eljazz

Okay well as a short term fix I super glued the the cracks (which worked surprisingly well) and then sprayed the damaged section with a few coats of Halfords spray paint. I'd separated the damage with masking tape so that any change in tone would look intentional... then put a cool silver decal over the top of it - bwahahaha! http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/8905/1822262131.jpg

No man that's awesome - I just wanted to know what kind of ball park. I'll start phoning around Thanks again!

Oh that's interesting. I tried the sites Rennie suggested and I'm afraid I had no luck. Also spoke to some enthusiasts over in America (where it's known as the Honda Hawk) and apparently unspoilt fairing for these bikes are liek the holy grail so I'll look into maybe getting it fixed instead! Any idea what kind of prices I should be looking at Chris?

Hi everybody - I hope this isn't a stupid question! I have recently purchased a 1988 Honda Bros 400 as my first 'big bike' after riding a 125 cruiser for a year. I'm absolutely in love with it but it seems to have been rather unloved by the former owner and incurred some damage which has resulted in the rear fairing (is it called a cowl?) being badly scratched and cracked. Being a twenty year old import I realise that getting a like for like replacement will be extremely unlikely but does anybody know if the fairing can simply be removed and a replacement from a similar sized bike be put on instead (and if so what would be the best fit)? Again I apologise if this is a stupid question but I'm very new to all this and am a regular secret trawler in your archives here! http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/8550/b0hfjzegkkgrhquokj0eoik.jpg (And here, for those like me that had never heard of such a machine before, is MCN's review: http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/bikereviews/searchresults/Bike-Reviews/Honda/Honda-Bros-NT400-1988-1992/Honda/BROS-400/_/R-EPI-119781)

I ride a Honda Bros 400 and I'm 100% happy for two reasons. 1) I didn't have to do a DAS (I couldn't afford it) and 2) I prefer to go from 125cc to 400cc as even that seemed like a huge step when I got on the bigger bike. Hope this helps :^)

Hi guys! As you all are probably well aware the Gilera Coguar that I ride is notoriously hard to get a manual for. There seems no official way of buying a copy and even the internet refuses to yield anything but the occasional digital copy being sold for rather exaggerated prices. Well I simply needed a copy to ensure my bike is maintained correctly and, through the thousands of online requests from other owners, it would seem I'm not alone. So i took one for the team and bought a copy on CD from ebay, uploaded the seventy three pages (that took some time!) and present them here for free for anyone else who would like it. Please feel free to add this to the official list Nomad! GILERA COGUAR SERVICE STATION MANUAL: http://img517.imageshack.us/g/img005yz.jpg/ http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/2470/img001pf.jpg

As a noobie my first Biker Nod filled me with a joy usually associated with a young child's Christmas morning with my fave yet being a guy on the biggest Harley I've ever seen nod as I passed him on a cross roads... then toot as he caught me and rode off with his hand out in a static wave. I felt accepted as a biker!

UPDATE: Exhaust silencer fitted and the problem seems to be sorted! Hoorah! Thanks to all for advice!

Oh bloody hell man - huge thanks!!!

Try here http://www.carlsalter.com/motorcycle-manuals.asp Thanks Bogof but they seem to have every motorcycle on the planet listed there but mine... EDIT: Gilera Coguar service manual now added to the TMBF forum 'Guides & Manuals' section: http://www.themotorbikeforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=8856&sid=c83ca2e34b73188d6bc5e713b1c3b28c

I've looked man - no sign of any form of service manual for my bike, Haynes or not! An inline fuel filter sounds like a great idea but right now i'm the mechanical equivalent of a four year old trying to pass a medical exam...

Hi everyone! A bit of a long story so please bear with me before it comes to the 'HELP ME TMBF - YOU'RE MY ONLY HOPE' section! A few weeks ago I bought myself my first ever motorcycle - a Gilera Coguar and I love it to bits... however nothing, it would seem, is simple. I picked it up from Pewsey (near Swindon) at 6pm and, because L plates can't go on the motorways, planned a rid up to Gloucester and then back down to Pontypridd. It was a glorious evening and, after some stalling, I was on my way and delighted! Then 20 mins down the road I broke down. I couldn't believe it! My wife, Rachel, was ahead of me (using her tomtom) and hadn't noticed I'd stopped and though I tried everything I could think of it ended with me pushing the bike to the side of the road and waiting for her to come back for me. Meanwhile the sun went down. 15 mins later Rach returned and was so pleased to find me alive she didn't think to be angry! I phoned the seller and he was devastated... then asked "You did put petrol in her right?". Switching to the reserve tank I resumed my journey and filled the tank up! 7 quid!! I couldn't help but giggle as i screwed the fillercap back on. I arrived in Gloucester in good time (the bike cruises at 70mph with a top speed just above that I think) and shared tea and cake with my stepmother who was delighted with the bike (my Father used to ride Hondas and my Gilera has a Honda engine.. so she thought this was fitting). All warmed up I returned to journey home! Though the darkness was disconcerting at first I soon re-discovered the joys of being on a motorcycle at night... the smell of the fields and hedges was mesmerising and I felt confident that I'd made the right decision. Until I hit Monmouth and the bike started to violently jerk. Cursing my ignorance of petrol tank sizes i switched over to reserve again and managed to get to Newport, where it broke down just as I entered the forecourt. Suspiciously the bike didn't need nearly as much petrol this time to fill up. Something was wrong. As I made my way along the last stage of my journey the bike continued to judder and lose power. I was now cruising at about 25mph and I was having a wretched time. After what seemed like an eternity I joined the A470 and, finally the exit to Trefforest (my village). The next morning I awoke aching like a fool. I contacted the seller again regarding the engine problems and he confirmed what I'd suspected: The carburettor was most likely blocked from running out of petrol. After researching for a while to find out what the carb actually looked like on my bike i operated (a big deal for me!) and cleaned the muck out. For a week or so it ran beautifully. However now it's started to fail again. No way as badly as before but possibly because my journeys are shorter. I re checked the carburettor again, cleaning it as i did but it hasn't helped. Any ideas? Oh my motorcycle doesn't have a full exhaust (I have ordered the silencer that was cut off by the previous owner and replaced with what looks like an aluminium pipe) - can this be part of the problem? Sorry for such a long post and any obvious beginner ignorance

Nothing as simple as needing to use the choke is it?

Amazing list... but anyone, anywhere have a manual for a Gilera Coguar by any chance?