Rob Taylor

I reckon it's the small gap in the inlet rubber you mentioned, getting incorrect air mix to start hot. I had the same issue with a cb250 years back but cannot remember at all what the problem was.

Stripped the other fork. Stripped and cleaned the handle bar switches, removed handlebar for spraying and oiled my control cables.

I did my test before all these changes, but what I did was cbt, bought a cheap yamaha sr125, poodled round on that every day getting some confidence, took my standard test then carried on with the 125 till the two years were up then climbed slowly from then. 250, 500, 750 then 900s (which I'm happy to stick at). You come across as very sensible and your plan sounds good. Get a 125 that you'll be happy to ride for a while rather than just trying to get the biggest, fastest bike you can as soon as possible. It's much better to make all of your early on mistakes on a cheaper low powered bije, and your riding skills will only improve.

Nice. I've not long moved to the area (Highworth) so may take a run up to Burford Hills soon. Looks lovely.

Stripped leaky fork and resprayed the indicators. Waiting for parts now.

Check the plugs first off. Sounds like a fuel issue, but I'm not familiar with your bike. Does it have an external fuel filter? Check the easy and cheap things first then go from there. Check the cylinder compression too. Do you have a manual for it? It will make your life much easier.

I couldn't care less about what other people are wearing. I've got better things to be doing.

I have these (or similar) on my vulcan. Squeeze the back tabs together with some needle nose pliers to remove the whole clip, or just twist a flat blade screw driver in the lip on the top if you just want to release the brake line. They're only cheap if you do manage to break it, but they are pretty flexible.

Intended to get the near complete project out for a few miles. Came back 80 miles later then wiped off the fork oil that had sprayed all down the right hand side of the bike! Seals on order, a job for the weekend.

Make sure you ride it first. Some cruisers have forward foot controls, so although you can touch the ground easily with both feet, you may not be able to comfortably ride it. My vn900 custom has forward controls and it's just about right for me and I'm 5'10.

Some sort of low rider cruiser style for your height I reckon. Honda and yamaha do plenty from 125 upwards and suitable for shorter riders. Not sure if you are restricted to 125 or not but I had a friend just under 5'02 and he had a yamaha xv535. I liked it so much that I ended up buying one and had it for a couple of years.

I have a copy in pdf somewhere but never read it. I may dig it out.

I've had a large one for years and they are fantastic. Really quick at boiling a lot of water. Too big for my bike though so I use a small trangia for bike trips.

Just looks like a project bike mate. Don't waste your money. I've never bought new, but try and get bikes that are as close to original as possible. There are some crazy people out there who do some crazy things to perfectly good machines. Especially wiring. Have a good look at the wiring loom and connectors before you part with any cash, there are too many people out there who think electrical tape and LEDs are the way forward.

Good all rounder bikes, like cb500s. I personally love them and they accelerate as good as any other similar type of bike with a good top speed. Well built and cheap to maintain.

If you plan on running it into the ground and not selling it on, Chinese bikes aren't as bad as they're made out to be for the price. Just be prepared to do any maintenance and repairs yourself as a lot of garages won't touch Chinese bikes. But like others have said, second hand Jap bike, Honda do plenty of bomb proof stuff.

My hornet 900 is 17 years old now, and still my plod around bike. Whenever I see a rust patch on the frame I scrub it with a wire brush and spray it with that hammerite stone chip paint. The main paint job I went over with some ex MOD green paint and all is good. Never had a problem with Hondas, apart from the brake calipers, which tend to need regular care and attention. Basic bikes, very reliable, good all rounders. They should never had stopped production of the 900 hornet.

Just get a new battery mate and while you're at it, get yourself an optimate maintenance charger, it will save you a small fortune in batteries over the years.

With the nuts off the studs, it shouldn't be that hard to come away. Has it got any free play? May have completely mashed the exhaust gasket.

Today I crimped new terminals on the starter solenoid cap and crimped new terminals on dodgy blocks. Rewired the rear lights.

Started syphoning the fuel out of my vulcan so I can respray it and spray the engine covers and stuff while I'm at it. Fitted my new indicators to the hornet and sealed the backs with silicone sealant. Managed to get it out on a 40 mile round trip to bed in the new pads.

just click quote on the post then type underneath it I have fixed the above quote you just deleted a ] thats all Thanks mate.

Hmm. Another forum that I'll need to figure out how to use the quote function.

The 900 just has one plug to each cylinder fortunately, but they are a bugger to take out. I've had the fuel tank off so often, I'm thinking of getting rid of it and carrying the fuel in a bag on my back

Hello everyone. I've been riding about 20 years now and currently own two bikes: Honda Hornet 900 and a Kawasaki VN900 custom (bit of a project at the moment). I try to do the majority of work on these two myself, and have rebuilt mainly Hondas in the past, but like everything, I still have a lot to learn. I do take a look at this site quite often whenever I need to look for ideas and fixes so thought that it's about time to properly join.