Pete

So I got some Oxford Heated Grips today, my second ever set. I installed some on the last bike that I owned and had the + and - going straight to the battery. However this time I'd like to hard wire. As I understand it, it's the + that can be hard-wired to the ignition cable (or is that the -? I don't understand it so well obviously ). Is there any way I can hard-wire both the + and -, or is it just the one? Just been looking at my Haynes manual wiring diagram and I can probably locate the ignition cable...but how would I go about double checking the I've got the right wire before I go splicing into it? Oh and does anyone have any tips on how to make a tidy job of it? Such as a 3-way spade connector or similar?! Thanks brains

Yep, what Dan said. There should be no remaining oil in the spy glass when the engine's running.

Job well done although I can't get the site to load at the moment, must be having a tea break or something. I'm glad you didn't go for the cheap-o plug in jobby. I've never used one, but I do wonder why they're so cheap...

Hmmm by throttle lever I guess you checked the throttle cable routing as well? Been a while since I last had all my carbs out but I'll think long and hard on this one all day! I'm sure other more useful sages will be along soon...

Sounds silly but did you have the choke open? Glad you've got all your nipples in the right places now

Once a battery is drained entirely it will never be the same again The best example of this that I have is that the battery on one of my bikes went last year, I bumped it, ran it for about 2 hours, pulled over to make a call to my mate who I was staying with, after literally 3 minutes on the phone...nothing. Battery was totally buggered. However, a decent battery charger can help lots and lots. You say you're trying to avoid getting one, but I personally consider them a must have accessory for any bike. Lots of bike owners will say one of the main problems with bikes is the battery. If you can just plug the bike in when you get home from a ride and leave it, the charger will take care of it. There are a few good ones, I use an Optimate 3 (there's a newer one out now, but they do the same thing) and I hear the Oxford Oximiser is a good 'un too. My best success story so far is when I went to pick up my current bike. The guy fired it up outside his house, seemed to start OK, switched it off. Signed all the paperwork, started it again. Rode literally 2 minutes away to fill it up (tight arse didn't even fill it up!)...dead. Had to get someone to bump me on the forecourt! The first thing I did when I got home was get my Optimate on the case and it's been plain sailing ever since, like new (well, it starts great every time now anyway!). Many new chargers like the Optimate and Oximiser (I think) "condition" the battery and can go a long way to bringing the general "health" back up to scratch. Regarding your battery I think it may be a worthwhile investment to get a new charger (or second hand off ebay ). The worst thing in the world (OK, praps not that bad) is to be stuck in the middle of nowhere with a dead battery...like you are now

Super duper! Don't be surprised if it's still ever so very slightly "odd"...if you've been running it with low pressure for a good while the wear on the tyre may be off so will need a few miles to round it out again. But I reckon you'll definitely notice a big difference now! EDIT: Tesco sell some decent digital pressure gauges too. I bought an Oxford one from a local bike shop and the same one at Tesco (unbranded) was half the price! I've had a look on the website but can't find it !

Hammerite smoooooth

A receipt with "a mark" on is better than nowt. If they came back to me and said "that's not my signature" I'd say "well you're a dip shit for getting it wrong when you signed it then, ey?". And in a court of law if it went that far I'd reckon the magistrate/judge/jury would be smart enough to think matey boy had given a dodgy moniker.

Hmmmmm sez I. The "danger" I think that comes with folk riding round for a while with just a CBT and then going straight for their test is that they can get into very bad habits...which aren't good for a test. The test is quite rigid and it's more than maneuvers that need to be ticked off, general riding plays a very big part of the test (hence why there's a module 2 as well!). Obviously I can't comment on you as an individual and your riding, but I'd be wary going straight from riding on a CBT straight to your test without "proper" lessons. Thumbs up for contacting the folk at Hinckley. An assessment ride would be great. EDIT: Just re-read your post about doing mod 2 with lessons. Yes, I agree.

When I bought my bike I rode it back home over 90 miles and it was "twitchy"...checked tyre pressures and they were under half the recommended pressure! Needless to say it's sharp as a sharp thing now.

Do you go riding with any other bikers? I'm not a million miles away from you and if you fancy a ride around with me every now and then I'd be up for it. I'm no tutor and don't claim to be a certified advanced rider but might be able to offer tips here and there. However, the odd tip here and there from a more experienced rider is nothing compared to paying for lessons. I'm all for sharing knowledge and helping you out if you're up for it...but the best way is to bite the bullet and get the lessons. PM me if you fancy a ride out somewhere

Looks good but one day it'd just fall on me when the side-stand snaps and I'd be trapped for weeks

I quite like the look of that little disk thing that you put the centre stand on and spin it all around. I'm also now wondering if I could make my own...I guess the ingredients/recipe would be something like: - 2 circles of steel, about 300 to 400mm in width with a hole in the centre - 2 lengths of 2 or 3mm steel that will be curved into a perfect circle (pre-curved?) - lots of ball bearings - MIG welder - A nut - A bolt - Some tough rubber non-slip matting and spray adhesive to stick to the steel circles I reckon you could sandwich the two lengths of steel between the two circles, one inside the other. Before putting the top circle on you'd put all the ball bearings in the 'canal' that the two lengths of steel have made. Put the top circle on, use the nut and bolt to make sure it stays in place, and give it a spin. ...Now to find someone that has a MIG welder and knows what they're doing.......

Speaking of fit, don't all police riders wear Shoei Multitec helmets...does that mean they've all got the same shaped head? Haha!

I'm with wannars125 with the London thing, it just doesn't happen so I don't even bother! Everywhere else I tend to though. Not so much as I used to because a lot of people don't nod back so I've started to not. I'll nod if someone does at me first though. I've noticed police riders don't nod. I wonder what that's down to. Could it be because they'd be showing favoritism towards bikers when they should be non-bias, or is it because of the idea that if you're nodding at another biker then you're not concentrating on the road ahead? I dunno

Thursday's looking OK for me mate. I've a job interview tomorrow at 3pm, may be off to Alnwick on Friday via Lincoln (if my mate ever gets back to me!). But yes Thursday's looking good...well, the weather looks a bit iffy mind...

I'll be going next year

Right then, it all seems to be totally and utterly (for real this time) fixed! The bike was with matey boy from 1pm yesterday until 11am today (so about 7 hours give or take). In that time he dropped the fairing, dropped the radiator, dropped the exhausts, extracted all the crap and the old broken stud, welded up, re-tapped it, put a helicoil in, put everything back together, replaced coolant, and even painted part of the engine where some paint had peeled away. I was worried about cost, thinking it would be near enough £300...came to £160 total! I'm really impressed and it looks "proper" now. With the touched up paint it looks new again. I can't rate the service high enough from this seemingly back-street garage. The guy (although he had entertainingly fruity language) was as friendly as they come and really, really knew his stuff about bike. We got on pretty well and he even showed me some videos (whoa, not that kind!) of him on his Fireblade. I've got a business card at home but I'm away in London for the weekend but will update with the company's name as soon as I get back. The very helpful guy's name is Sam and he's Polish, been living in the UK for 7 or 8 years. If you're near Redditch and need any work doing on your bike go to this guy, he seriously knows his onions. It's not a bike garage, but who cares! I'll post pics up as soon as I get back

Right, it's totally buggered! The epoxy stuff failed and the JB Weld has developed a crack so I'm getting it welded! After cleaning the bike the other day I noticed a thin crack that looked about ready to pop so I decided I'd just get it welded up and save myself the nagging thought in the back of my mind if ever I were far away from home. The local garage has a seemingly very knowledgeable eastern European guy there who can TIG and MIG weld. He's had 30 (yes 30!) bikes in the past 7 years of living in the UK including a Blackbird. I feel I'm in safe hands. I was having a chat with him and apparently this isn't an uncommon problem with Blackbirds and 900+cc bikes where a numpty has tried to change the downpipes with the engine totally cold and has come to bother. He's going to "get all the fackin shit out mate" as he eloquently put it "make sure it's facking properly clean cuz aluminium is SHIT to weld if it's got shit all over it mate" and then "weld some facking aluminium shit in there, tap the facker, put a facking heli coil in - and those fackers never facking come out man, facking little bast*rds! All done...easy" said he. Nice man, very friendly. Just got to see how much it all costs now boooooo

Also check your fuses (next to battery under seat)

No it shouldn't return. If it's nice and firm now and is for a good few squeezes it should stay exactly the same. Over time the position will change slightly due to pad wear, but you won't notice that. If it does change then it's likely that air is getting in somewhere, so you'd need to check that all connections/nuts/bolts are tight (don't snap them off though!) and look for wet patches.

Depressing update: My dodgy exhaust fix from the other week has bollocksed itself I've booked the bike in (annoyingly a job I can't do at home) to be welded up. I tried to get it in today or tomorrow but the earliest matey boy could get me in was 1pm on Thursday! Sorry Ricky. Can't you hold off putting it away for another week? lol! I'm still going to nip across to Aber next week I think (again weather permitting). Will give other folks a chance to join in as well perhaps...

I think the route I took was the one that Google Maps gives if you just type Redditch to Aberystwyth...sort of! I did try to follow the route but in the end just went "left" and got there in the end. It's the best way and was a full on ride If anyone else is up for this then speak up. A good meeting point for everyone could be Bromsgrove College car park (type Slideslow Dr, Bromsgrove, B61 into Google to find it) as it's just off the M42 and is easy to get to and puts us pretty much straight onto country roads. The only thing is it's not the best place to meet for a wee and a quick bite to eat so we can stop a bit further down the road for all that. I'm thinking of anyone coming from east of Bromsgrove or the likes of Worcester way. If anyone wants to meet up on the way to Wales mention it on this thread and we'll arrange stopping points to meet up. What do you think?

I'm off down to London on Friday but might be able to go along with you somewhere on Thursday. What's the idea - somewhere far (Aberystwyth) or somewhere...not far?! By the way I'm not a knee down rider and don't take the piss with speed so if you like nailing it everywhere I'm not the best person to go with! Don't get me wrong, I can keep up, I just enjoy a more "sensible" pace