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Just wondering if anyone knows anywhere at all that can x-ray my HJC helmet and tell me if its damaged or not? Have previously dropped it visor first on concrete from 2 to 2.5 feet and also dropped a full litre bottle of orange squash on it that fell out my tank bag. Its probably ok but I want to know and as i'm off to uni in september i'll be annoyed if I have to shell out on my third hundred odd pound helmet in just 18 months of riding. At this rate i'm going to be forced to buy and use an Arai because their helmet checking service will save me buying a new helmet all the time just on the off chance its damaged. I think it's silly no other manufacturer offers the service - I don't mind even if it costs!

It seems to vary based on insurer, although if you have declared garaged most will have a 'garaging clause' on your policy, examples: 1) No garaging clause would mean it doesn't matter, so normal excess would apply. 2) Must be garaged within x distance of your home location between the hours of y and z - as it says on the tin, the distance is usually a mile and times tend to be 10pm and 6am or similar. So if your pub is more than a mile away, it wouldn't apply 3) Must be garaged between y and z hours no matter what - not very common really, but in this case your garaging clause would apply to your situation. Usually if you fail to meet the obligations of the garaging clause the excess is doubled, although it is 'possible' that some companies could refuse to pay out at all in those circumstances although i've been led to believe it would be rare for this to occur even then. Out of interest what chain were you using and what size were the links?

Cheers for that both! Excellent guide there Pete. Only "downside" is it's added a few bits to my 'pre-maintainence' visit down to Halfords to pick up the bits. Ah well, better having them now then needing them when i've already drained the oil out the bike! (it would be a very long walk...)

Am going to DIY the oil change on my CB500 tomorrow. I'm probably going to use Silkolene Super 4 oil, 10W40. The Haynes manual says i should use 10W30 (API grade SE, SF, or SG) though, does that matter? Have bought "Oil filter including filter removal tool": http://www.davidsilverspares.co.uk/parts/part_4538/ Reading over the Haynes manual it's all looking simple enough but i could do with some clarification, to quote: "Unscrew the oil filter using a filter adaptor or a strap wrench and....". I think the "filter removal tool"' would cover this task? But it also later wants you to "Tighten the filter securely using a filter adaptor". Would it also cover this task? I've got a socket set, and i believe you attach this filter tool to those tools. One further point: The Haynes manual keeps referring to using a torque wrench to tighten things like the oil filter. I don't have one, so is it safe for me to just do it all up how i think?

Cheers for the tips all. Have received the tyres now and am going to take the wheels off the bike and ring round to find someone willing to fit and balance the tyres to the loose wheels. One last thing for future reference: What's wrong with replacing just one tyre at a time? (i.e. in about 6K miles the rear will need replacing again, but my front won't...)

Guess it'll be a better bet to take those loose wheels to the garage then. Thanks for the black circles tip guys - i'll be ordering from them. It's going to set me back about 210 squid though! (2 rears, 1 front). A couple of things have just occurred to me: How do i support the bike with both wheels off it? Is it safe to ride (even gently!) with 2 brand new tyres, or is it better to do them 100 miles apart (wouldn't have thought that would run them in quite as well though)?

I should be able to get the wheel(s) on and off the bike easily enough as it's a CB500 (including centre-stand and alignment marks for the chain for ease). However, once i've got the wheel off, how do you change the tyre properly (incl balancing if beneficial)? I'm aware i can take the loose wheels to a garage and they should do it cheap enough, but i was hoping someone could share with me how/what i'd need to have and do, to DIY the whole thing (as let's face it, motorcycle tyres do need changing quite often relatively speaking!). Also whilst i'm on the topic, where should i try to buy the tyres from to save the pennies, and would it save me money if i buy a set of 2 rear and 1 front rather than 1 each? Going to be using BridgeStone BT45's if it makes any difference.

Hmm something is definately not right. Have reconnected the carb and fuel tank and turned tap on and within a few seconds fuel was coming out of the overflow pipe behind the centre stand. Have turned the tap off again to stop the flow of petrol on to the floor. Anyone know what i've connected wrong?

+1. If you do go this route with a chain securing the frame of the bike to a stationery and immovable object, then get yourself an Almax Series 3 or even Series 4 (amazing chains guaranteed against bolt croppers) to secure the frame to the object. From what i've heard and read about them there is no way to quick way to break them and you can't break them without making a lot of noise (unlike chains of 14mm and below, which can be silently broken with bolt croppers, even when not on the floor). If you're not going to secure the bike to an object though i would get a much cheaper chain, because all they'll do is lift it into a van instead, leaving you having to replace both a bike, AND an expensive chain.

Right have just given the whole unit a good spray - those popping noises are almost therapeutic. Just got to put it back on at some point and hope I do it right cheers for the help guys, will let you know if my problem is fixed.

Et voila! One CG125 carburettor. To be honest though, i'm not really sure what to do with it now... Any suggestions of how best to go about cleaning it? Checked the main jet and it was clear (could see through it, and all the holes in it). Gave it a blow anyway. The pilot jet appeared to be blocked (A on diagram), but after blowing it's now unblocked. Could this have solved/been my problem? One more thing, B fell out from the carb, and i found the hole in which it fits but does anyone know which way it goes back in? (or even what it is?)

Looks like i'll have to undo them nuts again and take the sprocket off, then sort it all out so it stops driving me crazy (i vaguely remember my old mechanic struggling with these nuts too when he changed my chain and sprockets so it would be nice to sort them once and for all!)

The sprocket is already fitted, although the wheel is off the bike. I removed the nuts with the intention of taking the sprocket off (to allow me easy access for cleaning), but i forgot there was a curclip also holding the sprocket on, which i don't have the tool to remove. So i tried to screw the nuts back on, which is where i've come unstuck. After googling locktite, it appears that it is some sort of adhesive. I don't want to glue the nuts back on or else i'll never be able to change the sprocket again! (unless of course, the locktite is easily removed?) This isn't my bike, but as it's very similar i've drawn arrows to the nut/bolt things that i can't tighten.

Bolt is a circle shape and the nuts are hex shaped around the outside and again circular in the middle. Bolt is about 10mm diameter. have got 3 to do and can fit a flat head screwdriver under the nut on one but tried putting pressure there whilst turning and no joy.

To summarise my story: i've taken off the nuts that hold the rear sprocket in place and now i'm trying to put them back on but when I turn the nut the bolt is turning with it! So they aren't tightening. Have tried to hold the bolt in place with a screwdriver but that doesn't work. Tried banging it with a hammer too - even tried to chisel a slot in the bolt with my screwdriver, no joy. Any ideas guys?

Thanks for the replies guys. Ordered the new shoes earlier today from David Silver (someone recommended him to me a couple of weeks back), £6+VAT+delivery. Thing is, i couldn't help but pick up a few bargain priced spares whilst i was there, and so the total price has come in at £60 Thanks for that Frankie, i was just going to put it back together with my fingers crossed and my lucky socks on. At least i now know it'll be fine and have heard of wemoto before, i'll bear them in mind next time.

Well took the wheel off (again) and had a look: With ref to Picture1: Found that i hadn't put the torque arm (i think that's what it's called anyway) back on properly, it was loose and able to move which could have affected the brake, but not sure. In picture, A) Was the bolt around which things weren't tight enough, resulting in B) being able to move about. Picture2: Re-assessed my earlier decision that the shoes were fine and decided they weren't - 4.1mm when new, 2mm being the wear limit. Guesstimated (no ruler!) that one of the shoes at least was in the region of 1.0-1.5mm (kicked self again for deciding shoes were fine earlier). So have taken the shoes out and am going to get them replaced (any ideas for somewhere cheap guys?) Picture3: Wheel hub, do these ever need replacing as it appears that the brake lining in it will wear down over time due to contact with the brake shoes. Also, is it safe to clear the crap off this brake lining with a wire brush? Wasn't able to work out any other possible way in which the brake could not work - so am hoping that a correctly tightened torque arm and new shoes will solve my issue. Fingers crossed, eh? Picture 1 Picture 2 Picture 3

Took the rear wheel off the CG - removed rear drum brake and handed to a mechanic (drum was binding on use). Mechanic freed it up for me and put some copper slip in too. Put bike back together and have found the rear brake doesn't actually work now! (brake arm is moving as expected but the wheel is still turning so no braking force is being applied) have tried to adjust so its not that. Am going to take the wheel off again and have a look, I assume i'll see what i've done wrong when I have it off but what do you guys think?

I knew that, was just testing you all ...... ...... Ugh, oops! ROFL at my mistake! Thanks for pointing out the obvious guys, i genuinely thought they'd called one of the parts a "teacup", so i was looking for it

Just bought a chain oiler from http://www.chainoiler.co.uk/ and am currently on Step 2 of the instructions, on the "dry run" they recommend before i actually start work. And needless to say, i'm stuck already. "2. Take one small cable tie and curl into a circle (teeth inward). Insert into teacup (A) and add boiling water then cool. This will curve tie to shape. :(" The question is, what is "teacup", as the diagram really doesn't help much. Here's some pictures and i hope they help one of you, because they certainly don't help me! The bits in the box. Diagram

i did read the comments on the site last time.... it comes down to setting the lube system up correctly. set it up right and there shouldn't be any problems. if you read the whole document, this guy is refering to running a dirt bike at 1/2 throttle for long distances. dirt bikes aren't meant to run long distances. i'd suspect the lube system is set up differently to that of standard road bikes. oil pumps for 2 strokes provide a constant stream of oil while the engine is running then an additional squirt of oil as the throttle is opened and closed. road bikes will have a decent flow of oil continuously while a dirt bike is more likely to depend on the 'squirt' of extra oil as the throttle is used because of how the bike is expected to be used. So you're saying it probably happens only to 2-stroke dirt bikes, and not 2-strokes in general? This is good And re. my 4-stroke CG125 - i wasn't very clear on that - what i actually meant was that i used to use my 125cc for long motorway journies at constant throttle, and i never would have thought in million years that any bike engine would seize (whether it be a 4 or a 2 stroke) due to simply being kept at constant throttle for a while (seemingly creating hot spots in the engine from what i read) - that would never have crossed my mind, so i'm glad that i wasn't riding a bike subject to this problem (i would have been surprised if my CG had seized because i bought it for its famed reliability!)

Just wanted to draw attention to: I should probably clarify that to mean for the average motorbike beginner, i.e. a first motorbike. What do you guys think of the linked website - i mean from reading it it would seem to be that if i get a 2-stroke 125cc for example, and ride 100-odd miles at constant throttle, say down the motorway (due to small cc, this would also be high throttle), the engine would seize! I was hoping someone could tell me if that's true because it certainly didn't happen with my old 4-stroke CG125!

Just wondered if someone more learned then me can look at this and tell me what they think? http://www.dansmc.com/seizure.htm Is this partly why 2-strokes are "unreliable" unless you know what you're doing? Or is it a joke? I can think back to when i used to do 170 mile journies on my CG125 (not that long ago really), down the motorway, at ~60mph constant speed. If i had say, a 125cc 2-stroke equivalent, would this have meant my engine would've died for sure?!

Just up in the garage working on me CB5. Originally just came up to fit a loobman but decided to do some checks. Following my haynes I looked at the underside rear of the brake caliper but there are no _visible_ wear indicator cut outs there and i'm definately looking at the right bit. So to confirm my fears what's the wear limit usually on CB500 and the like brakes? (e.g. 20mm of pad left to go).

My N-reg CB500 is fast getting up to 47K miles. This is good, but i'm aware it is an old and high-mileage bike so i wondered if anyone had any top tips to keep it in excellent condition because i'm soon not going to be in a position to throw money at it? (apart from the blindingly obvious things like not to rag it from cold, to do the basic maintainence, and to definately change the engine oil as recommended!) E.g. Have already invested in a cheap chain oiling system (soon to be fitted) to prevent me having to pay out for another set of chain and sprockets any time soon.