Mastiff

My son's really enjoying his bike, since he got the drivers licence last week (after so much training with me that he spent 1/3 of the average you'll have to pay for that lisence in Norway - yes, I'm proud of both him and myself!), except for one thing: We have a 40 km long stretch of highway between our house and our cabin, where he spends much of this summer. The speed limit there is 100, and he can't stick to that in the hills. Another strech of that road is 90, and even that is a problem if the wind's against him. So is there a simple/easy (read: cheap...) way of giving him just a few more horsepowers to manage those hills and the wind? It's an 81 DX that was bought in Sweden. I think everything's stock, and it has around 16 horsepowers now (11-12 kw). Does that mean that it's restricted, so I can just remove something to make it go that little bit faster? I must say, just so it's said, that I trust my son, and he's not going to use the extra muscle to play crazy. We have a 40 kmh zone near the house, and he's been raced past by tuned 50 ccm's on several occasions. Not once have I seen him even try to go above 40 to keep up or show them who's boss. I did not have his self control when I was 16, I can tell you! Then again I've spent two years hammering safety, safety, safety into his head, with protective gear, back protector, knowing the road and all that. But that was a digression (or maybe a disclaimer?). I think the one year later RD 125 LCII and the YPVS models has around 23 or hp when they're not restricted, can the difference be that large in a comparable engine? I guess the water cooling has to mean something, but still...

Thank you very much! I'll compare that with the one I have. I appreciate the help.

I'd appreciate that, thanks!

Airhead, thanks! I'll see if I can get my butt in there after the weekend, which is crazy busy. Blackhat250, that would be brilliant, thanks! Like your tag, btw. I weigh around 100 kilos (mostly muscle, but a bit of the biker airbag), have a shaved head and a fist long Harley beard, and people allways ask me if I ride a Harley, and I always answer: "No, I do not have that much time to spare!"

Unfortunately they don't seem to have anything for the 125 DX.

Yeah, these bikes are probably getting harder and harder to get anywhere with. I'll mail Yambits tomorrow and ask if they know.

I want to change the push rod on my son's '81 125 DX (cast wheel), and I have found one at Yambits which is for "RD200 & DX 1973-1981". Would that be the same as on the 125 DX? I know they share a lot of parts, but not which ones. http://yambits.co.uk/rd200-clutch-push-rod-p-12666.html?osCsid=dl85ndmjgvuehq35v3ssih8gi1

The taste of the young genration... As soon as I had the name Puig this one came up, and he liked it better: http://www.mandp.co....otorcycles/Puig But to his defense it looks like it will be even better at repelling the wind.

Thanks, both of you! That Puig thingy was very cool! That may be an even better choice. I'll have to confer with the rider himself when he gets home from school. Also I must see if I can get that Puig in Norway, since shipping and especially custom fees more than doubles the price before we get it. Norwegian customs service is a bit of a blackmail system... Edit: Norway's even more expensive! And I see the shipping at Buster's accessories is hysterical! If I was living in Sweden (a three hour drive from here) it would be $15, same if I was living in Denmark (a three hour boat trip from here). To Norway it's £58! Stupid!

My son's going to drive his 125 DX a bit more in speed than I thought, he's gotten himself a summer job with a commute on a highway with 100 km/h speed limit. And without a fairing he's acting like a parachute in that speed! So does anybody know of a type of fairing that will fit a DX? Not a full fairing, of course. Just a headlight fairing with a bit of a wind screen on it. I was thinking about something like this, but I don't know if it will be any good: It's from the US eBay and not that expensive either: http://www.ebay.co.u...=item3f16400a03 It says it's for a 7" headlight, and I measured the headlight on the DX to around 16 cm, which is 6,4 inches. Is that probably within the limits?

Oh, no, they are cute! So ugly that they're cute sometimes, yes...but still cute!

He-he! That was exactly what five cats did when they came out of a barn in rural Norway and stumbled upon the male mastiff owned by the people who had bought the farm (literally, that is, not metaphorically speaking...) and where moving in that day. Two of those five cats were able to leave the barnyard, the three others were carried away in plastic bags by people with "CSI" on their white jumpsuits... The farm had been empty for some time, and there was a plague of mor or less feral cats in the area. Strangely enough the mastiff owners didn't see any more cats, though... That mastiff was the brother of our first mastiff, who didn't have anything against cats because she grew up with cats in the neighbourhood.

Well, cats and rabits are great sprinters, but they tire easily. A mastiff kan keep a pretty good pace for a looong time. And of course they do have the advantage that one of their steps is like three for the rabbit and two for the cat. And then there's the element of surprise, of course. If the prey is more surprised than the hunter when they meet accidentally, that can count for much...

How about a Rhodesian Ridgeback? They're a bit shorter than the German, a bit broader and more powerful and have a much bette psyche. Germans haven't really been very good since the 60's. NOw the only good ones are used by the police and the military, the rest have been bred into cowards with a lot less mobility, mainly because they wanted the extreme angles in the rear legs. The cowardness came because too many wanted them because they were cool and mean, but they couldn't handle a strong-willed dog (which the germans originally were). So the breeders bred more "docile" dogs, the problem is that docile has because of the original strong pshyche turned into cowardness. And a fearful dog is not a dog I trust, they can very easily be aggressive. Especially to people who appears scared, so I would not get something like that. Or even a rottweiler, not because they are fearful, but because they are so strong willed that if your missus shows any fear, they will take over. The same goes for anything polar. They are fiercly pack oriented and will try to become the leader if they see any signs of weakness. The ridgebacks have a very good temperament. They are not at all cowards, and they aren't agressive either, as long as they haven't been messed up by "strong arm" training, which isn't really working on them (or mastiffs, for that matter). Be nice to them, and they are nice to you. Be too nice to a german, and it will challenge you because it's scared that you aren't a good pack leader. Oh yes, I do speak like I kow a bit about dogs. Almost 30 years with dogs have tought me a bit...

I didn't really understand the words "german shepherd" and "big dog" in the same sentence... Btw here's what was left of the last burglar we had here, in 2007. Hobbit wasn't fully grown by then, now she's around 75 kilos... A mastiff is really an ideal family dog: Nice to the family, good with other animals if they grow up with them (if they don't they will hunt and kill cats, rabbits and similar), scares the shit out of anybody scouting for a burglary (we've had eastern european gangs here in Norway, and some of my neighbour's houses has been targeted, but never mine, probably because the papillon sleeps so lightly that a mouse farting in the forest makes her bark, and then Hobbit joins in, and you can really hear her size), and they are low maintainance. "No walk today? OK, cool, I'll just get to sleep more." Exept for the shedding periods the fur is no problem. Of course slobbering can be, especially when it's hot or when there's good food involved. My wife gets a bit annoyed by the slingers in the ceiling... And they are so gentle when they're not in "watchdog" mode (which only happens when they need to, so they aren't like a dobermann that goes around half cocked all the time) that my then 80 year old grandfather had no problem taking our mastiff Ninjafor long walks. When it was with him, it didn't even care about cats. With us? Well, that was another story...

Thanks! Maybe it can be fixed. And I understand that you don't use the feature, your mailbox would probably explode with your posting rate...

I am following it! Which is why I'm confused. I didn't get a warning of this answer either. And I do have the correct mail address, and no spam filter what so ever on my system or on the ISP's system in use. I get updates from other forums I'm on, so this is very strange.

Oh, sh... Cr... And assorted other comments! I'm so used to having mail when I get answers to my posts that it didn't really occur to me to check since I didn't get one!!!!! Egg on my face, feeling stupid and so on. Well, the story is that my son had a slight fall with his bike, and I was told by somebody who supposedely knew his bikes that it had to be the steering crown. Which is why I was looking for that. But only today (which is why I went in here - to ask about a handlebar) I found out that it's probably only the handlebar that's damaged. I found out by mounting a piece of straight 22 mm tube in the risers and look at the top of the fork legs. And it all seemed very straight. So now I'm going to try to find the correct handlebar. But thanks a lot anyway, I appreciate it!

Nobody? Hey, you guys know all about these bikes!

I have been looking on eBay and the regular suppliers, but the steering crown is nowhere to find. Can anybody please tell me what webshop I can find that part in? I have found dozens for 125 LC and other models, but none for the DX.

My son would like a top case on his RD to put helmet, boots and cordura pants in when he rides to school next spring. I thought I better start looking early, since I suppose it's not the most common bike to put stuff like that on... Does anybody know if it's even possible? The main thing is that it's lockable, since he fears that they will steal anything that's not locked in, so a soft bag won't work.

Thanks! Actually it's very easy to find a NOS LC cylinder on eBay, they're dime a dozen. Or at least 40-50 quid a piece!

Not that easy. None of them had the master cylinder/reservoir/lid. So I guess that is not plan C. But I realized that I can probably get this thing on the road sooner than I feared. I have a 1990 RD 350 that isn't used at the moment, and I'm pretty sure I can fit the master cylinder from that on the handlebars. I probably won't have breaking lights for now, but I instruct him to use both front and rear brakes at the same time anyway, and I will be driving behind him. It's worth a shot!

Thanks! I think I will get one from Canny Lad, but it's good do have spares of a part like that because it will probably be more and more difficult to get as time goes by.

Thanks! Then that's my plan B.