New owner of an old Alp

[slartybartfarst]

Hi we have just bought an 1988 600 Transalp (it needed to be 1988+ for clasic insurance) off the dreaded Ebay!

Actualy it seems ok the bike was sold with an auction finishing at 5:30am and with a reported fault of "loosing power" consequently it was had for £590 with tax and test, old its a bit tired looking but seems to go real well.

Anyway the bike is my sons and he was jumping on the 600 from a 125 with a little trepidation, not to worry though he loves it and the fault well that was simply the vac pipe leaking to the fuel tap so the bike was switching off its fuel supply!

So now he's under way i want to tidy it up, the back shoes are worn, the chain and sprockets ill replace as a matter of course anything else these bikes tend to wear?

They seem bomb proof from reading the posts just some problems with the CDi packs.

Any pointers would be much appreciated, BTW Im and engineer with many other bikes so sorting anything myself no problem just would like the heads up before I do a day sorting the bike.

[SILVALP]

That could be a Good Find slartybartfarst... you work on Sons bike (something you prob enjoy) and of course in return the Grateful Son will no doubt be doing all yr gardening chores, cleanin the family car etc etc as a sign of his appreciation !! Being new to the "Transalp Scene" after many (too many ?) years on bikes i dont have much experience of the marque, but its good some young un's still taking an interest in 2 wheels, and probably a good progression for him to experience something thats not a ballistic missile coming from a 125 !! Hope he enjoys !!

[slartybartfarst]

Amazingly he already does a lot to help, Im very lucky hes never been anything but a star so its nice to repay his efforts.

As we also live in the Isle of Man he had some amazing roads to learn on and its a credit to Hondas Alp just how quickly any rider can feel at home mind you I am a Honda fan so Im biased I have a 1969 CB750 which is an absolute delight to ride with realy top notch engineering, just amazing how good it is today no wonder it shook up the bike world in 69.

Must admit I went and bought a Suzuki GSXR 1000 K6 for the TT course after seeing just how planted and quick they are.........the finish is not Honda but that engine is nuts!!!

Due to a quirk in the IOM to UK law my son has ended up being entitled to ride unrestriced power and providing we source a bike over 20 years old his insurance is the same no matter what cc!!!

Ebay revealed you can pick up a 148bhp Gennis Sports Yam for £850!!! I am very confident in my sons abilitys but I thought that was a step to far better to learn the ropes and the Alp is just perfect.

It needs a good day on it to do cush drive, chain, sprockets, service and get the cables lubed later on given a free week it could be stripped and everying painted/sorted but for now its got him off a 125 whcih is just to slow for todays UK trafic and dangerous.

[raymo]

hi,
you seem to have all the bases covered http://www.ta-deti.de/ is a great site
the cdis problem is related to the seat stressing the connections. you can relocate them to the same position as the later alps, mine is a 94 so ok.

mine is a work horse, not the best cosmetically and I did very little to it when I first got it, new clutch plates as it was slipping, oil filter tappets and new plugs TKC 80 motad bars. tupperware off to check and clean and grease pro link then thrashed it from Aberdeen to Italy and back to do the Stella.. never missed a beat..

Have replaced chain & sprockets since .. chain snapped!! so now like your self , change it as a given on any new bike I get.. old chain looked fine no wear, scott oiler fitted but you just dont know how its been stood and any internal corrosion prior to you getting your mits on it, it just failed about 200yds from home ..

a real keeper and pleasure to ride..

Ray

forgot fitted a centre stand and braided hoses recomend both
ohh and I fitted a laser pro duo end can made a difference too

[slartybartfarst]

Hey Raymo Thanks for the pointer on the CDI packs i will move these both my son and me use bikes as transport (I have a yamaha GTS the bike with no front forks) and one of the main reasons for this choice is the rad is mounted up where the headstock should be and hot air can be made to rush all over you and your hands great in -2c a warm bike!

The Alp will be used and mainly left outside, however past experiance of good bikes (esp Hondas) has shown that any work put in tends to improve the bike faster than it deteriorates........unlike the cheap Chinese 125 hes just stepped off..........Now thats an exercise is continious engineering........he did 12,000 miles on it and we have bolted and tie wrapped almost evey piece back on......the 125 is going on Ebay for a laugh and Im going to be brutaly honest the only reason its still runnning is we have replaced the chinese bits that fell off with proper kit!

[pdsquire]

An original! I'm told of two problems with those, both of which mine has suffered: reg/rec and output shaft.
The early reg/recs tend to allow too much charge back to the battery. It doesn't harm the battery but will lead to the water boiling out of it. If the reg/rec gets too hot to touch or if the level in the battery falls then you should change the reg/rec before other parts of the electrics begin to fail.
The 1988/9 Alps had splines on the output shaft which were softer than the front sprocket which sits on it. When it goes, the shaft costs £12 but the cost of fitting will be more than you paid for the bike. (It's not a difficult job for a neat welder, though care is needed not to overheat and damage the nearby output shaft oil seal). As your lad gains in confidence, do tell him that this is not a sports bike and that first and second gear wheelies are for another machine.
Cheers.

[slartybartfarst]

Hey thanks pdsquire yea it had to be an 88 to qualify for classic insurance.

Take the point on the reg/rect. I can bung a meter on and check the output volts should be 14.2v charging voltage for lead acid batterys.

I suspect all is ok as i did not notice any big change in the headlamp brightness when he reved the engine. Sometimes the reg packs need a good earth its another point ill check out when we get the day on the bike.

I've seen a few reports on the output shaft being worn, that will be why. Like you say I have a stick welder so if its worn it will get the new sprocket welded on, then if the beast is still in favour a year from now we may tear it apart for a week and spam it all up in which case Ill replace the shaft but no point at present.

As far as wheelies go Im lucky to have a son who is very cautious, don't get me wrong he's a good confident fairly quick rider but hes talking about taking his advanced test.

Having spent 28 months riding a 125 around the Isle of Man and over the Mountain in the rain and dark he's serving his appreticeship slowly (as I did). Im sure the delight of hoiking the front wheel up will happen in time he's already sampling the new concept of acceleration!

I bought a NOS shocker off ebay so that just about completes what's needed to compensate for 20 years of use, my experiance of monoshocks is they deteriorate in 5 years use.

[ladder106]

Remember that there is just about 7 in. of rear wheel travel in this bike. Set chain slack accordingly (it will look too loose to anyone with "street-bike" eyes....it should look more like a MX bike at rest). Not having the chain too tight (which will go to insanely tight on rear full bump) is, IMHO, the root cause of inordinate output shaft wear. Be careful of this when having new rear rubber fitted at a shop as the mechanics will most likely set it too tight.

The old TAs benefit greatly from cleaning and polishing ALL the electrical connections in the wire loom. Many old TAs overcharge their batteries and boil water away (over about a 7-10 day period) because the charging system is seeing all the extra resistance in the system and providing more voltage to the battery than it needs.

CDI boxes with more than 25000 miles are suspect, carry a spare.

Many old rear springs have sagged resulting in poor handling (pushing the front end) in off-road and slippery/wet conditions. Check and adjust the rear sag (race sag) with your son on the bike. Look for 25% of total rear travel as a starting point so...about 1.5 to 1.75 in sag. Same thing happens with front springs, but a bit of extra preload spacer, an oil change, and maybe an increase of about 10mm oil level helps alot.

The engines are fairly stout. Any rattling heard, particularly at startup, is most likely the oil pump drive chain. It lives right behind the clutch and should be changed as a matter of course when clutch work is done. I've never heard of one breaking but a few owners of older bikes have been driven slightly mad by the presence of aluminum flakes in the oil. That has been traced to a very slack oil pump chain that begins to contact and file away at the aluminium case. An oil/filter change and a valve adjust will make the engine sing.

Remember there are 4 spark plugs. This is one time when the plug tool included in the kit with the bike is almost the only one that works.

There are 2 small "secondary" air filters that live in two small black boxes under the fuel tank near the coils. They provide clean air to the area under the carb diaphragms. These are usually neglected and you may only find a grey dust (or no filter at all) present in the boxes. Foam from a lawn mower filter or old dirt bike filter cut to size with a few cc's of oil will fix this.

The rubber handlebar mounts on the top triple tree can become loose and tired and give the bike a "vague" feeling with spirited cornering or off-road work. You can tighten them up with a short piece of 1 in. PVC pipe under the nut and washer on the bottom side of the triple tree.

When servicing the needle bearings on the rear suspension linkage be aware that these bearings are not caged. The grease (or lack or it) is all that holds them in place. Be carefule with solvent and compressed air since the needles will scatter like autumn leaves providing one with hours of pleasure rooting around the shop floor with a magnet.

[locorider]

Ladder summarized about everything that needs to be checked. If you ever take the fuel (petrol) tank out, check the carbs rubber boots straps. Check for loose straps, and if you can, tighten it a little.

That's about it. Amazing bike!!!! Hope that by this time, your bike is in top shape.