Hamlesh

MOT has always been fine on mine - as the pipes are suitable for that type of bike, and other bikes of a similar type. If my gsxr 600 made that type of noise, it would fail! I always get an advisory issued with my pass cert though, just to say "Loud pipes" or something similar, thats just to show that the MOT tester has seen it and has passed it.

MOT stuff - not a pet dealer - check the regulations - it comes under VOSA's remit, nothing to do with councils. As long as there are no markings like "not for road use", "track use only", and its been through an MOT with the pipes on, theres little VOSA would do about it due to the way the MOT guidelines are worded for pipes.

Howdy and welcome. I've got some after market things on mine - will do some updated pictures when i've finished repairs / servicing and cleaning.

I'd suspect your fuel pump too - although it shouldn't take 20 seconds, mine runs for about 2-3 seconds. Check this; 1. Set kill switch to off position and turn key to off 2. Turn key to on 3. Turn kill switch to on (so you can start the bike) 4. You'll hear a "whirring" noise for a few seconds - thats normal 5. Press the ignition button and she should fire up If at stage 4 the noise goes on for ages, you might want to get it checked under warranty.

Oh and of course

Which ones were you looking to get? Daisy cutter / turn downs or the Jardine "slip on" type? With the turn downs, you need to completely remove the stock exhaust, all you need to that is a socket set/spanners / standard tools - BUT BE CAREFUL - depending on the age of your bike, your exhaust bolts and manifold might be rusted, you DO NOT want the pain of snapped exhaust bolts. If you aren't 100% comfortable fitting them yourself, my advise is to get a garage to fit them - less heartache all around! H

I need to do a decent HD pan shoot of the bike with a decent mic - might borrow my mates 5d mk2, that would give the youtubers something to drool over

Aye - I had a 5l metal jerry can strapped to the back of the sissy bar for that trip - had to make use of it only once though I get about 120 before I hit reserve too.

Anyone know if theres such a thing as a larger / higher capacity fuel tank for the XVS 650 Dragstar? A mate of mind has a Bullet, and hes recently fitted a higher capacity tank to his bike. One irritation on my road trip around Italy last year was having to stop for fuel every 120 or so miles! H

Good man Right, well I have some custom turn downs on mine - fitted them last summer. I can't remember where I ordered them from, perhaps custom cruisers (.com)? They are VERY LOUD... I know every custom rider thinks their bike is loud, but even down at the Ace, she is considered loud - and on some days, shes the loudest thing there. The bike has passed an MOT with those pipes on, although the advisory states the exhaust is loud - the place I go MOTs Harleys, and they didn't blink twice about it - the guidelines state that the bike should have exhausts and exhaust noise that are appropriate for other bikes of that type - something like that, but others on here can give you the specific wording. I use my bike a lot, never had any issues with the police (not saying you won't / will etc). In fact a lot of the time you get "the nod" of appreciation from the MC police and a little smile Pics; http://www.flickr.com/photos/hamlesh/sets/72157624064656546/with/4608242117/ Oh, one thing to note though, I had to fabricate some brakets, as the rear mount points didn't line up with the exhausts correctly. Those broke recently, and just this weekend we welded some new, much stronger ones, up - ready for this years mad euro trip

Congrats Be careful though, it'll make you grin so much that you'll be constantly cleaning bugs out of your teeth

Thanks I figured that may be a problem (and annoyingly theres no Haynes manual I can find for the bike, only the bigger 600 and 1100 cc versions ). Thanks for the pointer on the bulb, I'll track one down over the bank holiday weekend

Howdy, First time posting, recently bought a Yamaha XVS 125 Dragstar, my first bike, totally kicks ass, looking forward to passing my full test and getting the 600cc version. For now I have a query, what would be the best way of fitting more lights to the front of the bike? I do a lot of riding at night, and don't find the front light illuminates enough. Thanks