welshwan

been thinking about it and yeah fuck it ....if i'm going to do a job, there's no point in doing it half assed! Going to order under coat now, and pick up the rust treatment when i'm in town next.

Yeah i once came across an older bike on the side of the road with the owner not looking too happy. He said that he had put to much oil in it, and was waiting for his dad to bring tools. I asked if there was anything i could do and ended up giving him a lift into town (back when i had a car) so he could get the tools abit quicker....this was at about 10pm, poor git. So yeah too much oil-not good lol. Not sure if he managed to sort it out on the side of the road, but both him and the bike were gone about an hour later. i like to think he got it fixed.

check in the newbies section, in their under the FAQ's sub forum, there is a guide on how to upload pictures. ImageShack is the one i use, as it's a doddle to navigate.

judging from grouch's last bike mechanic visit, if this place was full of bike mechanics (by trade) you would have been charged £80 for that bit of advise....... and dont we all know it hahahahah

ahh yes OF COURSE araldite!!! strong stuff! nice one for reminding me about that adhesive, if it can be stuck back together...araldite will do it!! As for the Rust Treatment and under coat, I REALLY am getting rid of this in the next 6 months and don't want to spend any more then needed (trying to save for an upgrade)......in your opinion do you think it would last that long without? if so i think i'll take the cheaper option i'm afraid..... sorry but i squeak when i walk . Reading that link the product sounds very useful, i have bookmarked! thanks man Actually there a point about the sump guard not getting overly hot, might i get away with using hammerite on it and saving the VHT spray for the exhaust it's self?...i'm thinking it's a little too close to the exhaust for that?

I also have a full car license but i am 20, sounds like a damn good deal to me sparky

So here's what i got done today, i did start with the wire brush and abit of elbow grease......this however got very boring very quickly, so i nipped into town and got one of those drill bit wire brushes. Something like this: Boy oh boy did this save ALOT of time and effort! £2 well spent These are the results of the wire brushes: Please could someone tell me what the hell to do about the inside of the exhaust guard, by this what i mean it that i can see the paint is coming off under the anti-heat stuff. I'm not sure if i should remove it to paint under it and stop the rust, or just leave it as it is. Do i reuse the stuff once i have painted or just get some new stuff? this it how it looks at the moment: Of course these things never come without some kind of unexpected extra bit of work, and this is no exception. There are two small hole on the exhaust guard where it has completely rusted though, What's the plan with this bit then gang? By the way i dont really have access to a welder so that is not an option i'm afraid The holes are pretty small i guess, here's the what the they look like: By the way sorry about the low quality images but my mobile phone just always seems closer to hand, hope there not too terrible for you lot, and that you can actually see whats going on.

On closer inspection i found that both had been bent and dented, i managed to hammer out the worst of the dents on the sump guard, and it's not bad not it i do say so my self. One of the bolt holes on the sump guard had been prised and stretched open for some reason, soo out came the hammer again and i got it looking a little better but i am thinking i might need to glue a washer on the inside of the hole so that the bolts will hold it firmly. do you think some super glue to hold the washer there so i can paint over it all, the idea being for it to look a little better then a shiney (but soon to be rusty looking) washer. Or will the guard simply be too hot, i'm not sure about this one.

Okay then still no paint, just as well as i had alot of preparation work to do today. so here's the pretty much how the sump guard and exhaust guard was when i took em off, i say pretty much as i had started on them before i remembered about getting some pictures. So this i what i had to work with:

When i bought the bike, the back part of the exhaust (muffler?) had rusted right though, what was left of it pretty much crumbled to powder whilst we were taking it off, Depending on how well/bad this goes i might paint the exhaust it's self as it's not looking overly 'fresh'. As for every year...hopefully it will stay looking good at least until i sell it on, I'm hoping to get my license and upgrade by June ideally, but maybe wishful thinking....but certainly hoping to get a bigger bike way before the next 6 months are over. Lets just hope i do alright on my tests, and don't have to try again and again and again! (touch wood!) Oh one more thing, does it chip of quite easily? as i'm thinking the sump guard is going to get pelted in chippings and stuff like that off the road. ....i guess i could always touch the guard up when it's time to go.

Good stuff thanks gang! Can't wait to get cracking on this, but paint wont be here until tues at the earliest. Not got much done on it yet, pics will be up when i have something to show lol! Damn airhead that pipe looks so good it's making me think i should have gone with satin black rather then matte, hmm will be interesting to compare the results!

fuck me!..... for 60 quid i would push the bastard two miles hahahaha! Sorry but i'm not sure about one day bike insurance...there's certainly a few for cars but that's totally different. Maybe if you can borrow someones van or pick up truck 4X4 you could do the insurance on that? or check the car websites for a bike insurance option. As far as i know you don't need insurance for MOT. If you do find day insurance for the bike you might aswell book the MOT for somewhere abit further away so you can at least make the most of the money spent on the insurance. When i did mine the nearest place was about 40 miles away, and as i had not been on the bike for about two weeks i was more then happy about the 80 miles round journey. Let us know if you do manage to find day insurance on the bike, might come in handy for people in the same situation.

ahh cool, round about the same prices as the place i went then Those zoomers are funky looking things....not saying i like them but they do look funky none the less Sorry for being so nosy but whats the insurance like down there hahaha! I am asking this as the place i live is meant to be one of the cheapest places to get vehicle insurance, would just like to compare.....here on the xt125 it's about £250 a year- that's 3rd party. hopefully it's not taking the piss kind of pricey there, anyways you'll son be dodging car's round London! ....seriously WATCH those fuckers

+1 for a slide show type thing, with different changing pictures.....get some wr's and yz's up there Mind you i do like it as it is .....ermmmm but i do like dirt bikes best though

nice one buddy! Enjoy....i am certain you will! Just out of curiosity how much was the CBT in London and did you use there bike for it? (as i have heard things tend to be more expensive down there?) Be safe out there! like dt50 said those cars will get you unless you're vigilant!

Thanks for all the advise gang, VERY much appreciated! If i can i will get some pictures of it before, during and after..... however i took the sump guard off yesterday and started to clean it up with a wire brush (i'll get a picture before i do anymore on it) I live pretty far from the nearest B&Q or any big shop of that nature so just ordered it off the net (in my haste i ordered some last night before i had read any of the reply's and today i have lots of advise ) ..... it just means having to wait a few extra days to get it sorted. It does say that it doesn't need a primer though, whats your thoughts on this? would i be better of getting some or just going for it?...will it even make the paint last all that much longer? ...i am asking this as i am hoping to upgrade by the summer...so hopefully i wont have it to repaint by the time it needs doing? So yeah i'm thinking wire-brush to get the worst of it off (both paint and rust...best to start on a clean canvas as u lot have said^), then sandpaper/wire wool to make sure its completely paint and rust free. After that give it a good clean with isopropyl alcohol (99% alcohol that has the power to remove EVERY oil or grease or indeed tar that i have ever come across, EVER!) lol - that's to make sure there isn't any crap left on it that might prevent the paint from sticking as well as it could, as per advise After that heat it up with heat gun then do one coat, cook it on with the gun. Then repeat this once more. After it has dried (as to not get paint on the inside of the cooker hahaha) pop it in the oven on full heat for a couple of hour....well if the exhaust guard will fit, i think the sump guard will fit , but not 100% on the exhaust guard. After that pop it back on the bike? How does this plan sound to you lot? PLEASE let me know if you think any of this process could be made more efficient or if i have missed any part of the process nice one, will keep you lot updated as i go along- grouch i will upload the pictures and you can judge for your self if it's any good THANKS EVERYONE!

of course you can mate , and there's no need for credit Please note SOME of these are not my pictures, but i have said which ones are not ^ as for bridge club, personally i would say 'clwb bontiau' , but maybe 'clwb pontydd' might be said by others? that's my guess man

don't keep putting your test off mate! once its done its done. I was the same for quite some time and finally just had a lesson yesterday! Much to my surprise the instructor said that i was pretty good at it, considering it was the first time i had 'officially' been on something bigger then a 125. By that i mean in a controlled environment and trying to control the bike at slow speeds and stuff like that. You have been riding that xt for quite some time and you should have the bike control to do your tests no worries! and then NO MORE L PLATES!!!! whether you decide to get a bigger bike or not!

looks like i need to paint both of these on my bike as the paint is starting to come off and rust is setting in (surface rust, well atm anyways). The whole bike needs a tidy up to be honest and these look like the place to start! What i would like to know is does anyone know of a paint they can personally recommend for this job? I have seen some cheap-ish exhaust paint on ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150737692824?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/321022542716?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 do you think this will do? ^ It will definitely need to be heat resistant as both of these can get warm, especially the exhaust guard. Also what color do you lot think? i was going toward black but maybe someone can suggest a better color? Thanks

Seems that very few people know u can ride it! My bike instructor said he had a go on a gsxr....bet that was interesting. Here's a picture i found online (this is the 2007 prices, they have gone up since then) Check out the bottom one on the list

this sucks, heart's going out to you man. I would be fucking livid if i were in your boots!

cleaning her 2morow as it was late and i was knackered when i got home .....lazy i know! I do love riding the bridge, and saves me so much time on my 125.

What they said man! once you pass your test....you can have ANY bike your heart desires But for now here's the cheapest light i can find on ebay..... 2005/2006 the other two i could find are over £40 quid posted! but just encase these are better for your situation, here are the links : 2007 2010 These are all different years, sorry but i don't know if they will all fit each other. What i did when buying a exhaust from a newer bike was to send the seller a message over ebay asking if the item will fit your year bike, The seller i got the exhaust off said that he thought it would fit my bike and if it didn't he would happily give me my money back when he got the exhaust back If they say yes it will fit and it turns out it won't then you have the emails to prove the seller lied and shouldn't have much problem getting your money back...or you could just put it back on ebay to sell yourself!

and speaking of the lovely mountains and scenery: (for these photos i had to leave the bike behind and walk abit off the lane)

Don't think loads of people know that you can ride it (including the locals) in the winter i got alot of nasty looks off of the people walking the bridge. But today when there were clearly more tourists around they ALL moved right over to the side for me and gave me a nod,wave or smile as i passed. (felt good man ) Oh by the way if ANY busybody nosey wannabe copper tells you that you can not ride across just point out that there is a toll charge specifically for motorcycles! and that they should mind there own bloody business! And yes very nice scenery! i just love the mountains