Paulwhite

i actually did it with a rag but was very careful still have all my fingers and didnt have any accidents , and probably not the best idea for new riders but it worked for me.

as to the lift yes its really handy and a recommended buy! i havent got one so i just used to stack a 2 by 4 chunk of wood on a brick next to the bike then lift the back end onto it ( a little tricky but possible best get someone to hold the front end whilst u do it ) as to cleaning a chain the best way is what is above! but i used to lift the back end up and turn up the idle so u could put it in 1st and just let it run without touching it to spin the back wheel and chain etc then get a couple of stiff scrubbing brushes soaked in oil on either side of the chain (its potentially dangerous and i strongly recommend you do it properly!)but it used to work for me and the chain used to come up nice and clean then just spray liberally with chain lube, clean all the oil splats on the bodywork and job done!

god its been a long time since i left that post lol but yeah iv fitted a dragstar 125 carb its a bit tight but it fits (just) found its exactly the same just the part where the end of the throttle cable goes is on the other side but im gonna try and swap it round if i cant then itl still work. but yeah i found that the engine runs loads better with the airbox! rather than an air filter. plus iv figured out it wasnt the carb causing problems it was me piston rings so the bike is now off the road whilst i try and source some parts iv tried cmc and there crap! said they need the virago frame number to find the piston rings even though its just the engine iv got!!! so going to go and get mugged at the sachs dealer (they charge stupid amounts!) lol

yeah just tighten up the clutch cable and see how it goes as to the rpm or speed question if you can hear it in every gear at differant speeds then its to do with rpm (somethin loose) but if its only at a certain speed then its turbulance, just check it over if uv still got it after doin the clutch. but hopefully it should sort it out.

could be the rubber in chrome plates on top of ur cylinders has worn so it makes them rattle. but could be absolutely anything! best to go round the bike and check all the bolts and panels to see if there loose. dont suppose if you know if its just at a certain speed you get the rattle or if its at a certain rpm? if it rattles at a certain rpm then something is loose but if it only rattles at a certain speed then most likely its the sound of the air (turbalance) rushing past the bike. similar to what happens when u spin a hose pipe round you get that sound(vibration) then that in turn could touch something else causing a "rattle". for example your clutch cable touching part of the bike? hope this helps.

here is a link to one iv found on ebay REAR WHEEL

the only thing i can think of that would cause it to crack is overheating.???. i tightened up my rear brake a little too much once and it just rubbed the inside of the drum, didnt realize i did it till i got to where i was going (about half an hour down the dual carriage way!) to find the hub had turned a funny colour and was smoking! luckily mine didnt crack but it could b possible that that is whats happened to urs. best bet is have a look on ebay i found some wheels on there for about 50 quid last month so might still be on. as to the front caliper, take it off the fork, take the pistons out and clean all the crud off. then put them back in (i used 2 monkey grips to push the pistons back in all the way and took the cap of the reservoir) then put the caliper back on the forks, put the reservoir cap back on (loosely) and pump the lever till its doing its job, then tighten up the cap . might need to get a bleed kit and some more dot 4 to make sure its done properly.(i didnt and its been fine for me) but yeah good luck with that m8 hope you can get it back on the road soon.

looks good but id b very cautious! a 750cc for £150? with no reserve!!!?? makes me think whats up with it! if it was me id go down with a spare battery (ask seller what voltage battery is) and a tool kit and try and get it started! if you put the spare battery in it, then tick it over, if it dont start ask if you can check the carbs, take the tank off and take the side cover off the carbs to get to the jets, take the jets out and give them a blow then put it all back together and see if u can bump it, also check spark plug colour and quality of oil, check the air filter for muck and dirt, also check the fuel colour! (should b clear) and see if the electrics work. if you get it started (warm it up 1st) then give it a quick blast in 1st gear to make sure the engine revs ok with a load then go through all the gears to see if they work (dont need to go fast just see if there hard to get in or seized) last but not least check the chain and sprockets to see if they need replacing and overall condition of the bike if you get it started and it all looks ok then its a steal m8! if it all works then id pay up to £500 max for it then sort it out (properly) to flog it on for anywhere between £1000-£1500 (if you can get that much for it!) but yeah just be cautious!

yeah sounds good but as iv said just make sure the engine is ok ( check service records/ if its been rebuilt and who rebuilt it, any work done for the mot? ect.) give it a test drive! if they havent got anything to hide then they wont mind! ul find that there r some ppl out there that wont tell u that the engine is about dead till u find out for urself. so just be careful.. ur best bet is to ask on here! im sure there are some ppl with broken 125s that want to sell and they will tell u exactly whats up with the bike!

could be but all depends what ur looking for! best take a m8 who knows a bit about how an engine should run to check it out b4 u spend ur cash. but id say ur best off including the price of an engine in ur budjet just incase u need it. then as long as uv got a good rolling chasis with all the extras it dont matter what shape the bike is in! but note if you make considerable changes to the engine or frame then ul need to get it checked out by the dvla to make sure it meets road standards and is legal! plus ul need to get it registerd

ok for starters that bike would be way too advanced for your skills! start small and work your way up! id say you want a small bike (50 to 125cc) to begin with. iv worked on cars (bodywork and paint) in my own time to gain some of the skills necessary to do a decent looking job. you would be looking for a 125 with damaged or no fairing, but you want the frame and the rest of it to be in good working order! (especially the engine unless you can afford to replace it!) then go from there, id say spend no more than £500 on your 1st project bike and expect to pay anything up to £1500 for the parts, paint and materials you will need, then you need to think about if you have the right tools! your best bet would to buy a bike to use for ur every day runaround and use the xvs 125 as a starter project. the only reason why i decided to start my project was because the engine blew up so i had nothing to loose. i bought the bike brand new for £4000 and wanted to try and retain some value, flogging it for parts would only fetch around £1000 and scrap value is pitiful! so i thought spend £1000 on it and then when finished il have a nice brand new 125 custom bobber that might fetch £4000 when i come to sell it but there is no guarantee!

was it cmc in chesterfield? by any chance? after my dragster had a service i found half the bolts were missing and they didnt do half the jobs they charged me for!!

yeah haggle ur ass off and ul b amazed to what you can get away with, do it the last week in the month and ul find there gettin desperate to meet their quota. lol remembered when i used this trick to buy my 125 dragster, i got away with murder!

good question ! but i dont know ....probably down to cost, but surely it would make sense that in some way the force of the person pedaling would help towards keeping the battery charged. iv noticed that they use a drum brake for the front wheel surely you could put a dynamo where the shoes should b and convert it to disk brake, then u will be charging the battery as you move. might even get a few extra miles out of it. and buy law for you not to have to pay tax, insurance ect, you need to pedal it. (so that the motor is off unless the rider dus somethin to turn it on) and "legally" they can only do 15mph with the motor but in reality you could take the restrictions off (very easy), but run the risk of the police pulling you up, but it is said that they tend not to bother just as long as ur not causing a danger to others (which in my mind u are doing goin 15 in a 60 limit). as to the 2nd battery its nowhere near as big or as heavy as the original and stays under the seat instead of the footwell, (there is a separate plug for it)

did urs speed up when u pedaled? cause the one i went on u could only get 15 on the trottle but if you peddaled hard you could get 40! and it shifted! but you can get a 2nd battery for these which go under the seat for them long journeys (or for a resurve tank so to say) think you get another 15 - 20 miles out of it but they dont last as long as the main one dus.

dunno. need to give it a test ride! but it hit 30 faster than my xvs dragstar!

yeah ok the looks are a bit shoddy to say the least but im sure that it can be sorted in the near future! im more for the idea of it than the looks cause at the end of the day whats from stopping them making it look like an aprillia rs? or a pitbike? just a little bodywork! its a good idea and will work out alot cheeper in the long run yeah it might not pull 70mph up a steep hill but if u pedal you can reach a decent speed more so than you would if you were on a pushbike!

the bike is rated 28miles at 30mph without pedaling and a new battery cost only £60! its good for about 600 charges then will need replacing. which is quite reasonable.

nice looking bike and id rather have rear suspention due to the roads being rather crap round my way but am just having trouble finding any small enough (need ones that are about 1 inch smaller than the originals) but as to the front fender i havent actualy tried it for size but it looks way to small for the width of the tire plus im wanting to sell it to fund some other parts i need. i doo like that xs400 oh dont suppose you know where to get white wall tiers that will fit the 125 dragstar? im not needing any yet (just got new ones) but would like to get some in the futue.

hi all iv just ridden an electric moped!!!! well its actually a pushbike in the shape of a moped but i was pleasantly suprised!! they have lights, indicators, a horn and it can do 70mph up hill!!! the main good thing is you dont need to pay tax, insurance and rising petrol costs! its something like 7p and 4 hours to charge the 24volt battery and you get about 28 miles out of a single charge but you can pedal the thing as well as use the throttle! iv had a blast and there great fun and quite nippy! i am seriously thinking about spending my hard earned cash on one of these! brand new they cost from £1000 to £1500 but when you compare that to a new 50cc scooter, insurance, tax and petrol its a bargain! they dont need all the insurance and tax cause there classed as a pushbike and cause its electric there is no tax i seriously recomend people go and have a go on one of these!.

and to add i cant see any vids im using a usb modem for mobile broadband (way too slow!!!) so i cant watch the vid uv posted. but as to exhausts a yammaha one wont fit on the engine that im getting, plus i like the sound of a deep pitbike engine so i might as well use the exhausts off of one. plus id have to custom make them and at 35 quid for the complete exhaust i cant grumble!

piping? i dont understand what u mean? as to the shocks iv just roughly fabricated the bar from 16mm steel tubing, just needed to see what the ride height should be then i can take that bar to size up some rear shocks, if i cant find any the size i need then il just use the tubing and do it properly.

cheers for the pic drewpy i like the look of that light! and as to the tank my idea is to put a red and white stripe (kinda like what u see on a car) going from the speedo to the seat but it will only be about 3-4 inch wide plus il be painting the dragstar badge red with black writing to try and even up the colour scheme. as to the wood seat it will be padded with proper foam set into the wood, iv got to make a bracket so i can attach the springs to it. and the rear fender carryers will need to be cut off with a grinder, and the front fender wont fit on the rear cause the width of the tire is too great. but once i make one il post a how too. you might b able to buy one but i havent looked to b honest

using fibreglass isnt hard its just messy look it up on youtube, and yeah im hopin the lights will shine through the fibreglass.....somehow (still need to do some tests). and as for the bobber seat they are universal but im going to make my own out of wood but still need to find a decent size chunk of pine. and last but not least pipes. im going to use a pitbike engine so it will be a modified pitbike exhaust that will run under the bike then split into two exits either side the bottom frame at the back. as to the sissy bar its more comfort than looks but still undecided to keep it or not.