XmisterIS

Sometimes my bike won't go immediately into 1st from Neutral (I have to kick down on the gear lever 4 or 5 times) ... a friend told me I probably need to adjust the lever very slightly. How much is "very slightly"? How do I know when I've got it right? - most of the time it goes in fine, just sometimes it doesn't.

Thanks for the tips, I'm now kicking it up at around 9K, which does actually seem to make it accelerate quicker! Very useful for getting up to speed on very short dual carriageway entry ramps! There's a notoriously short one coming out of a petrol station on the A27 towards Chichester - I can only just get up to 70 in time to join the carriageway, so goodness knows what cars and lorries have to do. I think its dangerous myself, very short entry ramp, straight after a blind bend. Clever road planners ...

Lol! Will it damage the engine if I do that to it?

My SV is currently restricted to 33bhp. It has a stop on the throttle and washers in the exhaust ... I think ... or perhaps its just a stop on the throttle, I'm not sure. Anyway, even restricted it accelerates like a little blue lightning bolt and can easily leave pretty much anything on four wheels looking like a dot in my wing mirror (which is why I went for a lightweight V-Twin on a restricted licence!). Anyway, the acceleration is strong and constant all the way up to about 10K (it redlines at 12k), then it stops accelerating and starts "stuttering" - the engine isn't intermittently cutting out or anything like that, but it feels like it's hit an acceleration "wall" (i.e. suddenly won't accelerate anymore) and it feels like the power is on/off - like it's bouncing in and out of neutral (which clearly it isn't, but that's what it feels like). When it starts "stuttering" like that, I kick it up into the next gear until it starts stuttering again, then up again, etc. This only affects me when I am trying to get it to accelerate as hard as possible and I don't do it all that often - normally I have more than enough acceleration at my disposal. Do you think this is due to the 33bhp restriction or a problem with the engine?

I ordered a kettenmax the other day, with some Würth dry chain lube. The chain had been coated in that gunky, thick spray-on wax stuff, so that needed to come off. I popped the sprocket cover off ... and the build-up from many sprayings of thick chain wax was EVERYWHERE! I had to dig it out with a spoon, then spend an hour getting it out of all the crevices with paraffin and a toothbrush - it was a lovely big lump of wax with road grit stuck in it covering pretty much everything in the immediate area of the front sprocket, and the sprocket was covered in a gritty, sticky mess too. I now hate that stuff with a passion! After a decent paraffinning, I tried out the kettenmax - it works like a dream and gets the chain much cleaner than I can with a toothbrush! I wiped the chain and sprockets down and let them dry out while I gave the rest of the bike the once-over with a rag and some polish, then I applied the dry lube via the kettenmax. The lube is very thin, dries quickly, and you have to trust that it has actually gone onto the chain, because it looks like there's nothing there - but it is incredibly clean and won't attract the grit from the road - you can run your finger along the chain once the lube has dried, and it comes up spotless - it feels like there's nothing on the chain at all. According to the blurb that comes with it, it is extremely hard-wearing, very penetrating, and will extend the life of the chain because it won't attract the dirt and it has pretty much zero fling-off. Also, I have found an obvious way to set my paddock stand so that it fits my bike exactly, without having to fiddle with the springs each time I use it.

Well, I've just ordered the Kettenmax thing - Dan's videos and the ones on the Kettenmax website have convinced me! Plus its German, which has got to be good! ... (waits patiently for the heckling) ... Anyway, I have decided to try some dry lube with it - I've ordered a can of Wurth High Performance Dry Chain Lube. Again, its German, which has got to be good! ... (waits patiently for more heckling) ... The dry lube seems to have nothing but good reviews, and I am attracted by the fact that being dry, it won't attract the crap thrown up from the road. EDIT: I've just noticed that the Kettenmax is actually Austrian, which is not so good ... Hitler was Austrian! Boo! Never mind, I'm sure the product is good.

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!