KirriePete

I dunno John, I get my tyres from these guys - Clicky link to moto-tyres - and they can do a set of BT45's delivered to your door for £158, or Pirelli Sport Demons for £155. They come from Germany and usually take 3-4 days, although I did wait a whole week once. Never had a bad tyre from them yet. Yeah, you have to fit them yourself (or find a friendly local bloke who'll do 'em for a fiver), but tyre fitting is not a black art is it? Decent set of levers, some tyre soap scrounged from the skip behind Kwik-fit, and a wee bit of muscle, job done. The only hassle is taking your freshly-mounted tyre to the local petrol station for air - a footpump doesn't really have the oomph for that initial 'Pop!' when the bead sits into the rim. You're welcome.

I'm with Cynic on the 'reverse bleed' method, except I use a syringe from one of those paint tinting kits you get from B&Q. Attach to the bleed nipple, crack it open and pump fluid into the system - you can watch the bubbles come out at the master cylinder end just like opening a bottle of Coke. You'll know when it's all done as the 'fizzing' will stop and you'll just get fluid filling the reservoir. Watch you don't overfill it, and as usual keep an eye open for splashes (I throw an old blanket over everything just in case). If you're paranoid, you can then tie the lever back overnight just to be sure the last wee hangers-on are out of the system.

So which is it? 19th April (day before Hitler - 20th) or 22nd April (Brenda Sax-Coburg 21 April, same as my father)? Why so dismissive of ER-5, CB500 etc? Have you actually ridden any of them? If you're after an all-rounder, that won't cost the earth to run, won't leave you stranded in the middle of your daily commute, but can still keep up with (and leave) most 4-wheeled traffic in town and on motorways, then these bikes have a lot to recommend them. What sort of budget are you on? Will you be looking at new or secondhand? Of course, if you've been following Columbo's thread, you'll know which bike a lot of us (those with any sense, that is!) rate very highly - it can tour, commute, scratch and filter with the best of 'em, it will do 50mpg ridden sensibly (as if that ever happens!), can handle 2-up camping trips without breaking a sweat, has a bombproof tried & tested motor and a whole wealth of spares, accessories and technical knowledge behind it. It is of course .................. the Suzuki Bandit! Go on, you know you want one!

Premix - add the pearls/crystals/whatever to water, NOT the other way round - it's an exothermic (heat generating) reaction, so you want a large body of water to soak up the heat created. Don't they teach chemistry at schools these days? The pipe will be OK - it's either mild or stainless steel so will be unaffected by the caustic.

Be warned that without a proper intro in the cunningly hidden (in plain sight at the top of the forum) New Members section, you are making yourself a target for the pithy wit that this site is famous for, something to do with folk posting a question, getting an answer then buggering off never to be seen again.... Having said that - it's a 12bhp 125 4-stroke single - how much speed can you possibly get out of it? Even if you could bang in the internals from a YZ 'box, the ratios are probably all wrong for a (relatively) slow-revving 4-stroke, they'll be fine for a buzzy, peaky stinkwheel with a powerband as wide as a teenager's attention span. So, you could try fiddling with the sprockets - up on the front/down on the back may give you a higher top speed, if the engine can pull it, but reduce your acceleration. Smaller front sprocket/larger rear will give you better acceleration, but may reduce top speed - it may not as the lower gearing may allow the bike to pull enough higher revs in top gear to compensate. I wouldn't recommend a smaller front sprocket, however, as the tighter turn involved can knacker your chain much quicker. Also be aware that if you increase sprocket sizes you are likely to need a longer chain. Or just get a bigger bike. If you haven't passed your test yet, get it done before the new rules come into play. HTH

Wouldn't have happened on a Bandit .....

Bandit! I've got a million of 'em! Here we are, on a Yamaha site, pushing a Yamaha owner to become a Suzuki man - huh?

That's basically Caustic Soda - Clicky link for much cheapness - damn good stuff but wear thick Marigolds and watch the disposal - chucking it down the drain in the road outside your house will have the council Elfin Safety and Environment Officer all over you like a rash, so chuck it down the drain outside your neighbour's house!

Back when I were a lad, we'd bung half a spud in the end of the pipe and fill it up with Caustic Soda. Leave it standing overnight, maybe longer, empty out the contents (in an environmentally-friendly way naturally) and flush through with a hosepipe. Nail it back on the bike then thrash the tits off it for as long as it took to stop steaming/smoking. Or .... stick a blowtorch in one end and let rip until (i) the smoke stops or (ii) the neighbours get the Fire Brigade out.

401 - 600 cc = £53/yr Over 600 cc = £74/yr Do you want a grin like this after your first 30 miles? Bandit 600 - just do it! Whole load of 'em on egay, prices in the £1-2 k bracket.

6v electrics are really sensitive to bad connections - let's face it, when you've only got 6v to start with, any loss is going to be bad. So .... check and clean all the connections (particularly earth points) you can get your hands on - a sheet of fine emery paper and a tub of Vaseline will be your closest companions for a while (maybe I should rephrase that? Naaahhh!) - even then don't expect miracles, 'rudimentary' is a good way of describing these electrics. Best of luck!

Steady on fella, watch your blood pressure! I'm not really comfortable with having a befanged, bloody mouth so close to the Gentleman's Department - bit distracting doncha know!

Cleaning equipment: Bog brush Engine degreaser Hosepipe Cleaning method: Spray bike with hose Poke with degreaser-soaked bog brush in nooks and crannies Wave bog brush over areas likely to get caked ('zorst, swingarm etc) Rinse with hose Time taken - about 10 minutes for a deep clean. Pre-winter - spray & wipe with ACF50 Most importantly, ride a bike, not a work of art or you'll be forever paranoid about stone chips, tar spots, bird crap etc..

My usual source for this sort of thing is WEMoto - clicky link for Fazer stuff (check year). Prices are usually reasonable, service (in my experience) has always been first class - I think the longest wait I've ever had was 4 days. HTH

They'll say "Where's your certificate?" you'll reply "Here's one I got off ebay/a bloke down the pub", then they'll say "Fair enough, on your way sonny" - aye, right! From More Crap than News:

Sorry to be so basic, but when was your chain last checked?

When you work it out: 3 x 8 hour days at £30/hr (including bike hire) = £720 Test fees = £120 You're up to £840 easily, not including bike hire & instructor time on test day. So .... pay bigger money, do a "crash" course and be licenced in a week, or pay less, take training runs when you can and take a couple of months. Whichever way you do it, the feeling of tearing those L plates up is still as good!

To gain the coveted full licence you need to do: 1. Theory test - 50 questions in an hour (57 minutes, acksherly), got to get 43 right to pass. This rolls into the Hazard Perception test, 14 video clips where you need to click at the right time to say you've spotted the hazard(s) - 14 clips, 15 hazards, one clip has 2 - you need to score 44 out of a possible 75 points to pass. Grab a practice DVD from pretty much anywhere (saw them in Tesco's the other day) and that should sort you out. Oh, and read the Highway Code! Cost - £31 2. Practical Module 1 - off road at the test centre wobbling round the cones with a 50kph blat around the big loop for the avoidance test (hint: don't brake and swerve, swerve then brake in a straight line). Not necessary, but advisable to get some training for this - it's not riding like you do on the road every day. Cost - £15.50 3. Practical Module 2 - road test. 3/4 hour or so being followed round a local course by an examiner, behaving yourself impeccably. Again, you can do this without any training, but a couple of runs with a local instructor may show up any weak points you need to work on. Cost - £75 (daytime Mon-Fri) or £88.50 (evenings and weekends) If you're over 21 you can do the practical bits on a bike over 46bhp and leapfrog the '2 years at 33bhp' period, but you can only ride the big bike when accompanied by an instructor. So ..... you are at least £121.50 to get your ticket, but throw in some training and the price goes up. Our local instructors (Scotriders in Dundee) charge £30 for a 90 minute session if you use your own bike - bloody good value if it saves you having to do your test twice, no? HTH Cost me a tenner back in 1980 and was half a dozen laps of Montrose Post Office while the examiner had a fag! Happy Daze!

1 - Already answered 2 - From the sign at the bottom to Applecross itself is just over 11 miles, but you can keep going round to Shieldaig and push it up to 40-odd with every bend opening up yet more stunning scenery - here's more vid of that: 3 - As is evident in the above video - single track road, surfaced in gravel, worn patches, potholes and sheepshit, then throw in the unwanted attentions of sheep and tourists not watching the road (more sheep, really!) ..... Anyway, it's all about looking at the jaw-dropping views, not setting a new lap record. Ideal bike for this would be a big traillie (my old Dommie 650 loved it!) or super retard motard, maybe a TDR250?

Well, the lad's Bandit 600 managed fine with him and me on it - both 6ft, him about 13½ stone, me "a wee bit more". Mind you, if you have to restrict it to 33bhp you may find the performance 2-up to be less than thrilling. How do choke/carbs work? Well, a carb mixes air and fuel by use of the Bernoulli effect - fast moving air has low pressure, causing fuel to be sucked up a tube into the airstream as a fine spray. The choke effectively blocks some of the airflow, giving a higher proportion of fuel to air (richer mixture) for initial starting when cold. You did ask! Finally, so you can cop an idea of scale for the Bandit (I agree with up.yours - they are fantastic machines for not a lot of money), here's the 6ft lad on his B6 the day he collected it: You're welcome

How old's the fluid? You should change it at least every 2 years as it 'goes off' - hygroscopic, absorbs water, boiling point falls, more compressible, etc... If you're not sure, change it: Pipe on bleed nipple into jar of fluid. Open reservoir and loosen nipple Pump fluid out, topping up the reservoir before it gets down to the hole in the bottom Keep going until fresh fluid comes out the bottom, then hold lever and tighten bleed nipple. Job done! Also that will mean the brake gets a proper bleeding, which could be a nother cause of any sponginess. Other things? How old are the hoses? Rubber brake pipes go squashy with age (5 years is the usual quoted figure) - best to replace them with stainless steel braided hoses, sharper feel, longer life - I'm a fan of HEL stuff myself. If the pads are low (how low is low?) they might also be a bit old and can start getting flaky. Can't remember if the 'Cat has single-sided or double-sided brakes. Either way, check that the piston(s) are sliding freely (not all covered in crap/rust) and any sliding pins aren't seized. Fuggit, just start at one end of the braking system and work to the other making sure everything is as good as you can get it - remember they're the main thing stopping you from crunching into the pillock emergency stopping coz he dropped his coffee in his lap!

Dundee Bikers did theirs on Saturday - great day for it, cold but sunny. Have some video footage: I'm at 10 seconds in, marshalling in my hi-viz on the inside of the roundabout (circle in Dundee-speak). The lead bike? That's Ned the Scotriders owner/instructor on his BMW GS: how he kept that upright in the crosswinds we had that day is a mystery ....

Cornflakes packet, sharp knife, a steady hand, a hole punch and a smear of Blue Hylomar - sorted!

^^^ Wot 'e said, mind you Blackhat is definitely of the "Ears ain't bleeding, it's not needing" disposition - ever heard the H2 on open 'spannies? Crikey!

Old CX's have this issue with perished inlet rubbers and I've heard one can use a tight fitting length of old innertube as a virtually invisible repair. Me? No, that's bodging and I don't do that sort of thing, honest guv.....