Ttaskmaster

It does if no-one tells you first. Few people look after their cars as is. They might clean the paintwork once in a while, but most simply expect to put fuel in and it will just work.

Me: - Writing a long, wordy report on the current and future data management methodologies of the trunk sewer survey team. - Arranging site visits to go down said trunk sewers and see what I already know from reading the survey reports. - Posting my usual random junk on YOC. My afternoon looks to be infinitely more exciting, as it involves playing in traffic, housework and arguments with the Mrs...!!

You have to dry them out first. Leave them in the sun for about 3 days and you should be good. Dried dog turds are better, though. Try and get the white chalky ones. A lot of people like to reminisce about how you don't see them any more, how they were a 'thing' from the 70s and 80s... but having started our dogs on a raw food diet, which includes raw meat on the bone, I can verify that white turds are still possible. If you want, I have an inexhaustible supply of white turd, for all your oil-soaking needs. Free to anyone willing to come collect...!

Love, Honour & Respect.

Years ago when I was still fairly new-ish to bikes, I was at home with the future Ttaskmistress. I was going to ride over to a friend's place and watch movies, as she was going out for the night. All nicely dressed up too, she was... I thought I'd give the bike a quick oil check and top-up. She leaned out and asked if I'd do the same for hers. These bikes had no centrestand, so I was using a block of wood. Ttaskmistress didn't approve, so she insisted I held her bike up while she got down (in her nice clothes) and checked the oil herself. Quick top up... bit more... bit more... "OK that'll do. Start her up", she says... I look down and ask if she wants to put the filler cap back on first. No, says she. You don't need it on when you're just running the engine... We argue about this for a bit, but she insists that she knows more than me. Women are always right... right? I gun the engine and a FOUNTAIN of warm black oil erupts from out the filler port. Several seconds pass as we both realise what's happening, before I finally switch the engine off. The Mrs is absolutely *covered* in oil, her nice outfit ruined, her bike dripping with the stuff, the road awash with it... I even have a few drops on my hand!! So she went and showered, grabbed a new outfit and went out for the evening while I spent the remaining hours of sunlight scrubbing bike and tarmac clean. She made me swear a sacred oath, upon all my swords and the graves of anyone even vaguely related to me, to never speak of this event to anyone... so now most of Reading knows!!

Most of them got those bikes without realising how much work it takes to keep them in good condition. They're not really designed for all weathers.

The 1100 Drags do sometimes develop a faulty starter clutch. Not every model, but some of them do go. Check the battery with a multimeter first, but do be prepared in case this does turn out to be the fault...

You'll pick up more crap than the majority, as you're on a Cruiser. You're effectively a kite in the wind. Since switching to the FJ, I find far less road crap and bugs on me. That said, a lot of them are probably Summer riders. Got one guy here at work who only takes his bike out 3 or 4 times a year. He claims he tours Europe annually, but either he's hacking his clocks or his mileage proves he's lying!

Probably something to do with having weapons and shields about your person making it more awkward. As most folk were right-handed anyway, trying to mount with sword in hand from the right is more likely to result in losing an eye. You can actually mount one-handed from the left while holding a sword clear of both you and a horse - I speak from experience on that one. However, it's far more likely that the horse was tamed and trained by someone else (often overseas) before the main owner actually bought it. To avoid the horse freaking out, everyone had to mount from which ever side the horse was trained on. To avoid having to know the history of every horse you might ever have to mount, everyone just started doing it from the same side. Got a choice of two sides, really.

If that's the one I think it was, where I let my bad side out to play, then he was the one who bought a very knackered 650 Drag and expected it to ride it like a Fireblade or something... It was his opinion, fair enough, but extremely contrary to the consensus of hundreds of other 650 riders both here and several other forums... including those who didn't like it in the end!! Nah, I promise you, you've chosen well. Every bike has it's characteristics and many of us have had many amazing adventures on that very same choice. Any questions, queries or just some experiences you'd like to share, they will always be welcome here!!

1. Frank Thomas armoured leather jacket with perforated panels that face into the wind. Once you're above 20mph, it's like you're not wearing anything!! Same leather trews as in Winter. Lighter leather gloves. Same combat boots. No headover or anything. Maybe a very thin neck tube... 2. In the UK, you pull over to the left side of the road. It's (supposedly) easier to dismount in and mount from the direction the bike is leaning and dismounting so the bike is between you and the road is safer. Which side I actually use depends entirely on how I feel at that moment, but I suspect a lot of things came from that thinking. Lefties should have no more trouble than using the standard layout controls. It's all in how you learn.

He's just narked that the FJ/FJRs aren't the stars of the show, I expect....

A friend just picked this up... "Big, multi-page pull out section this week. 50 years of Yamaha development, they trumpet. Lots of bikes, many that never sold but the MCN guys think they were great. Get to 1984 and, curiously, the only bike of significance released that year was the RD500 according to them (which sold about 50 units in the UK, mainly for track use). Not a mention of the mighty FJ11/1200 range that was one of Yamahas biggest sellers until 1995, or the XJR12/1300 or the FJR's intro in 2000 and beyond. I despair!!"

Have to say, it's the only time I've done it... usually riding straight-throughs under a railway bridge or in a tunnel. It does have to be done, though. Nothing like riding along making everyone think there's a pissed off Balrog coming toward them!!!

I'm more interested in how your FJ Orange turns out!! Post piccies when you're sorted?

People keep telling me this, but it sounds like the idle just needs turning up, no?

Heya Stoney!! Welcome to the forum To start with, there's a post of mine in this topic that may help: It's written for those going from a large cc 'other style' of bike to a large Cruiser, but the general ideas still hold up. It's obviously just my opinion and my own findings, but I've not heard many arguments against it, heh heh! Certainly the 125 Dragstar is a decent bike. It's heavier than most 125s, probably the heaviest out there. The BHP is a bit low too, and yet if you ride it well enough in town you can still outride a lot of lesser riders on bigger bikes. Plus, if you fancy a 300-mile holiday ride down to Cornwall or something, it will cope well enough. If you look after it, it will not let you down.

Lemme know if they work out - I may come asking for the link!! You got white ones, yeah?

When I pull away, my engine simply rises in revs until I change up a gear. When I slow down, I drop gears and each time the revs rise slightly, before dropping to idle as I clutch in and stop. So... Why is it so many other bikes go REVV... REVV... REVREVREV-REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVVVVVVVVV as they pull away? Same for stopping - They're idling along, clutch in and it's just this constant REV REV REV as they come to a stop. This isn't only a Summer biker thing, their idles are properly set so the bike isn't about to stall, there's often no traffic to try and bully out of the way... and most have been riding long enough to get over the sound of their own engine. So what's with the constant blipping?

I thought those *were* the right ones? Maybe more info in this: http://www.fjfjrbiker.co.uk/index.php?topic=19984.0

Nah, the FJ is some real fancy shit - Got an instrument light on EACH SIDE!!! From what the FJOC seem to be doing, you just swap all 10 bulbs for these and away ye go.

These will work, apparently... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SMD-LED-509T-DASH-INSTRUMENT-PANEL-DASHBOARD-SPEEDO-BULBS-RED-WHITE-BLUE-PINK-/290758958077?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&var=&hash=item43b2959bfd The FJ dash is already coloured, so get the white ones. I need to do this myself, at some point...

They just have to be careful. Obviously sales are still slumped from recession. But everyone was desperate to see and try the DN01. It was originally a Japan only model. We whined, we bitched, we complained... Honda shipped 10 over and passed them around dealers. We had a look and went, "Oh.... is that it??!!". It was crap, it barely sold any units and it would have been a disaster for Honda to ship a load to each dealer. Unlike a Fazer or a CBR600, the Bolt is not a mass market bike. It's very nice-looking and probably rocks, but it does not have a large target demographic or anything. Just ask, see if they can get one in for you to try. I'd reckon it's worth it.

Might do. Probably have more luck in the General Hardware places like Drews, Wickes or maybe B&Q. It's primarily used for things like locks, rather than automotive.

WD40 may help if you have corrosion to scrub off the contacts. However, it does tend to attract dirt, grit and general crap, which will only gum up the innards further. Instead, I'd recommend some graphite grease spray. This does the opposite and actually helps drive fouling crap out of mechanisms. Any decent locksmith will use this instead of WD40, for that exact reason. Just be aware that it can be a little messy when you first work the freshly lubed controls back and forth. Keep a rag or something handy.