ApolloMozart

I have a few bottles like these with engine oil. Lift the bike on the paddock stand, apply one drop to each link. Job done. No fling, no mess, chain stays lubricated and ready for action! https://www.amazon.co.uk/Plastic-Squeezable-Dropper-Filling-Bottles/dp/B00LP8VB86

I have a pair of very nice leather trousers which I wear when weather gets warmer. But fore some weird reason, over winter they have shrunk around the waist a bit, by an inch or so... Is there a way to stretch leather? Obviously without causing any permanent damage... Thank you

That's a great idea - you should go on Dragons Den I might fit that to my garage door it has no power but, if I can find a door bell with sufficient range... A bell and a long string would be just fine.

I am using "JDC MOTORCYCLE Motorbike Disc Lock ALARM" it's 22 quid on Amazon. Good lock, in yellow. Used the siren until the batteries died then didn't bother replacing. The siren is not too sensitive, but a sudden gust of strong wind will set it off. The alarm sounds every time you unlock it with the key. In the end I settled on this disk lock on the rear and an Oxford Boss lock on the front wheel. Easier to use then a chain and easy to carry as well. Also have an alarm on the bike, but it blares every time there's strong wind. So usually not bothering with it. I do, however, have a secret alarm. It's a wireless door bell, with a relay and a tilt sensor attached. If the ignition is off and someone tries to put the bike upright, the tilt sensor activates the wireless doorbell button and I can hear it in the house. Nice.

I spent some time on Sunday and took the brake pads and calliper off. Checked wheel rotation - no problem at all. Pads cleaned and some copper grease applied to the back Brake piston - cleaned and some silicone lube applied Calliper - cleaned. It has a sling that pushes the pads down, and I discovered there was some sort of carbon style deposits on this spring. Cleaned and slightly lubed the spring (just a tiny bit). There is also a "retainer" - piece of metal that holds the pads in place - this one too had some sort of deposit on it. Cleaned and slightly lubed (just a tiny bit) with silicone grease. A long bolt, which goes through the "ear" or "eye" of the pads was cleaned and lubed a bit. All assembled back and tested this morning on the way to the office - no more problems. My feeling it could have been the deposits on the spring and retainer thing that were preventing the pads from freely disengaging the disk. Problem solved! Thanks a lot to all who replied!

I think I'll spend some more time inspecting the brakes. The plan is to remove the pads and check if the wheel rotates without any issues and if there is any movement in the bearings. If nothing is found, then t's probably the brakes. Step 2 is to check the brake cylinder, grease the pads (no grease or shims on the old ones!) and check the brake operation.

I have to invent something that would work as a centre stand as the bike doesn't have one... Looking around it doesn't look like a massive job to change the bearings, so I may just order a kit and replace them next week... The bike has done only 13k miles, and I wouldn't expect the bearings to fail that soon, but I do ride in all type of weather, so maybe some water got in past the seals.

I have replaced the rear brake pads about two weeks ago and after that I started to notice a regular howling noise, especially at low speeds. It goes away if I apply the rear brake so I thought it's the new pads. Last weekend I took the pads off, checked everything but the noise won't go away. It is actually getting worse. Could this be a sign of bearings failing? Any tests I can do to confirm/exclude the bearings? Thanks!

My commute is about 20 miles. 12 on motorway 8 in town. For a longer commute I would get slightly larger gloves and then wear inner glowes too. All things considered the Richat GTX winter gloves are a very good investment.

I have the Richa GTX gloves too. Very warm and totally waterproof. Been using them all winter. Recommended!

I fill the reservoir with oil and two weeks don't care - the chain is self lubricated. In the winter you have to adjust the flow by a quarter turn, as the oil is thicker but that's a three second job. Filling it with oil - one minute job. Saves time - that's a fact. Also constantly lubricating the chain helps keeping it clean. There is no black mud on it at all. It does make the rim and the chain guard messy a little, but I wash the bike once a month anyway, so it's not a problem.

I'm using one. Very easy to install, no need to connect to vacuum lines or electrics. An added bonus is that there is no oil spill if the bike is stationary, even with the engine running. Also costs less than scottoiler. Recommended!

The force of deduction!

Anyone here doing this? Our situation changed a bit and we're considering moving to Aylesbury. Would be interesting to know how life is there and how easy is to ride down to London every day. Been a few times to Aylesbury and on my way back, at around 6 in the evening, on A41, saw quite a few motorcycles coming back from London (probably). If anyone does the commute daily, what route do you take and are there any bad spots on the road that ruin the ride? Are there any motorcycle shops and garages? And how is life in Aylesbury, any good pubs, shops, cafes and so on. Thanks! PS Is there a place in Aylesbury where they serve Aylesbury Duck?

Some cars act weird if left without the battery for long time. Sometimes the ecu gets lost, sometimes the radio asks for the code, also seen electric windows playing up after battery taken out. As far as I remember the battery is charged at a rate of 1/10th Amps of it's capacity to start with. So for a 65AH battery the initial charging rate would be 5-6 Amps. This can safely go through the cigarette lighter if it is always connected to the battery. On another note, if the battery is losing charge that quickly, it may be a sign of ageing, so maybe best to replace it?

I have the Richa waterproof gloves. Mine are think and well insulated. Been through many miles of rain and never leaked. Were soaking wet on the outside but dry on the inside. I was told that if they leak, just bring them back to the shop and they'll replace them. Very warm gloves, but on very cold days 4 degrees or less, I turn on the heated grips. This is riding on motorway, at 70+ miles an hour. For more relaxed city riding, heated grips stay off. Overall a great purchase, albeit a little on the expensive side... But well worth it as I ride all year round even if the temperatures go below zero.

It may work if the fork surface is not damaged. in my case it didn't work because there was a small dent in the fork.

In that case I'll have to install an alpine horn! http://www.wanderlandjourneys.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Alphorn-Chiemgau-Tourismus-RS-600x400.jpeg Can be heard from miles away!

So is it OK to use two horns for a dual-tone setup on a bike? Will it pass the MOT?

I meant two horns, that will make it a "dual" tone "horn system"

I read somewhere that bikes should have a single tone horn. Did any of you (if any) who have dual tone horns have had any issues with MOT/police/insurance etc? I'm thinking about some more powerful horns but single tone ones are pretty weak, so my eyes are on some dual tone horns.

First service is at 600 miles. I don't think they've checked any bolts or anything. They said first service is just to change the oil. Although the guys from Honda look like they're trying to help, but when I'm there, they seem to just try to find an excuse not to do more. I complained about the rattle and one of them went for a ride, came back and said he can't hear anything. I insisted they do something, and he said let's order a chain tensioner. I think the rattle is not from inside the engine. First of all it does not change with rpm. Second it only appears when the engine is not under load. I think something touches the engine somewhere. When the engine is loaded, it moves slightly, increasing the gap and the rattle goes away. When engine is idling or not loaded, the gap decreases and rattle appears. And lastly, it's the way the rattle developed. It started when I went over a speed bump, before that it was all quiet. At the beginning it was barely noticeable, but then it got worse and worse. Maybe something is getting loose and the engine moves more freely... Also if it was the tensioner, it should be louder on the right side of the bike, as it is there. In my case the sound seem to be coming from the top of the engine, under the tank. I tried to explain all this to the honda people but they just didn't want to listen to my thinking. It's the tensioner according to them.

The old CBR500r I had indeed was checked at 600 miles for valve clearance. For the new bikes (CBR650f, CB650f) they dropped this check from service schedule so the first valve check is at 16k. The sad thing about all this is that I am not enjoying the bike that much anymore... Feel like I've been sold a broken bike.

Went down to the parking and played a little with the tensioner - took the little covering bolt and used a screwdriver to pull/release the tensioner. I'll see if this makes a difference in the evening.

The bike is new, only done 650 miles. The valve clearance check is only scheduled at [strikeout]8000[/strikeout] 16000 (edit) miles. It started from day one, after about 10 miles of riding. It was barely audible then, so I thought it may be something normal during running in time. But it got louder and louder. If the tensioner does not make a difference, I need to find a way to make the dealer to look into it properly. They seem to be "unable" to hear the noise. The chap took it for a ride and said all is normal, can't hear anything wrong.