rollazuki

Do you know that the ncap ratings are calculated from points for each safety item, ie impact protection, airbags........etc etc a car gets 3 points for a seatbelt reminder buzzer! and another 3 if it has a buzzer for rear seat passengers..... ever wondered how the rover 213 got ncap1....it had a buzzer! how the honda civic got ncap5......it had 2 buzzers. Theres your accurate and so very very serious government testing at its best...... Rolla

Special charger required, you'll kill the battery with a regular one. Why not buy an 'OPTIMATE' or similar, that will also trickle the bike when its not in regular use. Bridging the solenoid will only spin the motor over, as has been mentioned, the fuel pump will only cut in with ign on. CBR6 fuel pumps are fairly prone to corrosion and failure. You may have got 2 faulty pumps. Try removing the tank, bunging a long fuel hose on, and trying the bike with the fuel gravity feeding into the carbs with the tank on prime on a cupboard or shelf. That way you can isolate the fuel pump as your running issue.

Tried it a few years ago when I put Gixer6 clocks on my bandit. (which by the way is easy to do and looks the dogs!) And succeeded in wiping the mileage off the clocks, leaving a series of dashes. It appears the clocks knew I was trying to do something illicit to them, and shut down. Fortunately I had another set!!, but as for wiping the eprom on them, I failed miserably. Dont do it Id say, keep recipts, note in service book the mileage change, tell the insurance etc, and leave it at that. By the way, to convert a bandit, use a kawasaki 4 sided speedo pick up nut(fits the bandit), recess the pickup into the sprocket cover, and wire in the clocks. Excellent!

pump the pistons out using hydraulic pressure, clamp off with a g clamp when they are maybe 5-6 mm out so the others get pushed out. Remove the pistons by gripping them with vice grips or similar(on the edge), or use a proprietary brake piston removal tool. From the description so far, throw the pistons away. Buy a piston kit, and a caliper seal kit. Using a pick of some variety, remove A L L the corrosion from the tiny grooves where the seals sit. there will be a lot, it must be 100% clean. Fit new seals using rubber grease(not copper slip) then rubber grease the pistons and slide em in. rebuild the caliper halves using new sealing washer between the halves. thoroughly copper slip all the surfaces in the caliper(you did clean them didnt you) and fit the new pads using new pins, and anti squeal shims and rattle clips. refit the calipers and bleed them up. Id say so far that with the questions you are asking, you should let someone more experienced do the job, and as for buying old bikes and doing em up to sell.......Id do em up to ride mate. If you get the brakes wrong and kill someone, bad things are gonna happen. At least if its you riding and the brakes let go, then its on your own head. Not being harsh, but there are many shade tree mechanics playing with brakes and suspension etc, that make a dangerous job of it. Rolla

Dammit guys, you all know which are safe lids and which arent. A cheapo lid from korea or similar with an alleged gazillion on the sharp test aint ever gonna be as good as an arai,shoei,agv,bell insert quality lid as required! The end. End of the day, its your head.

Yeah, Id guess that Marushin probably spend more on development than Arai... sorry, couldnt help myself.

OK, its a hassle to do on some bikes, but as has been mentioned, your bike will handle and steer like it did one up, the headlight will be in the right area on the road, and itll generally work better. To be fair if I was running the missus to work, I probably wouldnt, but if you are off for a Sunday mornin ride, why end up with a bike that handles like a pig in knickers? Adjust it, and enjoy the ride.

Thats the fuel tap vac pipe. It allows manifold vaccuum to open the fuel tap. With it left off, you are running VERY weak cos the manifold is open to fresh air, and the fuel will only work on the 'prime' position. Glad you found it.

Is it 2 seperate wires, red and black, obviously red to +ve and black to -ve, or is there just 1 wire? ie, does it ground thru the vehicle earth???

very unusual to find a starter solenoid mounted on the starter on a bike. They usually use a remote solenoid under the seat next to the battery and a one way clutch on the starter gear.

Anyway, what fun is there in block changing, you miss the BRAAAAAP BRAAAAAAAAAP BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP as you bang it down thru the box, thats where the fun is.....teehee

One at a time mate, let the clutch out too soon after changing down a handfull of gears and you will slide the rear tyre(even on a 125) This is called 'backing in' and heros can control it(see supermoto racing), however, normal mortals cant! One at a time will help keep control, reduce stress on the bike etc. Just as an example, get going down a long slope in top, 40ish. make sure no other traffic is around, then pull in the clutch and try to get to first and back up to top. You will notice the gearbox clunking and banging away. It doesnt like it! try not to do it.

Plenty of layers, windproof fleece is the worlds best invention, BUT, make sure they are comfortable. Its no good being warmish, but so uncomfortable you dont ride well. Heated grips do work well(feel bulky tho) Handlebar guards(on a trail type bike) keep a LOT of wind off the hands. Hugging the engine works well Bill, but another tip Id kinda recommend. If you are on a long cold ride, hands frozen, pull over and bung your glove over the exhaust pipe for a moment. It warms your gloves up lovely. Bit smelly, but toasty warm. Remember then, lots of comfortable layers......

commute every day, rain or shine, weekend fun, wheelies, hooliganism, lunacy, and generally everything.

dude, 250cc 4 stroke singles only make 30bhp on a good day, your 125 aint gonna make that power.

Yeah, itll keep you dry in a storm also....... Keep it naked mate, faired bikes are for wusses!! Good for building up the upper arm and shoulder also!!

Cheap on a single cylinder for rebuilds etc.Unless its got a plated bore, then its a bit more costly. Can prove expensive for crank rebuilds on twins, but if you use good oil, and maintain em, they can be reliable. However, there are a lot of potential issues out there, they dont like running lean at all, even running outa fuel on a tuned stroker can upset em, they are notoriously weak/prone in the powervalve department, and pistons have a shelf life like ready to eat Guavas. By comparison, a 4 stroke well looked after will pretty much go on, and on.(unless its a Kawasaki..teehee)

If you cant afford snap-on, MAC, or similar, Id recommend Halfords Proffesional. Ive used em professionally(as well as snap-on, which frankly are no better) and they are excellent. Never broke one, chrome never flaked, always look good(important!!) Definitely better than Draper or similar mid priced stuff, and ALWAYS better then budget.

dot it round carefully with a centre-pop, easy outs are poo, they usually stretch cheap japanese bolts and then they never come out. centre pop and patience every time.

For me, a silent alarm works very well. Mine texts me if moved, no siren, no need for a potential thief to rush, so much more chance of catching em for a......'chat'? Immobilisers are all very well, but I can carry my bike........ Better thing is a decent lock, and ground anchor. I guess the thing is to think like a thief, when you park up, would you be able to nick your own bike? If so, move it or secure it in a different way. At the end of the day, nothing is certain, but a ground anchored alarmed bike is gonna be a bit of a pain to nick. Oh yeah, dog helps as well.

http://www.smf.org/stds.html Snell impact and penetration tests are the same for both M2010, and SA2005. M2010 is the NEW Snell standard for bike helmets, and SA2005 is the standard that the simpson RX falls under for motorsport use. The only noticeable difference is that field of view is smaller on the race helmet. I appreciate this, and ensure I make sufficient shoulder checks etc, which I agree do require the user to turn his head a little further. In exchange for this, I get a fireproof lid, very stable at speed, very safe, and arguably the best looking lid on the market. Oh yeah, its vents are a bit draughty for winter tho, and threading your spectacles thru the visor hole is a wee bit harder than my Arai. All in, yes its a race car lid, its as safe as the current bike lid standards, it looks good, and Ive got one and I love it. All the best, Rolla

I think it was a Simpson RX like mine, and is now a Simpson Diamondback. Both are uber cool! forgot how draughty they are tho...

Just had to post a pic of my good ol' simpson lid Now in Ford Electric orange livery. Im lovin it!

Check out the alternator, the drive(belt if i remember right) can over heat the bearings in the alternator, and they can rumble a lot. As its only at a certain point in the rev range, Id take a look. Rolla

All this stuff about safety is all well and good, but front braking mid bend(not talking about race speed on the limits here) is entirely possible, and no more dangerous than has already been mentioned by someone, 'just lean over a bit more and get round' If you have capacity to corner harder, then your tyres have capacity to brake, simple as that. Also, what do you do if you are midway thru a corner and a hazzard presents itself, slow moving vehicle, pedestrian, horse etc. If you have never experienced braking mid corner what do you do? It is within the realms of possibility, Id say go out and gently try it, I dunno, do some kinda advanced riding course that covers it. Ive had to stand her up mid bend in a panic brake situation before, not to mention ease off a little speed mid corner, and not thru bad riding, cos things happen beyond all our controls that cause us to alter and adjust our courses. Learn to ride smoothly, you will begin to ride safer and quicker.