Restrictor kit fitting: How to DIY

[byangoma]

If you've passed your A2 test and are restricted to bikes with 33bhp or less you have a couple options:

Buy a bike with less than 33hp or buy a larger bike that's restricted. This can be done by others or by yourself.

Contrary to what many people believe it is not a legal requirement to have a restriction certificate, so this allows you to do it yourself if you feel up to the task. for more info: http://www.themotorbikeforum.co.uk/view ... 27&t=23787

Having bought a hornet 600 at age 19, I am unfortunately forced to restrict it. When I bought it it was not restricted, but had been previously, so the chap I bought it off still had the necessary washers, otherwise eBay can normally provide for not too much. So I fitted the restrictors myself to avoid garage costs.

I realise that there are some other guides around, but many do not go into much depth, and the difficulty can vary on each bike.

I would recommend to anybody planning on doing this themselves get a Haynes manual, great help for all sorts of diy fixing and servicing on your bike.

Decor58 has written a good guide for his 98 GSX600F here:http://www.themotorbikeforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=37490&hilit=restrictor

This guide is for 96 - 03 honda cb600's, it may help for other bikes however. But if you screw up while following this, i'm not responsible

Try not to get any dirt/fuel/dust into the carbs as this can affect how your bike runs!

Here goes:

Step 1: Make sure the fuel tap is OFF before doing anything!!!

Step 2: Take off the seat and the side panels

Step 3: Take the tank off, watching out for small amounts of fuel left in the hoses coming from the fuel tap.

Step 4: Disconnect and take out the battery

Step 5: Take off air filter housing, remembering to loosen fittings that attach it to the carbs, also good opportunity to clean/replace the air filter.

Step 6: Disconnect the battery cable from the carbs as well as all hoses going into it, that would prevent you from taking it out a few inches, it may not need to come off 100%, just enough for you to get at the other side of the carbs. (The haynes manual advised me to drain any fuel out of the carbs, but i don't think it was necessary)

Step 6: You can now see the correct place to put the washers!

Step 7: Do the opposite to put everything back together!

Congrats! You have now successfully (maybe) restricted your bike, now just wait 2 years and do it again to take them out, then resell your washers on eBay.

Questions? please ask me in comments. I have more photos, if you need them, i advise taking pictures of each thing you do, this will make it easier to remember where each bit goes!

It took me about an hour and a half to do, this was my first time doing any job like this, and would probably take less than half that time to do it again.

Good Luck!

[parkmoy]

Just a word of warning. I'm insured through Bikesure and I contacted them asking the situation re insurance if I fitted a restrictor kit myself. The relevant part of their reply was ... "We regret to advise that your insurers require the restricter kit to be fitted professionally."

I didn't bother asking for a definition of 'professionally', just bit the bullet and took it to a shop to be done.

I don't know how many insurers stipulate this and there was nothing I could find on the Policy document about it but I suppose it comes under the terms of modifications to the bike.

[byangoma]

If there is nothing in the policy booklet about it, and you say that there is the modification (i.e. 33hp restriction from >45hp) then your insurance is still legally valid unless they have said otherwise in the terms and conditions. I have a certificate that says it was fitted professionally at one point, but it has since been taken out, and then put in again by me. As anyone could do this and the insurance company would not be any the wiser it renders any certificate useless. There is no way that they can prove or disprove who fitted the restrictor. Any certificates only prove that it was fitted at the time of fitting.

Some insurance companies won't insure you because of the modification - thats fine, its at their discretion.

Some insurance companies may try to argue that you need a certificate, and i'm afraid that unless they say something about certificates in the t+c's (which none do as far as i'm aware) then you can fit them yourself perfectly legally, so long as it is 33hp or less on a dyno. If they are unmodified FI restrictors fitted correctly, then it will undoubtedly be correct.

(Cheers for the heads up though! )