Hywel

I've never done a trackday, and I really really want to do one very soon, but I know people who've done both of these things. Track day seems to be a great day out, learning a few new skills and taking a sportsbike to the very limit of it's potential has gotta give you a grin. Lots of the people I know who've jumped out of planes have said that the first time literally changed their lives forever, for the better. It kinda makes you look at everything differently... if you think about it, it is one of the most surreal and mental things you can possibly do. I say JUMP.

I don't believe MCN 99.99% of the time but that's just dumb, I wouldn't call cheap accessories like tank protectors, rear huggers, rad covers, crash protection & screens etc "mods"... they're things that do not affect the bike in any way other than make it easier to clean and a bit more practical and comfortable in the real world. Aftermarket exhaust systems, altered gearing, engine tuning, performance/lightweight replacement parts do qualify because they tend to affect the handling and performance which might understandably be of interest to an insurance company. Feels like they're trying to improve their margins by catching people out who would never think to declare stuff which is just common sense to have on an every-day bike. Imagine how far this could really go; "Hello Bennetts, I'm using handlebar muffs today and I'm putting a pinlock in my lid" "oh dear mate, that'll be an extra £80 modification fee please or else we'll void your policy... by the way, do you use a tank bag?". "yep" "make it £150 then"

Terrible news, Simoncelli was among my favourite MotoGP riders, old school and totally kept me on the edge of my seat all the time. Just saw the footage of the crash, very nasty. Safety kit has come a long way, but that's just not a survivable accident whichever way you look at it really.

Similarly to a few other here, I have a Knox back protector, and if I go for a 'ride-out' I might reach for it but regarding the daily commute, it's already a pain in the arse bumbling into the office after changing with my boots, lid, jacket, tank bag etc in hand... I think if I added a back protector the list I'd go mental after a couple of days

I've been putting my bike totally back to standard spec but I really want to improve my brakes, they aren't dangerously weak or anything but they're squidgy and have no feel. I've ordered some HEL braided lines (keeping it low key with black covers and banjos) but I've read quite a lot about using a Blackbird master cylinder to improve feedback because it has a lower capacity for fluid or something? Is this possible on a Hornet, and would I need to buy a Blackbird brake lever too? Also, do I need to inform my insurance company about upgrades to the braking system? (I bet the premium goes up, even though the quality/safety of the bike will have been improved .)

Sorry, I don't want to sound like a dick... I'm sure you're a safe rider, and I'm fully aware that every road user (myself included) makes mistakes, but I firmly believe you should always try to make sure that your safest option is stopping in time if possible. If your safest option is to dive up the side, that's fine... unless you're on a single track road with oncoming traffic or on a dual carriageway with stuff overtaking you. The reason for Tommy Lee Jones' glare was that your posts didn't suggest you were having a think about your approach to stopping distances... they came across more like "ah, this situation is kinda okay because I can jump alongside stuff if I need to". Anyway, it's very possible that you could have stopped in time, but you made a good judgement in plenty of time and decided it was safe to pass rather than drop the anchors... making me just another judgemental, condescending internet-forum twat. In which case, as you where EDIT: Also, the only reason I assumed you made the decision in a panic was because it inspired you to start a thread called "had my first scare", which kind of implies a really close call.

http://www.ponychan.net/chan/dis/src/131337671431.jpg Seriously... just make sure you can stop in time. Regularly diving out alongside stopped/slowing traffic in a last minute panic is a superb idea... but only if you actually want to become a mangled heap on the side of the road.

If you're fatally injured because you didn't leave yourself enough space to stop or you simply weren't paying enough attention to changing road conditions ahead, discussions regarding 'legal responsibility' or 'fault' are meaningless. Your life is completely in your own hands when you ride a bike, and there are loads of cretins who drive around with their eyes sewn shut, so passing blame and not learning from these mistakes is going to end badly for you. Just sayin'.

Anyone travelling in front of you may stop suddenly at any point, could be an animal or a pedestrian shooting out in front of them or whatever else, even if there aren't any obvious hazards. Keep a defensive position on the road and put plenty of distance between you and stuff in front to deal with any sudden stuff, 'specially if the road is a bit greasy. If you don't keep this kinda thing covered, you may go a fair distance with only a few bum clenching moments but it only takes one nasty surprise and you'll be collected! My first proper scare was rushing up to a roundabout with a bit too much gusto, panicking, and locking up the back on a YBR125 and going into the roundabout sideways, totally out of control. A car was going round but luckily had passed before I got there. This sort of thing happens to everyone, learning from it is a must though

Oops, just found an identical topic... snapped cable I suppose. Mods; feel free to delete this thread.

Today one of my clocks died whilst on the move so the speedo and odometer are currently lifeless... the cable seems to be screwed into the clock nice and tight, so are there any quick common fixes I could try before pulling the whole lot apart?

The ZXR is sexier, more extreme, more race bred but if I was going to actually buy one for heavy use in the real world as my every day transport it'd be the Suzuki every single time.

All done, got some hose from my local bike garage on the way back from work today and sorted without too much fuss. The bike is now running sweet as a nut! Thanks all!

Is there a site that sells trick snap-on fuel and vacuum hoses for specific bike models? I fancy making future removals / replacements easier because I don't want my nan to hear me swearing through my parents garage wall any more, it's not doing her any good

Yeah when I cut the rest of the hose off it was quite stiff. The smaller vacuum hose wasn't coming off at all either so I might just remove that one surgically and replace them both with fresh ones if it isn't going to be any extra hassle. I can see plenty of fancy braided fuel lines with quick-release ends but no equivalent vacuum lines. Are these easy to get hold of? Hah, that Haynes thread is spot on although this is the first trouble I've had and seems to be down to old rubber hoses which is fair enough. It's probably a good thing that I've ripped it and now need a replacement to be honest.

My bike is a '98 CB600F Yesterday I decided to do some servicing... Oil, filters and rear wheel removal / re-fitting with a new tyre went smoothly so thought I'd do the spark plugs too. My Haynes made the tank removal sound so easy "Take the fixing bold out from the back of the tank, lift it up slightly to expose the tap which should be set to 'off', detach hoses from tap and take off the tank" Got as far as lifting up the tank, but the hoses just would not come off. My hands are pretty big so I was doing the best I could with my finger tips until I accidentally lifted the tank up more than I should have, scraping the hose along the top of the carb and "pop", the bottom of the tap nozzle punched through the hose wall. So two questions here; Is there a trick to taking off the hoses? (I pushed the fastener clip down the hose past the nozzle so that wasn't the reason it was difficult) and Is it easy to replace a broken fuel hose or have I just created a huge problem for myself? Need to get this sorted, driving a car in rush hour sucks.

Do they make a 16" front? Sooo cheap! How many miles do you get out of a rear? I've enjoyed my BT-016s, amazing grip levels but I've nearly chomped through a rear in no time at all, and at £140 odd quid for just a rear it's not really sustainable to continue getting them with the mileage I'm doing right now… saying that, if I can't find a decent cheap set of tyres with the 16" front I might just take the plunge again to get the full use out of the 016 front that's already there.

Paraffin / de-greaser and a bit of a scrub to clean it up, give it a hose down to get rid of all the loose crap then dry the chain with a rag before putting lube on. Most chain lubes have a slightly 'sticky' quality so wintery weather and water splashing about wont remove it straight away. It's a good idea to apply lube to a clean, dry chain though.

What happens when 77GT needs to do a carb balance or a brake calliper re-build? The forum's gonna crash!!

Absolutely. I too went from a ybr, but onto an ER-5 and as you say it felt like going from a tiny old little 1L city car to a big chunky stable car with a 2.5L engine... going onto a hornet then was a similar step up again though. No plans to go to 1000 for me yet due to running costs, don't know why I'd want more acceleration than the 600 on roads to be honest anyway.

I'm pretty sure you'll need to re-do your CBT if it expires before you pass both mod and 2.

I actually kind of enjoy it. If I have waterproof trousers on over my draggin jeans the whole "being outside in the rain" thing doesn't bother me one bit. I find it a bit more of a challenge and forces me to think about smooth riding which in my opinion makes me a better rider in the dry... also, never had any grip related problems in the wet that wouldn't have struck in good conditions.

I sometimes find it hard to get my bike started in the morning and I always found it tempting to crack open the throttle as soon as it catches but it seems like that actually drowns it and the bike cuts out again with some ugly gurgling wheezing noises. I found the best thing to do is put it on half choke and press the starter without touching the throttle (as long as your bike is mechanically ok it will eventually start if you leave it a little while before attempts), then leave it a good 30 seconds before going for the throttle to let the oil get round the engine, and for the temp to creep up slightly. I ride a CB600F by the way so not a million miles away from yours.

Thanks for the replies! I managed to sort it on my day off yesterday and It was a bit of everything suggested to be honest. I'm totally new to fiddling around with electrics etc as I've always taken the car straight to a garage when the odd rare problem has arisen and this is the first time I've tried to solve an actual bike problem of any kind by myself. As I said I'd fitted a standard lamp but I'd gotten the earth connections wrong for the indicators… as soon as I'd had my "ahhhhhhhh, green wires are earth" revelation it all fell into place and the circuit seemed to work as it should. I can be pretty thick sometimes. After eliminating a few possibilities for the short I tracked it down to the rear offside indicator bulb, which got replaced and now all is well. Bit of a patch-up job but when I get another day off I might get a soldering iron in there and set up a tidier loom with proper connectors etc. So nice to finally have a tidy looking front with all my wires stuffed inside the lamp, sorting this out has somewhat put me off getting a new bike as I had my first ride on it in about 2 months this morning after riding my dads Transalp and it felt tiny, extremely chuckable and brutally quick by comparison, big grin all the way to work.

My car is on it's last arse so when my bike is in working order I spare the car for when I absolutely need to carry lots of things with me or give someone a lift. I don't let rain put me off but I'll make a decision whether or not to use the bike when there's ice around.