lines ,notably the main ones from the tap/ pump. My bike's PO had already rebuilt the vacuum pump with the Allen's kit. The taps had gone up in price considerably when I checked with MR and some of the lines were NLA. I managed to get a s/h tap off this Forum and had to improvise with some of the fuel lines that were NLA.
I'm hoping my misfiring issues are not ethanol related as I always run my bike on super unleaded E5.
May be worth a test ride on the bike you are interested in if possible to check it out more thoroughly?

[motomartin11]

A few on here have fitted an aftermarket manual fuel tap as well as or instead of the OE one.