Ttaskmaster

I'm more than happy to help... and even be polite about it. But I do get pissed off with people coming through here, all One Post Wonders, whose sole contribution to the forum is: "I have this problem. Tell me how to fix it". Don't know who they are, where they're from and never see them after that. We do occasionally get those who return to post how "This forum is crap. I posted ten whole minutes ago and no-one's replied with a hugely detailed solution. You all suck!!!". There are many people on here with decades of experience, knowledge and wisdom, much of which they freely share with those who ask. The least people can do is make friends and ask politely. Demanding and expecting, like so many do, isn't really going to inspire anyone to offer advice now, is it? And no, I got no loving last night. I had to do the shopping, take out the bins, do all the washing up and only then could I start dinner, which meant I was in the kitchen missing Sons Of Anarchy on TV. All SWMBO did was laze around watching her stories on TV.... Plus my phone was broken. I had to jump-start it in the end!! But still - Regardless of my ranting, scathing manner, this still ain't a free online troubleshooting service. and yes, I do this in real life too - woe betide any shop assistant who isn't polite to me....

Nothing compares to a Harley. However, I never found a Harley I liked, so good choice with Yamaha!! 950 - Not so sure, personally. Other owners will chime in. But for touring, the 1100 Dragstar does very nicely. Even the 650 is good enough for a 2-up weekend away. The 950 is somewhere between and by all accounts it is a dream... I'd get one myself if they'd do it in Custom styling!! The whole Star range is very well suited to touring, mainly because they are all low and looooooong. Whack on a backrest and load up.

Yes, have several ideas, all of them cheap and easy. Will make riding your bike a dream. But I'm not going to tell you... I have a rule - Anyone who just comes in here stating a problem with their one and only post, expecting us to unload a wealth of solutions is considered extremely rude. Try doing that in your local pub and see what response you get - It's the same thing here. Effectively, you have wandered in, said, "Oi, this is my problem. What do I do?", without so much as even a Hello or asking for our help. This is not an online technical support service where you can just demand fixes. Rather, we are a community and we much prefer people to contribute in some way. There is an Introductions thread for starters and we have numerous Profile fields so we can get to know who you are better. If you take part and join in with us, you will find a wealth of friends, help, advice and support in all walks of life, not just biking. If you're just gonna be a stranger, demand info and then fuck off, we don't want to know. Mechanics get paid to do that. We don't!! Use Google like the rest of them.

If you like them and already have experience of them, then either of the Viragoes will be a good buy!!

Pig

Forget a bunsen burner. Use a small gas blowtorch. Get one in almost any DIY shop. I have a small gas soldering iron with the same function.

I recall doing this once myself when I had a 125. I jammed a screwdriver in one of the teeth and braced it, allowing purchase to undo the fastening. Works when putting the new one on, too. Choose a screwdriver where the shaft fits nicely between the teeth.

Ale

Given how often I see cars that have not cancelled their indicators, I don't see the point myself.

Sole

Tell him to keep the Yammie and just add the Triumph. At least make sure he's ridden a Rocket III

No, we're thinking, "So YOU'RE the little **** who wants to stick his **** in my daughter, eh?".....

Acid

propel

It may not be needed, but it's always a good thing to have.

Won't start when it's cold? Where the hell do you live, that you actually have cold weather at the minute??!! When it's cold (weather or the bike), I do this: 1/. Yank the choke ALL the way out. Some bikes actually need you to hold it completely open. It's just a characteristic. 2/. Switch on ignition. 3/. Fully open throttle a couple of times. 4/. Press the starter switch and open throttle slightly. If it's REALLY cold, I may consider turning the idle up a bit as well.

Well, my first thought is that you're either in the wrong gear, or you're not using the powerband correctly. For an average roundabout, I'll be in 2nd gear with about 30-40% throttle. Enough to actually drive the thing round (please don't ever drag in the clutch and coast round corners), but not so much that I'm blasting. My second thought is that, if this the cause of your problems, simply turn the idle up. There should be an idle adjustment screw somewhere, probably on the left of the cylinders. See the owners manual for details. If this still doesn't help, check first your air/fuel mixture and then have your timing checked.

While up in Scotland: Ride to Glenfinnan and explore some of the roads around that area. While down in Cornwall: Ride to Tintagel and from there to Boscastle. Watch out for the hairpin halfway down the hill. Keep an eye out for seals in the estuary and watch them playing when the tide comes in! When passing near to Stonehenge: Expect lots of traffic and if you do filter, do it carefully. When passing Kent on the M25: Take a detour down the A24 towards Dorking and veer off for a stop at Boxhill services. Grab a burger (or several) at Ryka's Cafe and chat with all the bikers there!!

Can you not just manually cancel, like the rest of us?

See, SEE!! ALWAYS sort out the cheapest stuff first!! Glad ya got it all sorted, mate - See you on the road sometime!!

Dunno - Never been pulled. Ever. I was DAS'ed up by a former Police MC instructor and I have chatted with the Bikesafe chaps a few times at Fox's and Boxhill. Not a single bad word to say about them!!

Possibly... Assuming the layout is similar to the Dragstar: Look under the tank, between the two cylinders. There should be a pair of thick, stumpy rubber tubes going, one from each cylinder, up into the carb unit. If these are cracked to buggery, then he's probably right. Diaphragms, hoses, manifolds.... there are seemingly a hundred names for these little rubber bastards! However, if these are damaged/perished* enough to allow extra air in, then this will account for your bike running funny and stuttering a lot. IF this is the case, then these will need replacing. Expect about £80 for a brand new pair. *Rubber does perish over time anyway.

I'm gonna guess at the Reg-Rec, yes. However - Check your fuses. Check also your cut-out switch, your idle speed and your fuel mixture. Second - Grab a multimeter and check all your connections, especially the earthing. Make sure the connectors are all clean and free of muck, the soldering is solid etc etc. Then - Check the L bracket that the Reg/Rec is bolted to. This often snaps off just above the single bolt that fixes it to the frame, because teh front wheel kicks all the road crap straight onto it and it rusts out fecking fast! If there's no damage here at all, then check that it is properly earthed. I always think it's worthwhile making friends with decent mechanics, who can advise or do work on the side for cash in hand. Some even work for beer!! If this doesn't help, seek some pro advice. Only then consider spending money on parts - Always replace the cheapest parts first.

Try adjusting the mixture. Get a Colortune kit and make use of that to get the cylinders approximately balanced. Have the rear cylinder slightly leaner as that one gets less air cooling. If that doesn't sort it, have it properly tuned by a trusted professional. Also: Another option may be putting different jets in the carb. You didn't mention whether the dealer actually did this. I'd be willing to bet that when the slash-cuts were put on, the jets were changed out to compensate. If the dealer just swapped the silencers, you probably have the wrong jets and hence too much fuel. If all this still doesn't sort it, check the exhaust for gaps and holes, either from rust or simply improper fitting.

'cept you don't have to pretend I even checked the regs - The annual notification has been in place long before yours was first SORNed. However, they *may* have just figured you were remaining SORN and not bothered pursuing it.