potatobroxd

Hi guys - bike has a dead battery and manuals states 12v 8AH. Does this mean ANY battery with the same specification works? Worried wrong battery may have a low max discharge giving a weak start. Many thanks

Noticed that my bike's rear brake takes noticeable longer to engage (e.g having to press down further for brake to start engaging). Havent ridden my bike for a while and only started having this problem. Also, if I pump the rear brakes harder and faster then it starts to engage earlier? 

Checked the fluid levels and theyre all topped up, any insights on what this could be?

6 hours ago, Gerontious said:

I think, that as my bike has two clutches, when the bike is in one gear the change is instant (after pressing the button) because the clutch is already 'in' on the next gear. and as soon as I change gear the next gear is ready to go. clickety click. This is normal.. but, I have to admit its great fun when I turn the auto 'off'. and ride in manual mode. The great upside of this would be for that mythical pillion, there is zero chance of helmet knock. as there is no momentary loss of power, or if there is its so short that it effectively doesn't happen. all in all its great fun. into second gear and redline it. click - 3rd. click 4th. click - 5th. and the same going down the gears... its a hoot.

Sounds like pure luxury that thing! It must feel butter smooth coming stock from honda. Wow would love to try riding the africa twin sometime in the future

3 hours ago, Gerontious said:

Like flicking a light switch.

Really? What bike do you ride? A bicycle? 

Hi guys, just finished installing the healtech quickshifter on my z900, was wondering how hard should the shift feel? 

The shift lever when upshifting with the quickshifter feels heavier than with the clutched pull in --> should this be the case?

I havent ever tried a quickshifter so i cant compare

Trying to figure out the alignment today... but the rod is too short (also something my misses tells me but thats besides the point)

6 hours ago, Gerontious said:

I would suggest that if you are really looking for a Benelli (that isn’t a small capacity or new) then do your research. When Benelli were bought out, up to that point and, I believe for a few years afterwards they were exclusively built in Italy. At first the new owners made just 125/175/200s in China with the Benelli badge. But it didn’t take long before all production was ended in Italy. Though apparently that is still the design centre for all new models. To my mind it doesn’t really matter that they are made in China, what does matter is the quality of the steel and other materials as well as end of line Q.C. And then backup for after purchase. There is a difference between quick buck manufacturers and those in it for the long haul with a real concern for quality, reliability and reputation. It’s too easy to confuse the two.

Very good last point, some Xiaomi electronics i bought worked very well but the non-branded ones on ebay were absolutely horrendous

10 hours ago, PaulCa said:

 

I went with top box only to keep it narrow for filtering.  It is significantly narrower than a litre bike in most regards.

 

It also has the "frunk".  The tank is under the seat.  The "tank" is actually storage enough for a full faced helmet... or a 12 pack of beer or 3 bottles of wine or a KFC/BK/MD meal or two.  When you park up, it will take your helmet and gloves.

I leave the top box off most times, but take it when I'm not sure the "frunk" will surfice.  The 50L top box gives me 2 full face helmet's worth of room.  Enough for 2 24 packs of beer (theoretically) or practically enough room to put your boots trousers and jacket and walk into the office like you just got out of the car.

Oh wow thats really unique, just searched a couple pics and its pretty spacious. Would you say its a fair trafeoff for the smaller gas tank? 

Looks clean . I'd personally get side panniers to get that big touring bike look

I never knew benellis were sold in the UK. Just saw a picture of TRK502 and man do they look good. Looks almost like a multistrada at less than 1/3 the cost. Its cheaper than an R3 as well. 

Anyone thats ridden these bikes can tell me about their reliability and how nice (or terribly) it rides?

4 hours ago, Old-codger said:

I very much doubt its the valves at that mileage, Have a look to see if the air box is restricted by anything or something has made a home in there.

Thanks, Ill have a look at it. Not looking forward to it considering I have to lift the gas tank off the bike thanks to kawasaki engineering 

3 hours ago, exportmanuk said:

Agree with Old Codger.  Unlikely to be valves more probable an obstruction or air leak  would expect  your 2017 bike to be fuel injected and the throttle opening at idle to be controlled by the ECU not an idle screw.

Surprisingly both my fuel injected kawis have an idle screw.. its almost like they knew the idle speed was gonna be a problem

3 hours ago, fastbob said:

Do a spit check from cold  on the down pipes to see if it's running on all four cylinders first . 

It sounds like a four cylinder bike on startup but ill give it a shot

Rode on my bike today and stalled 2-3 times which hurt my ego severely. A closer look at the dash made me realise the lower idle (around 850 rpm) and it usually idles around 1000-1100. The lower idle is also pretty unstable

Other than turning the idle screw, could there be an underlying issue? Bike is a 2017 Z900 with around 6000 miles. Next valve clearence check is miles away, but should it be checked once every few years or only after a certain mileage is passed?

Thanks for any insight into this

On 07/07/2021 at 13:15, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

Have you looked at replacing the current bulb(s). My CBF headlight was pretty useless until I replaced the bulb with a better quality one. 

 

Some reckon they don't last as long but I've had the Halfords brighter bulb in for a couple of years now which is fair enough. Same wattage, more light.

Im not sure if changing it affects my MOT so i opted for these clipons so I can remove them during MOTs

21 hours ago, bonio said:

You need to find out how much current alternator produces continuously (there are usually two figures, one is continuous, the other is peak). Should be in the manual, or if not a bike-specific forum will likely have the answer)

Then add up how much current draw you already have for

* headlamp

* tail lamp

* heated grips

* and any other accessories (e.g. sat nav)

(I wouldn't include indicators or brake lights, as these only come on occasionally)

Subtract the drawn current from the available current, and you have what's still available. Leave 0.5A - 1A margin to be safe. Check the available current against the specced current draw for the lamps.

Wow thanks for the detailed response, definitely need to sharpen up my electricity knowledge haha

So my headlights are pretty mediocre at night so I'm looking to install these aftermarket headlights in addition. I'm just worried that these extra may draw too much power so I'm not sure how it may affect the battery or damage it? (im horrendous with electricity stuff).

Is there also a way to check the maximum load the battery can output? Cheers

The 650 was a lil too slow for me.. so I upgraded to a 950 . Sorry Stu and others that said I should get the z1000.. but my short legs can only flat foot this baby 

3 hours ago, Stu said:

Factory fitted immobiliser? 

Yes, its from factory, although my

key looks identical to a ninja 300 with no imobiliser

2 hours ago, Gerontious said:

Unless you have a separate fob for the immobiliser.. the 'off-on' doo-dah will be in the key itself. you will need to buy a genuine key and take it to a dealership to have it matched to your bike. its not a cheap process.

 

A genuine key for my own bike costs £75+ and then add to that the cost of 'labour' for the key to be synced with the bike.. another £35 for a half hours labour.

 

a key with a built in immobiliser transponder will look something like this.. with a chunky fob. It contains a chip, very much like the chip in a credit/debit card.

 

.

Mine seems like a normal slim key with no chip in it luckily!

1 hour ago, Mr Fro said:

My advice is get a genuine key blank and have a local cutter do it.

 

I've got a bike that came with a key cut from a "near enough" blank and it needs a good bit of wiggling to get it to work. The original it came with is fine though.

Thanks, thought i could save some cash doing it outside the dealer

So i lost a key.. and im planning to order a new one. Its just a normal key (not a smart one) so i was wondering if you would need a dealer to do it or you could just cut the key anywhere? Bike has an immobiliser so im not sure if it changes anything.

tia!

I had a used cb125f after my cbt and thing runs like a dream. Kept 80% of its value when reselling it as well (i bought it used)

If seat height is a primary concern id have a look at the msx 125 however!

Has to be down in power.. but do you feel that at all riding this beauty?

1 minute ago, husoi said:

Please tell me that you removed the lube first... 

But it helps me slide my massive phone in with ease  

I cant say im not impressed.. it does stop any fluids from leaking in (or out). Great waterproofing, halfords should definitely stock up on these 

I wear bull-it jeans and DXR jackets, not super well-known brands but the quality and waterproofing seems to hold up after years of use.

Havent tested its abrasion resistance but i dont plan to anytime soon. 

Variable rev ranges are the best, fortnine did a great video explaining why and it does make sense logically. 

the XSR is basically a retro hooligan MT09 - but since you dont want to be tempted id go with the xjr. Both have plenty of power regardless

The new CB650 and CB1000s are also  nice naked retro options if you have cash to splash

Commuting 40 miles everyday is definitely not an enjoyable experience on a 125. I had a CB125F and 60mph is using around 95% of all its power AND its quite unstable cruising at that speed given its light weight.

Is it doable? Yes. Enjoyable? Not a chance. 

If youre planning to commute on a bike long-term then id advise doing a DAS and get a bigger bike. For your commute, an R3 or equivalent would he well adequate