It’s been a while hasn’t it? And with good reason really. I’d finally gone out and bought a bike that needed absolutely nothing doing to it. Just at the time that we were all locked down again, and so I ended up with a load of time on my hands and no engines that need rebuilding, or looms that needed modifying, or bodywork that needed painting. I was a little lost actually – and ended up rekindling some old hobbies while I waited for the weather to turn, and lockdown restrictions to ease.
And so, this weekend, I finally got out on the road for a few hours to give the 675 a quick whizz to see what it was like as a roadbike. I knew full well that as a trackbike it’s a bit of a weapon, having ridden James’s 675R at Cadwell last year, and spent some time chasing down a couple of 675s on my old ZXR750. But as a roadbike, is it actually any good? Quick answer: yes. For the most part, anyway… I was pottering around yesterday when I was passed by someone on a GSX-R something, obviously in a hurry to get somewhere. And I did something I’ve not done in many years, and dropped it a couple of gears to see if I could catch up. The chase lasted about 12 seconds I guess. It’s really a very potent machine on the road – possibly slightly too fast for my liking. It certainly felt a lot quicker than the ZXR750s, and right up there with something like an early model Fireblade. Litre bikes are just not my thing I’m afraid. I’ve ridden all sorts – ZX10Rs, R1s, Ducati 1098, GSX-R1000s etc. And while they all offer stomach churning acceleration and wheelies on demand, that’s just not my bag. Braking and handling are where I get my kicks, and it’s safe to say that the 675 excels at both of these. The brakes are truly noteworthy – every bit as good as the brakes we had on the endurance 750SRAD.
So then, as a road bike, it’s very quick, quite comfy, and supremely unsuited for carrying luggage. No surprises there. It’s right at the limit for seat height that I’m comfortable with. I have a reasonably average sized inside leg, so I’m not sure if this one has been jacked up at some point, or that’s just the way they are – I need to see if I can blag a ride on another of the same vintage to check. I have my suspicions about the electrical longevity too, after it killed a battery last week for no apparent reason. I’ve read in a couple of places that this just happens from time to time, and it’s either the stator, or the reg/rec, or both – so I’m going to need to keep an eye on that I guess.
Other than the battery, it’s all been pretty dull really. I replaced the dreadful Dunlop Lurchmaster3000 tyres with some Conti Race Attacks, which are complete overkill for the road but they were such a good price I couldn’t resist. Otherwise all that’s happened is stuff to put it back to standard – levers, rear footpegs, and junking the ridiculous tail ‘tidy’ to put a stock unit back on. And it really comes to something when an oil change is one of the most interesting things to talk about, but yes, I changed the oil. This was just me being paranoid – I was reading through the old receipts that came with the bike, and noticed that the last one contained an item for three litres of oil at £7 a litre. Which sounds suspiciously cheap for a 14000rpm motor. For now, I’ve replaced it with Motul 5000 which while it isn’t the best oil in the world, it meets all the specs laid out in the workshop manual, and on the road I’m not going to be stressing things anyway. Before I head out on circuit again I’ll be dropping that and filling it with 300V.
That’s it really. It’s a very pretty thing, which is a little uncompromising, and goes like the clappers but feels a little fragile. I’m not sure there’s much else to say really. I think I’m going to like it.
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