1968 Cobra

[oldjapanesebikes]

There is no grease fitting on my Cobra swing arm, nor is there a grease fitting on the sprocket cover for the clutch release assembly.

Ian...re the new pipes, is Marcel making his own baffles too? I see there is no cone in the end.

Thanks for the info Fred - I'll check my clutch release cover later today.

Re the baffles, I'm not sure but suspect they are from Suzuki as they are still available and fit both the GT750 and the T500. Marcel is quick to reply to emails so I could just ask him.

Those pipes are beautiful... I wonder how exact they are?Ivan

Ivan - Marcel has a good rep and I've never had a complaint with anything I've ordered from him. I suspect they will be very close indeed, but once I have them in my hands I'll be able to tell you for certain I guess !

[Ivan]

Cobra rear brake is right off the T20 and T305...

My Cobra does not have the clutch release grease fitting either.


Ivan

[oldjapanesebikes]

There is no grease fitting on my Cobra swing arm, nor is there a grease fitting on the sprocket cover for the clutch release assembly.

Ditto mine

On another topic - and again this is old news to some board members but interesting to me - I was swapping emails with Jim about Cobra grips and the question about whether they were originally 'puffy' or 'flat', and he pinged me that an original pair had just come on FleaBay. On the left is the original and the right is the reproduction available from PM.



The original 'puffy' throttle grip was damaged and on closer inspection I realised it was a built-up unit and it came apart easily. The reason it is 'puffy' is because it has vibration dampening built in.



The Suzuki 'S' on the original grips are both the same size (clutch side and throttle).



And the reproduction ones from PM have different size 'S' symbols, so I'm wondering if his are copied from a later version ?



Brian in Australia has the 'puffy' grips at several times the cost of Paul's, but if they replicate the original style in all respects then they would be worth it to me at least. These are the ones resold via Reproduction decals. I've sent Brian a note to get more information.

[Suzsmokeyallan]

Ian now I'm seeing those puffy grips, do you happen to have one of the spare ends that glue on. They also ended up on the 69 MKII model as well.

[oldjapanesebikes]

... do you happen to have one of the spare ends that glue on.

Afraid not Allan - on the throttle side what had happened was the outside sleeve 'grip' was spinning on the ribbed centre core which would have made it a pain to use. . They appear to have originally been made from four separate pieces, so my plan now is to eventually repair it and set it to one side - I'm not sure if I'll actually use them as they are quite hard. Both the clutch side and throttle side are made the same way - you can see the seams clearly.

[Ivan]

According to Paul Miller, the normal thin grips were standard, and the puffy ones were an OEM accessory called "touring grips".

I bought many NOS grips several years ago from different people on ebay... I have never seen the small "S" on the throttle side except on the T305/T350/T250.... those were also shorter in length than the T200/T500 grips.


Ivan

[oldjapanesebikes]

According to Paul Miller, the normal thin grips were standard, and the puffy ones were an OEM accessory called "touring grips".

Thanks Ivan - that makes sense. It would be nice to find an actual part number.

Have heard back from Oz - the Australian reproductions are the 'puffy' style, but are one piece and so are solid rather than built up.

[argo1974]

PM has always been great on stories ...
T500 Cobra parts catalog from Feb. 68 shows puffy grips with part # 57111-15010 (RH) and 57211-15010 (LH) respectively.
I also have a NOS left grip part # 57211-15010 (puffy) made out of separate pieces.
T500 parts catalog from June 68 is somewhat different containing options like turn signals etc. But grips are still the same.
And, almost any unrestored Cobra seen in the internet has those puffy grips.

[oldjapanesebikes]

T500 Cobra parts catalog from Feb. 68 shows puffy grips with part # 57111-15010 (RH) and 57211-15010 (LH) respectively.......T500 parts catalog from June 68 is somewhat different containing options like turn signals etc.

Now that is interesting ! That info and parts listings don't show up in any of the T500 manuals I have. That sort of info would be of interest to a lot of people, so any chance of a few scans for Muzza's site and my T/GT Resources site ?

[Ivan]

I'm going to do a little more research today... I have a lot of microfiche and parts books

Now I'm curious


Ivan

[jabcb]

Was wondering about the puffy grips.

This US Suzuki ad for the 69 T250 has thin grips on the top view but looks like it has the puffy grip on the side view:

[Suzsmokeyallan]

In this ad the bike at the top also appears to have the puffy grips. I believe some parts book numbering for various grips needs further research.

[Ivan]

T500 Cobra parts catalog from Feb. 68 shows puffy grips with part # 57111-15010 (RH) and 57211-15010 (LH) respectively.
I also have a NOS left grip part # 57211-15010 (puffy) made out of separate pieces.

T500 parts catalog from June 68 is somewhat different containing options like turn signals etc. But grips are still the same.

And, almost any unrestored Cobra seen in the internet has those puffy grips.

Although my 68 Cobra is an extremely early model (#10332), when I got the bike, the previous owner changed the bars and the grips... they weren't original. I put the correct bars on it and new OEM grips, but they aren't the puffy ones... the cover photo of Cycle World December 1967 with the pretty woman sitting on the bike has the thin grips on the bike.

The non-puffy grips on the T/TC200, T305, and early T250/T350 all have the same part # 57110-11011.... although the 305/350 grips are shorter in length than the T200 grips and have the small "S" on both sides.

There must have been a change in supply vendors or specs along the way that did not change the part #, but changed the part.


Ivan

[Ivan]

The photo is near the bottom of this page...

http://www.ozebook.com/compendium/t500_files/sandy.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Ivan

[argo1974]

I also checked my T500 service manual from Mar. 1, 1968, but there is T500/Five pictured only. The T500/Five has thin grips.

On the photo Ivan mentioned earlier, the actual bike is a mix out of T500/Five and Cobra - short wheel base, non-Cobra style petcock, aluminum oil cap on engine, T500/Five style mufflers and headpipes, solid mounted engine, rear shock covers painted etc. The grips are thin. I have that Cycle World Dec. 1967 issue before me. In the actual story, the bike is called T500/Five.

What I believe, the thin style grips were used on T500/Five whereas Cobra came with puffy grips.