fastbob

Unfortunately , generally speaking , bike meets tend to come and go in the Midlands. As soon as one gets popular the druggies on quad bikes etc start turning up . Wheelies and police baiting ensue and before long someone gets hurt or worse and that's the end of that.

I'm very pleased with this stuff from Tool Station.

Get a piece of Piano Wire from a model aeroplane shop.

It doesn't look too difficult to make using a bit of wire and some pliers .

I guess so but it can be irritating at times. If everyone was tripping all day nothing would ever get done . Oooh! look , I can hear millions of little green hexagons that are speaking fish language, is my nose still there ? Help, I don't know if I'm here or not because I don't recognise my feet , oh dear etc etc

but you go buy a normal sealed battery that already has acid in it from manufacturer .no different . they have a recharge by date that can be over a year from filling . I do take your point , but is it not the case that the SUPPLIER puts the acid in before dispatch ? Many sealed batteries still have a push - in cap strip so they only become sealed after filling . I'm not too sure now .

Are you sure? I bought a battery from there recently and I had to put the acid in The box states something about June 2018 but I put the acid in I remember reading recently that new regulations mean they can't sell empty batteries with the acid to be installed by the purchaser. I'm always wary of how long batteries have been on the shelf so look to buy from somewhere with a high turnover. This is my understanding too. I was told this by the manager at my local tyre fitters in Coleshill.

Are you sure? I bought a battery from there recently and I had to put the acid in The box states something about June 2018 but I put the acid in Oh , I don't know then , I think it said Activation Date . I can't imagine what else it would mean other than when the acid was put in . All the boxes had been extensively sellotaped up so I couldn't actually see inside.

How about this then ? I went to Halfords today to get some oil and I had a look at the bike batteries. Because they are no longer allowed to sell the gel batteries with a separate acid pack , they have to put the acid in themselves. When do they do that you may ask ? At the point of purchase ? No , in f*****g JUNE 2018 that's when ! ( That's what the stickers said ) So when you shell out £50 for a a YTX14BS, it's been sat dormant on a shelf for six months . And did they put it on an Optimate every couple of weeks ? Like heck did they . Food for thought here .

Should have put some pics in the pit stop section , I would have liked to have seen the insides of a Nerf Blaster .

A happy new year to everyone, thanks for all the support , all the interesting stuff and all the laughs ! Bob says meow but I haven't told him about the fireworks yet .

Be thankful you still have a mum and try to be more tolerant. Mine doesn't like me to get my phone out of my pocket in case it " Upsets all my central heating " She's probably seen these adverts for Hive .

Spoken like the master.

Voluntarily or involuntarily ?

An oil change is never a bad thing but it won't reverse the wear and tear that leads to a notchy gear change. What's probably going on here is that the metal pegs that are called dogs have inevitably taken a battering over countless thousands of gear changes. Although made of very hard steel , some wear still occurs causing play that creates a knock that is exaggerated by the gear lever making gear changes feel notchy. It's nothing to worry about, in fact I've just replaced my engine which had a very clunky gear change with a newer engine that has a very smooth action and now I can hardly tell whether I've made the gear change or not ! One thing that might help though is for you to replace the rubber cush drive in the rear wheel . Worn dogs

Look again , its an optical illusion. You're absolutely right, Bob.....need to clean my glasses......but, as you say, it may be possible to find an o-ring that'll fit in that groove..... Thanks, looks like Suzuki got this wrong . Have a look at these pics . Note how the Tourmax aftermarket ones have been designed differently , presumably to cure this very problem.

Look again , its an optical illusion.

The only o ring was there is where the rubber meets the corossion and its attached to the coil itself. If there would be need for silicone, what kind of product to go for? As some of them might harm the upper engine. Interesting, I had a look at the parts catalogue and there doesn't seem to be anything to keep the water out except the two built in flanges . There is no separate O ring listed . So what would happen if you added some anyway ? They would slot neatly between the two flanges and would probably make a better seal . I had a look at coils on eBay and a few of them are pretty manky looking as well so this is obviously a design flaw .

how far north? I get what you are saying but a battery should hold enough charge to start a bike for at least 2 months Do you have an alarm fitted or something like that? Newcastle, no nothing like that, just heated handlebar grips, but the issue didn’t start as a result of fitting them. I was already having to charge it. Wonder if its worth putting a new battery in first. Would have tried that a lot sooner but this is the first time i’ve heard that sitting dormant isn’t causing it Here you go , take your pick . I've got a Powerline battery in on of my bikes but you can spend more if you want .Try Tayna Batteries. https://www.tayna.co.uk/motorcycle-batteries/f/suzuki/vl125-02/

Exactly ! This is really becoming a storm in a teacup.

Why not just install the spare battery and take the other one home and charge that ? In fact why even bother with a second battery ? Just take the original out and keep it charged at home .

I must be blessed with good luck . Every winter for the last 5 - 6 years I have simply wheeled my GSXR into the garage and forgotten about it. I've never used a maintenance charger , never taken the bike out and started it and never removed the battery to charge it . It has a standard Yuasa YTX14BS and the garage isn't heated but it isn't freezing cold either. So please forgive me but I just can't see what all the fuss is about . I will add that my bike doesn't have an alarm fitted so I guess that if it did I might have to think again. I also don't use fuel stabilizer and once again I have not experienced any ill effects. Come the spring I just wheel the bike out , stick the tap on prime and hit the button. It always fires up ,allbeit a little reluctantly , then I just nip down to the garage , treat her to a tank of Super rather than standard unleaded and then go for a thrash down the A45 to blow away the cobwebs. PS its only 16 weeks till summer anyway! ! 🌡🏍

Become an electrically competent person .

Haha nope it was stuck on there pretty bad. Have now manged to get it off I found this , everything you need to know.https://www.mrcycles.com/startermotors

Try this. Next time it refuses to turn over, put it in gear and rock it back and forth so that you can hear the starter motor make a sort of growling noise. Now switch on , select neutral and hit the button. If it starts ok then I can say with some certainty that the problem is dirt and dust inside your starter motor. The remedy is to pull it off , open it up and simply give it a good clean . See the other thread right here also entitled " Hond CBR help "