KirriePete

If it goes firm after a few pumps then you've still got air in the line somewhere. Back brakes are a pain in the ar$e to bleed, mostly because the lines run close to horizontal and wee bubbles can get trapped almost anywhere, so .... 1. Remove caliper, put a chock in between the pads and hang the caliper from somewhere around the seat to get the hose nearer vertical. Bleed as normal. or 2. Remove caliper, chock the pads, drop the caliper down and push fluid up through the bleed nipple with a syringe - watch out for overspill from the reservoir. The thing to bear in mind is that it's always easier to get the brake fluid moving in the same direction as the bubbles, ie uphill. HTH

OK, let's clear up the rampant misconceptions here: B is for bias-belted, nothing to do with belt drive, it's just a carcass layout that's halfway between crossplys and radials. Dunlop D206 is a radial tyre and, as such, is perfectly OK for the rear of any bike. MOT rules on different construction tyres are basically that the front must be the same or stiffer construction than the rear, so: Radial rear - any front Bias-belt rear - bias-belt or crossply front (NOT radial) Crossply rear - crossply only front. Here endeth the lecture - hope you guys get your tyres sorted out OK.

Presumably it starts eventually? And when it's running it's fine? First guess would be an airlock in the tank. When it dies, try opening the fuel tank, if you get a 'Whoosh!' of air going in, then you need to find the vent hole and unblock it. Even if you don't get a 'Whoosh!' it's worth opening the cap and restarting, just to check - try running with the cap slightly loose and see if it drops dead (obviously not with a brim-full tank!). Dunno where the vent is on these bikes, some have a small hole in the cap, some have an overflow that does double duty, have a look around the filler neck, should be pretty obvious. If it's had the tank off at the garage, maybe they've trapped the vent hose when they put it back on? HTH

Scoops, not trying to pwn you in any way, but the idea of keeping a bike in pristine condition is totally alien to me. Keeping it mechanically sound, now that's another thing entirely - this year (so far) I've spent almost half of what my NTV cost me in keeping it in good running order (Fuel exhaust, tyres, bearings, fork seals, brake pipes ..... there's a long list), but only a little time washing it (bucket, sponge, hose - 10 minutes max). Here's a pic of the same area on my bike as in your original post: .. spot the rear engine mount cover? The silver paint is now all worn off (I have a corresponding silver patch on my left ankle), but I ain't about to respray it, it's not structural or in any way mechanically critical and the plastic doesn't care about weather protection - but see how clean the centre stand is? Freshly Hammerited as that is a component that benefits from weather protection - if you can appreciate the difference, then you're doing OK. PS - yes, that is a rubber door-stop screwed under the footrest hanger - the Fuel exhaust doesn't have a centrestand stop so I improvised.....

Well, I think I'm right in saying that none of the major players manufacture their own bearings in-house, they buy them in from the likes of SKF and FAG. Sooooo ..... why not cut out the middleman? I get all my bearings from the local factors, where I get a choice ranging from the cheap 'Tesco Value' up to 'Not just a bearing, this is a Marks & Spencer bearing', I usually plump for something in the middle strangely! Here, have a link to your size over at Simply Bearings - their most expensive one is only £19 (plus VAT), so where Suzuki get £40 from ....?

Have a read of this: Bruce Pollard - a real character on a bike with real character Now look at your bike, look back at Bruce's, look at your bike ...... PS - The stainless cage idea may well protect the cover, but what will it do to your boots/ankles?

Wrap the bike in cotton wool, then lock it away in a climate-controlled glass cabinet and just fondle it from time to time (wearing white cotton gloves of course). Or just ride the bloody thing and accept that the very act of riding it will cause normal wear'n'tear. Strap some sheepskin to your boots, maybe? A good lacquer coat may protect it a bit longer, but the onset of patination can only ever be delayed, not stopped. (Yeah, I'm kinda grumpy today, but I much prefer bikes with character to shiny showroom perfect machines)

Definitely sounds like your main jets are the likely problem as this is where they start working properly. So a strip and clean is in order I would think - you might get away with blasting aerosol carb cleaner up from the float chamber if you don't fancy a full strip-down, certainly worth a try.

Hi, my name's Pete and I'm an alcoh .... sorry, wrong forum! My brother got through his moped test with the GPO at 16 so he could be a Telegram Boy, thus he could ferry me (age 13) round London on his Puch VZ50 Flying Banana (Google it and you'll see why). The seeds were planted..... Move forward a year or two, now living in Suffolk, a pal and I were clearing an old geezer's garden and came across a rusty hulk of an Ariel Arrow in the hedge - "Take it away lads, I've no use for it". Pip's dad was a lifelong biker, so with his help we managed to breath some form of life into the old stroker and only ever used it as a field bike, never on the roads, not us little 14/15 year olds, no sir, not at all! The desire grew stronger .... At last I hit 16 and got a bit of green paper from Swansea, a couple of Puch Maxis from the back of the local bike shop and a Norwich Union Rider Policy from the local broker - the roads were mine! 35 years and a rollercoaster ride up and down the capacity range and I'm still at it - had the longest 5 years of my life when an inner ear problem kept me off two wheels, all I could do was sit on the XS750 in the garage making 'Brrrmmm!' noises and whispering "Soon, my love. Soon!". Many thanks to Mr Mills of Ninewells Hospital Otolaryngology Department - I'm deaf in the right ear, but I ain't wobbled (while sober, anyway) for many years now. So that's my tale - passed on the biker gene to number 1 son - he's got a Suzuki Bandit 600 just now, and it looks like my nephew has caught it too, in spite of his parents (my kid sister & her hubby) - he's just starting out on a Chinee thing (Jinlun 125-11 poseur cruiser). Me brother who started it all? Did a spell as a Star Rider instructor on his BMW R80 then got married and had a thumb surgically implanted on top of his head - I still hope he'll come back to the fold one day.....

Think the Divvy's a standard 55/60W anyway, but not all bulbs are equal - I've heard good things about these: Hellfraud's Extreme Brilliance. Bit pricey, but some of the guys over at the NTV Forum say they're a vast improvement over the original weedy H*nda item - could be good for the Divvy as well?

OK, let's review the bidding: 1 - You ask if the 650 can be restricted so you can ride it on a CBT ticket. 2 - Dean_DT gives you the 100% correct answer 3 - Andy gives a similar answer (factually incorrect on power, but no big deal), then he voices his opinion that the restriction to 125's is a good thing. 4 - Leatherat gives the same factually correct answer 5 - You come back a bit miffed that Andy hasn't recognised your prowess thanks to your apprenticeship on an unrestricted 125 6 - Micheal Winner OldGit says "Calm down dear, it's just a general statement" 7 - You - Point taken 8 - TTM gives sound advice on the jump from 125 to anything more hefty 9 - Leatherat and his mad video 10 - Andy confirms his point was a general one 11 - 17 - Sidetracked over the antics in the video 18 - You - I only wanted my question answered. I'm totally confident coz I've been riding a fast 125 for 3 years. It's a tough forum. 19 - OldGit agrees that the 650 is not all that quick 20 - Leatherat - more clarification on the law as regards restrictions and a 'Tough? Not really, hope you've not been put off' 21 - up.yours simple answer to the original question, ie: no 22 - Andy - not tough, just discussing risks 23 - TTM gets a wee bit sarcy in response to your self-proclaimed riding prowess. 24 - More video sidetracking 25 - You get sniffy again 26 - I get a wee bit annoyed at you trying to take the moral high ground and feel it's time to bring you back to earth over your illegal past 27 - You get all self-justificatory (made up word?) again 28 - Leatherat - chill dude, this is nothing. 29 - PeterC - You asked and got an answer - problem? So .... looking back, the only attitude being shown here was from you because you think you're a good rider based on your time on a 125 and can't seem to grasp that more experienced riders may not think the same. As for my wee dig about insurance - you hear all the talk about premiums rising to cover for uninsured riders/drivers? That's you on your 125, in fact if you're still riding it now before passing your test you are illegal, so don't! The 'I didn't realise it was unrestricted' argument (a) won't wash with m'learned friends and ( shows that your riding prowess is nowhere near as good as you think if you can not tell how much power you've got. Please try to see that no-one here is having a go at you, all advice so far has been in the spirit of education, so accept it for what it is, take a chill pill and join in the banter. Oh yeah, having your first post as a question to the masses - here's where you normally end up: Click Me - be thankful. One more thing - when you move the 125 on, please don't flog it to some 17-year old on a CBT. They won't restrict it, they'll be illegal, they may end up wrapped around a tree or worse. Stay safe, stay upright, stay calm, but stay here, it really is a friendly place

Hmmm .... not going to get into the bullies debate (although I can't see any bullying here, just strong opinions), however "4 years riding an unrestricted RS 125" - really? So, you've been riding unlicensed and uninsured for 4 years and you don't see anything wrong with that? Seems like you're the reason my insurance premiums keep going up, despite a pristine licence and spotless accident record - thanks a bunch!

MRR has called it in terms of 'Softly, softly' to start with, I'll only add "watch out for the tyres" - the tyres generally used on sportsbikes only start working properly when they've got some heat in 'em (same as all bikes really, but sportsbikes are more sensitive) - many's the time a Power Ranger has been spat off coming out of a car park with cold rubber like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxbHyEIkgdU As for further training: See your local Plod about Bikesafe - cheapest bit of further training going. See your bike trainer about the Enhanced Rider Scheme. Relax, enjoy your new ride and stay safe.

As Paul says, sounds like a bad connection somewhere - prime candidate is the main earth strap from the battery to the frame/engine, make sure the connections are clean, shiny and tight - a wee dob of Vaseline will help protect them from any future corrosion (that's the ONLY reason I have a jar of Vaseline in the shed - honest!). Then check every other electrical connector on the bike - should keep you from getting bored for a while......

Aye, if you're getting 17v the the rectumfrier is most likely borked - here's one on Evilbay for a bit less than £60 - Clicky link. Get it replaced and see what the bike's like afterwards - could be that's all you need to do to get it going sweetly....

Drop a teaspoon of oil down the plug 'ole then rerun the compression test - if it improves then it would appear to be a ring/barrel sealing problem, if not then it points more to the head, dodgy gasket/warped head/cracked head/something of that nature.

Oh I know it alright - every morning when I come downstairs it's like someone's dropped a bag of castanets - I just refuse to accept it.

Bike mirrors are always a bit 'iffy', mostly you get a great view of your shoulders and elbows with a wee bit of road peeking round the side. Longer stems may be the answer, but have you thought about bar-end mirrors? I had a set on my old MZ (many, many moons ago - I feel old now!) and they were the absolute mutt's nuts - clear, stable view with no human body parts in sight, just a bit of the back of the seat to give some scale. Just a thought.....

Technically, if the bike is on the public highway, it has to be insured, taxed & MOT'ed and you have to be licenced, even if only pushing it. Calling a mobile mechanic for what may be just an underinflated tyre is a bit overkill, and likely to be expensive. Why not just pop along to your nearest Hellfraud's and lay a fiver on the counter for a footpump - Clicky link thing - it's an investment that will pay you back many times over the years. As for the tyre itself - if it's not fully flat you've got a choice of slow puncture, leaky valve or just plain underinflation. While you're in Hellfraud's get a pressure gauge (the ones on the pumps are not usually that accurate...), then you can pump up the tyre and monitor it over a day or three to see what happens. By the way - point of etiquette - it's considered polite here if you introduce yourself before launching in with the questions - just a quick "Hi, I'm atig and I'm an alc ...." over here - Another Clicky Link. Just be thankful you didn't get sent here (yes, this is a link as well). You're welcome.

Simple maths - 130/90 on a 15 inch rim has a diameter of 615mm (381 rim, 234 tyre), giving a rolling circumference of 1932mm, a 140/90 on the same rim is 633 diameter (381 plus 252), 1988.6mm circ. So every turn of the wheel takes you 56mm further, about a 3% hike in overall gearing. As for the OP's question - is it possible? Is there room in the gearbox for another pair of cogs with all the associated dogs'n'stuff? Would've thought you'd need to slim down the existing set to make room, which could lead to a pretty weak box. Unless there's a 6-speed cluster from another bike that would be a simple(ish) swap ..... ?

.... or get a syringe (one from a B&Q paint tinting kit is fine) and a bit of plastic tube and 'push' the fluid up from the caliper bleed nipple. Keep an eye on the reservoir as you do this - lots of bubbles followed by a rapidly rising fluid level, stop at this point. Done this way you may not even need to do a traditional bleed on the system - works for me!

I've put Hellfraud's own brand Motorcycle semi-synth 10W/40 in every bike for the last ..... blimey, that long? Never a problem. Car oils are mostly a no-no thanks to friction modifiers and their effect on bike wet clutches (won't go into the weirdoes who use diesel oils just now ...). As for the seal - it's a copper or ally crush washer, don't know the exact size, but any motor factors, even Hellfrauds, should have 'em in stock. Having said that, I've reused the existing one many a time and never yet had a drip, so ..... HTH

Why not just give it a blast with some silicone lube spray? Or a proper graphite-based lock spray, just don't be tempted to use WD40, I've heard locksmiths cursing it's name when stripping locks down.

If the battery's flat after just a couple of button presses and a few kicks, it's probably knackered, regardless of whether it will charge up. Beg, steal or borrow a known good battery and see what happens... Or you've got some really crappy earths ...

The slider's retained inside the kill-switch unit. Just a couple of screws underneath to split the halves of this, then it's fairly obvious what's what. Remember to lubricate the new slider in the switch unit with a dob of grease before putting it all back together. You're welcome.