megaross

Check the front sprocket nut. If it's high pitched check the wheel bearings. They should not have play or sound like stale cornflakes being chewed by a hippo. Also check your chain thoroughly for stuck links, tight spots, lateral play and anything untoward. High pitched whining when you give it a spanking can also be a vacuum leak.

Ok so if the bike is struggling when it gets low remember 2 things. Water floats on top of petrol. Fuel is drained from the base of the tank. I advise you to drain the fuel then top up with fresh stuff.

I can see the problem now, it's quite small. If you look closely in the photograph it would appear that you bought a motorcycle with a near 900cc engine and a little babby petrol tank.

40 year old plates? Bin em. Even if you unstick them they're likely not long for this world.

Bike wise pick up a Japanese 125 for about a grand, they're pretty bullet proof and dirt cheap to fix. Even if you somehow kill the engine, a used one will be £250 and the size of a biscuit tin - you can swap it in an afternoon with basic tools. Chinese bikes are trash in my opinion, rust to hell, crap to ride and they're worth 5p when you sell on.

Amazon is built on fake reviews and unscrupulous practises. Paid for your reviews? Who cares, Amazon get their cut - that's their way. I avoid them like the plague.

Agreed - buy as you go, find what works for you. Spend your time riding rather than accessorising, you'll know when something is needed. One exception - get a tyre plug kit and inflator. Coming back to a flat and repairing it within 15 minutes vs waiting 5 hours for recovery? No contest. Wait til you've worked on your bike and you know the common sizes before you consider carrying tools. Though a few cable ties and some bailing wire can definitely be useful under the seat, especially in an off - bodging a lever to get home mostly.

But they don't generally do full thickness skin grafts on hands or feet. At that point it's very possible you'll lose the hand, if you're "lucky" enough to keep it at the point you'll lose a lot of mobility and basically have a flipper at the end of your arm. That's what a lot of people don't realise - it's very easy to irreversibly destroy your hands. They're complex and delicate, after your brain that's the minimum you should be protecting unless you're truly truly stupid. I love my knox gloves, the scaphoid protector is a nice bonus but mostly it's the boa closure.

I bet it does great wheelies

You got the original exhaust? I'm willing to bet the most of your issues are the exhaust isn't helping matters and it wants to go up a jet size. Since it sounds as is a dynojet kit is maybe off the table I'd suggest refitting the stock exhaust for now. Can't really do a plug analysis without a look under the otoscope, you can say they're a bit light (lean). I'd also be asking where you bought them from - there's lots of fake NGKs out there. If they were eBay specials I'd swap them for a set from a reputable suppliers. Did you calibrate the carb balancers with each other prior to balancing?

Swap the fuel. Maybe drop oil and filter, brake fluid is probably needing doing on time too. Also worth checking any grease points as per regular servicing. Check tyre pressures, lube chain. Should be plenty enough.

The amount of riders I see without gloves these days baffles the mind. And it's not just deliveroo riders who haven't a clue, it's people on bigger bikes I've seen cropping up. I have to wonder what they think happens when half the skin gets taken off their hand in a slide.

Any superglue made for high temps. The glue provided is junk.

Whatever the manufacturer says in their book, which is invariably brake fluid.

Get a seat cover for long rides, only way. I use a bit of thick sheepskin tied over the saddle with boot laces and have done for years when I go for a long one. I'm debating an airhawk or beadrider though.

I chuck it screwed up into a ball under the breakfast bar in the kitchen. As yet no wife to tell me things like "Go hide your bike gear in the cupboard" and "Don't put that sprocket carrier in the dishwasher!" My gear is in constant use though, for most of my life I've only had bikes so my gear needs to be at hand. One set of gear - richa detroit jacket (so old its on it's second lining), rev'it axis 2 overtrousers, tcx explorer goretex boots. Shoei nxr in xxl to fit my massive melon head. Gloves is a selection between richa hurricane, richa city or knox orsa. In the rain I put on goretex waterproofs my mate in the RAF blagged from the stores for me - no wet gear then, just damp waterproofs. I could afford to buy fancy gear storage and all this but I prefer spending money on petrol and bikes. Plus that gear is super practical and comfy year round.

Yep, just ride with confidence and diligence. They just want to see you are safe to ride, they know you'll be building your skills up after the fact. Have a bit of fruit beforehand if you're nervous, sugar boost, calms the nerves.Seriously. Plus if you eat a banana whilst staring at the instructor they might be so scared/ aroused they pass you no questions asked.

I'm 6'6" Had a Tiger 1050 for about 7 years now, for us long ones they're a great option. Sleek sporty lines, reasonably quick, easy to throw around and chuck into corners (especially with the right suspension), sounds good with the arrow can but you can chuck luggage on there and crank out a 3000 mile tour. Use mine year round, for most of that time I've just had bikes, no car. Absolutely bullet proof reliable too, I've serviced mine to the book with genuine parts and the only thing I've had to do that wasn't wear and tear was whip off the headers and get my mate to tig weld a crack up but that's not a spendy job, it's never broken down or failed to start. Got it on 16k done 35k since then so it's sitting 51k and I'd have no quibbles about riding it round the world. Highly recommended.

Get a multimeter and check for continuity and ground on the circuits. You have 3 things unknown here: is power getting there, is there a good ground, and has the dash shit out. The third is confirmed by eliminating the first 2. It's probably shit wiring or loose connections if it's not a fuse, it may be water ingress into the dash or a connector.

If a cylinder isn't firing your plug will appear damp when pulled. 3 months standing? Water will settle to the bottom of the tank when I bike sits then the bike runs like microwaved shit and the owner thinks their bike is a write off, seen it a few times over the years. I'd be draining the tank and trying some fresh juice first. Coil pack or lead are likely contenders here too, give a good inspection for cracks then pull the plug, ground it and crank to check for spark. Good clean white spark, not flaccid orange spark. If you had a ring going it would've become obvious before you laid it up, rings can seize up a bit when stood but unheard of in 3 months unless it was stored on the Titanic. You could compression test but I'd put a pair of tyres on it being nothing to do with compression based on what you've said so far. If it was oil in a good quantity it might be your valve stem seal leaking but again, unlikely unless your bike has a shit ton of miles. Basically - check fuel and spark.