Bianco2564

I ran my FZR1000 on 10w40 Halfords motorcycle oil for around 40000miles with no problems. I am using Yamalube in the R1 cos I felt it deserved the extra cost,which isnt that much more than Halfords anyway.

Tank breather blocked?

I like the look of those, but I'm not confident of buying a helmet online without fitting. Also I'm still waiting for some boots I ordered from them back in December I ordered a new Arai from M&P over Xmas,just took the size from my old Arai .New one arrived in 4 days and was a perfect fit

I think his undertaking of queues of cars esp the bus and overtaking across a junction are no-nos for me.

First meeting of the year this Friday 3rd,weather looks ok at the moment. I'll be on the R1.

Judging by the position of the adjuster on this pic,it looks like its getting towards the end of its adjustment,i.e the chain is near the end of its life. Also don't forget after adjusting the chain you may need to adjust the back brake and maybe rear brake light switch. Arrgh! Once the axle spindle reaches the end of the slot in the swingarm,its game over for chain and of course the sprockets. Adjust it all up and see where the adjusters and indent marks are,you may still get some more mileage out of it. What condition are the sprockets in?

Judging by the position of the adjuster on this pic,it looks like its getting towards the end of its adjustment,i.e the chain is near the end of its life. Also don't forget after adjusting the chain you may need to adjust the back brake and maybe rear brake light switch.

Have you checked the basics? Spark plug,air filter,exhaust baffle,gearbox oil level,throttle opening fully,brakes binding,tyre pressures? what mileage has it done? you can normally look up the exhaust port at the piston skirt for signs of blowby.

I bought mine from a car boot sale for £8,don't think anyone knew what it was but I recognised it. Had adaptors made at work for my various bikes,R1,FZR & RGV all work a treat. Very stable and easy to use once you get the knack. To do front wheel,i put the bike on the stand then either use a scissor Jack under the engine (with a bit of wood to protect it) or use a ratchet strap around the head stock slung over a beam in the garage roof and hoist it up.The 2nd method saves taking any failings off.

Who else on here passed their test on a 250cc? I took my test in Sept 1981 aged 17 on a Suzuki GT250 (TAC 911N if its still out there) . Token eye test as we walked out the test centre,checked out a car number plate over the road.Examiner stood at the side of the road as i rode around two blocks in a figure of 8 a few times,did an emergency stop,sat on a park bench for 20 mins answering highway code questions and that was it,L plates ripped up. Sounds easy compared to today's epic journey to biking L plate freedom.

Every town must have one, not a modern franchise but a corner shop that's been there for donkeys. In Rugby we have Diamond motorcycles, i first went in there in probably 1977,aside from the odd redecoration its still about the same.

My two year old grandson Leo loves going into the garage,lifting the sheet covering "his" RGV, he pats the fairing and have taught him to say RGV, in proper letters not toddler speak..He can also say Zooki and Amaha and can recognise the words in bike mags. He is going to inherit the RGV when he's old enough,I'm doing a series of photos of him growing up with it,right from a week before he was born. We also have a video of him helping me wash the R1,he loves watching that over and over.

Where the header bolts to the cyl head. The round copper/asbestos type gasket can easily become displaced when refitting the header.The nuts will tighten up but the gasket will not seal and each pulse of exhaust gas in that cylinder will leak out ,it can make a noise that sounds like tapping. I normally stick the gaskets into the head with some grease. If this has happened to yours,the gasket will be damaged and need renewing.change the whole set while there. Not sure how many gaskets are on your bike,my RGV has 2 on each cylinder.

Is it blowing from a joint or flange? If the pipes are thinner than standard,it could be just more noise resonating from them?

I'll be going subject to the weather

Carole Nash classic show this weekend. Anyone going? I'll be going Saturday.