Tinkicker

We got 10 windows and 2 doors getting fitted today. When we ordered them and they measured up, they said they had to give us two weeks cooling off period by law and had to hold off manufacture and fitting for a fortnight. We said we don't need a coolling off period, we need new windows. But the law is the law. Then after the coolling off period, we schedule a day for fitting.. Had warm spells and dry spells in the intervening time and the great day dawns. Look at the weather forecast.... 4 *C, heavy rain and winds gusting to 30mph. Just feckn great. Not sure if they will turn up and not sure if I want them to.

Nope. I suppose you could try swapping your forks and front wheel around, so the speedo drive and brakeplate is on the right instead of the left, but that will cause endless problems elsewhere. How did your speedo and speedo drive get mismatched? Either the speedo is incorrect, or the front wheel / brakeplate is incorrect.

Why does a small part or tool suddenly disappear without trace from your workbench, only to reappear in exactly the same place, 10 minutes after you ordered a replacement? and why does your bladder decide to suddenly tie itself in knots as you start the search for the missing item in earnest?

Aspen fuel arrived and I drained the tanks of both DTs and the house standby generator. The missus benefitted by three gallons of free petrol in her fiesta. At £6 a litre, obviously you cannot run anything like a motor vehicle on it full time, it is prohibitively expensive, but I just put a litre in each and ran them for 10 minutes to get them hot and the fuel systems filled up with the new fuel. If I do not touch them again for five years, the fuel will still be good to allow them to immediately fire up. I can report excellent results, running wise. Aspen is very clean burning. The generator was only run a fortnight ago so started second pull, but after draining the tank and running the carb dry, it certainly sounded smoother and quieter with the new fuel in. DTs were as crisp as before. It is far better for your health too. It has 100x less harmful components in it. Oddly, it does not smell very much either and looks like water. Draining your lawnmower, strimmer, chainsaw ect fuel tanks and carbs at the end of the summer and filling them with a litre of aspen fuel is cheap insurance for an easy start next springtime. Carbs and fuel system gaskets do not dry out, so no leaks next year and aspen does not corrode carb bodies, block jets or dissolve plastics and rubbers. Recommended.

That reg rec looks the same as the VFR one. They are prone to overheating and failure. First check that the harness terminals and pins on the rec do not look to have been getting hot. A common thing if they are not tight enough gripping the pins. Next. Do not paint the frame mounting surface behind the reg rec. Clean the rear of the unit thoroughly. Fit unit to frame using thermal paste between the unit and the frame. These units run very hot and you need to pass as much heat as poss from the unit to the frame. After 20 mins running my subframe feels very warm to the touch. Some of that maybe from the rear exhaust headers though. And yes, the hard work is in the prep. I am lucky to have access to beadblast cabinets and other industrial processes. It speeds things up enormously. Without them, prep work is one long, hard slog. Little yeller frame from rust and paint to completely bare metal, rubbed down and ready to spray in 30 mins. Without the industrial processes it would have taken days of paint stripping and wire brushing.

I still have an old CD drive that I can easily plug into my machine, so if you got stuck getting it copied over, I would be happy to transfer it across to a pen drive for you. Of course, providing it does not have copy protection..

Seems that link is for a CD not download. Good job I remembered and checked. No probs if you got a CD drive in your PC.

You can download an official honda service manual for not a lot of money. Genuine manuals have detailed hose and cable routings as well as everything else you may need. I have used this chap in the past. Unlike others that are slightly cheaper, he verifies that his manuals are genuine factory manuals for UK models and in english. £8.95. A steal. Far better than haynes type books. I have a VFR one, printed it out and stuck it in a binder. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/313416821767?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D260876%26meid%3D7000aa13f48a4b81844ce5d2b914ca98%26pid%3D101195%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D175725288728%26itm%3D313416821767%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D4429486%26algv%3DSimplAMLv11WebTrimmedV3MskuWithLambda85KnnRecallV1V2V4ItemNrtInQueryAndCassiniVisualRankerAndBertRecallWithVMEV3CPCAutoWithCassiniEmbRecallAndQueryItemPopRecallAndQueryExpansion%26brand%3DHonda&_trksid=p4429486.c101195.m1851&itmprp=cksum%3A3134168217677000aa13f48a4b81844ce5d2b914ca98|enc%3AAQAIAAABoBIrA5X1vid5NElyTS9VP%2B1UDU3brXlp7Y83ZwoEemYoEd8dMYtY0TcaiV3FCw4DdsmOiNTYywp9igkKH5RNA1zjc9RW64Qvu9FNZ5uWaCc0j%2FKUn4xZMTbm8DZjhnsHJ6UhzsZjhmh3StQbKPrdfvJwtS0J0Y7rmBGi%2B3UXcYM8Rc3Z5WnKKUnyviTTVW%2B4SFblppgxWspJAj4CnhymdE%2BKyIe2DMrv7rcg5paR1b7oswTmZxkIBV0INey61YFnscyhWiLVwEul4BRg1AKUqp7UVAvBJzhH5M9lV9uEbuQEtDUzoaY%2FJ8EdcZX5YEM3srTkqHK5ZERR4midZ8NEwtHVa9mUBYLb37x3azLKfw5MFDvprdCzg09%2BD9eolzfHGdmFhSb703%2FPvN7q0%2FpaVFwzAXcqqP6X3uY%2FgL%2B9xhvynVhaleEDraCp579%2FYhoJHPJRNfxGN5Sf%2FgDnHe2zpIK3h7kKPT3m4qmZXuLiw3mVNTb4Omgr3aBOyIcPUjlXUseUPo6sxzk8rIPmMBiEtVzCAj819psnK7j56rxQIaPe|ampid%3APL_CLK|clp%3A4429486&itmmeta=01HQ6914PNT1GK1FQG0MFNKKM6

Looking much better..

Good stuff. Every job done today is a step nearer to completion. One step at a time. Worst thing ever is to go at it like a bull in a china shop. You can tell the bulls in a china shop on ebay. For sale "project bike". I bought this bike to restore but find i do not have the time..... Yeah, you had at it for a week and you burned out.. No need to apologise for a lack of progress. That lack is in your mind, not ours. Onwards and upwards. Some days mighty things are acheived. Other days you are going backwards. That is the nature of the beast.

Carbs squeaky clean, reassembled and bench synchronised. What a swine getting them back together was. You do not want to be finding you accidentally deleted the pre stripdown pics. Dozens of tiny o rings, clips, screws, washers and pipes involved.

Dragged myself out to the shed this morning.. VFR carbs subsequently removed and stripped. VFR carb bank waiting for stripping. Note the different length ram stacks between front and rear banks. I will need to double check that they go back in the right place. First carb stripped and getting "the treatment". The carbs were actually quite clean inside, although I could not check the starter jets. They cannot be removed. They did feel quite restricted when blowing down them though. It may well be just bad fuel that has flooded the cylinders, or those starter jets getting clogged. Last time I was in this pickle the bike started faultlessly after a carb strip and clean and I did not have the ultrasound machine then. If the starter circuit is clogged, the ultrasound will clean it out. First carb stripped, cleaned and rebuilt. I am not relying on pump fuel next winter. I will either dump a little Alkylate fuel in the system, drain and remove the tank and take it into the house to protect the inside from rusting. Then run the motor till the carbs run dry. I am not generally a fan of dry fuel systems during storage though.

Unfortunately you have bought a chinese motorcycle, probably based on purchase price. There are downsides to this approach, one of which you are now discovering. One bike costs £5. Another similar bike costs £10. Why so much difference in price? Because the second bike manufacturer wants a good reputation. You are paying double for a better quality product and a readily available parts supply network. These things cost a lot to run and maintain, hence the higher initial purchase price... One cares about your continued custom and customer experience. The other views you as a rich mug and is happy to take your money and run. Buy cheap, buy twice........

1/2 rho V squared says it all.... Daniel Benoulli; C 18 century, although his formulae was a bit more complex. Its how a carb works and how an aircraft flies...

Yep. Lost many well loved pets over the years. You give them a pact. You give them a loving home and expect the car crash at the end. They give you unconditional love and at the end you have to repay that love by making the most difficult decision you will have to make in your entire life... It is your pact with them and your duty. Once, without recourse to external practitioners to do the deed and put an end to considerable and obvious extreme suffering, I had to take matters into my own hands. Twenty years later I am still haunted by it.. But I made the agreement. "I would take your pain away and bear it myself I said to him. I had no idea what that would mean, but it turned out to be true. I did take his pain away and gave it to myself.

In my case. Since I hit late middle age. Usually very badly. Thats why I went from from the highway warrior willing to give anyone a race for their money to a leisurly chap ready for two laps of the local park lake in a wicker bath chair.... And god take the hindmost.. But I survived.. Just. Never expected to.

Pulled bodywork and drained the carbs. Honda in their infinite wisdom has decreed that you have to pull the rad in order to remove the front plugs... Thought I would leave those and concentrate on the rear bank. Got some fresh fuel in and cleaned the rear plugs again. Tried to start it. Loud bang from exhaust, wonder it didnt split the can. Next attempt it started on the rear bank for a few seconds and I thought the fronts would kick in, but no it quit again. After that, nothing but a few pops and bangs. I think it ran on residual fuel in the intakes rather than feeding from the carbs. I think the battery voltage was getting low after quite a few attempts and the starter was starting to rob the ignition of power, so game over for today. I think some of the primaries are clogged with crap . Only thing to do is pull the rad, probably fit 4 new plugs and pull the carbs apart. About three years ago, I once left it stood for three months without starting it and the only way to get it running was to strip and clean the carbs, so I am not in unfamiliar territory. It will wait until later in the year when I give a damn about it again. This winter has been a constant merry go round of messing with bike restorations, engine rebuilds and broken backup generators, almost without a break. I'm all in with home mechanical problems at the mo. I get enough of those during the working week. I need a rest from it.

Not a lot of point having a good sound system for me. Too many years crouched in a test cell checking for oil and fuel leaks next to 18ltr diesels pulled down to max torque point on the dyno has blown my ears out. I have a high pitched dog whistle blowing in my left ear and a power station turbine in my right ear..... I doubt I could tell the difference between Wharfedale mach 3s and Amstrads these days.

Drained all the fuel tanks and dumped it into the cars. Ran both DTs till the carbs ran dry. I am going to order 15ltrs of Alkylate fuel and put that in the bikes and house generator. Horrendously expensive stuff but if it works... May get around to pulling the bodywork and draining the VFR carbs tomorrow. Then again... Its not my favourite thing at the minute.

https://motofaction.org/mechanical-101/how-renew-soften-rubber-parts-with-oil-wintergreen-methyl-salicylate-gasket-o-rings-seals/

Oh a problem with hardened rubber parts? Some have some considerable success in softening them by boiling in water with wintergreen oil, but I gather it is easy to turn them into a shapeless blobs of snot if you do not keep a close eye on proceedings. Never tried it myself though. Anything not cooperating using heat, I just replaced. I may dig up a how to later, depending on how many beers I am about to consume. Internet forums are best avoided immediately after sinking a few. I have been known to make a bit of a chump of myself...

Yep. Chalk it down to experience. Tampering with it can have no positive outcomes. It may give short term satisfaction leading to long term guilt. You may even be seen and that could open up a whole new can of worms... Even if unobserved, everyone in the company will have just one suspect in mind...

What BP has to say on the subject.. The storage life of petrol is one year when stored under shelter in a sealed container. Once a seal is broken the fuel has a storage life of six months at 20°C or three months at 30°C. The storage life of petrol in equipment fuel tanks is one month. https://www.bp.com › fuels PDF Fact Sheet - A guide to storing fuel - BP

CBF is fuel injected I believe? Fuel injection system is sealed so it keeps the fuel fresh. Irrespective of fuel in the tank, you will always get a good hit of good fuel to get it started from cold. Once it is running and warming up, it has enough energy in the system to tolerate fuel that has not gone completely bad. Not so with carbs. Fuel left in those a good while is not volatile enough to light off a cold engine. If it started and ran for 10 seconds, it would have no problem handling the tank fuel afterwards. It has enough volume that it is still fairly decent quality. It is the small quantities in the float bowls that are the problem. If fuel loses volativity at a uniform rate, it stands to reason that the 25cc contained in a float bowl is exposed to the oxidising atmosphere far more than the five gallons contained in the tank and goes off faster. I never had to throw a full tank of fuel away. Just used it normally.

Out to the shed. VFR tank removed. Airbox lid and filter removed. Attempted start. A pop now and again. Out with the rear plugs, only two I can access with bodywork fitted. Absolutely drowned in fuel. Put blowlamp flame to plug. Nothing. Started to dry out plug. Fuel started burning off after five seconds or so. Not good. Plugs dried and refitted. Sprayed easystart down the rear carbs, and tried with no choke, hoping to dry out the cylinders. It started and ran on the rear bank for about two seconds...then quit. Removed plugs. Wet with fuel. Fuel is so bad in the carbs that it will not burn in the cylinders. It struggles to burn in a blowlamp flame. This was fresh fuel when I topped off the tank in September and it started fine in October and November, a bit harder in mid December and no start at all at end of January because I left it nearly two months with the fuel sat in the carbs instead of the usual one month. Modern fuel is garbage for bikes on carbs that are stood over winter. It has turned to paraffin and water. Only thing for it is to wait for warmer and drier weather, get the bike out of the shed, remove the bodywork to access the carbs and front plugs, dry them, drain all the carbs and put fresh fuel in. It is not clear whether I added the usual dose of fuel stabiliser or not.. Failing that, carbs out for a dip in the ultrasound machine. Im a bit miffed..... Next year, I am draining the tank, using the old fuel in the car, bringing the tank into the house so it does not rust internally and running the carbs dry. I wanted to keep the bike in useable condition over winter " just in case" but it is clearly not working out.