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Fitted rear indicators and finished the wiring yesterday. Everything works which is unusual for me. Waiting for some parts now, so I am off to weld up a lounger frame.

Happy days, well done

My bigger pictures are too big to upload on here. Anyway. Getting on with the wiring and refurb of the instrument binacle. Air filters fitted and the side panels plopped on...for now. Tank temp fitted, waiting for new silencers and chain and sprockets at the moment.

Is it actually adjustable? I'm not sure if it will make much difference. My eyes ARE however drawn to your primary drive. That's a LOT of wear. You need a new drive chain (primary, chain, secondary)..!

I read the book as a PDF a long time ago, the part which struck me the most saccadic masking which I never knew about. Really explains those moments when you're about to pull out of a junction thinking it's open and brake oh there's a car you didn't see. Makes you realise how much easier this is to occur to bike riders when we're a third of the size. Video here explains it, apparantly we're all completly blind for about 40mins a day due to this masking. Our vision is almost an illusion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOz7buiQ7G0 Oh forgot to add I spoke to someone last week who explained the concept of progression makes you safer because it forces you to plan ahead, commit to actions with confidence, reduce unpredictability, and stay in control of the traffic situation. It should be about smooth, safe efficiency, not speed for its own sake.

Today we have been maily doing. Front forks. Yolks and bearings sorted. Polished up the fork legs and fitted them along with the headlamp brackets. Next job is front mudguard and centre stand, then I can lift it down and fit the wheels. Tony

Frame being painted. Can't do anything with it now for 48 hours while the paint hardens. Tony.

Sounds like a goer!!! Get ON with it!!!

Finally after delays in delivery, the bikes and spares are due to be delivered weds morning. Yaaay.

Wow... I remember those seats!!! Welcome in, by the way...

I put copper slip on my axels. Seems to protect them...

Seeing the damage in there and on the ali casing I can only think that some object got flicked up by the front tyre and smashed its way into the casing. Now that the bike is happy again I may take the cover off one of these days and revisit that with some Belzona liquid metal. For now I must have the healthiest 33 y/o FJ1200 on the planet with new coils,leads,caps,plugs, refurbed carbs and adjusted valve clearances 🤣

I have updates ...... the damn thing is FIXED !!!!!! 🤗🤗 I ordered 3 things last week. A magnetic pick-up sensor with wire & plug only in Poland, a rotor in UK and a back plate with sensor and wire complete in Holland. The Polish magnetic sensor & wire only arrived yesterday and I was ready to take hammer & chisel to the blob only to find it crumbled at the lightest touch. Some dick had 'glued' the sensor on with window putty or badly mixed epoxy. Clean up, install new sensor, lead wire and plug behind the heat shield to the other side of the bike and plug into the loom. The bike ran smooth today and stationary at traffic lights quietly rumbles on tick over, no drama. I treated her to an oil change and a chain lube just now and all is good in Yamaha FJ1200 world. Thanks for bearing with me, your suggestions and commiserations 👏

Hello from Banff Scotland. Working on an 97 sr125. Been riding a Honda NTV Trike the past few years and now want to return to 2 wheels but need to do the CBT first hence the sr125, should have don my bike test back in the days when you could ride a 250 on a provisional, but gave up biking for 40 years after my uncle was killed on my 20th birthday in a bike accident he was only 21 & he and I were like brothers. I'm excited to get out and ride and live again, so... here I am.

Hi guys sorry for the delay in responding. The reason I asked about the spring length was that for years I have had trouble engaging neutral. With engine switched off it was easy. I now can engage neutral easily. Culprit 2 warped clutch plates (brand new) replaced with 2 of the original plates and works brilliant. Thanks for the input.👍till next time.

Hey all, it's finally happened! Yamaha recommends torquing the rear axle nut on the MT-09 to 108 lb-ft, which honestly seems pretty excessive. I’ve always stuck to 100 lb-ft using a proper calibrated torque wrench and I’ve still ended up with some thread wear on the axle and nut. I went to tighten the wheel and I had that horrid feeling of realising it turned to infinity. From what I’ve seen online over the years and now finally experienced myself, that high torque might be fine the first time with brand-new parts, but it’s not good if you’re adjusting your chain regularly. I think most of us are loosening and tightening the axle fairly often, and that kind of repetitive stress seems to slowly wear things down. I've learnt from this, as it's completely my own fault still, a 7 year old bike and I've never changed those parts. What I’m planning on doing now: Torquing to 95–100 lb-ft max, and that’s only if the threads are clean and in good shape. Swapping out the axle nut every once a year. If I use a bit of anti-seize, I will drop the torque a bit more maybe 90–95 lb-ft. So, when should you replace the Axle? I've researched this and can't find an actual recommendaion, I guess if the threads are still clean and not damaged, you can probably get years out of it, seems like 7 :) But if the nut doesn’t go on smoothly or you see any flattening, galling, or metal flecks… it’s probably time to bite the bullet and replace the axle. I’d now going to take it out and check it once a year. Curious to hear what others are doing with your bike, anyone using Loctite and going lower?

Both good looking bikes! I'm not keen on the yellow wheels, but I can't decide what colour I'd paint them. lol

Below is a consideration of that 'always wanting the bike you haven't got' feeling, which, thankfully, has now disappeared - anyway this was published in the VJMC magazine some time ago when I was in that unfortunate mode:- The possibility of the grass being greener on the other side of the fence is the motorcyclists bane. It is what we do, we look for that next or better bike then regret selling the one we had. A new bike to try out, talk about, tinker with, admire and be proud of. Seemingly, what could be nicer? Maybe this comes from one's early days, working up to a bigger capacity machine. There are any number of reasons why these thoughts might continue in later life. It may be to do with technological improvement, your preference changing, a chance to buy an earlier model that you liked or simply force of habit. The grass could be greener on the other side but then it might not be. Will that new to you bike make you happier? Conversely, is there anything wrong with the one you've got? I have three motorbikes; one works, one is half restored and the other as spares but I still search around, like a demented hoarder! It is hard not to be inquisitive about other bikes, to ask owners questions and compare both the look and performance of their bikes to your own. This fascination can go forward into the future or back to the past, for a given amount of money there is a choice between the latest look or nostalgia of yesteryear. Looking at motorbike advertisements can initiate a drift off into a personal reverie that may not have a firm grounding in reality. What it would it be like to own those other bikes and would they live up to expectations? Unfortunately, the need to be rational, practical and avoid financial excess drags one back into the land of the present. Magazine reviews, exhibitions and dealers showrooms don't help of course and maybe the bike you have has lost its novelty. There is a relentless quest in the back of our minds for that intriguing and elusive motorcycle, the mix of horse power, weight, handling, practicality and economy. So it goes on, round and round, in a confusing and unresolvable muddle of indecision. At a bike meeting, someone was talking about upgrading to another model when a club member said that they should try giving their own bike a clean and polish as he found that this helped him appreciate the bike that one has already. Taking it a bit further, you could invest in your existing bike, a rebuilt seat, superior tyres, spot lights or engine overhaul might restore interest in the old steed. Reinvigorated and revitalised for a further spell of useful service might satisfy the wonder lust for a while. Then that irritating little voice comes back urging you to check out some detail or other of a bike you saw mentioned somewhere and before you know it back come the day-dream, mulling over what might be available. You can call collecting motorbikes a hobby but really it is buying old motorbikes for its own sake. It's not about status, next year's design, new equipment or a more competent ride. With us, it's more about intrinsic attributes, fascination and elegance as opposed to the fast or the new. The difficulty is knowing when to stop. The majority of us have a limited budget and finite storage not to mention a partner who may take a dim view of family funds being depleted in this way. We have to be careful. Even then, owning a number of motorbikes can mean that some get neglected, you can only ride one at a time and it costs to keep several on the road. Restorations can be expensive and buying a machine as an investment means keeping the bike pristine by avoiding road salt and winter grime. Yes, one might be able to justify their purchase although it is tainted by the need to maintain it to a high standard. Most of us want everyday use and accept that conditions will not always be fine. Indulgence and temptation are terrible things and owning several motorbikes is a pleasant prospect. My boss had 17 classic motorbikes, gathered over time, then his second divorce and wife no 2 took them to auction. It didn't matter that he had built up the collection before he got married again. Message to Self: Forget the hype, stay off eBay and keep focussed on the existing bikes. In my case it is the style of bike that I have come to regard as my type of machine. I am lucky to own them and be fit enough to ride. I should be content with fettling and adjusting my bikes rather than hankering after more. Still, if the right one came along at the right price then it's hard to say no, of course it won't be one of those unreachable ones that I dream of unfortunately. They probably aren't the bikes that I think they are anyway and possibly, just as important can be the journeys themselves rather than rather than the bike so lets all enjoy the here and now, for the time being.

Seems about right...

wire wheels much nicer imo. one a donor? put all previous bikes you list down in your prolie, copy and past 😊

Well. These two. Both need work, but I am not sure about the US custom, looks weird to me...he he he . Bit more of an update on me... Started riding at 12 on an Ariel square four combo. rode a 650 panther (ilegaly at 16), then the usual run of bikes. NSU quickley, CZ 175 trail, Francis Barnet Falcon, XS250, Honda goldwing, Honda cd 175, cb 250, Suzuki GT 550. Then cars,wife and kids, the usual.

one of these, or rather two? did they come with wire wheels at all? best wishes and welcome on behalf of the management lol.

me with the thunderace about 18mths ago i think, maybe 2 yrs.. taken the stickers off since.

this is probably the way to go - no valve required. eBay UKYZF1000R Thunderace 1996-2003 Exhaust Downpipes Headers -...UK customers - please note this silencer is not road legal in the UK and will be marked Not for Road Use Exhaust Downpipes Headers Fits: Yamaha YZF1000R Thunderace 1996-2003 models. - Weight : 3.8... thunderace motorcycles are surprisingly inexpensive here in the UK, sportsbikes aren't the thing anymore, here at least - more adventure, naked, retro et al now.

Wonder what happened to my old YZF, sadly likely in a scrap heap somewhere now. Loved that bike, still one of the most fun bikes I've had.

I'd love to have a go with one, I can really see the benefit of commuting on one. I've been consiering changing my MT out for the last two years, have had enough of the whining triple noise. Sounds great when you're at high RPM around country twisties, but commuting to work my ears are crying. And yes I wear ear plugs. I'd love the quiet ride, BUT, I really feel the noise from motorbikes makes them safer. I still get people merge in to the side of me once a month, I'm on a loud bike, wear high-vis top, white helmet and try not to ride in blindspots and it still happens. I bet accident rates would skyrocket if everyone moved to electric bikes.

Looks like you've got your original exhaust on. How's your EXUP doing?

I test rode one of the sportsbike style SOLO bikes (full fairing). It did everything I wanted it to and it was like s**t off a stick. But there was no soul to it... It was merely something to get you from point A to point B. Would be good as a commuter bike. The problem is, when you view them like that, who cares what they look like? Who cares whether it's sportsbike styled or cruiser styled. Why would you pay extra for styling or extra acceleration???

Teenage Memories There was a gaggle of us back then, I had a battered Honda twin 125 of around 1963 vintage that somebody had sprayed white, what were they thinking of? It didn't go that well but it was 'alright', main thing I recall is how smooth it rode after my jerky Bantam. My friend had a new Honda 90 SS which seemed quick to us. My other friend had a scooter with dampers on the front wheel and his cousin had an earlier model that had been bored out to 200cc. Our motley gang was occasionally supplemented by a small bloke on a British bike that had a side car frame attached, sadly he died before getting much older, through cancer I believe. Then there was a German chap - funnily enough on an MZ 250, who swore a lot - I got the impression that he didn't realise what some of the swearing he did actually meant. Finally, there was a BSA C15 boy who was always fun to be around, his mum and dad were similar. The crew with their seven assorted machines would bunch up and travel from town centre to town centre, visit cafes there but mostly just hang around and bump into other not dissimilar rabbles. Every now and then there would be a spontaneous trip to the coast. Honda SS and BSA were ahead of the game as they might bring their then molls who looked good and giggled. Once, when Honda SS was one up, he charged into a huge spongy hedge out of exuberance. There was another chap, Honda 350 twin, who lived further way and didn't join the evening sprees or the coastal trips but was there albeit, in the background. He got an apprenticeship that was time in industry so to speak and time on a sandwich course. It involved periods of long commutes,. I remember the way he would stuff newspapers down his bike over trousers and jacket in an attempt not to freeze. 350 was cleverer than the rest, he'd continuously mess with the engine, I must say that it ran very well indeed. We wasted the time that should have been spent studying for A levels. Fortunately for us, there were more opportunities in those days and we eventually gained reasonable jobs. Probably the most surprising was Honda SS who became an auditor having been a poor mathematician all his life. Cannily he married the girl mentioned above who was gifted in the maths department. I got local work initially for the ready money but I could see the future in the staff, my grades were good enough for further education and there were grants available. I took the bike to college, 200 miles away, the headlight wasn't up to the task and it got robbed of parts one night. I got a anti social hours holiday job in a bakery towards the end and saved for another 125, this time a Honda trail bike. When the course finished jobs were harder to get, I sold the motorbike for lack of funds and used a bicycle. In due course I was taken on and that involved a rail journey which was OK when it ran but this was a period of strikes, signal failures and 'driver shortage' disruptions. Fed up with cancelled trains I was pleased to accept an MZ125 from SS who was by now established. he had been using the bike for site visits yet claiming car rates and had now moved on to an office based position. Latter I took out a bank loan and upgraded to a Honda 400/4 and thereafter others. A driver abruptly turned into me but then the roads seemed less threatening or maybe I worried less. SS is no more, 350 is a recluse, Scoot with dampers lives in an executive enclave and 200 is divorced/shunned apparently. I don't know about the other two, I've lost touch. I expect you have a history that isn't too different except you may have been more adventurous, gone abroad on your bikes for example and had a more upmarket experience but, at the end of the day, it's that basic thrill and freedom that comes with motorcycling that's the universal pull. Cars keep you dry and safer, however they aren't so raw and sensual. There's danger with a motorbike but there's being outside, leaning and being part of the scene as opposed to observing it. Bikes are integral to our world.

Nice read there Mr B, and many thanks for taking the time to write that out, all to common is a few lines with little content, I'm glad to see there are still some of us that like to write a little bit more. I for one can get carried away with an explanation, and it takes time to compose and write it out. I'm not particularly quick on the keyboard so i appreciate your efforts, well done sir. Nice to see that you owned a 400/4 too. I've still got mine and i like to think it still looks good. What area did all these memories come from,? and what coast are you referring to? I'm down on the South Coast and have not really ventured far from my home town of Brighton, and still live not far from there. I have a similar story to tell, with a group of fellow early riders; Vespa 50 and Honda SS 50, along with Fizzy and Crazy Pete on a Lambretta. Maybe I'll write it down one day. In the meantime, I'll re read your post for some more inspiration. Many thanks.

So Roger the Bodger was a previous owner of the bike!! Whilst his putty job got it going it didn't fix it.....then you bought it!....and now the Wallet Emptying Barsteward is finally fixed. Congratulations. Well done that man. You deserve a medal for perseverance............medal....medal!! says Mutley 👍👍

Well, as some of you may have noticed, there have been one or two slight, minor, hardly noticeable changes to the Forums... I'm sorry, I'm English, sometimes we don't realise that Sarcasm Mode is engaged! So, long and short of it, I blame Alex, he broke it!!! lol No seriously, there's been an upgrade to Invision v5, and it obviously hasn't gone as smoothly as possible. I got this message from Alex last night: Hi Paul, Hope all is well. I've seen your comments on the board but can't respond! The upgrade to v5 of the forum software has been a disaster. It was fully tested in the same environment, applications etc. I also waited for two revisions after the v5 went live to ensure we didn't have this issue. All testing went perfectly. However on rollout and after migrating the databases, I discovered there's an issue with certain member groups breaking the WYSIWYG editor. I'm in one of those groups. Invision have a ticket on this and they've discovered it's a remnant from v2 of Invision in how the member groups are allocated. They have a fix coming but we just have to wait. They gave me some solutions to try I could do manually but none of them worked. An absolute pain in the ass. Alex So, for those of you wondering, it's being worked on and hopefully things should be fixed soon!

Hi all, I'm Gary and I have just joined this forum. I am a proud owner of a yamaha xvs 950 midnight star.

thanks, i have messaged alex under the contacts facility on the home page (bottom) but no reply. Any other way to personal message him please. I'm with peter james insurance and I would like to resign the vjmc membership i have in favour of another club to still benefit from discount. Bikesure are a brokers - i got a quote but assuming the discount is around 15% it won't match what I have already unfortunately. I've had a blue/black 1967 thunderace for just under 3 yrs, in the process of selling my thundercat as I wasn't using it. the ace is actually a less practical bike but I just like it and use it in preference. Ian

I'm not normally a 'name & shame' person, but that's terrible! And I'm not sure on our rules for that either... So probably better not to. But the point is, it doesn't matter how many people have 'had a go' with it, it's work, and if he can fix it, it just shows his skills. What I'm reading out of that is: "I'm not a proper mechanic, am crap at diagnostics and can only swap out parts hoping the problem will go away." (which is partly what you've been doing, but he's supposed to be the professional!).

I used to be older than I looked, but then I got fat and bald! rofl

Don't be so sure, I'm older than I sound! 😛 lol

I know about standard bulbs on bikes but not LED's, so go with Snakes posts for advice, however, i did a search on the forum using the search feature at the top and found quite a bit, but this post may be of some help, especially as snake also mentioned the bulb on the dashboard. see the last entry in this post.

Merry Xmas NEO 👍

You could possibly do with an external mike for your camera. You have a rather resonant voice like me, there's a lot of reverberation on the audio... Other than that, an informative video (that's actually in focus!!!).

Hey all been a while since I’ve been on here. I picked up a 1979 rx125 that had been under someone’s house for many years. 29000km on the clock. Seized front brake hydraulics. Totally worn out chain and sprockets. Engine has compression but crank seals have been leaking as gearbox oil was low. Bike has compression and spark but will tear down the engine and rebuild it properly. have been degreasing parts in ultrasonic cleaner and just generally tidying it up. so far I’ve rebuilt front brake hydraulics front forks. Replaced front and rear wheel bearings and seals. New sprockets. New tyres. I went with Bridgestone g511 front and rear. Next up is engine job. For anyone who wants check out my (mediocre) YouTube channel where I’m talking about it a bit more. https://youtube.com/@ejgrae1989?si=gExibA0efaB_JsgV going to do an updated video for engine strip down process next. pland for the bike are to get it running in stock format then, port the cylinder and build an expansion chamber. I’ll swap on a 28mm flat slide too. cheers

Giving someone a Thanks gives one point! and putting up a post gives you 5 points. Merry christmas 🎅

Well, you're a regular now... I'd probably get a lot more points if I posted pictures, but, I'm lazy... lol I don't even know what all the categories are for earning points!!!

Hihi, welcome in! Being a full member is mainly the ability to chat in the extra members only section and getting a discount on your Bikesure insurance... But, considering the low, low price, why the hell not? rofl

I will eventually get the hang of using this bloody web site!!..lol