| Update on carb freezing |
[03 Jan 2010|02:06pm] |
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To all those who responded to my previous post on the problems I was having with my 1989 Virago 535 just thought I'd give you an update.
I tried adding the paraffin to the fuel and it worked like a charm. My Dad was also having the same problem with his old Norton and adding the paraffin worked for him too. If are having the problem described in my previous post and you want to try this you need to add a half pint of paraffin per gallon of fuel, slightly newer bikes which are designed to run on better quality fuel may need a little less paraffin.
It will effect the performance of you bike slightly, but is a damn sight better than running on one cylinder! Hopefully I will only need to do it for the coldest 2-3 months of the year. Hope this can help someone.
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| Troubleshooting |
[29 Dec 2009|05:58pm] |
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I don't often ask technical questions on here, my Dad is a mechanic and auto electrician so the need rarely arises.
If you are going to respond please bear in mind I'm not overly technically minded / skilled, but I know people who are. If you have had this problem with the specific bike, or those in the same series I would be grateful for advice.
I ride a Yamaha Virago 535 1989 shaft drive. For the last month or so I've been having problems. The bike starts fine without choke and goes along for about 2 miles without problems, however after a couple of miles I start sporadically losing power and frequently cut out at lights. I haven't yet had to be rescued by the RAC, I can keep it going if I stick to higher revs in a lower gear and give a lot of throttle, but by the time I get to the slower village roads at the end of my 10 mile journey home from work it's struggling and normally conks out as soon as I pull up infront of the garage.
The choke only makes it worse, whether used at the beginning or when the problems start. Battery is new and fully charged. Oil level is good and has been recently changed. Dad changed the spark plugs and upped the engine tick over, has made no difference.
Will probably keep working on it with my Dad until we get to the bottom of it, in the meantime if you have some suggestions, please share! Thanks.
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| Reverse Light of Impending Doom |
[20 Dec 2009|04:17pm] |
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Had my first real experience of the "imagine you're invisible to all road users" paying off today. I've been riding 18 months all year-round as my solo form of transport, so to be honest I'm surprised it's been this long coming. You've probably noticed it's cold out, and round here where there are hills and lots of water-logged sloping gardens that spew rivers of draining soil, we tend to experience a lot of black ice in our residential cul-de-sac. However the ice wasn't the reason for the treacherous conditions for me today, it was other people. ( Read more... ) Specifically one people-carrier driver who, upon spotting a driver about to reverse out of a parking space right outside the shops, slammed on his brakes to claim it. Without a moment's hesitation he shifted in to reverse and began to haul his beast backwards - to let out the previous occupier of this must-have space. I certainly was not following closely but I did end up further forward than I normally would because he stopped so suddenly. It's just lucky I assumed he didn't know I was there because the instant he began to move, so did I - to the left - getting the hell out of his path, otherwise I might have bent forks right now. I didn't even use my horn - didn't cross my mind. I wonder if, had I beeped him, he might have panicked and let the clutch right out - only speeding him up (he was already reversing at an irresponsible pace). I didn't stick around to see if a loud noise would save my pride and joy (and possibly the integrity of my forks, I don't know), I did what I thought was a better way of protecting myself by shooting sideways, ending up squeezed in alongside his passenger window before he stopped. Rather than swear at him or beat on the glass with a winter-gloved fist I just carried on squeezing by and got away. Now, I knew I was safe to make that sharp movement out to the left without hitting anything because I keep an eye on my mirrors all the time for cyclists, other riders and to make sure cars behind are going to stop. Wish he had the same level of road sense. Not a gripping story, but I felt inclined to share. The stupid thing is there were loads of spaces at the far end of the car park, this bugger was just so lazy he had to go almost round to the exit to find one within metres of the front door. I'm sure this happens to the more seasoned riders a lot, so what's your method of dealing with these people? Bigger stopping gap? Aggressive use of horn? Happy Christmas ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) uk_bikers.
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| Parking on pavement |
[16 Dec 2009|10:29pm] |
Since when can they give a parking ticket or photo ticket for parking a bike on the pavement? I thought parking restrictions were governed by the Road Traffic Act, pavement is not road. Anyone?
(x posted)
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| Speed Limit's (Admitidly a little ranty!) |
[16 Dec 2009|02:40pm] |
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According to the BBC website I was wrong, it seems the Government have
been advising local councils to impose 20 mph Speed limits in area's
the fall into the following catagories Residential, Schools and area's
where pedestrian and cycle traffic is high (so that could be classed
as most places). So I predict it won't be long till city centre's are
20 mph zone and most roads leading out of the city centre EG: Woodhouse
Lane next to Hyde park (full of cyclists) when then leads right into
residential area's all the way out to the A65.
I was thinking about this, there are a lot of cyclsts that keep up with
me doing 30 mph on my motorbike, this means they are doing 30mph on a
Bicycle, if a 20 mph speed limit is introduced thoughout the city centre's
then I'd be better riding a bicycle because if your practiced/fit enough
you will be able ride faster than most powered transport! and won't get
a speeding ticket because is pedal powered not petrol powered!
Ironically, I wouldn't object to the Lower Speed Limit in city centres
if they would up the speed limits for fast roads like the M1 (Motorways basically) etc. To
travel 156 miles to Cambridge is generally 20 minutes out of Leeds and
into 20 cambridge and about 2 hours on the A1/A1(M). A lower city centre
speed limit will mean more congestion and slower moving traffic and I
would estimate longer for me to get in and out of city centre's and *then*
I'd have my 2 hour drive to look forward too (70 MPH for 2 hours is
140 miles) if I could legally do 80 or 90 mph that's about 1 1/2 hours
which evens out. But of course they are talking about reducing single
lane rural A road with a history of accidents to 50 mph (what constitutes
a history of accidents?) which I imagine most roads will have some.
I agree with one point in the BBC Stories the problem isn't, in my
opinion always (not to say it's never to do with speed) to do with speed,
A lot of the time its the appauling state of driving you see on the roads.
Now I am not saying I am perfect, but I don't
1) drive through traffic calming measures ignoring the signs telling me who has right of way.
2) drive down a bus lane when it's not open to general traffic.
3) park on a double yellow line with all my lights off at night round a steep corner.
4) drive on the other side of the road because obviously those white lines are just decoration.
5) never dip my headlights even in the city centre.
6) Never dips my lightscountry road for traffic coming the oppisate way (I mean why should they need to see)
7) push the verchile in from forward with my verchile because they won't notice and it means i can get down that side road.
8) block two lanes of traffic with my shiny cock extension and put the handbreak on so I can give you the finger before pulling into my lane.
9) Undertake, because the outside lane refuses to break the speed limit.
10) Indicate or check my mirrors, obviously my fellow motorists psychic powers will inform then that I am going to change direction.
11) Drive so close I can smell the driver in fronts aftershave.
12) Chat on the phone while changing lane and doing any of the above because obviously I am the love child of the stig and Luke Skywalker!
13) Just stop dead on a Motorway because my SatNav says i've missed my turn!
14) drive at 50 Mph in the middle and inside lanes.
The fact that when the students came back the standard of driving dropped
sharply annoyed me, the fact that as soon as winter hit the driving stanard
dropped even more when they obviously let the window-lickers with their labeled
mittens getting off the yellow play-bus back into their car's.
Its my works night out tomorrow and my fazer is getting locked up in the works
secure underground car park for the festive season, hopefully after christmas/NYE
things will be better.
BBC Speed Limits Story
Interactive map of UK Road Deaths.
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| Brake calipers should not be a wear item |
[10 Dec 2009|01:09pm] |
Ok, does anybody make bikes that don't dissolve in the British winter?
My brakes were sticking, so I cleaned up the calipers last night.
They now work okay, but it is going to be impossible to replace the pads without destroying things.
This is the 2nd set of calipers in 2 years.
The rear caliper which has 2 opposed pistons has been fine for 3 years.
The front calipers, which have 2 pistons on one side have seized to their rails.
I think I want a new bike with opposed piston calipers on the front.
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| New Shiny FZS Fazer 1000 2004 |
[30 Nov 2009|03:33pm] |
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After Crashing Veera (My Lovely FZS Fazer 600) I put a post up about buying
a new bike and what should I buy and I had my idea's of what I should get
and then ... I found her!, She was going on the Yamaha Fazer owners Forum's
for £3,000.00 blinged up with Breaking Wave Brake Disc's, Hagon Front and
Rear Shocks, Stainless Steel Braided Hoses, Pazzio Adjustable Racing Levers,
Autocom, Sola Alarm, Inforad Speed Camera Detector, Garmin Quest satNav,
Engine Bars, Crash Bungs, Wired points for the Autocom, closed exteral lead
for the optimate, Rethal bars, MRA Screen, Yamaha Belly pan, Yamaha Radiator
Protector, Carbon Fibre Hugger, Carbone Con Co Oval Slip on can, Clear LED
tail unit, all the standard fastners have been replaced with ones that resist
corrision a bit better, its never been ridden in winter (until now) she is
in absolutely Imaculate condition and I am very happy. She is a bit of a
beast, The amount of miles from a tank is down by about 40 miles to 180 miles
until the light, the reserve tank will give about 60-65 miles until empty
all the electronics means there is very little space under the seat and it
didn't come with the luggage (I have most of my own anyway) ... so basically
I made a lot of plans and in the end went "OHHH, Shiny, shiny shiny! gimme!!".
This pictures are under the cut, these are the one's was selling it with and
it really is that shiny and corrosion free. Just need to find her a name, my
mate suggested Bertha but I think thats a bit cruel.
( Picture's of the New Shiny (Not trimmed down) )
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| Bike update |
[25 Nov 2009|10:21am] |
The bike was recovered, from an alleyway a few hundred meters from my house. Naturally the police are billing me £150 for taking it to the recovery center 0.8 miles away.
The tank has a huge dent in it, the ignition barrel is hanging by a few wires, the right hand mirror is gone, the exhaust is broken.
Basically, all things considered, my options were
1) Pay out of pocket for recovery £150 +£10 per day + recovery home + worry of having an unsafe vehicle parked on the road, and try and a) flog it on ebay for parts/project bike (no one’s going to want it) b) fix it up at costs of around £1000+ (more than its worth)
2) Let insurance company recover it, end up with a claim on my insurance record and a bike to get rid of as per a) and b) above. Excess of £500, even with that it’d cost me £500+ and raised premiums on the car, again, more than the bike’s worth
3) Pay recovery company £50, they write off the recovery fee, I don’t make a claim on the insurance, they scrap the bike and I get a refund on my insurance and 3 months road duty. Total cost, approx nil to no claims history on insurance.
I went for 3) I’m gutted. I have no bike, and I’m out the £250 I was going to sell it form, and a feeling of tense unabating rage and violation at the thought of all this stress, grief and loss of my bike all for some fucked up twat who thought it’d be “a laff”, and play with a bike they clearly couldn’t handle for 20 minutes or so before smashing it up a bit.
I hate people.
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[19 Nov 2009|04:11pm] |
right, im in doo doo
Got done for speeding ages abck so have 3 points on my license, been riding under 2 years so still limitied to 6.
Got flashed last week in leicestershire. visor was frozen so i had to have it wide open, it was night, road i dont know and the fog was thick as fuck so couldn't see all that well either, all my focus was on the road and not my speed.
Turns out i was doing 42 in the brief bit of 30 limit on a mostly national speed limit road.
What is the top end that they would send you on a speed awareness course rather than give you points?
edit, it was leicestershire, not yourkshire!!!
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| Stolen bike |
[16 Nov 2009|09:47am] |
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My bike was stolen sometime last night. Have filed police reports, waiting for a call from the insurance company.
Does making a claim affect no claims bonus? Or is that just "at fault" claims/accidents? My car insurance is fully comp 4 years protected, so hopefully shouldn't change that, my bike is also 4 years tpft, protected.
Excess is £500 though, it's probably only going to be worth about £600.
People are asking, so bike details are
Kawasaki ZXR 750 J1 1991 model, blue, H reg, chalk lettering on the pillion seat (that just wouldn't shift)
click the picture on this post to see a larger picture http://yetanotherdave.com/blog/stolen-motorbike/
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| Advice needed - Triumph Brakes |
[15 Nov 2009|05:11pm] |
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I tried, today, to change the brake pads on a 1995 Triumph Trident (rear only, twin pot calipers). Whilst I've done it quite a few times on other bikes, it was the first for this bike.
And I failed!
I just couldn't get the pistons back far enough to even come close to accepting the new pads - they move fairly smoothly & easily whilst well out (for very worn pads) but won't go back in anywhere near far enough for new pads. I've tried cleaning them, moving them out a bit further (one at a time) to check there's no ring of gunk, the usual trick with a mole wrench & a piece of wood to protect the back of the caliper, everything I could think of. But no joy...
Is there a trick I don't know of? Some Triumph oddity? A bleed somewhere? Or is there a common fault on Triumphs that does this - and if so, what do I need to do to fix it?
Thanks in advance!
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| Ducati Multistrada 1200 |
[12 Nov 2009|10:06am] |
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Just been quickly reading the review of the Ducati Multistrada 1200
and it sounds very interesting (actually sounds a bit like Streethawk)
with the onboard computer, adjustable traction control system and tyre
information (pressure, tempature etc) displayed on the instrument panel
and even though it looks dog ugly, its sounds interesting to ride. Of
course its a Ducati and will cost a small fortune in maintenance and
part never mind to buy.
Web Bike World Review of the Ducati Multistrada 1200
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[04 Nov 2009|08:48pm] |
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right, home work for college has confused me. so who can tell me why throttle position sensors are used in carburetor engine management systems
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| Anybody want to buy a Trophy? |
[07 Nov 2009|04:01pm] |
I've reluctantly come to the conclusion that I'm probably never going to ride this particular bike any where near as much as it deserves. I did about 600 miles in the first 3 months I had it and I've done 6 miles this year - it just hasn't had the use - half of that was running it to a service and back.
Sales pitch behind the ( cut )
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| French Motorail |
[27 Oct 2009|05:37pm] |
I know this service is popular with some bikers.
French Motorail will not be running a service in 2010 from Calais to the south. The company quote economic climate, running costs and exchange rate as the reason for withdrawing the service.
I had been thinking of using it next summer. I guess I need a new plan.
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| New Bike Plan's |
[26 Oct 2009|12:33pm] |
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Well with the untimely demise of Veera, I've had to form transport
plans going forward. I have the loan bike (Suzuki Bandit 650 with ABS)
so I am mobile until the insurance ends. I now have two plans as follows.
After talking with my g/f about it for a bit we reached the conclusion
that as my bike is my main form of transport and it gets ridden all year
round and is very likely to be my main transport for years to come that
maybe its time to start to invest a little more heavily in my transport
and my kit. The Fazer was a beauftiful bike but did have a fair bit of
weathering which is why it was £1,200. So the thought is to get something
reasonable new in very good condition with lowish miles, Invest in some
good quality kit and some value adding mod's for the bike like scot-oilers
etc to help maintain and preserve the bike components lifespan.
My Thoughts on what I am buying
The main requirements on a bike for me are things
like comfortable riding position (the fazer seat was very comfortable)
fuel economy (I could when riding for range get 220 miles out of a tank
sticking to the speed limit on the Fazer), needs to be able to carry
Luggage and a pillion (the fazer 600 always felt sluggish as soon as you
plonk a pillion on there regardless of weight and size) and of course
we are looking for handling and of course fun (the fazer had great handling
and was always fun to ride). I love Fazer's and am very tempted to stay
with them either a 600 or maybe even moving up to a 1000cc. Of course
the Thou has a diffrent engine than the 600 so i have no idea what effect
this will have on MPG and how the engine responds as opposed to the 600.
The idea of a BMW R1200GS is appealing because they are mile munchers and
with me doing about 300 miles per weekend atm and the fact that soon I'll
be hauling pillions too make this idea quite appealing.
The Plan
a) Get a Bike Loan to cover buying a bike, new gear and some essential mods.
b) If i can't get a bike loan, buy a hack and run that for a year while I save to do the above.
Suggestions on Criteria
Obviously as the criteria below indicate that my preferance leans more towards
Tourer's and Sport Tourer's more than anything else.
1) Comfort & Fuel Economy, I will be doing a lot of miles so a comfortable
seat and riding position to delay numb bum as possible would be good, Fuel
Economy is a bit of an oxy moron with big bikes but as an example with the
fazer 600 I can do 220 miles on a tank sticking to speed limits or 150 miles
to a tank if I am caning it and having some fun, tank range and fuel economy
like this is what I mean.
2) Luggage and Pillion, It does need to be able to take a full luggage set
so when the G/F is on the back she can carry all her stuff. So 52 Lite topbox
and 40 odd litre panniers and more responsivness when having a full luggage
rack and pillion would be nice as I feel the fazer 600 would struggle.
3) Fun, While it has to be practical for the above reasons the main reason
for the bike is fun. Fun isn neccisarily something that has a top speed of
187mph, the fastest I've done on my bike was 21mph short of my bikes top
speed and it wasn't for long and was only overtaking in a fairly quiet 4
lane stretch of motorway. But something that has the power for overtakes
at least when I need it.
So, any suggestions?
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| First rideout! |
[20 Oct 2009|07:35pm] |
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So, a little over 2 weeks since passing my test I went on my first big organised ride.
Hogging the bridge. Sunday 18th Oct 2009.
The Harley Owners Group, Bridgewater chapter organise a yearly charity ride starting at the Old Severn Bridge services, riding over to Magor, up to Caldicott and then down to Chepstow for fun and games.
It was great fun. I was lucky. Got there about 6 rows back from the front of the car park. Which meant I was out pretty much at the front of the pack, which meant I wasn't subject to some of the bottlenecks I heard about later. Over the bridge people were lining some of it, taking videos and photos. Further up the motorway, the bridges across them were lined with people waving and cheering. The other roads had people at the sides, kids waiting to have their hands slapped as you rode past, people waving and taking pictures. As we rode into Chepstow you could see the motorway and there were STILL bikes heading up it! The guys I rode with stayed for a pint and something to eat for an hour or so, then as we were riding out of the town, and ONLY then, did the final rider come past us!
Couple of photos!
Picture 1 is my TransAlp and I in the thick of it. Picture 2 and 3 is the view of the carpark about 10 minutes before the ride start.
If anyone else has any other photos of the ride they'd like to share in this thread, please do!
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| First off I am fine ... |
[13 Oct 2009|08:54pm] |
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Second, Today on the way back from work I crashed. Long Story short, the front forks
broke, the front fairing is wrecked, some missing footpegs and my front mudgard is bust,
the mirrors both snapped and the down pipes are dented/ruptured.
What Happened
I was passing a car waiting to do a right turn, I indicated left and and pulled out, after
that there is pretty much car -> brake -> Impact -> air -> ground. I wasn't sure what
happened at first and thought i must have pulled back in but I actually think he's pulled
out too far and too fast and clipped me because I wasn't going that fast. Either way
the bike is probabably a write off, he was a provisional driver driving without L Plates
and I am not entirely sure what to make of it except that I have no broken bones and
my back hurts like a fucker.
I am not sans bike, and it only hurts when I move (I shall be cutting back on that for a bit)
all in all it wasn't that bad but I might get a smaller back protecter that inserts into my jacket
for the future.
A bit gutted, Veera is not happy.
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| Wanted |
[10 Oct 2009|05:31pm] |
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Does anyone know where I can pick up a windshield for an XVS 650A (Dragstar 650A) for not a lot of money? I am not getting much joy out of Ebay. Does not have to be new, just functional.
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