Billy Balthorpe

I always thought that the term Streetfighter was coined for the people who smashed their streetbikes expensive farings and just stuck a pair of Renthalls on to get them back on the road as cheaply as possible. People who like to mess about building "mini specials" then saw this and thought they could do a better job by doing it intentionally, and (most times) making a much better job of it than the "chuck a set of Rethalls on it" brigade. All well and good. But. They are all Streetfighters. Some are a lot better made than others, but they are all streetfighters. If they arent, how do you decide the criteria for deciding wether its a Streetfighter or not? How much work has been done on it, if so how many hours make it a streetfighter? Would one hour under NOT make it one? Is it how much money has been spent on it, if so how much makes a streetfighter, and would a pound under not make it one? Do you HAVE to use parts from another bike, if so how many and what proportion of the total makes it a SF, and would one point less not make it one? I see your point, you are trying to differentiate yourself from the "Chuck a set of Renthalls on it" crowd, because you probably spend a lot of time, money and effort on your SF, very understandable. But is doesnt make it any more of a SF than a smashed R1 with Renthalls and a push bike light. It does however make it better built, more desirable and nicer looking SF than an R1 with Renthalls and a push bike light. In my opinion, a smashed bike with a set of renthalls on it becomes a sreetfighter because of what it was ( a sportsbike), and what it is now (back on the road very cheaply with upright bars and no faring), thats what a Streetfighter originally was. A sportsbike that has for example, not been smashed up and has got a non standard single sider fitted, high non standrd cool back end, gold inlay, top spec forks, turbo/supercharged/N2O injection, expensive exquisite paint and murals, etc, etc, with renthalls on it, is more of a Special isnt it?

Want me to delete it? I can do if it offends you. Its not a "Look how much i've spent", its more of a "For christ's sake look how much i've spent, i'm skint!" thread. Plus it gives people a chance to tell everyone about their "pre-season" spends.

I'd love to be able to just give her the car and tell her to get it washed, but if i dont get rid of the smell of fags she'll kill me.

Nope, it all Brands.

Its Brands, but i think theres a couple more tracks in there too, i thought that some of the shots in that clip were of Donny and Cadwell, maybe silverstone too. I'll give it another couple of watches.

I'll be there, with a few of the lads from the club. We generally ride right at the back and shoot off somewhere near the end for a blast and a quick pint somewhere. The only problem is its bloody Mothers day, i may be on a curfew.

Hi there. Your Radian isnt green is it? Only a mate sold a low mileage Radian last year and there arent that many around.

Me toys are costin me a bloody fortune at the moment. Fighterblade. All panels sent away for smoothing and spraying a nice shiny black. £200.00 paid (not bad!). New front tyre needed BT014, 7K miles minimum. Got to get it done on Saturday £100.00. New wiring loom £50.00 paid Thunderace. New downpipes from DK. £150.00 paid. Throttle position sensor from same. £35.00 paid. New C+S kit, got to order them this week. £110.00. K+N Filter, got to order this week. £40.00. Sports rack got a couple of weeks to get that, £45.00 Skoda Superb All belts, cam belt kit, tensioners, filters, oil, full service. £350.00 paid. 2 new tyres. £160.00 paid. New top arm and fitting got to get it this weekend £50.00. Full valet before the wife has it as her car, next week. £40.00. Me Held Freezer gloves £75.00 paid. Alpinestars jacket £200.00 paid. I havent added this up yet so i think its going to be a bit of a shock to me. Paid £1265.00. SHIT!!! For Gods sake someone tell me i've added it up wrong, please? To pay £340.00. Same here! Oh bugger! I spent a grand buying the 'Ace a few weeks ago as well! Thank heavens for the overdraft. On the plus side, me mate reckons he will be able to weld up me blowing downpipes and flog em on ebay, and i've decide to break me high spec but crappy looking Mini to realise some cash. I'm going onto the company car scheme so no more petrol and repair bills, but i will pay more tax. Ahh well, its all got to be done, and once its done thats it, no more surprises except maybe a pair of tyres for the Euro Trip this year.

Well, i've bitten the bullet. All the 'Blade bodywork is away being smoothed out, flatted down, and sprayed a nice shiny black. Jeez i'm spending some money on me bikes and cars at the moment. I'll post up some pics once i get the stuff back and put back together.

I've still got an old gallon steel can of R40 in the garage. I used to put a capfull in the FZR1000 Genesis tank when going for a good blast. All the bikes i've had since then have been bikes that ive been scared of gumming the carbs up on. So the best part of a gallon is still in the garage.

Did anyone else wonder what the hell was going on when they watched the Superpole today. What a load of rubbish! A few 10 minute qualifying sessions with the number of riders being reduced every time. No build up, no excitement, didnt really know who was doing what, im sure they could have come up with something better than that!!

We have a couple of lads in our club with 125's, like someone said we all have to start somewhere. I wouldnt say that £1900 for all that was a good deal, it would only be a good deal if you had no one else to help you find and guy all that stuff cheaper than K2 sell it for. I have to find bikes for all sorts of people from 125's to supersports stuff and i get bettere deals than any bike shop can offer. You need some mates who know what they are doing.

Yup, i live in Stoke, plenty of people out riding recently, get out there in the pissing down rain and cold and enjoy yourself. Budgie Team Rejects MCC

Ah! TDR 250 forgot that one, had to sell it coz i was going to get the book thrown at me riding like it made me ride it. Wheelies over roundabouts, through bus stops, shopping areas, up stairs, down stairs, pavements. I tell you i was safer on a bike that would do 150 than on that crazy thing. So i bought myself the FZ. Yeah, the blade looks a bit better now, its got a steering damper poking out from under the faring and a different horn. Actually, no, it doesnt look any better, people just say "whats that thing poking out from under the faring?" Apart from being pig ugly, its a very nice bike to ride, light, fast, comfy on the wrists, practical, a boot you can fit 4 cans of stella in and wheelies like the front wheel is allergic to the tarmac.

I'd love to say the YPVS but it really was just an improvement on the 350LC, the bike that spawned a generation of bikers dressed in baseball boots, paddock jackets and Simpson Bandit helmets, the Cult of Elsie, its got to be, the 350LC. Never had one, the girlfriend at the time had a gorgeous one in Black, and sold it to one of me best mates. I had the 350N YPVS, a better handling, faster and more stable bike than the LC, but i still reckon the 350LC was the best bike Yamaha built from a "Spawning a generation" point of view. Gangs of nutters terrorising the city with srceaming spannies, star wars stormtrooper looks and lurid paintjobs.

Hi everyone, i forgot to introduce myself so i thought i'd throw this up and let you see the bloody mess i've made of a nice bike. I've just bought an 'Ace for a few long trips over Summer with me mates and the missus in Europe. Its not the first Yam i've owned and truth be told all my mates still consider me to be a Yamaha Man, over the years i've had DT50, RS125, YB100, YPVS350, FZ750, FZR600, FZR1000 Gen, and probably a few more i've forgotten. I bet the pics dont work, i'm Terry Fuckwit when it comes to 'puters.

Does anyone know any RWHP figures for the first of the Fazer 1000's? I realise that every dyno is different and that they should only be used for comparison before and after stuff. But, has anyone got any figures? I'll start looking meself.

Dont know if its down on power, havent ridden it yet, i've got to put the rest of the wedge in the guys hand before i do that. I just know that for a time the EXUPs were restricted through the carb rubbers, i cant remember if this period covered the start of manufacture of the 'Ace or if it was before then. I like to be prepared when i buy a new bike. Crash mushrooms, Maxton, dog bones, set up guide and tool box ALL on standby.

I was asking if the Ace was restricted, if it is, is it restriced in the same way that the EXUP was? I dont want to restrict it, i want to know if its worth doing the work and taking the carbs off to find out if its restriced or not and to cut out the rubbers if it is. If the Ace wasnt restricted i dont need to strip the carbs off, using the old "If it aint f****d, dont f**k about with it" adage. Cheers. Billy

Its OK, i've found it now.

Does anyone know if the Thunderace was restricted to 125BHP like the Exup was? The Exup had a restriction moulded into the inlet rubbers, easily removed with a stanley knife to release the full power, a lot easier than fitting the ZXR750 carb tops like you had to do with the ZZR1100.

I'm just in the process of buying an 'Ace. Dog bones. I have found sone aftermarket Dog Bones for the Ace which raise the rear ride hieght by 25 mm, this means that i wont have to drop the forks through the yokes and reduce the ground clearance. Are they worth it? Do they work? Does anyone have a set up proceedure for the Ace once i've got these Dog Bones fitted (or without)? I've used the Performance Bikes set up on my Blade and on a 750SRAD and it was pretty good, measuring static and loaded sag, setting up the preload using cable ties to mark what you use etc etc. I've not been able to find one for the ace though. There is an advert on Ebay for rebuilt rear shocks for the ace for £85. Anyone know how long the damping lasts in the standard shocks, i know that 'Busa shocks are fucked after about 5 - 10 K miles. Still ridable, but no where near what they were like when they were new. I'll ring Maxton today to get a price for a re-valve for the rear shock for comparison. Anyone help??