Cov_AL

Nice list so far! Are you ready for my (longwinded) tale? First stupid thing that springs to mind is - On a lovely (scorching hot) sunny june day, sky is blue - clouds a distant memory... Perfect weather for a gentle spin round the scenic parts of the county. - here's the silly part - Wearing trainers, shorts, short sleeve shirt, possibley-legal "german army style" helmet and a pair of aviators. I looked (and felt) SO cool!! Bombing along country lanes with a shit-eating grin on my face! The lane was carved out of sandstone in parts - and here is where I realised how stupid I'd been! Going round a blind bend (a little too fast) - figured i should slow down in case something was coming the other way... Now these were the days before I realised that, when braking hard on a corner you need to counter-steer more. I braked, and braked a bit harder... "Oh dear, I am going a bit quick" is the polite way of saying what I was thinking while I leave a small patch of my back tyre on the road... The bike is trying to stand up, it's running wide (towards the BIG sandstone wall!) I drop off the tarmac, onto the dusty side of the road, handlebars shaking on the rough terrain, heart beating so hard I think it's gonna come outtta my chest, mind thinking "you f@#king idiot!" AND... I steady the bike, pull out of the corner and glide to a gentle stop. then breathe... and look down with a puzzled look on my face. Why am I covered in sand? where did it come from?? So I turn the engine off, get off and wonder back up the road - to the scene of the crime as it were. I see dust on the floor, a streak of rubber on the tarmac and a light dusting of sand. Strange? then I turn around, and it slowly dawns on me as I see a bright scar on the wall - I jog back down to my bike to find a lump of sandstone on my highway/crash bars! I can't believe how close I came to seriously hurting myself, and how stupid I was to be wearing that whilst riding!

If it's not one thing - then it's another! This evening I changed my brake levers over and fixed the pillion seat bolt. Then on the way home my speedo cable snapped!!! Dammit!

Please don't get me started - it's too painful... I'd rather walk than even buy oil from the local "bike shop" idiots (the next nearest bike shop is a dealership, they know what they're talking about and the head mechanic is stella! ) also - watch out for "helpful mates" who cause your bike irrepairable damage. Then charge you for a lift coz your bike has broken down! If you work on your bike yourself - then you need to be sure of what you're doing (read and re-read the manual to be sure) and double check your torque settings! My advice - Get to know your local mechanic and trust your instincts. If you don't like him, don't let him work on your bike... My mech is called Mike, he knows my name when I walk in the shop and remembers what bike I've got as well as the main problems I've had with it. When I've got a problem that I'm not sure about, I'll pop in and ask him about it. He'll give me free advice because he works for a big dealership, and doesn't need to make extra work for himself. He might charge £40 an hour, but I feel like I still owe him a pint... I do most of the work on my bike myself, but I don't begrudge giving him jobs as easy as an oil&filter change when I'm just too busy to do it. There are good mechanics out there!

It throws me off a bit when you yanks say "quart" is that quarter of a gallon? It doesn't help that US and Imp gallons are different too... It's a good idea to read through the entire section before you start a job (It's very frustrating having to order and wait for a part or finding that you haven't got all the tools you need, while halfway through doing it!)

I for one, was happy with my CBT. Before that day the only thing I had ridden was an old moped on some fields for about half an hour when I was 13. Perhaps I just had a better instructor? http://www.motag.com/

Good point, I should have made that clearer. When I said I meant your 3 quarts and no more.

The CBT is Compulsory Basic Training It's very rare for someone to "fail" as it's not really a test... Although If the instructor thinks you are going to be unsafe they can ask you to come back for another days training. It's more of a permission to learn to ride, as you can't have someone sit next to you like you can in a car. It was introduced as a means of reducing accidents on the road caused by inexperienced drivers - this it has done. Learner car drivers stall, forget their indicators and are (imho) as much of a danger to other road users if not more... I did my CBT about 4 years ago and passed my full bike test (direct access) over two years ago - and I'm still learning -but it all comes with experiance... As for learning on a 50cc/125cc - I felt SO much safer when I got a more powerful bike.

Ooh, haven't been for a couple of years... I'll look into it!

Trailing the rear brake can help cornering, but I read this post as less to do with cornering and more more concerned with "braking hard when not in a straight line" if you see what i mean... So Jron - has this helped? Do you know about counter-steering? Do you normally trail the rear brake? From your post, you seem to be asking for a way to adjust you bike - not critisism (and friendly advice) for your riding style. A twisted frame or wheels out of alignment can cause steering problems - But I don't think that is the case here.

Haha, I found this by googleing - it talks you through the process for your bike. As for tools, you should have a small tool kit that comes with the bike which will do the job - However it's extremly advisable to get a torque wrench (try here) You'll probably also want to get some socket extention bars like these: and deep sockets or specific spark plug sockets (foam rubber insert or magnetic type) I've bought tools from http://www.toolshopdirect.co.uk/, and found them to be quick and cheap. Hope this has helped.

pt 1 - when you replace the oil drain plug, it's advisable to change the copper washer with a brand new one pt2 - when you replace the oil filter, it will require a *little* more oil (not double though!) pt3 - When you put the oil in, it's cold so won't flow around the engine easily (through the new filter, or upwards - as the oil filler point isnt the highest point of the engine) Solution? - After putting your measured amount of oil in, start the engine and let it run for a few seconds, the turn it off and check again (if this isn't possible stick it in first gear and turn the rear wheel by hand). This should help you get a better reading of the new oil level. has this helped?

but every chance you will go wide! Do you know about countersteering?

so many questions - and for the most part the answer is plasticote "152" woodstove/BBQ paint (which claims to be heat resistant up to 425°c) - I first got it from B&Q (albeit at £15 a pop!) I've seen it at wilkos and my local "the Range" both about a fiver. (I felt proper DONE, i got through three cans from B&Q when I first converted my chrome pipes to black - £45 instead of £15!!!) There are other similar paints - like VHT, I know someone that swears by Fast Black and I've just picked up a can of "hotspot - high temperature" which claims to be heat resistant up to 650°c! (not used it yet though!) as for the radiator - if you want to do a really good job, take it off, plug it up and stick it in a sand blaster to remove all the debris and privious paint - then re-spray it. and the blistering under the paint - I'd strip back the paint, deal with the rust (wire brush and sandpaper or sand blaster if you have access to one) then re-paint.

I'll agree that the best method is to brake before the bend, However being brave/stupid means leaning more *edit - when you've gone past the point you should have started braking* - I've been using counter steering for years, and all is fine untill you panic and brake, which makes the bike sit up, which makes you corner wider, which isn't good if you were braking in a hurry... I realised recently that when braking on a corner, counter steering was going out of the preverbial window. I'd like to re-state here that braking early is the best method - BUT - When I found myself braking hard and late in a corner I pushed harder on the bars to countersteer more and therefore lean more. This seemed to balance out the force making the bike want to "sit up" and I got a very nice, controlled action (bit scary doing it for the first time though). Be careful! As you slow down, the force making the bike sit up decreases - and you don't want to end up sliding along the road! As has been said above - a track day is a great (and fun) way to increase you riding skill. To cap it off - Ride at a speed relative to your skill level, brake early, Don't try this at home (but if you do take some spare underwear, lol)

For a dealer, changing the brake fluid should be a five minute job - shouldn't cost much. Doubt they'll do it under warrenty though.

There are a lot more toys and shiney things available from the states for the "V-star" than if you look for "Dragstar" often (well used to at least) works out cheaper to get stuff sent over the ocean than just up the road!

I'd be one of those star owners - I've been looking at the 900a and wondering if I could somehow fit the rear fender off a custom draggie (V-star)...

I'd never heard of a restricted speedo before, what a stupid idea!

Not yet, might get a chance to do it thursday or friday... it doesn't stop me riding it though! in other news - last year I bought some levers with skulls on (like these) The Chrome is flaking off already - I can't remember the ebay seller or manufacturers name, but if you see these, it's probably worth giving them a miss...

I don't think he deserves the lube! I'm not remotely interested in the fz6-n, so didn't even read the post - Maybe if it had been titled "Any advice before buying a fz6-n?" I might have read it and even thrown my two cents in... I saw the title and figured someone had just taken a pic of their bike or a nice custom one.

Kangaroo effect? Is there forward to back play in the forks? (there shouldn't be!) All brake discs have some warp in them, it's how they work - but I'd suggest asking someone that knows what they're doing and has the right tools to have a look at it for you...

Might be worth contacting the VSOC, There are a LOT of 535's in the club - someone is bound to either have the part, or know where you can get the part you need, and probably at a good price too...

^this^ The brakes are THE most important part of any vehicle.

One thing you could try is putting a cable tie or elastic band on overnight to hold the brake lever back against the bars... If there is any air in the system, it should let it escape. My first priority would be to change the brake fluid though...