Joeman

Where do you stand legally with regards to fitting a performance pipe to a resticted bike if your licence requires the bike to be restricted? As already stated, i doubt it would actually give you any more performance, but try explaining that to a grumpy traffic cop, who pulls you over for a spot check, notices the performance pipe, then insists on taking the bike away to be tested to prove it is indeed resticted....

yes, its a good compromise - great performance, loads of torque, and ~500miles on a single tank. But how the hell am i overheating supposedly "high performance" pads?? These are supposed to be Kevlar/Ceramic pads suitable for high temperatures!! These pads & discs will see me through the winter, then i'll get another set of genuine BMW motorsport drilled & vented discs, and OEM pads - the OEM pads wore down faster, but at least the didnt shear off!

330cd M-sport vert. 3Litre DIESEL turbo but with the remapped ECU its quicker than my mates Porsche Boxter-S To cope with the extra power, I fitted genuine M-sport discs, and used up one set of OEM pads before "upgrading" to these EBC Red Stuff pads. I then drove to the Nurburgring (on only one tank of fuel!) and then totally kicked the Porker's ass round the ring, so its not your typical slow oil burner... However, these RedStuff pads are designed for faster cars than mine, so the only thing i can think of is that the extra weight of the Diesel lump in a heavy convertible stressed them too much??

yes, new pads were a good 15-20mm thick. i thought that too, but these are supposed to be high performance Kevlar/ceramic compound pads, so i figured that might just be how they look?? I bought them for a trip to the Nurburgring two years ago, so they have had a tough life, but it is just a road car (not a race car) so coupled with Genuine BMW Motorsport drilled & vented discs, they shouldnt have overheated on the road!!

yes they were low, but wear indicator was not lit, so still had some life left, but they were on my "Todo" List to replace them anyway as TBH i wasnt a fan of them - on my drilled discs, they were a bit too noisy Disc wear on the "Sheared" pad was on the slowdown from motorway speed, and on the ~3mile limp home..

yes, not expecting identical pad wear, but discs were pretty new when i fitted these pads, and the sudden drop in pedal when braking suggested something gave way... Look at the photos i uploaded, the other three pads look pretty similar so I reckon it sheared off.. Luckily i was very close to home, so limped back without needing the brakes much so disc survived

Here's some pics...

yeah, the car does sit about all week with no use, but this happened after it had done a 200+mile drive so dont thing it could have been binding that long as i would have noticed the smell! I'll go dig them out of the bin and get a photo.. 4mm might not be right...

They were EBC RedStuff pads... Dont think ill be buying them again... I fitted some Pagid pads this time round, apparently the same as OEM pads but without the price tag..

Sorry for the car related question, but presumably also applicable to bikes with disk brakes... I was driving my car last week, braking from high motorway speeds down to 30mph, and the brake pedal dropped away a little, and my passenger reported a banging noise... The brakes were juddery and grindy after that point. Lucky i was close to home, so limped the car home nto using the brakes. I new i was due for some new pads, so i ordered some online, and fitted them today. When i got the brakes apart, sure enough the front pads were worn down, with about 4mm left on them, but the inside pad from the right hand side was gone! All that was left was the metal backplate, causing me to believe that the sudden drop in brake pedal, and noise was actually the friction surface being ripped off the metal back of the brake pad Is this possible? anyone else ever heard of this happening? how else could I explain the sudden pedal drop, instant grindy noise, and one pad (out of four) being totally gone??

Mums dogs looking after my Gixer... Excuse the dumped radiator in the back right of the photo!! Dogs and a Bike

got enough oil & water in there?? is it due for an oil change?

Anyone fancy a sweepstake on how long before she blows??? Just kidding - great looking bike, glad youre having fun!!

Got any pics? i've got a pair of RST Razor's interested to see how they failed...

which size sprockets did you get in the end? i was thinking of a -1 on the front to give a bit more acceleration.

Online prices are not always the best once you factor in postage costs. Go to a store, try on a load of gear, take it to the counter and then ask for your discount. Most stores will give you some money off if you're buying a load of stuff.

Just means your next bike will have to be a GSXR

The chance of all of that fitting you properly, is virtually zero!! why not go and visit a store to buy your gear?

What about all of the other gear you will need?? why not make a special trip to your nearest bike clothing dealer and get the lot all in one go? afterall, you're going to need a whole lot more than just a helmet!! If you've already been to a shop and tried a few on, and none fitted, then buying one online is a recipe for disaster IMO.

Mines just a pop up cover thing. And yes I would, pay for it might as well use it well having used the AA a few times for my car, i hope you have a better experience than me.. I once had a water leak on my car - just a tiny hole in the top hose that i could have patched up with hose repair tape. I called the AA, waited 2 hours for them to arrive. Eventually someone arrived - not a proper AA man, but a local recovery company. It was dark by this point, the guy didnt have a torch, and when i told him i had a water leak, he took the lid off the screen wash bottler and said "you still have plenty left, why dont you drive home?".. At this point i realised what i was dealing with, and polity gave him a lesson on car cooling systems. He then wanted to sit in my car in the oiliest overalls I've ever seen to guide it up the back of his truck. No way that was going to happen! 1hour slow drive home having to listen to his idiotic babbling, I called the AA to complain... Their adverts brag about fixing 80% of breakdowns at the roadside but that's only if they send a properly trained AA man, and not some local hill-billy recovery truck driver, so don't expect the AA or any other recovery company to be your 'knight in shining armour' and save you at the roadside.. its certainly not been my experience! As for the water hose, i taped it up with repair tape, topped up with coolant, and drove the car until the new hose arrived. 5min job to replace

Not many, but sometimes stuff can come lose, and its handy to have some tools to tighten it back up, or if your fuses are under the seat, and you need an allen key to get to them, might be an idea to at least carry an allen key! Or would you call the AA man to come and change a fuse??

Wont be able to help anyone else out either... if you see another biker stuck at the side of the road, they might just be missing one tool from their kit. if we all carried a few tools, we might save someone else a slow ride home in an AA truck.

Yeah i could, but for the sake of 12 quid, can I be bothered? Its Oxford's loss, not mine as I certainly wont be relaying on their reputation again. They've clearly dropped their standards, and seem to have forgotten entirely about quality control! Maybe i'll post them a link to this thread and give them the chance to explain.. lets see if they can be bothered to respond..

Exactly! i was planning to add a few other bits and bobs, and sling it under my seat for emergency use only only. Big let down from Oxford's on the quality front.. basically paid 12 quid for a tool pouch.

I purchased an Oxford Toolkit at the weekend for 12quid, it was a total impulse buy, but I thought Oxford were a good brand, so it would be ideal to keep under the seat of the bike. I opened it up yesterday to take a look, and wasvery disappointed. Difficult to see from the photos, but the quality is really poor. So much for being “High Quality Carbon Steel” – the pliers look like they have already been used, and the side cutters have damage to the cutting edge, and the little spring designed to make the spring open fell out! The plastic screwdrivers are really cheap, and the sockets look like they will break if you apply any force. Cheap tools = poor quality, but I really would have expected better from Oxford… Then I read the back of the package “Made to the OXFORD design and specification in China from high quality materials”… I wonder why the print the word “China” in bold letters? A warning maybe? Anyway, sticking it under the seat, hopefully will never need it! Oxford Tool Kit Mad in China....