Dav3y

Where in Essex are you ? Anywhere near southwest essex you might find the J&S branch in Eltham might not be too far. Failing that, go to the bike show at the NEC next month

Not so. A2 license is A2 license with all the restrictions that brings. There is no longer automatic removal of restriction after two years. You either have to hold A2 license for two years (minimum age 21) before taking A license or I believe at 24 via DAS route.

Sounds like the battery is flat or knackered. I take it the 24-48 hrs was on a trickle charger and not just some ordinary car charger ? The noise is almost certainly the solenoid and it's possible that's where the problem lies but given you've had to regularly charge the battery before being able to start the bike, you could have a problem with the alternator/rectifier/regulator if it turns out the battery is o.k. I don't suppose you have a meter you can check the battery voltage with ?

Are they the only codes on there as they don't seem right ? H code seems to be pre 97 A used to be car when bikes used to be D. Any full car license will give you provisional motorcycle but from the codes you mention and the time you got the licence it doesn't sound like you have car entitlement either !! If you have your driving license number and National Insurance number you can check your license here and check out the codes here

Get rid of the bodge up Scorpion and put a proper pipe for the bike on it ? Doesn't even look like that pipe was made for that bike the way it's mounted.

Both. Mate's R6 is not well. Blew out the top of cylinder number 1 and as a result was pumping lots of smoke out of the back and oil into the airbox. Currently in the process of making a Frankenstein engine from another one with the same engine code that's got a good(ish) top end and smashed lower crankcase. I've ridden a friends 1100 Virago so am very appreciative of the comfort level of cruisers

Sounds like a loose nut may now be a missing nut. Get your torch out and have a look around for threaded holes with nothing in them or threads with nothing on them. As long as engine mounts, suspension and brake mountings are all good you should be o.k. It sounds unlikely something within the engine came undone. I would have expected it to have seized or make a worse noise if that was the case. I'm assuming clutch and gear change are fine ?

Nice pics. Will deffo be up for joining you guys soon. Just trying to get a mates R6 engine rebuilt so he can get back on the road in the next few weeks.. Might sneak out if the route isn't too long or fairly local though. Who's got the sensible bike with the armchair at the front in that first pic ?

This Offline app so no need for data connection while on the move. Free to try and regular 40% discounts.

I'm tempted but might well be rebuilding an R6 engine for a mate on Sunday. You do these regularly or just got lucky the last few weeks ? There's a great bikers café that your route skirts around in Horam. Worth a visit if you've never been. Linky

Looks like something has shorted within the light unit and because someone has dicked around with the wiring and maybe bypassed or upgraded a fuse so much that the wiring melted instead of a fuse blowing. That's how fires start. If you have a wiring diagram, try and trace back to the fuse wherever it is. Surely there should be one and I'd question why it didn't blow. Oh, and as for the radiator, that looks pretty messed up and I wonder how on earth it got like that unless some clown used a jet wash on it or something in the past. You could try and straighten the fins with a cocktail stick to improve airflow but if it's not overheating or leaking you could just leave well alone.

Bugger, missed this. I suck. Too preoccupied running in the new bike. Deffo up for joining anything around Kent/Essex/East&West Sussex if you do another one. Nice piccies, looks like you all had a great rideout.

I'll get some photos at my next rideout photo oportunity. Had the screen fully erected on my first 500 miles. I've yet to be blessed with a downpour to see really how well things are working. Last 100 miles miles i tried screen in middle position and it seemed equally good at deflecting wind. Footpeg positioning is quite nice too as they are set back slightly from what i'm used to and it means i can get my feet down without the pegs being in the way.

O.k. , update time. Collected my 2015 model in Red. Spec is the same as 2014 model except different colour schemes. Candy Fire Red looks great. Not quite as loud as the Green one. Now covered 600 miles. Back to my original points. Mirrors although a little on the small side are perfectly adequate with proper adjustment. Although the seat height is quite high for a shortarse like me, taking the preload right off the back suspension has improved things quite nicely. I have purchased a lowering kit to replace the brackets on the shock which will provide a 30mm drop on the seat once the first service is out of the way next weekend. Have purchased and fitted 4100FZ Givi arms and carrier. It's possible to add panniers to this setup as well with the V35 cases if I wish to at a later date. Currently quite happy with my M5M Monolock carrier and top box that some would say has ruined the look of the bike These arms will also take Monokey plate/carrier if required. Can also get just the pannier quick release racks and fitting kit as an alternative to the slightly smaller Kawasaki panniers but the Kawasaki setup wont allow a top box as well as the factory panniers. Centre stand would have been nice but for maintenance purposes you can fit bobbins into the rear arm and get a cheap paddock stand or get an ABBA stand or Skylift. Side stand only is fine for everyday use. Will report on this once the rear end is lowered as some say side stand needs shortening. What's it like to ride ? Amazing now the first 500 miles are out of the way. Looking forward to the 1000 mile mark now to open up the 6000+ rpm range. Was thinking about replacing the standard exhaust but now I've got her the exhaust note is quite pleasant so will probably stick with standard system for now. Only disappointment is the bloody Bridgestone tyres I've got again. Why oh why don't they come with Michelins ?

Sold mine after 13 months. What an excellent bike it was. I miss her already but only ever was a stepping stone. Did about 7500 miles in that time and apart from the slight buzziness was an excellent first big bike. Averaged around 55mpg botomming out at high 40's and going up to low 60's depending on road types and riding style. Never had an issue with comfort and full fairing provided good weather protection. I shall miss her

Congrats on the CBT. No brainer I think. Do your Theory and book your DAS. Why get a 125 when you don't need to or want to ?

Generally, most people do the Mod 1 on a school bike. You certainly can't ride anything other than a 125 on CBT.

There are Acrapovic ones available from Kawasaki and I've been looking at ones SP Engineering do. Apparently they shouldn't need a power commander or remapping at all and give a very slight boost to mid range power (not that that's what I'm looking for anyway) I think ii'll have to have a measure up on Tuesday once I've picked the bike up as I'm likely to be putting luggage on it and that may include panniers at some point as well as the top box. The ones I've seen do seem to be angled up in the air quite a bit so could foul panniers if they are too high or too long.

Can be very hit and miss. I've imported stuff from GoPro twice that was shipped by FedEx. First time I didn't get charged any duty (although it's generally 10%-20% depending on what type of equipment it is). On top of zero duty I got charged VAT and £10 advancement fee (courier charge for customs clearance) Result of this was $598 order and bill for £83.60 to pay FedEx. Not too bad and saved about £50 over U.K. retail prices not that everything was available in the U.K. at the time. Second time they must have seen me coming. Similar equipment, 10% duty this time then 20% VAT plus £10 advancement fee. That hurt ever so slightly as I pretty much paid in total normal U.K. retail shop price for that order I believe there's a threshold as well for things to be marked as gifts before raising suspicions. Cheap crap from China nearly always is marked as gift with no extra charges. If you're prepared for the potential charges and it's something unavailable to buy over here though, go for it

O.k. , let me start off. Since I came back to biking last summer and did my test and got the bike I'm just about to get rid of, I've held the view loud end cans are pointless, noisey, irritating and antisocial and give bikers a bad name with non bikers. This week, after a 3 month layup of my mates bike due to 6 out of 8 exhaust studs snapping off when he tried to remove the old system we finally got the job finished but what a PITA of a job it's been. In the menatime his MOT and his Mrs's MOT both run out on their bikes. I have this week off work and on Tuesday in the pissing rain, I rode his Mrs's Virago 1100 twin to the MOT place while my mate lead the way on his GSX1400. He's got what I thought were noisey end cans on his GSX but in comparison to the 1100 twin I could barely hear the engine running on it when we swapped bikes just around the corner from his place on the way home. Yesterday in the first decent weather we've had this week, we did a short trip to make sure nothing was going to fall off his newly put back together bike. Total milage was just short of 50 miles and we stopped halfway for a shandy and stretch of the legs. Finally got back to his place and he offered me his keys for a go on his bike. OMG , I was grinning from ear to ear. The GSX1400 is definitely a head turner with those end cans on. No it's not in the league of the V twin 1100 I had a go on but I'm now scouring the net for end cans for a brand new bike I've not yet collected from the dealers. My question is, are they a good idea or not. I think I've changed my view prior to these last few days.

I'd book CBT to be honest on its own. These can generally run at weekends which makes life easier for most. Most DAS courses can include CBT if you've not taken it or exclude/discount it if you have and you'll need to do theory anyway before Mod1/2. Whatever you do though, don't just do CBT and get a bike or you'll end up never taking your test.

Blocked/Restricted exhaust ? Seems you've covered pretty much everything else.

Got a call from the dealers this afternoon, 2015 model incoming in Red no less

http://www.triumphrat.net/speed-triple- ... grade.html Clearly a design fault with such poor failures. Don't know if the link is of any help johnny at the top of the post. Has some checking proceedures you can do if you have a meter

What's happening to the windings, are they shorting and burning out or just going high resistance ? In Theory these shouldn't break easily unless something on the bike is overloading them or they are made of poor qualty materials. Surely if you purchased new part from Dealers they would be obliged to replace the part if it fails again within 12 months ?