clarke

Hello

Loads of people in the U.S. have drilled the exhaust. Most like it over stock as makes it slightly deeper, however many eventually replace their exhausts for something with a little more rumble. From the link I referred to: "About 10 inches down the pipe is the baffle plug we are going to be drilling out.... Once you drilled through, start up the bike to blow out the plug. WARNING! Don’t have anything or anyone directly behind the bike, as this piece is going to come flying out. It’s not a nuclear missile, but no sense being careless. How does it sound? Not too bad! Seems to have a pretty throaty sound to me without being overly loud. First ride impressions: This mod really didn't add a lot to the volume, which is fine with me. There is a bit more of a rumble to it on acceleration and when you give it an extra twist, but pretty mellow otherwise. I like it!" I was going to buy a Roadhouse Slip-on muffler but literally the day I tried to order one from the U.S. Roadhouse went bust

I put the restriction on my 1300 as I like my licence too much to risk being pulled by Mr Plod (otherwise = no licence + no insurance). After 11 months the restriction was off and I had the bonus of a 'new' bike. That's a great looking bike you've got there

Welcome. I have the XVS 1300 which is a great bike. I've looked at a 1900 which looks massive To answer your questions based on a 1300: 1) is there any vibration when riding - especially for a passenger There's some pulsation in the floorboards for the rider as it's a V-Twin but nothing too bad. The other half has never mentioned any vibrations to me. 2) how good is the MPG - want to travel from cambridge to gloucester and not cost a bomb I usually get anywhere between 145-180 miles from a tank. 3) whats a decent cruising speed for this bike? It does 70mph all day no problem. When I was in Germany on the autobahn it ran no problems 2 up fully loaded at 90mph no problems - could have gone faster as per the cars but to be honest 90mph on the autobahns is fast enough for me. 4) i see the rear brakes are under the exhaust - can the pads be easily changed or will i need a ramp. The brakes on the 1300 are in a similar position and I believe most people use a lift of some description to change them to make it easier, but given the stand is on the opposite side it may be possible to change as it is (you may have to remove the muffler). Hope this helps Graham

Hello and welcome

Hello

Welcome

Welcome to the forum Dave, You've made a good start saying hello. Just join in when you can, have a laugh and if you have any queries/problems use search / post and we'll try to help. Don't worry about the noobs posts etc - mainly aimed at those who begin "Hi. My bike's broke. Tell me how to fix it". You're already ahead in that aspect. Looking forward to see the pics of your bike. Good luck with DA. Graham

Hi Chris, Welcome to the forum. Nice choice of bike. Post a pic if you get chance. If you want links to the service manual etc give me a shout. Graham

£172.99 for the kit but you have to be a dealer to buy http://www.fiinternational.com/ShowDetails.asp?name=XJ600&type=Yamaha (perhaps £250 was the price fitted??) The fitting instructions show you just how little your money buys http://www.fiinternational.com/FiResKitA42.pdf Maybe £173 is an insurance cost in case the restrictor kit produces 34bhp and you sue them???

I had seen that before but could watch it over and over again... I doubt I could go round that course as well on my mountain bike never mind a motorbike

Hi G, How much experience do you have? You'll benefit from some lessons from an instructor but how much you need will depend on your experience/ability. I had 3 years experience of daily riding before doing my test, had 2 days of lessons with instructor and test 3rd day. At the time thought I could have managed with one day of lessons but passed first time so can't complain. Thought the lessons Up to you if you do the test on a 125cc or 500cc (an instructor may advise what is best for you). Hope this helps Graham

If anyone is thinking of drilling their exhaust here's more info http://www.1300tourer.com/node/3738. I haven't drilled mine as reluctant to do a permanent mod.

Here's a guide to changing the handlebars on the 1300 http://www.1300tourer.com/node/6264 - half way through there are detailed pictures of removing the grips (inc thottle) and then later on how to install new grips and throttle body. Hopefully it will help you make sense of your setup. Graham

A few US riders have used them and say they're good, but you'll require their longer clutch cable and brake lines. An easier option could be to use the RSTD bars which have more pullback than stock and I think are slightly higher too. Can use stock cables.

Approx cost for a restriction kit is £250 + fitting. The part will be next to nothing (a washer or some description) but the cost goes on the certificate. Graham

Black and green reminds me of Kwakers... I think blue/white and black/red are more in keeping with mother Yammy. All look good though

As you've got the fastest colour (red) you'll be back home before you leave

Hi Graham, Look here for guides for drilling out the stock exhaust and swapping the handlebars. http://1300tourer.com/content/how-section They are both easy to do. The clunk has been fixed by some adding 20w oil to the forks as opposed to the standard 10w. There's also a suggestion to add +2oz oil to what yammy installs as standard. Others swap the springs to progressive springs. Good luck Graham

I'm unsure if you can secretly record people (though journalists seem to do it all the time) - your solicitor will tell you... You may find if it is used as evidence she will claim she felt intimidated and just said it to get you to go away?? Did you ever tell your insurance company of the incident at the time of the accident? If so I'd ask them to pursue it as it has been a while now and you're getting no where. Either way a solicitor or insurance company will get a response from her insurance company. Unfortunately we live in a world where people will deny everything - I was once knocked off my mountain bike by a taxi driver which snapped the frame on my bike. Whilst he stopped to remove my bike from his bumper he never gave me his insurance details and later on the taxi firm denied he worked for them. I informed the police and a solicitor and thanks to witnesses got my bike fixed, though the taxi driver claimed I drove into him and had no lights on my bike, both of which were utter lies. I appreciate you hoped that good will would have seen you right but I bet her boyfriend came home and said something along the lines of deny it as he can't prove it. Hopefully the solicitor/insurance company will be able to get some of the costs back for you. Good luck in pursing the claim Graham

I may have read somewhere of using wire wool???? But no idea if it works

Sounds like a new tyre to me. Usual cause of this is incorrect tyre pressure - check them regularly/weekly on your new tyre.

That's why I dropped back when this happened so I wouldn't be along side him at the next set of lights (as they were red) in case he thought a quick swerve would make him feel better. So far I haven't seen him again so all is well. I'm a big fan of defensive riding - at the end of the day I want to be around to ride tomorrow, not lying in a hospital or sat in a police cell...

http://www.customcruiserparts.com/yamaha/sportster-883-1205/exhausts-5.html Though if they don't have them in stock they'll just order them from the US and then charge you the shipping, import duty, VAT and then their mark up for them. It MAY work out cheaper for you to order them from a US site yourself??? [i can recommend SS Custom Cyles]. You pay approx 5% import duty on the value of the part AND shipping costs, then they'll charge VAT @ 20% on top of that. Royal mail will then charge you £11 handling fee.. (if you order ensure you get postage to your house [ups/dhl]). I bought some saddlebags from the US for £600 delivered to my door, cost in the UK = £1,000

Glad to help. Post some pics when you've customised your ride. Graham