Ttaskmaster

I do have a sense of humour, ya know!! Somewhere......

I don't make a big thing of these jobs.... One round through the head, confirm dead and that's it. If you want torture, seek Torquemada. If you want the job done quickly with minimal fuss so you can just get on with life - I'm yer man. I must have misread that - I thought Barwell was the one who wanted the shooting done?

No, but you may rent me and my impressive arsenal. Ammo and expenses are included in my rates

I'd been trying to forget that song, you bastard!!!!!

Well, having just done the search on their webshite myself..... Bike: FZR1000R EXUP (3LG) Year: 1989 onwards Shock Type: N Part Number: M62070 From those references, I deduce that it's a monoshock you need, which is: HAGON MONOSHOCK CODE N ADJUSTABLE SPRING AND DAMPING Cost: £275 plus P&P since you're outside the UK. I'm guessing that even with shipping costs, import tax and whatever else, it's still far cheaper than the $739 option. Oh, and guess what - I have a Hagon Type N monoshock fitted to my bike, albeit a slightly different size. IMO, they are amazing and work fantastically. Well worth the money!!!!!

What, the dead people are not happy? Is your "Aunt Maude" Jennifer Love Hewitt then, or something? How does she know they're not happy? Are they speaking to her? He is..... He should call me instead. I am far better placed than the Army - For starters, I don't have to fill out any forms before I go do anything and if there's any kit I need, I can just go buy it. I don't get shafted by some bean-counting bureaucrat. Seriously though - I am very close to Newbury. If you have a problem, PM me and I'll see what I can do, Starfish.

Only the dipstick riding it Nay, I jest. It's just too good a word-play not to miss

Mine and Claire's have both gone at some point. It happens a lot. Trouble is that all the road crap gets kicked up off the front wheel, straight onto the bracket. There's a lot of weight bouncing around there on the thin metal and so eventually it goes. Usually just above the single bolt. When it goes, have a decent mechanic weld it back together back and front with some decent work. I do believe Yamaha fucked this up, along with locating the oil sight glass and a couple of other things. Understandable since the 650 (IIRC) was the first model designed to replace the Virago, with others following thereafter. The 1100's worst "design feature" is that you have to take off the exhaust to access the oil drain, though you can get an aftermarket adapter kit.

I reckon the dim indicators are either just crap custom parts, or there's a wiring fault. Personally, I'd advise re-installing original parts, or parts patterned from originals. These can be had from breakers yards, found on eBay, Fowlers, PartFinder or possibly even from Yamaha themselves. Either that, or find some custom parts that will fit well enough. Most decent mechanics should be able to sort out the wiring and fit whichever parts you settle on.

Personally, I'd leave the bike unmodified. You'll have better re-sale prospects and get better money for it when you move up to a bigger bike.

Depends how rich, skilled and/or adventurous you are There will be luggage, different coloured parts, performance altering*, louder pipes, aluminium parts, paintwork, lights etc etc. You can go so far as to mount machine guns if you really want - Honestly, it's possible and I know exactly how to.... wouldn't recommend it, though. What sort of things did you have in mind? *Notice I said 'altering', as they won't neccesarily be an improvement

I always check my PMs first, so I've just seen this thread. Welcome to the club, Mikey!!! Get a copy of Bike Trader - The first few pages detail all the general bits to check when buying a 2nd hand bike. Mine has taken a serious beating and is still blasting along as happy and solid as ever!!!!! Cheeky..... Actually, I have something better - A woman who rides one!! I have a 1999 Custom, Claire has a 2000 one. How cool is that, eh!!!!!

Let me guess..... and this is just a guess, now...... The ill-located L-Bracket that holds it to the frame had split, snapped or rusted through, providing a fucked-up earth? It's a common thing on the Drags. Where's Mikey? I just mentioned this, didn't I?

Classic simplicity.

There's a whole scene of people who build their own diesel bikes. Mate of mine goes to some of the shows.

How - Dunno. I and my elderly neighbours prefer my quiet stock pipes. But that's how you do it. Maybe detatch the cans from the pipe and it's something hidden under the conical cover at the front? Either that, or find some cans with removable baffles that match your aesthetic preferences. Drilling will make it more noisy, yes, but not that much. Generally people drill in the end-piece - A few holes in the disc that holds the actual exit pipe.

Silly question...... Has it run out of fuel? Or have you hit reserve? You may laugh, but only yesterday my other half forgot she'd switched to reserve and ran out of fuel. Had to push the bike over a mile uphill, with a knackered foot, to get to the station. She's been riding for years and years!! In addition, Viragoes only have around 8L in the standard tank and still just 13L in the upgraded version. Like I said, it's an obvious thing but...

Always check/replace the cheapest parts first.

Open up the mufflers, remove the baffles, close mufflers up again. That will make it louder. You might need to re-jet to keep the bike balanced. Opinion is usually divided on whether or not you need to, so have the bike checked pre and post work.

Either the comprehensive one that comes with me insurance, or a mate with a van.

Jeezy..... Sounds like something isn't connected/earthed properly. I think this is going to be a long job of checking all your electrical contacts, fella.

I was out in most of the bad weather right through from Friday to Sunday. But I have waterproofs, so I stayed dry

Give him a Coq Au Vin lunch and put him back on the ferry to Calais

Rear shock should be easy. Whip the seats off to get at the monoshock and twist the adjustment collar using the special spanner provided. Check the owners manual for precise instructions. If you have neither of these things, they can be got from a parts supplier and downloaded from the links on this site, respectively. You might find that fiddling with the rear is all you need to sort out both issues. WRT the front; have you checked that the forks are in good nick first? Oil is good, seals are not leaking etc... It shouldn't feel that soft - unless you're riding fast over speed bumps?

Idle speed? Air/fuel mixture? I've managed to knock both inadvertently while doing maintenance before.