mattkett

I also use mainly rear braking although I realise that this is NOT the approved way. I ended up doing this mainly because my bike always used to cut out when I rolled off the throttle to use the front brake, so I learnt to rear brake and keep some throttle on, gear-shifting down. The bike doesn't cut out any more but I guess I'm in the habit now. Mine's a 2004 model, tho with 17k on the clock I reckon a dodgy crank would have made itself felt by now - I hope! The only problem I have is the fuel tap keeps breaking. It doesn't seem to make any difference if it's on ON or RES - it runs till it's dry regardless. Other than that, it's been OK. Taskmaster, saw this and thought of you

Newbie moment alert! Umm... wut? I take it that's one of those split washers? And it didn't have one of those when I took it off; is that bad? Also a confession: OEM sump plug from dealer: about £2.50. Not the most expensive part I've ever bought then. I'm just so sick of paying silly money for cheap'n'nasty OEM parts. I'd like to think that if a new exhaust is worth £900 (apparently) then it will last substantially longer than the 4 years the current one has. How come my '54 plate bike is made predominantly of rust (washed religiously) and my '99 car (Vauxhall, never washed) is fine?

I reckon you're getting a good deal from a good dealership there. I wouldn't have thought replacing the crank was absolutely necessary, unless they've had it out and it's cabbaged of course. But it is the honest thing to do on a warranty repair job. Dragstar 125 is an awesome choice buddy; you're gonna love it. 'Course, I am a teeny bit biased... Too much rear brake and there's a danger the rear will lock and start a slide which, trust me, is REALLY scary! Think pedal bike slides, but at much higher speeds with cars around that aren't paying attention. *shudder*

Cheers guys for all this (sorry I've not replied before) Wemoto was a good one. They haven't got loads of bits for the bike, but they've got the necessary. Cheers to all, M@

Cheers gas-up. I suppose I should have thought to add that myself. Consider me suitably chastened Apologies for scaring anyone. M@

I know this isn't bike related, but I reckon I can't be the only one that uses a wireless network at work or home and should take notice of this. Or not. It's your choice. Basically, this link: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/1106...tory=ts_wpahack is a news story relating the first serious hack of a wireless network with WPA encrytion enabled. (Link opens an advert page, click on 'continue to story' at the top right of the screen) M@

I thought this was standard kit on this bike already! I'm glad I could be of help - I've got a load of parts on the way from Wemoto too, I reckon the new spark plugs are going to go a LOOONG way to making my bike faster. I've just measured the old ones at 1.4mm and 1.6mm gaps! Aaargh! That explains why I thought you were all lying about the '70mph is possible' thing Seriously though Mark, let us all know if it makes a difference - I'll keep an eye on this post for your story

I've got to confess I was rather hoping for a cheaper source than a main dealer. I think I've been living in Yorkshire for too long!

Cy, I stand corrected. My thanks.

arkeye, I'm a newbie myself but here's some stuff I've picked up: 1: If you ask more than one question in any post you don't get any answers! 2: No idea about oil really but find the workshop manual/ user manual online and it will tell you what the recommended oil is for your bike and where to top up to 3: Wemoto.com is my current online favourite for spares (not forgetting eBay of course!) 4: Go to any bike shop - they all sell chain lube. 5: It sounds like you need to look for an adjuster somewhere around your front brake lever - it will affect the point the brake light does it's thing, as for your rears, if in doubt get new ones fitted asap. Your brakes are your life, simple as that. 6: Try running 3-in-1 down the clutch cable while your operating it - get a friend to help if it's mega stiff, or put it on blocks. A new cable should cost a tenner or less so give it a go. If that doesn't work you may have a bike with hard-core clutch return springs fitted which generally come in at around £15-£20. Hope all this helps, M@

I'm not saying this authorative or anything like it in fact but when I wrapped the exhausts on my kit car (to stop the fibre glass body burning) I was warned to stop "well short of the headers" to prevent engine damage. Like I say, I'm new to bikes so this advice may not apply in this case but it always to be a bit cautious when it comes to engine temps doesn't it?

Any ideas about where the best place to go to buy spares for an XVS125 is? I live in the Leeds area if that a difference to your answer. To give a good example - I can't find a sump plug for my bike anywhere (online and dealers!) and mine 'broke'.

Markyboy, check out wemoto.com - they've got a line on front sprockets with less, standard or more teeth as required. If I've got my maths right you want a front sprocket with less teeth (?) to get a higher top end. I doubt very much if that will actually happen though. I don't know what everyone else thinks but the problem is not my bike maxing out at the top end it just doesn't have the guts to get there in the first place Goff, oldtimer et al. I had a bit of a think about what you said and hacksawed the top off my plastic thingy and it does look like the plastic ball inside is designed to stop air going into the tank. If the bike were to fall over wouldn't the ball just sort of flop about in the middle of the flow control unit? Having said that, I'm a bit worried about all this flaming balls of fire thing, I've got kids to worry about, so I've put a reclaimed unit back in place. While I've got your collective attention; I've been thinking about highway hawk pipes for mine - do they give the bike anything other than a better look and sound?

Ogri - you are legend. Small plastic thingy removed today - I just bought a new length of pipe but same difference. I'll have to let you know if it changes things as, amongst many other things, the fuel tank leaks so is currently drying out before being fixed in some way. Ummm, any suggestions? I figure welding may be a bit dicey on a used tank

Hi everyone, I'm hoping to mine your collective brains for information on all things technical. I've got some experience of grease monkeying - a kitcar helped there - but bikes are a whole new ball game and frankly the amount of rust I've encountered already is pretty alarming! <HISTORY> This is my first bike, I've been riding it every day since I bought it in November (trade, from a dealer) - wind, rain, ice, snow - you name it, and now the nice weather's arrived (cough) it's decided to die. God bless Murphy and his immutable law Obviously then, I decided that since I have no idea what I'm doing I'd strip the thing to the floor and give it a full resto - I know, I know, it's only a 125, but I love her and so do the kids so she stays, end of. Anyway, the tests not till September 19th so it'll give me something to do instead of all that tedious practicing On then to the details: the starter switch has packed in, the story: I removed inline 4A fuse to stop annoying electronic tone coming from immobiliser black box under seat (not Yamaha, possibly DataTool but unbranded green immmo key with round pad), the immobiliser now seems to work OK. Before I cocked it all up, with the immobiliser armed the bike would turn over but not fire - ignition circuit interupted by the immobiliser, now the bike will not turn over at all, immobiliser armed or not. Local samaritan that understands electricity (not my strong point) and is a biker (like a car driver would have offered) has checked that the starter motor is OK, the kill switch works, the bike starts with a push so he reckons its either a physical break in the wire from the switch to the solenoid, the solenoid itself (expensive to check) or the immobiliser has done something permenant to break the starter circuit. </HISTORY> Can anyone help me identify the immobiliser? It is a very professional job, with the immobiliser fully integrated into the bikes electrics. The black box under the seat has no markings at all with 6 or 7 black wires coming out, the pad keys are green keyring affairs with circular pad, again no markings. The dealer I bought the bike from (with no documents) reckons it may be a DataTool install. The pad is located on the offside removable panel if that helps? Any and all help gratefully received, M@ PS. Has anyone got any suggestions for removing a completely rounded off sump plug? Tried the usual mallet and screwdriver thing (subtle, I know) but it's determined to stay put.