Everything posted by Alex
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Welcome aboard, look forward to following what you go wtih.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Pure bike porn. New axle and nut at 100 lb-ft.
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Buy some WD-40 Specialist Degreaser, it's citrus based so isn't an alkaline so won't damage the aluminium.
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Hopefully it was just a near miss, everything ok?
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I'd love to have a go with one, I can really see the benefit of commuting on one. I've been consiering changing my MT out for the last two years, have had enough of the whining triple noise. Sounds great when you're at high RPM around country twisties, but commuting to work my ears are crying. And yes I wear ear plugs. I'd love the quiet ride, BUT, I really feel the noise from motorbikes makes them safer. I still get people merge in to the side of me once a month, I'm on a loud bike, wear high-vis top, white helmet and try not to ride in blindspots and it still happens. I bet accident rates would skyrocket if everyone moved to electric bikes.
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Hey all, it's finally happened! Yamaha recommends torquing the rear axle nut on the MT-09 to 108 lb-ft, which honestly seems pretty excessive. I’ve always stuck to 100 lb-ft using a proper calibrated torque wrench and I’ve still ended up with some thread wear on the axle and nut. I went to tighten the wheel and I had that horrid feeling of realising it turned to infinity. From what I’ve seen online over the years and now finally experienced myself, that high torque might be fine the first time with brand-new parts, but it’s not good if you’re adjusting your chain regularly. I think most of us are loosening and tightening the axle fairly often, and that kind of repetitive stress seems to slowly wear things down. I've learnt from this, as it's completely my own fault still, a 7 year old bike and I've never changed those parts. What I’m planning on doing now: Torquing to 95–100 lb-ft max, and that’s only if the threads are clean and in good shape. Swapping out the axle nut every once a year. If I use a bit of anti-seize, I will drop the torque a bit more maybe 90–95 lb-ft. So, when should you replace the Axle? I've researched this and can't find an actual recommendaion, I guess if the threads are still clean and not damaged, you can probably get years out of it, seems like 7 :) But if the nut doesn’t go on smoothly or you see any flattening, galling, or metal flecks… it’s probably time to bite the bullet and replace the axle. I’d now going to take it out and check it once a year. Curious to hear what others are doing with your bike, anyone using Loctite and going lower?
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Subjective, but at least that one actually works.
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Just seen this in my local news... luckily it's not near me. https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/is-this-sydney-s-worst-roundabout-drivers-perplexed-by-bizarre-new-intersection-20250627-p5mapt.html
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During our exclusive interview, the President shed light on Yamaha's unwavering dedication to pushing boundaries, introducing groundbreaking solutions, and exceeding the expectations of their loyal community of Yamaha owners. From electrification to connectivity, sustainability to customer-centricity, we delved into the company's initiatives that are set to shape the future of mobility and enhance the riding experience. With a rich heritage spanning decades and a reputation built on superior engineering and craftsmanship, Yamaha has consistently proven its commitment to delivering unrivaled performance, reliability, and sheer exhilaration to riders worldwide. Today, we invite you to delve into the insightful conversation that unveils Yamaha's vision for the future and showcases their unwavering passion for innovation, excellence, and the joy of riding. 1. Mr. de Seynes, could you please share your background and experience leading up to your current role as President & CEO of Yamaha Motor Europe? As far as I can remember, I’ve always been a motorcycle passionate, inheriting this passion from my father. And as soon as I could, I took part into racing events: road, endurance, enduro and African rallies. Later on, I’ve been working mostly in the motorsport and petroleum fields, before joining Yamaha in 1990. First at Yamaha Motor France as product planning, marketing, and motorsport manager for all product groups and after three years as motorcycle division manager for almost 7 years. In this period, we became #1 on the French market, a position we maintained for 26 years, from 1996. Later, I became General Manager of Yamaha motor France and then President, working very closely with Japan on the development of new motorcycle models for the European market. In 2014, I was asked to come to Yamaha Motor Europe, as COO, to renew our European strategy and reinforce the synergies between the group organization and our different distribution affiliates. Once this dynamic was implemented, I was nominated Executive Officer of Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd., before becoming the president of Yamaha Motor Europe, one year later. 2. The global supply chain has faced significant challenges in recent years, particularly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. How has Yamaha Motor Europe adapted to these challenges to ensure a steady supply of motorcycles for the European market? The supply chain question raised up in 1997 and at that time, I was part of a task force group that implemented our logistic as exploited over the past 20 years. Our supply chain includes 6 main warehouses, in Amsterdam, Hamburg, Milan, Barcelona, Lyon and Lille and this supply chain has allowed us to improve our stock rotation as well as the service given to the customer, in a more structured way. Of course, the covid sanitary crisis has strongly destabilized all this, and the reason was more logistical between our different production plants in the world and Europe. The shortage of containers was real, and the lack of logistic and human resources has been our everyday for nearly 3 years. Today, things are back to normal, even if sensitive components and raw materials still require our attention. 3. As we know, the chip shortage has impacted many industries, including the automotive and motorcycle sectors. How has this issue affected Yamaha's motorcycle production and delivery timelines in Europe? For the past three years, the chip shortage has been a major obstacle for our production volumes. Indeed, faced with the reduction in spending in the areas of leisure and travel, customers have deferred their spending towards home and electronic equipment and vehicles. All these products only work thanks to semi-conductors and the tension was and still remains extremely intense on these components. Today, we are not yet out of this difficulty and cannot imagine a return to normal before the beginning of next year. However, this difficulty is now concentrated on a few models only, mainly the 125 and 300 cc scooters. 4. With the chip shortage in mind, have there been any adjustments or changes to Yamaha's plans for developing and implementing advanced technologies, such as smartphone integration with motorcycle dash consoles? The consequences of these ruptures affect in the first-place existing products, but obviously also have consequences on new technologies, particularly in terms of connectivity. Despite everything, we continue to believe in a return to normal condition in the coming months. 5. Yamaha is known for its continuous innovation in the motorcycle industry. How is Yamaha Motor Europe addressing the potential long-term effects of supply chain disruptions on the development of new models and features? There has been no negative effect on our products’ development plans that could be linked to the recent disruption in the supply chain. Our innovation plans and R&D are still as active as during the covid period and we hope to keep surprising the market during the coming decade. In this field, the constraints are more linked to the regulatory evolutions that could be imposed and that are extremely time-consuming for our engineers. The customer mostly doesn’t realize the development time that the transition from one norm to another (euro4 to euro5 to euro5-b, etc.) can represent for generalist manufacturers, that exploit 15 to 25 different motorizations. These regulations really cost us many new concepts that cannot be developed due to lhuman resources limitation. 6. How does Yamaha Motor Europe plan to strengthen the relationship between the company and the Yamaha Owners Club members, particularly in terms of exclusive events, activities, or benefits? It is not easy for Yamaha Motor Europe to get in contact with our different owners’ clubs, because our customers’ relations are the responsibility of our distributors and branches, locally. However, we try to be in relation with these associations by identifying them and listening to their needs. One of our initiatives, the creation of the Yamaha historical racing team (YHRC) a few years ago, was meant to encourage the proximity between collectors, to better share technical information about the maintenance of the historical racing bikes and to meet this community at chosen racing events. Yet we are only at the beginning of this relation reinforcement, and I hope we will be able to nourish better this relation between our brand and these associations in the future. 7. How is Yamaha Motor Europe addressing the challenges of urban mobility, and what role do you see motorcycles playing in the future of transportation in European cities? Yamaha has always been a major actor in the urban mobility and if there is one domain in which the electric mobility will evolve, it is in this short distance mobility. The advantages of the electric powered-two-wheelers (e-PTW) reach further than the compacity, the maneuverability and the participation to the fluidity of traffic: the e-motorization contributes to the reduction of co2 emissions in the big cities, where the world population is concentrated. And this technology also strongly contributes to the reduction of noise emissions, which is very important. I thus expect an important role of e-PTW in the evolvement of urban mobility, in the future. 8. In terms of environmental sustainability, can you share any insights into Yamaha Motor Europe's plans for expanding the electric and hybrid motorcycle range in the European market? It is difficult to project ourselves further than the cities because the main obstacle is the technology of the batteries that does not progress fast enough to preserve the compacity and lightness of our vehicles, warranting a sufficient autonomy at the same time. This is why we believe more in keeping combustion engines in combination with non-fossil fuels: eco-fuel, biofuel, or synthetic fuels. It should be understood that the use of such fuels could allow a very significant reduction in the overall co2 footprint while maintaining the technology of combustion engines. It would therefore not be reasonable to consider the disappearance of combustion engines within the next 15 years. 9. Yamaha Owners Club members are particularly interested in the flagship MT-10 MY24. Can you share any details about planned updates or enhancements, such as keyless ignition or additional color scheme options? I can understand that your association is interested in our future updates and enhancements, however I cannot share any information regarding the technologic innovations that will be made on our 2024 models. As you know, the MT-10 has been deeply renewed last year and this bike is certainly one of the most desirable models in our range, as it is today. And I hope its qualities will help you wait patiently. 10. Lastly, Mr. de Seynes, despite the current challenges, what exciting developments or upcoming motorcycle models can Yamaha Owners Club members in Europe look forward to in the near future? In future years, we will continue to work on optimizing the performance of our engines in order to pursue the reduction of gas emissions, while maintaining the performance and the Kando feeling of our models. There are obviously many developments expected in the field of connectivity, electronics, piloting assistance, as Tracer 9 GT+ demonstrates. We will continue to protect the emotions and riding pleasure, because we remain convinced that motorcycling must continue to drive emotions. Finally, Yamaha wants to remain a brand that welcomes newcomers, and we will always keep paying particular attention to the accessibility of our models and our entry-level vehicles, which must remain attractive in terms of design, ease of driving and performance. Beyond the products, we will continue to offer our customers various services and programs allowing them to discover new practices and territories on the handlebar of their Yamaha! In conclusion, our conversation with the President & CEO of Yamaha Motor Europe reveals a company fully committed to shaping the future of mobility. With their passion for innovation and deep understanding of riders' desires, Yamaha is poised to redefine what's possible on two wheels. Exciting developments in electric powertrains and connectivity are on the horizon, promising an immersive and exhilarating riding experience. Yamaha's dedication to sustainability ensures that this future will be environmentally conscious and socially responsible. As a trailblazer in the industry, Yamaha continues to push boundaries and uphold their reputation for excellence. Stay tuned as Yamaha pioneers new horizons, embraces innovation, and invites Yamaha owners to embark on unforgettable journeys while experiencing the sheer joy of riding. -
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Hi @mr bignal sorry was away for a long weekend. Easter and Anzac weekends over here so took a few days off in between. Just responded to your PM with your membership number, let me know how you get on. Cheers
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Oooh two stroke... the best motorcross. Welcome aboard!
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Wow that's shocking, obv he doens't need new customers.
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