LivetoRide

This idea has also been on my mind over the last few days, just thought it'd be a bit of a different and nice touch. The one I saw that looked the nicest was the Acewell 2856AB, (i may be dreamin as it's a little expensive but hey) was about 70mm in diameter. Wouldn't it be possible to make some sort of bracket that decreases the hole in the original clock holder so that it could sit in it?

Cool, thanks, thats pretty much what I thought. We'll see when it arrives this week!

I had a Virago 125 about a year ago, and came across this myself. When I spoke to Yamaha about it, they told me it was a thermo sensor. Now I have no idea what this is doing in a virago, I didn't think they were that complicated, but hey, thats what they told me *shrug*.

Similarly, I've been looking at a tank for my 1999 dragstar, the tank is listed as 2000/ 2001, and my local yamaha say that all they know is that there is a difference in the part numbers. The guy on eBay tells me the only reason he listed it as 2000/ 2001 is because of the colour code, and that it's the same as a '99 tank. Does anyone know if there is a difference or not? Thanks.

Hi guys, got a technical question for you.... I've got a 33BHP restricted 650 Dragstar, and I've been thinking of putting after market pipes on it to get rid of that standard whisper it makes with the factory pipes and get it more umph. Spoke to someone today about it, and they said because it's 33BHP restricted, I should wait until I can unrestrict it before changing the pipes because "it'll mess with it". I've been looking at some pipes on eBay previous to this, and messaged the guy asking if I need to re-jet the carbs to put them on, and he said he didn't and no problems, so probably no need. Will this change because my bike is restricted to 33BHP? And why? Can anyone explaining what this "messing" is, and how severe or unsevere it is? Thanks for your time, and happy riding! Rich

Yeah if I buy it from a dealership then I'll get them to do it for free, I can see how that's reasonable. I was thinking of buying privately, but buying from a dealership could work out cheaper.

That's helpful =) where did you get that information from? And yeah, I'm not doubting that the 650 can operate easily at 33, and the reduction of 5mph isn't an issue for me as I'm not looking for speed, just looking into whether it's necessary to spend the £250 on a garage adding a washer to my bike... And yes, very good point... One of the reasons I decided I wanted a 650 Dragstar is because it was shaft driven, not chain.... Duh me...

Got a hole in one of my pipes leading to my exhaust on my rear cyclinder. For the first month, it was great! A ridiculously loud 125 Virago! Then I heard a big bike go past, and the sound has such a better quality. I also agree that loud bikes don't really help save lives too much, if the person isn't concentrating they're just not concentrating, I've still been pulled out on a dozen times with my bikes sound. It's getting fixed thursday.... =P I'll prefer the extra compression and slightly better performance...

Yeah, as a cruiser rider I'm not especially interested in speed, or the extra 5mph I'll be able to do if it isn't restricted, it's more in my interest to save the £250 quid to get it restricted! However after a few hours of phone calls and rooting around, I've managed to find the answer to this conundrum... I started by ringing Falcon Insurance, who gave me the best quote (£277!). They said that they do require proof that it is 33BHP, but that this doesn't have to come from a garage, a Dynojet printout is valid, as long as it has the registration number written on it, is perfectly valid as proof. Admittedly this can't be the case for all insurers, but Falcon seemed to think it was ok. I then rang the police, who checked with their supervisors, who basically came back with the answer: "We don't know". They said their inclination would be that it depends on the patrol that pulls you over (which as Ttaskmaster said, is unlikely on a cruiser unless your being a lunatic), and that they may refer to the manufacturers guidelines. However when posed with the question, well what if I produced a Dyno report stating it was 33BHP, they froze up and said they didn't know that much detail, and to ring the DVLA. The DVLA refused to interpret the law, instead continuously stating over and over again that it had to be 33BHP, and that they didn't know too much detail, as suspected. I then rang a localish garage with a Dyno, who anticipated what I was going to ask as soon as I told them I was 18 and wanted to ride a 650cc. They said they were happy to test it, and to provide me with a document stating that my bike was operating at 33BHP. So my overall conclusion, is that unless you're acting like an idiot, the police aren't going to pull you anyway, and that even if they do, there's so much confusion between themselves and the DVLA that they aren't going to say no to an official garage report stating that it is in fact 33BHP, and they aren't going to impound your bike so that they can test it themselves unless they really want to get you off the road. The DVLA's answer seems to be that it has to be 33BHP, how exactly it arrives at that point seems to have nothing to do with them, so if my 650 is only producing 33BHP, even though it's meant to produce 39, they aren't going to complain. As for insurance, they require proof but some are less picky than others, and some garages will certify that your bike is producing 33BHP if it is. As for Shep639's comment about how too many other factors come into account for a Dyno to be an accurate an everlasting report, this is valid and I accept it, however, this also applies to restricted bikes, as I know a woman who once had a 883 Harley, restricted to 33BHP from 41BHP, which had then been staged 1'd, making the restriction pretty much void.... As for what I'll actually do when I get my 650, I don't know, but I'm not sure if I see the point in spending £250 on getting my bike restricted, when it'll probably take it well below 33BHP due to wear n' tear on the engine, chain etc anyway - the last thing I want to do is create the biggest 125 the world has ever seen =P Thanks for all your help, and any discussion and comments appreciated.

Hi there, my name is Rich, I'm 18, and I've just discovered this forum, looks like I should have discovered this place a long time ago! I currently own an XV Virago 125 and am taking my full licence at the end of June. After this I'm hoping to move onto a 650 Dragstar, and was planning to restrict this down to 33 BHP from the 39BHP that are in it's specifications. However, many people I've spoken to claim that the BHP as claimed in the specs of the bike, is measured at the crank, not at the wheels, and that the chance of a 650 that's been out of the factory pulling off 39BHP at the wheels is highly unlikely, and that it's far more likely to be under 33BHP. However, I'll still need proof of this to show to my insurance company. As such, I've been advised to get one, and take it to a rolling road to test the output at the wheels, and then get proof of this from a printout and provide that to the insurance company. Has anyone got any views on whether this is a valid way of proving to the insurance companies the BHP output of the bike? Does anybody know whether BHP specifically has to be measured at a certain point on the bike? And finally, has anyone ever tested a 650 Dragstar on a rolling road before, and what was the BHP output? Thanks for your help in advance! Rich