clarke

Looking good! Makes me wish I still had my 125 to start chopping. When did you get the bike / start you're mods?

If you've still got your old seat this fella might be useful?

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! My mate took 5 goes to pass the Mod 1, went like this: 1 - failed not stopping front wheel in box. 2 - failed to hit 50kph on swerve 3 - didn't do life saver on U-turn (did it before moving off but not before starting the turn) 4 - failed to hit 50kph on emergency stop 5 - skidded on the emergency stop, released & wheel turned by about a gnats nut. No-one else around, same examiner for all tests so think he felt sorry for my mate as he looked around, muttered 'watch the emergency stops' and then told him he'd passed. He did pass mod 2 first time so you should be ok with that! Good luck...

Tell me about it... fortunately through blind panic & pure luck I didn't come off. Of course stealer denied it was anything to do with them and claimed my spokes were rusty and tried to say they were dangerous before they touched them... but they knew that was b0ll0cks! Besides I told them if they were dangerous they'd have told me that and said they needed changing (it was in for it's MOT & failed in part for loose spokes). Fortunately there's a fella called Les who is based between Wetherby and York (Tockwoth) who builds and re-builds wheels & is the only person I would ever go to in future. If anyone wants his number let me know

if you tighten your spokes don't overtighten them! My stealer overtightened mine and the spokes snapped whilst I was doing 40mph with the missus on the back. 5mins earlier I was doing 60mph

Just to muddy the water... Ever since I've owned a bike I've been told by every mechanic and dealer not to worry about warming it up before riding - they all said the same thing that modern bikes don't need warming up like they did 20 years ago. Just take it easy for the first few miles or so before you go mad. Theory behind it is that if you go gentle and don't rev the tits off it you build up heat quicker in the engine and it does less wear than letting it idle too long (guess its like tyres too ie warm them up before going mad). [Funnily enough my last car dealer told me the same thing - idling to warm up puts more wear on the engine] I always start the bike with the choke on and ride off straight away at a gentle pace. Once I get to a set of traffic lights a few miles away from my house I normally turn the choke off as the engine has warmed up and it runs fine.

Got this in my HG newsletter and thought I'd share: The Ride Of Respect has been established for the bikers of Britain to salute our heroes, service men and women. In 2010 the ride through Wootton Bassett was 15,000 strong and raised an astonishing £110,834.00 for the charity, Afghan Heroes. This year’s ride is taking place on Mothering Sunday, April 3rd. Places however are limited, so If you would like to take part, you will need to register - click. A registration fee of £10 per person will be payable and will go directly to the charity - this is a spectacular event for a great cause and is not to be missed! The only official merchandise for this historic event is available from www. rideofrespect.co.uk

Mine has a Viper exhaust (race can) on, sounds good is not too loud (and comes with a removable baffle). You can hear them here; You can find where to buy here: http://www.bikeit.co.uk/dealeruk.asp

Where was the water pooling? Could be worth everyone else keeping an eye on? I've abandoned my 1300 until spring, relyng on my trust fazer to get about. You might want to ask HERE as well to see if anyone else has come across this?

I know, worst part of the 1300 is that ugly billboard - I reckon it knocks 10mph off our bike acting as a sail (they should have mounted it at the bottom of the render). I was going to move mine to the side but fitted the saddlebags instead, then was going to lay the plate down but then had to fit a rack and trunk for going abroad so wasn't sure if it's be visible... There's another good link HERE full of other mods which will keep you busy over winter...

THIS site might help - it has a Plate lay down mod for the standard plate. You may need additional lighting on the plate if you lay it down.

Went last Saturday - lots of bikes to look at and sit on, lots of stalls too BUT not sure it was any cheaper than online...? Maybe now its the end of the week they'll have a sale? Wasn't much happening either in terms of demos etc but guess that was due to the weather?

- me likes!

I thought of moving my no plate to the side but with the bags on there wasn't really space... The number plate is by far the worst design feature on the 1300 (particularly given the size of the UK plates). I still don't understand why they don't fit them to the bottom of the rear fender??

I've heard the Yammy one can snap if overloaded... checkout THIS one. It's from the US but reportedly very good. I had a local welder make me one, painted it black and put a trunk on top as seen HERE You could also look to LAY DOWN the nummber plate but not sure whether you could fit a rack over the top without obstructing it... Graham

THESE pics may help? I took them when I had to replace my carb joint... Taskmaster gave some good advice in another post, tie string aroung the speedo cables etc before passing through the tank (I used green string in the photos) - makes it easy to get them back on Good luck Graham

Not sure where to get one, but I'm sure THIS fella could make you one...

No Avon tyre for the 1300 http://www.avon-tyres.co.uk/motorbike/xvs-v-star-1300-tourer-midnight-star

19000 miles - WOW!!! I've heard of people going 'Darkside' [car tyres] on the 1300 to achieve that kind of mileage!! What's the secret?

Had a quick look at the specs of the tyres, seems the 1300 and 950 use the same size rear tyre. Many 1300 riders in the US have replaced the stock 170/70 16 rear tyre with a slightly larger 180/70 16 which by all accounts is cheaper, easier to source and corrects the speedo error. Not sure if its any help to you but could be food for thought...? (quick example here: http://1300tourer.com/content/2007-1300-tourer-looking-replacement-sizes-stock-tires - if you search that forum there's loads of discussions on this) I'd also recommend giving Woosters () a call, they're usually cheap and quick on delivery [their website is a bit pants for showing their stock]

Yes I do... I also watch for eye contact from drivers at junctions, put my hand up when filtering for the cars that move out of the way, ride defensively and make good use of road position. I always plan for the worst but hope for the best Just yesterday I was on the 1300 with my running lights turned on + wearing a hi-viz vest, clear day but I nearly had some idiot in a car not see me on a roundabout and pull out on me - she was approaching the roundabout too quickly, saw me last minute and slammed all on to stop. Now I'd seen her not looking at me + going to quick & had already started to brake just in case... I'm not sure louder pipes would have got me noticed anymore? Having said that, I want some loud pipes on my 1300, not because I think they'll save my life but I just prefer the noise of a bit more rumble...(if they help me get noticed great, but if I ride as though I'm a car I doubt they'll prevent me being run over) but I don't want to be too loud as I want my neighbours to still like me... I've just fitted my stebel horn to my 1300 (120dbs)- perhaps I'll ride pressing that & see whether I get noticed before my ears start bleeding

If my bike gets nicked then yes I can replace it, it is only metal. Do I wish the thief dead? Not really. If (s)he dies whilst riding a stolen bike (whether mine or not) do I feel sympathy for him? No I don't, but then I don't take pleasure in it either. Do I try and justify his actions? No I don't. Does this make me a bad person, no it doesn't. Do I see all criminals as victims of circumstances? No I don't, people have choices and have to face the consequences. If you steal bikes riding off without wearing a helmet and speeding around then what do you expect to happen? Unfortunately, if the police make it known that they won't chase people on bikes as its too dangerous then there is no deterrant - in fact it has the opposite effect: steal a bike, ride like a tit and the police will leave you alone! Of course this endangers the public. The thief does this and then dies as a result or worse kills someone else. Perhaps if the police adoted this attidute no-one would steal bikes and die as a result? Then no poor bike thief will end their life prematurely and we'll all sleep happier at night? Its harsh but I bet it would stop people killing themselves or other people on stolen bikes. To take another example, if someone rapes a woman whilst she's walking home, do I try and justify his actions? Maybe he was on drugs, or couldn't get a girlfriend? Do I feel sorry for him if one day a victim fights back and kills him, or the police arrive unexpectedly and in his attempt to escape he gets run over and dies, no I don't feel sorry for him. Actions have consequences.

Midnight61's cobras are loud...!!! They make the cruiser sound like a proper bike! Am definitely looking to replace my stock pipe with something with a bit more rumble. I wouldn't say loud pipes save lives, what saves lives is defensive riding, a good head on your shoulders and being prepared for the unexpected. However, what I have noticed when filtering (relatively slow speeds) is an occasional rev of the engine MAY get you noticed by car divers when they not paying attention.

No worries, remember if you try the link it's called a V-Star in the US. It could also be worth checking out ebay.com (US)as well, I got my OEM bags off US ebay delivered to the UK for around £600, they cost over £900 in the UK.

Only one I know is Yamaha but they hiked the price to £300 a few months ago Am only aware you can get them through you're dealer... though Roy @ Alchemy bikes may know different? Alternatively try http://www.yamahasportsplaza.com/pages/home/default.aspx it's in the US but may work out cheaper? Graham