XmisterIS

I have enough cr&p on the road, with cows, horses, HGVs etc, it would need to be a nice clean contraption, that you empty.. Shaft Drive anyone..?? Yes, quite! Typed in haste! bill-on-a-bike - ty for the link

That looks great! do you use one?

I think that would just move the dirt around, and would need to be taken out and cleaned quite frequently ... what's required is a self-cleaning device that scrapes the dirt off and deposits it back onto the road before applying fresh oil.

Here's a little device for someone to design: Something that cleans the chain as well as oiling it! Sounds like a real engineering challenge!

Thanks for the link. My main concern about automatic oilers is that they don't get rid of the grit that collects on the chain and accelerates wear - so you'd end up having to clean the chain as frequently as if you oiled it by hand anyway, and since cleaning is the hard part but oiling is the easy part, I don't see the benefit of an automatic oiler. 'tis merely my opinion!

Thanks

'tis coz its a 125! My XL125 would *just* pull 75 ... and that was scary!

Hi all, My bike will soon be due it's first chain re-oil (I've done about 400 dry miles on it since I got it). What do you think is best out of scottoiler/manual oil/spray lube? My bike currently has oil on the chain - I am considering the following three options: 1) Scottoiler - although you still have to clean the chain to the get the abrasive grit off. 2) Oil it manually (I have a rear paddock stand, so no probs there). Which type of oil should I use? 3) Use some of that spray-lube. I used to use that on my 125 and it did the job nicely, but it is the filthiest, gunkiest, messiest crap known to man, and it sticks to EVERYTHING!!!! Also, how much should I be putting on of oil/spray-lube? I think I may have got in a sticky mess with the spray-lube because I was putting too much on.

Looks like good fun! A friend told me that in that kind of race you get disqualified if your front wheel looses contact with the ground at any point ... is that true? That you have to do it all in perfect control without any wheelying?

Actually, it was reading your thread about your crash that put the final nagging worry into my head and made me go and buy one! I know it is purely psychological, but I immediately started riding much better, smoother and more confidently the moment I went out with it on.

Today I finally went and bought a back protector - I've had a nagging thought for a while that I don't really want to end up as a cabbage if I have a crash! I got the Knox Contour from Hein Gericke ... £99.99 very well spent, and the thing is incredibly comfortable! Of all the ones I tried on, it felt the most substantial and it covered the greatest area of my back, including the shoulder blades and the whole of the spine. I would highly recommend it to anyone thinking of getting one. I decided that I should buy it there and then when I asked myself the question, "Is your spine worth more than £99.99?".

Ah! Yep, I have to pull the clutch in ... I gotcha! thanks.

Thanks for that advice, Yep I have tested lock-to-lock in neutral (obviously!) with the engine running - and I get no unwanted revving, so I think it's just the clutch and the electrics that need re-routing. The brake hoses are plenty long enough as they are. P.S. What is the clutch safety switch?! Does my bike have bits on it that I don't know about?! I suppose I should have a good look at the Haynes manual, although the photos are the size of postage stamps and the instructions are usually glib at best ...

Hi all, I have got some bar risers for my SV and just offered them up. The clutch cable is too short in it's current position, as are the electrical cable bundles. The brake hoses are fine as it is, and the throttle cable is fine. A re-route to take the clutch cable and electricals round the back of the handlebars will work; do you suggest that I disconnect and re-connect at the handlebars or at the other end? Mike.

I currently use a disc lock and handlebar reminder, but I am debating whether I should fit my own Alarm/Immobiliser. My questions: 1) I presume you fit it to the ignition, is that correct? 2) How easy is it for a thief to get round the immobilisation? 3) Is it actually any more secure than a good disc lock? I have an Abus Granite X-something-or-other (cost me £60) and apparently it is literally bombproof - the blurb that came with it says that Abus have actually blown one up and it survived, intact, still locked and it still worked.

From your post it seems like it may be easier than the old test! And congratulations on passing the first bit!

Looking at that, I think I would be allowed to ride in NI - it seems they have done away with what we call the "A" test and their "A" test is our "A2" test - so it's like only being able to do the "A2" test here and not having an "A" test. That means my UK A2 licence is equivalent to their "A" licence.

What kind of restrictions? Would I be able to jump on my restricted SV and go hoonin' round the roads of NI on my UK A2 license?

Yep, hazard avoidance is definitely a necessary skill ... but I don't think that people should be tested in such a way as to deliberately place them in an excessively dangerous situation. From what I understand of the new test, you have to redline it between a pair of cones and then flick the bike left-right to get through another pair. Can you imagine the objections if they decided to put a similar manoeuvre into the cat test?! "please drive flat-out at that brick wall over there, and swerve out of the way at the last minute" ... I think not!

I always thought that part of the test was crazy, I was very relieved when I passed my test and knew I wouldn't be doing the new one! If I'd failed I would have been doing the new one. I think that swerve should be taken out; I've been riding pretty much every day for several months and I've only just recently got the hang of flicking the bike at speed between tight, opposing corners! I pity anyone trying to do it after only a few days of riding, which is what most of the CBT + test courses seem to be.

How unfortunate, I suspect it was that bloody "swerve" manoeuvre. (whoever decided to put that in should be shot)

Thanks for that I will post pics of new bike when it is delivered!

Apparently the new test has now definitely come in (27th April I think). I have my A2 licence and I am now the proud owner of a restricted SV650 ... I might want to do the A-test before my two years are up (if I can be bothered/able to afford it!). So, it would be good to hear from anyone who has done the new test ... what is it like? I very much doubt I will actually do the A-test because I am lazy and I'll probably end up waiting for my 33bhp to come off anyway after the 2 years (1 month done, 23 to go ... !), but it would be interesting to hear first-hand experiences of the long-awaited new test.

I nod, and the only people I never seem to get a response from are fat hairy old men wearing open-face helmets on Harleys ....

Hi all, I have just bought an SV650 naked Anyhoo, I find the bars a too low and too far forward and so I would like to replace them with some motocross ones, probably with a 4.5 inch rise. I think tank clearance should be OK like that. I think I will need to install a longer clutch cable and brake hoses (the bike hasn't arrived yet so I'm not sure!). Can some kind person give me (or point me in the direction of) a complete tutorial on how to change the bars and lengthen the cable & hoses? I'm pretty sure I know what I'm doing with the bars, but its the cable and hoses that I am not sure about. For starters, how do I work out what length of new cable and hoses to get? Are there different types for different bikes? How do I know which one to get? Etc, etc, etc ... ! I need to know what I'm doing so I don't go out and kill myself because I haven't connected the brakes properly, or something like that! Thanks, Mike.