Colin the Bear

Hot dickety dog. I just seen a three legged donkey.

Different bikes will run better or worse on the same tyres. Different riders, having different riding styles will also have different opinions of the same tyre, on the same bike. You'd be better asking some one you know, who rides like you, on the same bike. Isn't there a bandit forum somewhere on the net. I bet tyres will be listed in their FAQ section. If in doubt buy round ones

Might be time to upgrade the pipes to stainless if you're going to keep it a bit and ride through the salt season. Negotiate with the dealer for a discount and free fitting.

I'm sure there's a baby vara forum. Think it's part of the honda owners club forum. Might be better asking on there. More experience of the model.

Go on the Web site for the show. Find out who's exhibiting and either look at their web site or email them or use the good old dog and bone

Or resting on an old tyre works well.

http://www.silvermans.co.uk/Products/ta ... fault.aspx

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z28/Colin_the_bear/sFun_doh2.gif

Under warranty? So new then? I'd check to see if anything has come loose or fell off.

And to resist the salt.

First South of France run I did, luggage consisted of a couple of bin bags and a cargo net. Personally I'd get a bigger bike.

I wish somebody would lock all the "I'm a bit of a twit and I fell off me bike" and "which bike should I buy?" threads.

It's not carb icing is it? Does the Vara have a carb heater that's packed up? Have a look in your manual.

This will happen on any bike if the gear is too low. To avoid this , don't change down too many or too soon. Stay in a higher gear. The popping might be due to it running a little rich with the non standard exhaust. If everything else checks out on a service, a little carb tweaking may be required.

You're just looking for continuity of the circuit. The positive side of the battery is connected via the main fuse , the harness and switch gear to the various electrical application on the vehicle. The negative side is connected at various points to the frame for the return run. This is the earth on a DC system. If the return (earth) is interrupted at any point it will take the path of least resistance, which can be through another application. This can be seen when the tail light flashes dimly with a dim indicator when the indicator is operated. Positive (power) is getting through but can't find it's way back and is having to come the long way. Clean all the contacts in the bulb housing and open, clean and reconnect all connectors. Put your meter on low resistance or continuity and check for a route home. In your tail light, the bulb has two filaments, one for tail light and one for brake light. They use a common return(earth) hence the three wires. The earth wire goes from the bulb to the housing or the frame. The return(earth) fault would appear to be on the indicators. You don't say if it is one or both. I'd be looking at the connectors, first.

bikers on GSXR1000's that spend thousands on making sure the colour scheme of their lid and leather suite match the bikes colour scheme, and ride about 500 miles a year in August (200 if its a rainy August) http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc261/Squeeze_Bang/powerrangers.jpg

I bet she don't drop this one. Amazing how forking out cash focuses the mind

Dropped the helmet. It's got to be a replacement. But keep the helmet for the new pillion.

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z28/Colin_the_bear/hohoho.gif http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z28/Colin_the_bear/hohoho.gif http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z28/Colin_the_bear/rotfl4.gif

The choke is just that. It chokes the air off from the fuel/air mixing system. This makes the mixture rich. While this is a good thing for starting a winter cold engine, it's a bad thing for a warm engine, and will make it run rough. The first quarter to a third of the choke lever movement merely opens the throttle for you, like twisting the grip. The rest of the movement slowly closes the air inlet. The starting procedure is a bit of guess work as to how much choke to use. Don't be tempted to twist the throttle back and forth as each time puts an extra squirt of fuel into the cylinder. At low temperatures petrol evaporates more slowly and too much will condense on the internal surfaces of the combustion chamber. If it wets the plug ,the plug can't spark and you're flooded. When the engine starts , listen to it. Adjust the lever to give the best result. As a person of limited experience , I would recommend that you don't set off on your journey until the engine is running smoothly and responding to the throttle. This shouldn't take more than a couple or three minutes and will save you a deal of trouble on the road.

If your tick over is low then it's a simple matter to increase it. However, the warming up of any motorcycle is a most important part of the preparation to ride procedure. After your pre ride checks, let the engine run untill it will tick over smoothly and easily. This may take a couple or three minutes. Start the bike before putting your gear on and fastening up. The nature of a two wheeled vehicle is that it needs the power delivery to be constant, smooth and on demand ,as it becomes part of the steering process. A cough on a mini roundabout or at a junction can cause instability, hesitation or worse. It takes a lot less time to warm the bike than it does to pick it up and fix it.

Your brakes are much more effective than engine braking. When hard braking pull in the clutch. For gentle deceleration , roll off the throttle. From what you've described, there may well be nothing wrong with your bike

The first part of the choke picks up the revs. Then it chokes the air off. Feathering the throttle is a good tactic, as is using a higher gear.

Chatter chatter chatter crash.

RU Twins?