Clairepocalypse

Well. I basically haven't done anything with my bike since I made this post back in May. Shameful! My tax runs out today, and the bike isn't MOT'd, so I did an online SORN and brought it indoors. Because it's indoors I decided to drain the petrol out. What a laugh. I've seen babies and dogs drool more than came out of the bike. Nevertheless, I've stored what little petrol came out safely in a petrol can outside. On the plus side, I'm much more likely to do the jobs that need doing now that I can work indoors where it's warmish and dry. In theory!

Here's a picture of how my bike looks right now. I took some shots of the bits that need work but haven't loaded them on the computer yet. [sharedmedia=garage:vehicles:1163]

Hi everyone, I've just joined today and posted in the Workshop section and was prompted to say hello here too! I've been biking for quite a long time, but always on L plates. Every time I've been close to taking my test, something has got in the way. I've done my CBT quite a few times now! I have quite a lot of city riding experience (commuting to work, and taking lessons) but hardly any experience outside a 40mph limit. Only had one accident in all these years, which was 18 months ago, and put me off riding for a bit. I've only owned one bike. I've had my trusty SR125 for 7 years now (just got a fright when I counted that up and realised how long I've had him!). He is called 'Adam'. No, I don't usually name bikes and cars, but he came with a name which had been handed on through four previous owners and I felt I had to keep up the tradition. After I had my wee accident, I did ride for a while, but was quite nervous on two wheels and gradually just sort of stopped. So poor old Adam has been languishing outside my flat in the rain in Scotland for about a year. I put him up for sale a few months ago because I thought maybe I could buy a newer machine and get a fresh start. But although I've had a few enquiries, I haven't managed to sell him. So, I have decided to put a bit of work in and get him up and running again. Which brings me back to my post in the Workshop forum. This morning I washed him and took a bit of a stocktake of the jobs I could see needed done. [sharedmedia=garage:vehicles:1163]

Hi guys! Thanks for your replies! I'll say hello in the newbie forum as well, I was a bit shy this morning, but good shout. Just spraying on some chain cleaner, washing it off, and spraying on some lube made the rear wheel turn a bit better. Taking the chain off and cleaning it up might be an idea in the short term. I haven't worked out how to share pictures here yet, just joined today, so I'll work on that and share the pics I took this morning. I'm in Edinburgh :-) And finally, in terms of getting the bike started, I'm sort of stuck. Last year I bought an new battery but (annoyed and frustrated at this) the damn thing has gone completely flat and I need to get a jump to start it. I haven't got another vehicle, so I need to coordinate with a friend to do it, and it just puts me off! I have no idea if it's going to hold any charge. So, my logic was that if I could get the other bits and pieces done then I could get a new battery and try and keep it charged by riding regularly again. Basically I don't want to spend money and have the same thing happen again.

So, I've got this bike which I've left sitting out in the rain for years. It's in a sorry state. I've been out and given it a wash this morning and had a look at what needs doing, and cosmetically I've got the following list of jobs: Replace chain and sprockets - rusted to a lovely autumnal colour - needs binned and replaced Replace exhaust - matches the chain in rustiness. A replacement exhaust which isn't chrome would be perfect. Decide what to do about the wheels - the rims have rusty patches and would need some serious work to restore them, but cost of new wheels?! Would love to get replacement wheels which aren't finished with chrome. Front disc looks a tiny bit rusty but in quite good condition all things considered so need to do a bit of maintenance there Front forks look quite nasty. Not sure how serious but might need replacements Front lamp and the dash are cracked from a fall in the wind, and the clutch and brake levers are not very straight any more, and mirrors could do with replacing for some without rust and without kinks. Spots of rust on the brake pedal, clutch lever, rear grab rail, bars - this is hopefully easily polished away with some vinegar Rear shocks look shocking. I'd like to replace these with something that isn't chrome finished. That's about it so far, but I'm sure there'll be more once I get stuck in. Have I mentioned I've never done any maintenance on a bike before? I thought I'd join the forum and hopefully get some tips and advice while I do it. First off - does anyone have any advice on when to buy genuine Yamaha parts and when to get pattern parts? Second question - my first job is going to be the chain because then I can fire it up and see if it actually moves. So I wondered if anyone has advice on a good value choice of parts - I see that wemoto.com has 3 different sets to choose from but I don't know much about the relative benefits of each kind. I'm tempted to buy the cheapest, in case my project doesn't get much further, so then I won't have spent too much money! Advice and thoughts most welcome!