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The idea of draining the carbs had not occured to me (thanks) plus filling the tank so no air is a good idea as well, so many ideas about fuel who would have thought it? The reason I have laid the bike up so early is that I am off to sunny Australia to visit my brother and will not need the bike for a good few weeks, any ideas about riding in Aus would be appreciated as I intend to buy a bike for when I am out there and go off on a bit of a ride about, bikes are really expensive out there so I will leave my Bro to sell it on when I come back. Going to the Nulabor plain and Ayers rock (ULARU I think it's called ) and lots of desert/highway cruising 3 or 4 weeks of sun scorpions crocodilles and spiders should do me. If any of you have riden out there I would appreciate any advice you might have about what NOT to do.

Hi Sianny and welcome to the YOC, It might be better if you use this part of the forum to tell everyone who you are and where your from THEN ask your question in the "WORKSHOP" section of the site, people can (and will) get grumpy if you don't ask the questions in the right order, ie I'm new now help me! Some one will have a fix for your problem just ask in the right place.

Hi Littlej, Welcome to the YOC, I have an XJ and the US SECA both 750s and parts aren't a problem, loads of them about in all sorts of conditions, the only thing really wrong with them is the wiring (least that's what I have found) complete crap and takes hours to sort the smallest problem out but old bikes need more care than new ones. Lots of good advice on this site and most of the people are more than willing to help out just don't take what they say to heart as they can be a bit unforgiving, especially when you ask (what they think) are daft questions, if you can't find it in the book then ask but not before . Good luck with your new? bike.

Hi Welcome to the YOC, I'm in Stroud so not far from you, nice to have some one nearby for a change, most seem to be from Scotland, West country or the Midddle lands. PS Ok I suppose if your desperate for a pasty or a slice of sheep intestines! (ONLY JOKING OK!)

Welcome to the YOC Sam, best roads in the world in bonnie scotland but weather is F****ing awful.

Thank you all for your advice, I am going to leave fuel in the tank and hope for the best, thanks OG sorry Drewps!

SEE! that's what I mean everyone seems to have a different idea now, OG says leave some in and you drewps say empty it, back in the day fuel used to last about 12 months in the tank and if you topped it off with fresh stuff in the summer it was as good as gold but this stuff we have now doesnt even smell like petrol anymore and there seems more sludge/gunge gloop when it's left for about a fortnight let alone through the winter. The oil content was higher and seemed to keep the seals and washers much more flexible than this stuff does. So I'm back to square one with what to do over winter, I cant ride it in the cold, had cancer and one of the joys of surviving is you get all sorts of little reminders of how sick you were, so I will have to think this through again, although I still like OGs idea of keeping a gallon in the tank. Bugger some thing else to worry about.

Thanks OG, I have always thought that petrol IN was the way to go but seeing some of the horrors that others have suffered has made me think twice, your right I will bung in another gallon to top it up and as you suggest will flush the carbs once a week or so.

I have just laid the bike up for the winter and have about 3 pints of petrol left in the tank, from some of the other comments that I have read it seems that there is a case for leaving some fuel in the tank and for emptying it, so which is best? I was always thought that some fuel in the tank kept the seals and rubbers in good condition but having seen some of the horrible gunk that some peeps have in their tank after leaving it for a while I'm not so sure now, is it some thing to do with the amount of ethanol that is now in fuel or just crap fuel that we get here, any advise would be appreciated as I do not want to find in 6 months that the whole fuel system needs to be cleaned out, I don't mind taking the carbs off or flushing the tank but would prefer not to.

If your stancions (the chrome bits) are rusted or pitted then you need to address that first, I have the same problem with my XJ at the moment, if it's just the seals then it will mean removing the forks and a complete strip down to get the new seals in, you have to be careful taking the forks apart as the spring have a habit of trying to take your eye out if you look down the hole as you release the pressure. Usually a spring /C washer at the top which you have to release first before getting at the spring, look in your Haynes if in doubt some times they get it right and just follow what it says in the instructions, quite straight forward really but you have to do it in the right order, getting the new seals in can be a bit of a trial as they tend to try to warp out of shape as you try to insert them, most workshops have a special tool for seal fitting so go see your local friendly! mechanic and ask if you can beg or borrow one off of him/her, you can use a bit of plastic tubing cut down to size but that gets really fiddly if you don't have a mate to hold things in place while you push it into place, and remember OIL EVERYTHING before you put the seals in as it makes it slip home a treat otherwise it just grabs every where and you will need a new set and start over again. Hope that helps?

Thanks Preload, that was what I wanted to hear, cheaper and more practical to rechrome than to bugger about with setting up replacement forks. So this winter off they come and over to the rechromers.

Ok I have a small problem with my front forks on the XJ750, the upper (chrome) legs are very badly pitted and I was wondering if it was possible to replace them with forks from some thing else? The only fly in the ointment is that the XJ has the anti dive setup on the lower end of the forks and I was wondering if I could simply do away with this. Also would anyone know what forks would fit my frame without making it look to much of a frankenmachine, I would like to replace them with something from a lot newer machine but need some advice as to what would fit. The other alternative is to get the stancions rechromed but not sure if this could be done or what the cost would be so if you have any ideas (about my problem and not something that just popped into your head!) I would be really appreciative of some relavent advice. Thanks all.

On my 750 it goes on the number 3 inlet at the top of the carb (right up against the cylinder head), you should see a small rubber boot thingy with a metal clip/tab, if you look you will probably see where it goes as the others have the boot and the one you want doesn't

Whats wrong with a sledge hammer and a chisel then?

Love it, License Doh! LLisense Doh! Dont got one officer!

Hi Ed, And welcome to the world of the big bike, not sure how much you really know about staying safe but keep your eyes on stalks and watch out for everything, the R6 is a really nice bike but it will bite you in the arse if you forget that it can spit you off even in a straight line if you are careless. Just take your time and learn SLOWLY what it can do don't try to race from the get go and you should be ok, go out with a mate and follow him/her until you start to feel a bit more confident, most bikers who crash are unwilling to listen to the phrase "go slow". Advanced rider courses are out there if you need them and for a few quid it might save your life, other than that enjoy your new toy and remember that the blue bit is up and the black bit is down.

Hi Alex, Thanks for that makes it all clear and well done with what you have done to the site. Ok first thing My bike is an XJ750, it's blue and yellow either under the name Martinread or MRR. I hope that helps with finding the right photos and if not please email me and I will do my best to get the info you need, email is [email protected]. Martin.

Ok I see we now have a nice shiny new look to the site and it is an improvement over the original "BUT" where have my photos in the garage gone? Only 2 out of about a dozen that were there and sad to say I DO NOT have the originals. Can anyone tell me if I can get them back and how? HELP!

Welcome to the YOC, nice to hear that I am not the only "old fart" still riding, grey hair don't mean you can't go fast it just means that when you fall off it hurts more and you feel a complete dick. Ride safe.

Been looking at this for 10 minutes and still want to know what bow are you on about? Bow front perhaps!

What "EXACTLY" does it do? does it simply cut out or does it slowly get worse and worse, the coils can get tired after a few years and the HT leads get brittle with the heat + the plug caps can get tracking inside of them that will get worse over time. That is just for starters, so a more precise description of your problem would help with a diagnosis.

Hi Paul and welcome to the YOC, this is the place to say Hi and not to ask for advice, see WORKSHOP, try again mate and someone might tell you what to do to sort out your problem, right now I suspect that your going to get a lot of grief about dipsticks

Nice one Paul, I'll have one (LARGE) pse. Just in case I DO NOT! want a tartan shell suit, got one hanging in the wardrobe now and can't find the right place to wear it. Tried it while riding the bike and kept getting stopped by the rozzers.