Produced in 778, the X7 was a complete redesign of the old GT250, which had become stodgy with old age. The X7 was 40lbs lighter and more powerful, with a significant power step between 6500 and rpm; enough go to crack the magic ton.
The difference between a good and bad one can be very great, so it pays to have an extensive test ride and try a few examples. Assured that my pride and joy could actually shred the skin off a rice dding, I was only too pleased to give ‘Wino Joe’ a lift home from work after buying the bike off him. He even offered put a litre of 2T in it for me, although he assured me it ran fine without it. Jeez!
First impressions were much expected. On anything other than a smooth road it bucked, bounced and weaved all over the place on 60+mph roads, but did wonders for my ego on roundabouts, touching down the footrests rubbers on the right and centre stand lug on the left, giving a good impression of a sparkler. All this, and more, with the original Japlop Gold Seal tyres.
The seat looks quite sleek a distance but if a pillion actually sits on it, it splits. Mine was no exception, although I managed to persuade the local ‘hoods’ to provide a new one with the bike just out of warranty.
After a much needed decoke, I set about trying to make the bike handle better. First, a set of decent tyres - Pirelli Gordons were the bizz, with not unreasonable wear (10000 front, 5-7000 miles rear) for the level of grip. The steering head bearings had been over-tightened. On inspection, the races were unmarked so I just renewed the bearings (local bearing shop rather than the dealers, naturally).
New swinging arm bearings were hastily installed after a race with a Cortina (the couch v. the pogo stick) when after reaching 80mph and entering a bumpy right-hander I almost ended up sharing space with a water trough in a field full of a couple of bulls. I forget exactly how much the bearings were, but I recall picturing the salesman with a bearing up each nostril, until sanity resumed and I handed over the dosh. I also put some spacers in the forks and Konis on the back, chucked away the centre stand and bent the footrests out of the way.
The next 4000 miles were spent mainly using the X7 around town and generally making a nuisance of myself with the local fuzz. It handled reasonably well and was great for wheelies, although the chain was a flimsy 520 item which needed constant adjusting and oiling to stop the gear change from becoming sloppy. After two or three weeks of town riding the X7 would lose its edge - burning the baffles in petrol and a new set of plugs cured things... and, yes, the oil pump was set correctly, and, no, I didn’t poodle about either.
The silencers are renown for clogging up quickly and I was sure the cut-out for the back wheel bolt was robbing power from the engine. Petrol was drunk at between 35 and 45mpg, 2T disappeared at 350mpp, chain and sprockets were finished in 7000 miles, disc pads in 8000 miles and rear shoes in 9000 miles. The only other consumables were plugs in 2000 miles, the odd clutch cable and three tacho cables that never seemed to last however much I oiled them.
By 8500 miles vibration was becoming a problem, the X7’s crankshaft is by far its worst feature, being very fragile and not likely to last more than 12000 miles if the performance is used and considerably less if the engine is tuned.
I had a brain lapse at this point and opted for a £150 rebore, pistons and crankshaft from Dino racing - expensive, but well worth it. After running in the rebuilt engine for 500 miles, it was as good as new and I celebrated by going to Donnigton to watch the Easter Transatlantic races, two hundred miles away, in the company of a 350YPVS and GPz750. My mates were quite surprised at how well the X7 ran. It had a bit of an 75-80mph thrashing there and back (which I duly paid for in petrol, down to a record low of 28mpg at one point).
Growing ever fonder of the bike, I was tempted to try tuning it with the help of some articles in Rocket Socket Monthly, but the weak crankshaft kept pricking my conscience, so I opted for a set of Allspeeds, junking the foam air filters and putting in 105 main jets. The acceleration was fantastic for such a small bike, but maximum power was developed at 7500rpm - at 7501rpm it felt like someone had switched off the ignition, so sudden was the loss of power. Top speed was down to 85mph. After covering 20000 miles on X7s, and owning various 250s from Superdream to 250LC, it must still rate as one of the most desirable small bikes around.
Bruce Wilson