Ttaskmaster

Phonecalls to my 'own personal' mechanic, three of the main m/c service places in Reading, two minor ones and three parts shops, to ask if they can supply Betor parts. They used more foul language than me, though.

Typo. Large hands, stupid small work keyboard.

A friend is looking to put his Divvy on the market and I was wondering how much they're worth. 900 Diversion in dark metallic Cocktail 7 Blue '99 P-Reg 26,000 clocked BLOODY good condition (anorak level maintenance!) Every MoT cert since new Optional blue spot calipers What do you all think? Is this one you'd buy?

Depends how noisy your particular helmet is...

Generally people will not respond to first forum posts if: 1) They have not posted an Intro, 2) Their first post is requiring (not even asking for) help, 3) They don't even say 'please'! Not posting an Intro is considered a bit rude. Kinda like walking into a bar where you're a stranger and simply announcing your bike problems, expecting someone to step in and help. You're ignored at best... It doesn't take much for an Intro - Just a short bit about you, your bike, where you're from (as in town, not just country), age and riding/mechanical experience. Plus, all that will help people find solutions to any problems, y'see - We even have some members who might ride a few miles to help another local member. You never know who is nearby that can help! As for the bike... are you SURE you ran the oil dry? If so, this mistake is VERY expensive - A new crank shaft alone will be around £600. That's NOK 5,480!! You may need more than one of those parts, so you could be looking at around £1,800 (NOK 16,450). It will also mean an engine rebuild, which is a serious 'smerte i ræva'!!! You can pick up an entire second hand engine for about £300 (NOK 2700), which will be much easier For those who don't speak Norwegian, 'Smerte i ræva' means 'pain in the ass'... apparently!!

Biker maths: Running engine, minus oil equals fucked bike. Sorry. If you really did run the oil dry, you *will* have damaged something inside, be it con-rods, pistons, crank, bearings, cylinder bore, etc etc. Metal parts are NOT meant to bash into each other several thousands of times per minute. That is what the oil guards against. Fixing any one of these parts (aside from bearings) will be fucking expensive. Cheaper to buy a new bike. This time, don't fuck it up. Also - 1/. This is a workshop question and belongs in the Workshop section of the forum. 2/. It's polite to post an Intro in the relevant section before jumping in with technical queries and the like. 3/. Next time, read the manual. That's what it's for!!

I would never use them myself - Tyre changing requires delicate handling, combined with notable force applied carefully. I, on the other hand, am only called upon when people need stuff utterly obliterated with a sledgehammer!! For that reason, it's a job I leave to professionals. Luckily Reading has a decent Ride-In Tyres place! But if you can save a few quid and know what you're doing, why not give it a go!

Ohlins are as good as Hagon with the customer service, it's just Betor that everyone seems pissed at. The fact that so many people contact their customer service is eyebrow-raising... Ohlins and Hagon seem on a par for product performance. Ohlins have fancy wires and shit coming of their one (remote preload adjusters and stuff, I expect), while Hagon are more simple, basic, solid-as-a-brick design types.

Single carb? Heh - Told you I was stuggling to remember!! Guess what I never did on my 125...

He did already say exactly that. I know it's hot and muggy but try and keep up, old bean!

Welcome! You've come to a good place, as Maxims seem quite popular among our US members!

Really??! Ah shit... well, I can't get everything right... I ain't even seen one of these things in the flesh before!

Pretty pretty pretty!!! Make sure you put a bit of of cover, like the clear plastic anti-scratch tank guard, over the front mudguard otherwise that tool roll will spoil your paintwork every time you brake.

^ What he said... 'cep I'd call it petrol!

TBH, you possibly won't notice the torque so much, unless you whack the throttle open from a rather low speed. Cruisers use torque to shift weight, rather than power to get moving fast. Under normal revs, you'll find it pulling smooth. Fully loaded with pillion and luggage, you'll not notice much difference. The arm-pulling will happen once you break the speed-limit on a motorway. Good speed warning as well, that - If it starts to ache, you're going too fast*! *That is, fast enough for plod to pull you!

You'll need to know more than that. Is it 2-stroke or 4-stroke (usually says 2T or 4T on the bottle). Also, what kind of oil, as in there'll be a number like 10-W-40, 10-W-50 or 15-W-40 on the bottle. For future reference, when you come to change the oil, I understand 10-W-50 is a good one for the DT125. Other owners will probably explain further/better than me. Possibly. Let's sort the oil side out first. Then we'll look at the other things. Short version - Read all the way before attempting: You will need - Socket set and ratchets, or a set of long spanners. A wide and deep pan, old oven tray or some other open-topped 5 litre container. Rubber gloves. A funnel, normal or improvised (like the top half of a 500ml plastic Coke bottle). A friend who will not drop your bike. Run bike for 5-8 minutes in neutral. Stop bike and take key out. Get bike on level ground. Have someone hold bike upright, unless you have a bike jack. Place pan under bike engine. Remove oil filler cap. Loosen off the sump plug (drain screw), but pay attention to how tight this is. You'll later do it up to the same tightness. You *might* want to wear rubber gloves for this next bit... If nothing else, grab a free pair of those plasticky things from a petrol pump. Slowly remove sump plug and drain some oil, as described by Airhead above. Be careful, the oil will be very warm at least, if not actually HOT!! The oil will flow out very quickly. Don't drop the screw into the pan either, as it will be slippery. Let some oil out. Put plug back in just enough to stop the flow, then check level (see below) in the sight window, which is probably on the left side. If it's too low, put some back in. Use a funnel to avoid spillage. Repeat until you're sorted. Put the sump plug back in and tighten up nicely, but NOT too much. Just about where it was last time. Make sure you put the sump plug back in. Now put the filler cap back on. Now check you have put both the filler cap and the sump plug back on. And check again, to make bloody sure. This is a different bike, but this is what you're looking for, level-wise... There may be only lines, rather than an F and L, or no marks at all, but halfway to three-quarters, with the bike held upright is what you're looking for:

It'd probably have cost me more than that just for parts postage, so good find there!! Bike is still unbroken, as existing customers have taken up a lot more time than expected, mainly because they don't do what they're supposed to, or lie about having done it!

Since, like many members, you have not filled out your profile completely... Whereabouts in the UK are you? Might be a member here can nip round and sort this oil level out... Failing that, I'll see about writing something up for you tomorrow - It's too hot tonight!!

Did you test the TPS and the wiring around it first? Did the dealer also check the flash code, or was that what the £80 was for? If you need a new one, check eBay. Like this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/00-2000-YAMAHA-XVS650-XVS-650-V-STAR-THROTTLE-SENSOR-36-/330940168216?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4d0d923818 Chances are Yammie used the same one on other bikes. The V-Max uses some of the same components as the Drags, for example. Part numbers may help, too.

Most people use actual fork oil. Your manual will explain which is required. Changing the oil in both forks will take perhaps 2 hours at a leisurely pace. This assumes you have the right tools/bike supports, new oil and fresh seals all ready to go.

Pretty much as Lady Sacha says, mate! With some bikes (possibly all), the oil can 'go off', in the same way old milk does. Don't understand it myself, but there ya go. That's what service intervals are all about. Depending what the gaiters are made of (don't have such things myself), possibly whatever fluid was in your forks corroded them, or they baked in the heat. Also, with some bikes you *can* use motor oil in the forks (I have it in mine). Has to be new oil though, so no particulates can fuck up your seals. Also, it's best to read up on what kind and weight work best for your bike.

Trying to remember how this one works... IIRC, there should be two matching screws, one on each carb. You turn these to balance the carb. There will be another single screw, probably on the side between each carb and with a plastic cog-like head. This is is your air/fuel mixture. Lastly, there may also be a fourth screw, easier to reach and probably somewhere around the left of the actual cylinders. This alters your idle speed. Memory is a bit hazy these days. I last owned one of these about 7 years ago and no longer have any manuals to check stuff from.

Did this just start today? Have you adjusted the clutch and throttle cables? Have you lubricated them lately? I'm wondering if the heat has affected them... Gearbox - Again, is this a very recent development? When did you last change the oil? What weight oil do you have in there? How much oil do you have in there? When did you last grease up the change lever?

Mixture - Clue is in the name, bud Mixes air and fuel.

Got introduced to what a properly souped up Toyota Supra can do. Now wanting one of them... as well as my car licence!