Mr OCD

Avon Storm ST Rear with Avon Viper sport front ... currently have done 12k miles on them and they just ready for replacement

Thundercats handle very well if the suspension is working properly as intended! Tyre pressures should be 36psi front and 42psi rear as you will find out from most tyre manufacturers sites... If its misbehaving suspension wise then spend £40-£50 getting it setup by a suspension specialist such as KAIS ... it makes a huge difference to the ability of the bike. If the front forks have never had an oil refresh I would get that done at a bare minimum as its cheap enough and makes a nice difference. I'll post my settings up later on if get time

Cheers fella... I think I will just take a trip down to main dealer tommorrow and order new studs / gaskets and see how that turns out. I think the main reason for using bolts instead of studs though was to ensure we didnt strip the thread on the helicoil?

I'm not sure where I would find the studs hence why we used bolts... I did mention using spring washers to my mechanic but he didnt seem to think they were needed... Surely the loctite would burn off? I'm not going to use the bike till this is sorted as I dont want to damage the engine

I'm not having much luck with the downpipes on the Cat... the issue is that they keep loosening off the cylinder head so start blowing. This all started when I needed to remove the downpipes due to several holes in them... they were cleaned up, welded and painted but upon removal three of the top row of studs snapped... so these were heli-coiled with new M6 threads and then bolts used to tighten up. After 100 miles they had loosened off so much that I lost a bolt so this time we tightened them up so much we snapped one of the heli-coil inserts so had to do it again ... Now after 70-80 miles the bikes blowing again from the cylinder head area and I suspect they have loosened off again... Can anyone help? - I'm getting REALLY peeved off now as the bikes been apart twice in the last two weeks and the ticking noise is driving me round the bend!!! I'm supposed to be doing a big rideout on Sunday too... Any help appreciated...

TCat Owner here also... ALWAYS run 36F/42R... I run Avon Storm ST down the rear with a Avon Viper Sport front just to give the front end a bit more grip - feels superb on the road. This setup was recommended by an Avon distributor... its what alot of the Hayabusa boys go for apparently... £180 fitted to bike...

I reckon you will be fine on the 1000... its not as though its a sports 1000cc... but a low powered (for a 1000cc) touring type bike... as long as you take it easy I cant see any real problems.

What was it like before the bike was restricted?... some kits are pretty poor. If it had just a race can on it I doubt it would have been setup for it as they dont really need it ... if its had K&N as well then its very possible the carbs have been fettled... But personally I would remove the restrictor kit and see what its like then... some bikes dont like being restricted.

It already has awesome tyres...

Over the next week or so planning to completely overhaul the brakes on my bike... got new calipers, MC rebuild kit, braided lines with SS banjos and plenty of DOT 5.1 high performance fluid... They will be like brand new but I'm not sure whether to buy sintered pads or whether to stick with the standard Yam OE pads? Can anyone advise? - Front pads are nearly brand new OE... not sure on the rears... I want awesome brakes...

I'm usually up there most weekends with the Wife but I'm off on a roadtrip with a mate Sunday to Northampton...

I'm in Bolton ...

I also ride daily in any weather... but have only been riding nearly a year and covered thousands of miles in that time... this weekend I went to visit my parents on my bike... a nice ride down the A49... and had four rossi wannabees on GSXR's come hurdling past me at well over a ton on a blind bend nearly taking me out as the last one pass barely made it... Its the same with anything these days - there are always a couple of spoil the fun for everyone else

Just thrown a wobbler at mine as it died in the middle of a busy roundabout tonight due to flat battery... it seems the oxford heated grips are killing the battery... as turn them off and bump start the bike and its been fine since!! Just let the Wife have a go for the first time and she likes the bike not the throttle... too much slack apparently - I do agree but have enough to sort out with this bike... How do you adjust the slack in the cable?

Thanks for your reply Chris... glad its not just my bike then... It has done 19k miles and has been looked after well it seems but finding some of the quirks odd thats all... I will sync the carbs myself... done this on my old bike every 3k miles which is OTT but then I do tend to be with preventive maintenance... Main Dealer want £280 for a full service and carb sync plus another £100 for valve adjustment... they wont be getting my money put it this way... Apparently valve clearances only need doing at 25k miles then every 15k miles on this bike according to Yamaha? - Does that sound right to you? I already have a rear paddock stand so will look around for a cheap front one... Cheers Scott

Hi All, Got a few more questions regarding my new ride ... apologies if they seem a bit retarded but I like to know all is as should be... - When warmed up the engine seems to 'chug' on idle... revs stay between 1200-1300rpm and it revs smoothly and freely... it just doesnt seem to idle as smooth as my old Bandit 600... is this normal? - It doesnt start without a little use of throttle... is this normal? - Does anyone have decent suspension settings for this bike? - I have no idea what they are on at the moment but the front forks feel soft - Do the valve clearances need doing often on these bikes? - I believe they are shims? - Also how do I get the front wheel off the bike ... as in how do I get the bike up in the air? Any help would be appreciated Cheers Scott

Thanks for that... the calipers have freed off now the bike is being used daily... got some braided hoses coming this week then I'll be stripping the calipers down again with new seals, etc... Downpipe has been welded up for now so does the job but I will try and source a stainless one for sensible money... the downpipes were removed last December as it needed a new sump (cracked it overtightening the sump plug) so they shouldnt be too difficult to swap. Does anyone have a Thundercat here who can tell me if theirs starts on the starter button? - I have to give it some throttle then press starter before it spins into life - is this normal? - my old Bandit never needed throttle to start neither does my Wife's TT600 so seems odd to me... How do I find out fault codes on these bikes? - appparently the rev counter will tell me?

Hi All, I have just bought myself a 99 Yamaha Thundercat so thought would join the forum. I got the Thundercat for a tidy sum due to it needing a couple of small jobs... one is that the front brake calipers are binding... the other the downpipe has a tiny pin hole in it... Now tonight I stripped down the calipers and had problems shifting the pistons... I managed to clean them up and get the pistons back into the body but they are still very stiff so I am going to source some others but for now I need to put them back on the bike but I'm having MAJOR problems bleeding them... can anyone help? - not had issues bleeding bike brakes before but these arent having it... the Master cylinder doesnt seem to be sucking fluid down... Regarding the downpipes do they rot badly in general? I have had a look at mine and I can weld up the small hole then strip / paint but I'm thinking maybe replacing the whole lot might be an idea instead although not cheap Any help appreciated