Dave bought this Suzuki GSX600F for £400 to participate in the Longest Day Challenge, but before it can cover 1000 miles in a day it needs a bit of work. Ok, a lot of work… Can he get it ready in time?
Catch up with part 1 here.
Words & photography by Dave Manning
While it would’ve been truly wonderful to have spent time preparing myself and the bike for that one long day of riding in June, there’s rather more preliminary work than hoped…
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I’d gone into this project with my eyes wide open, knowing that there would be a fair amount of spanner-twirling to get the bike up and running – it is, after all, a bike that I bought for 400 quid… but, ever the optimist, I had rather fooled myself into thinking that it’d be little more than a service and some new tyres. I’m probably the only person on the planet who was surprised that there were a few more issues lurking beneath the Suzuki’s fairings than I’d hoped for.
Last month, I’d got as far as making a list of things that needed to be fixed, and then got distracted by deadline pressures and new bike launch commitments, only managing to get the new chain and sprockets fitted. And, as lovely as flying to sunny climes to ride someone else’s bike may sound, it does mean that there is some time to be spent catching up on work on one’s return and, so far, I’ve yet to find a way to be rebuilding brake calipers when on a Ryanair flight to/from the Canary Islands…
So, those brake calipers. I’d managed to get the remaining seized pistons out, thanks to a good friend with a decent piston removing tool, and all of the pistons were in good condition, so with a rebuild kit from Wemoto, each caliper could be rebuilt with a decent dose of anti-seize and red rubber grease.
While fettling about and checking various bits, I’d realised that the clutch and throttle cables were both a little stiff and, while the clutch cable eased a little with some 3-in-1 oil dribbled down the cable, I wasn’t really happy, especially given that this bike needs to be reliable not only for the trip from Land’s End to John O’Groats, but also for the trip to the start, and home from the finish as well. So new cables were added to the list of parts to be ordered from Wemoto.
Knowing that, due to having been stood for some time, the carbs would most definitely need cleaning, I whipped them off and, in a pique of efficient thinking, realised that while the carbs were off, it would be a really good use of my time if I checked the valve clearances, rather than waiting until after I’d refitted the carbs, throttle cable, ignition coils, etc.
The oil-cooled Suzukis have a cam cover that has one bolt situated at the front of the end that gets a lot of water and dirt thrown at it from the front wheel, and it wasn’t keen to budge at first. Several doses of penetrating oil, and a few sessions of tapping away at the top of the bolt with a heavy breaker bar later, and it came loose. Thankfully, as it’s in the worst place possible if the allen head had rounded off, or the bolt had sheared. That would’ve been an engine out job…
Cam cover off – ignoring the less-than-perfect condition of the cams (but no scoring or pitting, so they’ll be fine, honest guv) – and the valve clearances could be checked. The early model of the GSX600F, like this one, has shims rather than the screw-and-locknut of the later model, and I’m a little paranoid about dropping a shim into the engine if I need to change one. Deep joy, eight of the 16 clearances were tight, so the shims came out using a magnet to grab them when the valve was pushed down and the rocker arm out of the way. It was never going to be as simple as swapping shims around to get the right clearances, and only one was suitable to be reused elsewhere, meaning I had seven shims to exchange. Thankfully, they’re the same size as the shims in Hayabusa engines, and Rick Stubbins at Protek Racing up the road in Scunthorpe has stacks of shims, as he’s drag raced Hayabusas to great effect and success. So a ride across the Wolds on the faithful World Raid on a weekday evening saw shims in my pocket and ready to be fitted.
With any luck, this coming weekend will see that done, the carbs cleaned, and some reassembly can begin.
The driving force
One in two of us will be directly affected by cancer at some point during our lives. Some of the LDC riders have faced the disease themselves; some will have lost family, friends or loved ones;and some will be travelling along the rocky road of diagnosis, treatment and recovery.
I, too, have my own personal reasons, as some readers will already know. I lost my wife to this dreadful disease in 2022, my father a couple of decades ago, and several friends, too. Each and every one of them fought hard to the end, never complaining despite the indignity of the treatment, accepting the pain and sickness and, despite the harrowing prognosis, still managing to smile.
I also know people who have come out the other side. They’ve rung the bell to signify the end of their treatment. They’ve raised their faces to the sky and said: “Thank you.” They’ve been able to do this thanks to the ongoing advancement of treatments for the multiple different types of cancer; treatments that are becoming less invasive, less intrusive, yet more efficient. This is why events like the LDC take place. For those who have suffered, and those who are suffering. For those who’re caring for those in pain, and for those who are developing better cures. For all of those people.
Longest Day Challenge
The premise is simple: riding from Land’s End on the morning of the longest day (which in 2024 was June 20 and will be June 21 in 2025.), northwards all the way to John O’Groats, without use of any motorways, and all aboard bikes that cost no more than £600.
In 2024, 35 bikes took part, and over £100k has been raised for Cancer Research UK.
More details about the day can be found here and you can donate to the cause here.
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