RantMachine

Or get one of those stupid flags sticking out at the side that some of them have, then try to twat them with it as you ride past

I appreciate that they say it's aerodynamically sound and all that, but I just can't get past this mental image of it going the way of suicide doors... Just think, one catch not done up properly and BAM, whole rear half of the helmet rips away when you hit the motorway and the front half lands in your lap soon after

f**k yeah, managed to finally get a definitive answer to the question of the CG's pedigree - it's one of the Japan-made CG125 "Nostalgia" models, a limited batch made in 2001 only for the native market but then grey imported all over the place. Essentially the electrics from the more modern CG crammed into the bodywork of the older CG and finished off with a novelty gearbox. Nice.

As Stu said. Also, the creak is the only thing that wants fixing. Everything else is improving the bike! The parts cost for the repairs is going to be £50ish for a bunch of bushes and bearings, absolute worst case scenario would be a problem with the shock or deflection lever then that'll cost a bit more but pretty unlikely. Either way, hardly "buy a new bike instead" levels of money

Amazing. We just got an email from my other half's mother, which among other things said that she had unwrapped and eaten the candy that we had bought for her husband, because she thought it was for her. And the wrapping paper was not a hint that it was meant for Christmas day. And the name tag saying "Charlie" didn't narrow it down either. Huff. If this turns into a full on maternal despair thread, I'll have to share the sorrowful tale of the Shoepig... will have to try and find the photos.

So I've heard! And my mate owes me a favour for sorting out his problems with his bike earlier this week so he's buying mine for me

Is it a puzzle? I thought it was a demonstration of quirks of written language

Only if you ride through a swarm of artisanal hand crafted flies

You wear an open face like all the other hipsters, obviously

Hahahahaha I know, I know And the BMW is next in the queue... first order of the day is winching up the tail once again and removing every single moving part from underneath it to work out where that bast*rd creaking is coming from, then modify the battery tray to take a maintenance free battery (wrong shape for every one on the market, but the F650 forum has some instructions for doing it), then while I've got the front end in bits I'll give the valves a look, and maybe I'll finally take up Fro's offer of bashing together a tool to get at my steering head bearings. And change the tires and sort out the spokes, that's a bit overdue. Oh, and rebuild the brakes and stick some braided lines in. Should all be done in time for the rally if I'm lucky

http://new3.fjcdn.com/pictures/Jarate+party_9e4e7c_5532166.jpg

I think we should all start carrying waterpistols in holsters so that we can irritate the hell out of cyclists when we're out riding.

Damn right he will! http://www.citylibrary.net/userfiles/axe.jpg

Essentially what I did as soon as I got the CG. Pulled everything off, checked it over, cleaned it up, and stuck it back on. Not so fun when it's getting dark in the evenings and raining every other night, but worth it!

Awesome, I'll keep an eye out for you. Look out for the very tall bloke on a tiny little red Honda CG, I'll be with my mate on his black Z1000SX. Should be a great day!

Well, Ghostbusters group costume for the rally it is then! Shotgun Venkman.

HOLY CRAP I SAID THINGS AND THEY WERE RIGHT

Can't make them out well enough to comment, but give this a glance then look at all of the old four up close and see if you can spot anything of note: http://www.aa1car.com/library/reading_spark_plugs.jpg Also, I like your style

Assuming you've done a reasonable bit of riding since servicing it, perhaps worth checking the filter and airbox once again to see if you have fresh crap in there? At least then you'd know if that is connected to the problem or if it was just the product of years of mistreatment. Don't suppose you recall how the old plugs looked when you changed them? (Better still, if you're as bad as me - do you still have them kicking around somewhere? ) If it's just one cylinder that's looking dodgy then that should have given you an inkling as to whether it really does have a problem compared to the other three. Could even see how the new plugs are looking if you don't mind the hassle of taking them back out again Certainly has the potential to be a nice and easy way of working out why it's running shoddy, even if it doesn't answer the liquid issue in the left cylinder (assuming that's oil, I would think it can only be the valve seals that are buggered?). You even have the luxury of multiple cylinders so you have "healthy" plugs to compare it with, you lucky dog Disclaimer: Seriously, RantMachine is the WORST person to listen to about this sort of thing. Except maybe Petrolhead, but it's a bit late for that.

Good with custard.

To start simple (probably too simple, but what the hell)... What's the oil level like / what was it like when you got it? As far as I'm aware, overfilling it horribly can lead to oil being forced into the airbox (via the crankcase breather) and past the valve seals. Does it smell at all like it's burning oil? That would certainly help identify if you've got something coming from behind the valves that shouldn't be. Disclaimer: RantMachine don't know shit

Blood hell it lives

I'm 14 stone, and while my other half is much smaller than me, I very much doubt she can weight 4 stone or less... So with our combined weight my CG frequently carries more than your 18 stone. My Chinese clone of a Suzuki Marauder also did about 1000 miles two-up without any great difficulty, and most of those times it was lugging basic camping gear too. To echo what TC1474 said, anyone the rubbishes 125s is talking out of their arse. PhilYoung and myself both got our full licences nearly two years ago (correct me if I'm wrong Phil, think we passed around the same time), and his R1 and my GS are now both gathering dust for the winter while we have a bloody good laugh hooning around on a YBR and a CG

Come on everyone, let's not fuel this issue any more... It might start breaking down in the tank over the winter and gunk up the whole forum by Christmas

Great to see everyone! Cheers again for the lift, Glorian