Josh

Right okay great i'll have a look at that tomorrow then thanks a lot.

Well i've checked all the wires and connectors that I could get access to and everything seems fine. I replaced my position light as well. I haven't actually changed my headlight bulb so I will try that, although the fuse did blow when the front headlight wasn't connected (switching to low beam with it disconnected still caused a short). The only other bit of information I have from today is my starter button seemed to develop a short lived problem after me putting the plastics etc back on my bike it stopped working - it didn't blow a fuse but it just made a single tick noise (almost identical to the tick made by an indicator in a car). I bump started the bike and then after that the starter button worked fine again?! Seems immpossible! Again thanks for your patience and help although I wouldn't be surprised if you give up soon lol.

Oh right okay, so i'll check the green wire for the position light and also the white for the dip beam. If I replace the position light bulb and it shorts again will that blow the bulb? Also I was thinking if the bike runs fine as long as it's not on dip beam then maybe the position light has just been blown for a while without me noticing and it's of no relevance.

I've already had the headlight and tail light on without the fuse blowing I just couldn't put it on low beam because of the position light coming on I think.

Ahhh well that would make sense haha. From that diagram for the little position light I am looking for a green or brown wire though right?

This helps to show the other wires that it comes from.

The bulb that is actually blown is the 12v 4w 'position light' which is shown on the diagram as having a green and brown wire (the brown wire was the wire I took of picture of with melted plastic on it). However it is still the case that the fuse was blown only with low beam on. This picture shows the brown wire (which comes out of a big bunch of wires that leads down from the handlebars and light switches etc) which has a plastic casing around it (cylinder shape) completed melted.

Right okay thanks I'll go and have a look for that white wire in a minute and make use of my insulation tape, I'll write back and let you know how it goes.

Haha yeah sorry I couldn't really get to it properly. I seem to of narrowed my problem down to being the low beam headlight, I found the bulb was blown and took it out - I flicked the headlights up to high beam and everything was fine, went down to low beam and as it has done before, lasted about 3 seconds then blew the fuse, however this can't be because of the bulb because I had already taken it out so simply replacing the bulb won't help, right?

yes that's what is blowing, the 15a tail/headlight/horn fuse. I removed the whole front part (headlight section) and checked the wiring behind there and found something which could be causing a problem. basically the big wire here (which I assume is the connection to headlights switch and whatever else) it looks like the earth wire here has caused the plastic to melt around it (not sure if this is a problem)

Nope they don't have an on off, only a high beam/low beam. Just in case these are helpful at all.

Thanks a lot for all of the helpful replies. Am I safe in saying it isn't the starter motor if the fuse blows before I press the starter button? The only things that come on are the dash lights and headlights automatically come on. So if I can find a way to disconnect the headlights then it might be able to narrow it down?

I don't really know where to start with the multimeter, all i've done so far is taken some wd-40 to it with no success and another blown fuse.

So I should probably check all the connection for water/loose connections? I've got a multimeter but I wouldn't know at all what to do with it in this situation.

Turns out I have a blown fuse, I put the spare fuse in and it blew instantly after turning the key and the electrics coming on.

I got on my bike today and straight away realised the neutral light didn't come on. Shortly after i started my bike i realised my headlights and brake lights were also out so I headed home again and now also my starter button is completely unresponsive. My indicators still work fine so does the indicator light on my dash but the rest is completely out.. My bike started very easily with a bump start (obviously without even needing to touch the starter button). Can anybody help me at all, what's gone on? It's clearly relevant to note also that yesterday the last time I rode my bike was on a very bumpy surface so it was getting throw about a bit (speedbumps and extremely uneven mud/gravel) and also went through a few puddles so some electrics could of possibly got wet too. Thanks a lot for any replies!

Ah yeah thanks a lot, I went on wemoto got the chain/sprocket set for £50, just waiting for my paddock stand to come and i'll be attempting the fix. Wish me luck that I manage to realign the rear wheel and brake calipers etc haha.

Ah nice thanks I feel confident enough i'll be able to do that no problems then. Does anyone have any input on buying the chain and sprocket set though?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-XR125-L ... 1104106523 ?? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-XR125-L ... 19d506ac0b ??

Well the subject says it all, i'm looking to get a chain and sprocket set for my xr and I was wondering if somebody would be able to point me in the right direction, i've looked on ebay and there's obviously some very cheap stuff on there which I wouldn't know if I could get away with buying and also i've looked on http://www.wemoto.com/bikes/honda/xr_125_l4_l5/04-05/ Also, as a rookie mechanic I know how to fit a chain but is the front and rear sprocket going to be a very simple case of bolts out, sprocket in, bolts back in or is it more technical than that? Thanks!

Right that's cool thanks a lot for the advice, just one more thing do you think it's better for me to buy the chain and sprocket and take it to a garage and get them to fit it for me if i'm not really very good thing things that like? Or should I just take it in there and get them to buy the stuff as well?

Well I have no idea how old the chain is, the bikes down about 9k miles and i've only had it for 1.5k of those and no proper service history or anything. I did do the tension on the tight spot and gave it the minimum slack advised in the hand book (20mm) and it still leaves the loosest part of the chain with absolutely ridiculous slack (about 50mm). I'm pretty sure I need a new chain but is it best to get new sprockets at the same time then and a new chain slider? Also would you have any really rough idea of what it should cost? Thanks a lot for the reply.

When I was riding home the other night I shifted up into 3rd and was greeted by the sound of my bike seemingly revving in neutral and what i found out to be my chain smashing it's self around as I tried to accelerate. Anyway I found the chain slider had came loose and was all over the place and in the way of the chain so I sorted that and found my chain was also incredibly loose so I tightened the tension of that as well, however being such a rookie and not having a clue now that i've tighened it and read up a little bit more I found the very tight spots on my chain. Does this mean I will definitely need a new chain and maybe sprockets or will the tight chain stretch more and even out if it's properly lubed and given a gentle ride? Thanks!

I'm near Brighton by the way, just updated my profile didn't realise I hadn't done that. I have taken the battery out and checked that nothing looks loose or out of place but I haven't properly taken everything out and checked it over and stuff as I would probably cause more harm than good http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Motorcycle-Battery-YTX5L-BS-Honda-XR125L-XR-125-L-03-04-/160584576192?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item2563962cc0 a lot cheaper than I expected so that's a decent battery then it's not like a cheap alternative or anything? Thanks for that. I'm still waiting for my multimeter to arrive which is quite annoying I was hoping it would be here on Monday or at least today but oh well. When it arrives hopefully i'll be able to find out the problem and get myself back on the road!

Well it would definitely seem as though the battery isn't holding charge as it was still flat after the 12 miles I done. Does it mean the alternator is working fine if the lights regain their brightness when the engine is revved, as at the moment the lights are noticeably dimmed without the engine running and the lights on the dash are dimmed too. If the battery is failing to hold charge do I need to take it to a bike garage or will a battery for my bike be easy to get hold of and fit (even for somebody like me with no expertise), also if anybody knows the rough price for a battery that would be handy as it seems this is going to be a likely outcome. Thanks for the help.