Alex

Regulation 27 (Restrictions on the use of lamps) https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1989/1796/regulation/27 The Highway Code says to use dipped headlights in daylight if visibility is reduced, and to only use main beam when it won’t dazzle others. Using main beam in the day isn’t illegal per se, the law says main beam headlights must not be used if they cause dazzle or discomfort to other road users. During bright daylight, they usually won’t dazzle, but in lower light or if you’re directly behind someone, they can. So technically it’s not outright banned, but if it’s judged to be dazzling, it can be an offence.

True but there is less force on the output shaft as much lower torque. I was hoping I may hear a difference to identify the fault, but windnoise and bike noise make it too hard.

Well it's been almost two weeks of me driving like an ass with my full beam on, well day time only. Haven't had one person pull out yet. Obvisouly on a small time line and a sample size of one this could be totally irrelevant. But feels like people are seeing me easier.

Guess it's one of those things, it depends. Where I live I don't get the luxury of nice open roads, I'm about 10km from the city so my riding is nearly all city type riding. I don't think IAM would run courses in this type of enviroment. I just try and ride defensively always.

Yeah I'm scared to take it for the next service, and can't be assed to take the chain off and spin the wheel to check. I've tried pulling the clutch in when riding and the sound doesn't appear to change that much, so hopefully it is the wheel bearing.

The wheel bearings are easy to do, I'm just not entirely confident it's not the output shaft bearings. Fingers crossed it's the wheel bearings. Just coming up to 25k now, that's KM. I was thinking normal lifespan would be 40-50k. I do ride my bike in all weather though and Sydney can be very humid which could have accelerated wear.

I read the book as a PDF a long time ago, the part which struck me the most saccadic masking which I never knew about. Really explains those moments when you're about to pull out of a junction thinking it's open and brake oh there's a car you didn't see. Makes you realise how much easier this is to occur to bike riders when we're a third of the size. Video here explains it, apparantly we're all completly blind for about 40mins a day due to this masking. Our vision is almost an illusion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOz7buiQ7G0 Oh forgot to add I spoke to someone last week who explained the concept of progression makes you safer because it forces you to plan ahead, commit to actions with confidence, reduce unpredictability, and stay in control of the traffic situation. It should be about smooth, safe efficiency, not speed for its own sake.

My bike has LED lights, but you've made me think about having extra lighting. I might ride with lights on full beam in the day and see if that makes any difference. I think half the time they do see me, just don't care, or underestimate size/speed etc.

Well bike is all back and working normally. Sorry haven't had time to come back and update. The MT does not have reinforced hoses from the water pump, so it turned out to be normal behavior and it was nothing to worry about. Guess this is an issue when you take your bike to a non yamaha garage. I've since read online of people fitting aftermarket anti collapse hoses. But from playing further it doesn't collapse enough at low temperature to cause an issue, and once at temperature and the thermostat is open there isn't an issue. Strange that they'd save a few $ and not have anti collapse hose. As for the problem they have no idea, the ECU showed ignition coil issues and it stalling. They reset the ECU and it was fine. No idea what caused the issue or in fact what it was. Had to change out the plugs as one had failed, over heated in dry engine trying to start it so much. Next job I keep putting off is a whining bearing noise which has been getting worse over the last few months. I'm hoping it's just the rear wheel bearing and not the output shaft. Guess that one will be a massive job if so. The tilt sensor was from an accident I had last year. Surprised Yamaha didn't clear this when it was being repaired.

I use my bike daily for commuting to work so get the worst of the issues due to riding at peak hours through a city. Three main culprits, pulling out from junctions even when they bloody see me, pulling out on roundabouts very frequently i think the drivers think they'll fit along side me, and lastly quickly pulling out of stationary traffic into the lane i'm in as they think there;s a space, or even if it's a bus lane and I'm in, they decide to swerve out quickly in to the bus lane as they're turning left in a few hundred meters.

Welcome aboard, look forward to following what you go wtih.

My uncle was a Police bike trainer, he must have been a contractor as he wasn't a police officer. He also taught the BMF Blue Riband Instuctors. My Auntie made me go for a few rides with him when I first got into riding, I don't remember his philosophy making me ride faster than I was comfortable with. It was mostly about defensive riding, observation, prediction etc. as well as the obvious things like not sitting in blind spots, riding through corners etc. I then got onto doing a Police Bikesafe course and that was fantastic. The police wanted you to ride at your normal pace, weren't interested in you speeding, they said they want to see you how you really ride and would make you safer. I was a bit of a moron then as was in my mid 20s, and was always speeding, the police followed me and talked to me after about what I was doing what was dangerous, what I could do better, and what I was doing well etc. It was the best course I've ever done. I did another course, can't remember if it was BMF, IAB etc, but they were teaching the SMIDSY maneuver, essentially wiggling your handle bars before junctions to ensure car drivers see you. Although the instructors could do it safely, confidently and smoothly, I never could. I still today don't do it after trying quite a bit, I still feel the risk in wobbling your bars before a junction is more likely to be a risk than stopping when the car pulls out. Obvisouly depends on the road and conditions etc. Now in Australia, training sucks, it's all track based. I've done three track sessions with the Honda training centre which uses an ex police training track. Now the training is great, but it only applies to roads with zero traffic and junctions. I really wish they had proper road based training out here. Just thought, one key thing my uncle always tried to drum into me. Always practice emergency stops. Which reminds me I haven't practiced it since my last bike course about two years ago.

Well, it all went downhill after changing the axle. Went to start the bike up afterwards, turned over fine, but wouldn’t fire. Cranked plenty, but just no start. I had a feeling it might’ve had some water ingress, as I’d washed it before working on the axle. Pulled the tank and airbox off, everything looked bone dry. Took the coils off just in case, also completely dry. Put it all back together and tried a few wide-open throttle starts to clear any flooding. Waited a few minutes and tried again normally... pt pt pt bang stop. It almost started. Hooked up the OBD reader, no stored fault codes. Then, suddenly: click click click. Wouldn’t even try to crank. Thought maybe the battery was on its way out, so I charged it for a couple of hours, full charge. Still just click click click. Figured maybe the starter fuse had blown. At that point I gave up and booked it in with the local bike shop. Garage called later. They wanted to know a bit more history, said they weren’t 100% sure what happened, but they got it started using an external battery. No idea why it wouldn't start with me. But then they asked me something worrying: “Has it been overheating?” Not that I know of. Then again, I only ride it 30–40 minutes at a time commuting, so if it had a slow overheating issue, maybe I never noticed. They told me the coolant hoses were collapsing, and that with the radiator cap off, coolant shoots out when you rev it. They compression-tested all three cylinders, all came back fine. So now I'm hoping it's just the head gasket, and not a warped head or cracked block. It's only done 23,000 km, so hoping it’s repairable. A sad weekend for sure. Down 2hrs diagnostics so far.

Well glad you're ok, that could have easily been more serious, lucky. I've had a couple of near hits similar to that, on last year, even though technically it's still the other driver fault, in hindsight I've realised I could have avoided it. I still do the ocassaional thing and immeidatley after think why did I do that. I think everyone has that moment in time, when they're in a rush, stressed, distracted, wrong mindset etc we just need to work on reducing these times and be more aware of our mindset when riding. Obviously easier said then done.

Wonder what happened to my old YZF, sadly likely in a scrap heap somewhere now. Loved that bike, still one of the most fun bikes I've had.