The "Today I did something to my bike" thread

ayux4rj6zql2ph

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

The pink stuff is usually OAT which shouldn't be used unless the manufacturer recommends it, and it shouldn't be mixed with the glycol based stuff (usually blue)

Give the system a good flush out with a hose (wait until the hosepipe ban is over ) until only clean water comes out. It's usually worth flushing the rad in each direction or even removing it to flush it upside down depending on the amount of gunk in the system, it's likely the coolant was never changed.

Then fill up with the blue stuff (dilute the concentrate with distilled water, or buy pre-mix)

There might be a bleed screw in the water pump or top of the radiator that needs to be opened to get any air bubbles out.

Thx is for that H.D I’ll flush it out with a bucket of water and a funnel tomorrow to circumvent the hose ban

G12 is the stuff I have used in my car and thought it might work on the moped as well.

It’s a YQ50 Yamaha engine BTW

CJhaughey

From what I have learnt about coolant is that colour has no real bearing on the type of coolant, in the past colours meant that it was OAT or Glycol, Silicate free or Silica added, but these days you have to look at specs to know what you need to use. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on how you look at it Yamaha has no spec for the YQ50 listed.
You only need 1.2 litres to fill it so I would go with a motorcycle specific coolant like Rockoil Kool or Motul Motocool or any of the major brands coolant.

ayux4rj6zql2ph

CJhaughey wrote: »

From what I have learnt about coolant is that colour has no real bearing on the type of coolant, in the past colours meant that it was OAT or Glycol, Silicate free or Silica added, but these days you have to look at specs to know what you need to use. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on how you look at it Yamaha has no spec for the YQ50 listed.
You only need 1.2 litres to fill it so I would go with a motorcycle specific coolant like Rockoil Kool or Motul Motocool or any of the major brands coolant.

Currently out and about at the moment. Got sorted in a bike shop near where I work this morning, it is blue in colour, can’t remember the name but will check it out, as you rightly say, 1.2 litres to fill and I ended up with 1 litre.

On a separate note I got a givi box for my V-Strom, a blade I think is the name on it.

blade1

Prisoner 6753 wrote: »

On a separate note I got a givi box for my V-Strom, a blade I think is the name on it.

Yep,I told them they can use my name but I get a cut from every box they sell

ayux4rj6zql2ph

blade1 wrote: »

Yep,I told them they can use my name but I get a cut from every box they sell

20%??

ayux4rj6zql2ph

Just back to my coolant issue CJ.

It’s Motul. Is that stuff good?

blade1

Prisoner 6753 wrote: »

Just back to my coolant issue CJ.

It’s Motul. Is that stuff good?

Yep, that's what I used around 2 weeks ago.

blade1 wrote: »

Coolant flush while I'm at it
Motul Inugel Expert €26 for 5litres.

ayux4rj6zql2ph

blade1 wrote: »

Yep, that's what I used around 2 weeks ago.

I flushed out the system with water yesterday.

That stuff looks good value also.

I’ve no idea how to embed photos

Are you finished all the jobs on your bike now blade1?

blade1

Prisoner 6753 wrote: »

Are you finished all the jobs on your bike now blade1?

I have on that bike.
Soon enough I must start thinking of going at another one.
My ZZR.
I may not ride it much over the winter so it could be anytime between now and next summer when I do it.
List of stuff to do to it..
Tyres
Chain and sprockets
Grease headstock/Swingarm/linkage bearings.
Thinking of getting my forks and rear suspension serviced or upgraded.
Valve clearance will need doing soon which I don't fancy doing myself as space is just too tight for me to do it without it annoying me.

Almost sold it a few months ago as I had my eye on a newer one but it was sold the morning I went about it.
Had a buyer for my own (2 infact).

I've thought about selling it a few times in the 5 years I have it.
People keep asking me to sell it to them.
I then polish it and stand back and say "Why would I want to sell that?" :pac:

ayux4rj6zql2ph

blade1 wrote: »

I have on that bike.
Soon enough I must start thinking of going at another one.
My ZZR.
I may not ride it much over the winter so it could be anytime between now and next summer when I do it.
List of stuff to do to it..
Tyres
Chain and sprockets
Grease headstock/Swingarm/linkage bearings.
Thinking of getting my forks and rear suspension serviced or upgraded.
Valve clearance will need doing soon which I don't fancy doing myself as space is just too tight for me to do it without it annoying me.

Almost sold it a few months ago as I had my eye on a newer one but it was sold the morning I went about it.
Had a buyer for my own (2 infact).

I've thought about selling it a few times in the 5 years I have it.
People keep asking me to sell it to them.
I then polish it and stand back and say "Why would I want to sell that?" :pac:

You’ll have your hands full with that workload.

Is it the 1100 zzr you have?

Just the 2 bikes??

If you have pride in your bike and like it that much why not keep it

ayux4rj6zql2ph

My moped restoration is progressing beautifully

blade1

Prisoner 6753 wrote: »

You’ll have your hands full with that workload.

Is it the 1100 zzr you have?

Just the 2 bikes??

If you have pride in your bike and like it that much why not keep it

2007 ZZR 1400.
Yeah, it's a lovely bike and it's in beautiful condition.

ayux4rj6zql2ph

blade1 wrote: »

2007 ZZR 1400.
Yeah, it's a lovely bike and it's in beautiful condition.

What a machine

All I can say is I’m jealous :eek:

CJhaughey

Prisoner 6753 wrote: »

Just back to my coolant issue CJ.

It’s Motul. Is that stuff good?

Yes, have a look at the bottle, look for it to meet JIS K2234 and you should be fine.

Hotblack Desiato

Dunno about all this silicate free stuff though, does it matter and is there really any difference with bike specific coolant?

The workshop manual for mine specifies "Mobil Antifreeze". That's it. I went to Halfords and there were two types of Mobil Antifreeze. I said fcuk it and bought their own brand pre-mix stuff

blade1

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Dunno about all this silicate free stuff though, does it matter and is there really any difference with bike specific coolant?

Some can be mixed but some can't and AFAIK it's nothing to do with the colour.

CJhaughey

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Dunno about all this silicate free stuff though, does it matter and is there really any difference with bike specific coolant?

The workshop manual for mine specifies "Mobil Antifreeze". That's it. I went to Halfords and there were two types of Mobil Antifreeze. I said fcuk it and bought their own brand pre-mix stuff

It really depends on the cooling system you have, Honda has used a mechanical seal system that utilised ceramic washers, if you use silica based coolants it damages the seal and you have a coolant weep from the seal area which necessitates stripping the pump and rebuilding or replacement with a new one neither of which is cheap.

Silica was originally specified in hard water areas to clean the cooling system acting as an abrasive to clean passageways and pump internals.
Not all bikes suffer from using silica based coolant but some will have trouble.

Hotblack Desiato

You'd have to be a bit dumb to put tap water in your cooling system if you lived in a hard water area!

With pre-mix there's no water added by the end user so presumably no need for silicates then? The label doesn't say if it has any or not. Bike is a Triumph. I flushed out the whole system last year when I had to put in a new water pump.

Mixing different types of antifreeze should be avoided alright but when doing a flush and fill that's not an issue obviously

CJhaughey

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

You'd have to be a bit dumb to put tap water in your cooling system if you lived in a hard water area!

With pre-mix there's no water added by the end user so presumably no need for silicates then? The label doesn't say if it has any or not. Bike is a Triumph. I flushed out the whole system last year when I had to put in a new water pump.

Mixing different types of antifreeze should be avoided alright but when doing a flush and fill that's not an issue obviously

Coolant is a minefield now, it used to be simple but like many things it has turned very complex.
Thats why I try and simplify it by using a known standard of coolant and sticking with it.
People are funny they may not even know they are in a hard water area so user error can always be a factor when mixing water and coolant, hence the reason pre-mix has become popular.

blade1

Another plus if you have a water softener system in your home is you have water for rads and batteries and zero chance of any scaling.

ayux4rj6zql2ph

Could I ask which green is better?

CJhaughey

Personally I like the Metallic British Racing Green on the binnacle. The other one looks too blue, more like a Ford Mallard Green.
Little known fact British Racing Green is actually a mark of respect to the Irish Road racing scene from the Gordon Bennett Cup in 1903

ayux4rj6zql2ph

CJhaughey wrote: »

Personally I like the Metallic British Racing Green on the binnacle. The other one looks too blue, more like a Ford Mallard Green.
Little known fact British Racing Green is actually a mark of respect to the Irish Road racing scene from the Gordon Bennett Cup in 1903

Yes I did think it looked too blue when I seen it. The paint shop said the colour code wasn't coming up on their system when entered and when the panels were scanned it also wasn't showing up anything. should I just revert to the original green if I can find out the original paint type?

CJhaughey

Prisoner 6753 wrote: »

Yes I did think it looked too blue when I seen it. The paint shop said the colour code wasn't coming up on their system when entered and when the panels were scanned it also wasn't showing up anything. should I just revert to the original green if I can find out the original paint type?

It looks like the Jaguar Racing special edition colour.

ayux4rj6zql2ph

CJhaughey wrote: »

It looks like the Jaguar Racing special edition colour.

It’s very close to it alright.

Here is a picture before painting

Hotblack Desiato

Putting car decals/livery on a two wheeler is just a bit off...

ayux4rj6zql2ph

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Putting car decals/livery on a two wheeler is just a bit off...

It’s supposed to have them

Hotblack Desiato

I know. I remember when it came out.

ayux4rj6zql2ph

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

I know. I remember when it came out.

the Jaguar F1 team itself existed from 00-04, but I have seen very few of these around

Emmersonn

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Putting car decals/livery on a two wheeler is just a bit off...

To each his own.

ayux4rj6zql2ph

Lads how do I embed photos from the laptop?

ayux4rj6zql2ph

Mock up photos of how it will look with the new decals in both colours

PS I don’t know how to embed

ayux4rj6zql2ph

Centre stand and top box fitted

Anything else I could add to improve the look?

blade1

Prisoner 6753 wrote: »

Centre stand and top box fitted

Anything else I could add to improve the look?

Looking good and that's a nice look Strom especially in those colours!;)

Add you say?
Spots,hand guards,engine bars and a bash plate!

A pic of my Tiger that I sold last summer.

frozenfrozen

cheap and cheerful thing to do, clean the exhaust downpipe with black harpic or give it a polish with autosol.

ayux4rj6zql2ph

blade1 wrote: »

Looking good and that's a nice look Strom especially in those colours!;)

Add you say?
Spots,hand guards,engine bars and a bash plate!

A pic of my Tiger that I sold last summer.

Lovely looking bike blade1.

Handguards and engine bars are part of the short term plan.

Also looking at givi V35 or 37 cases plus the holder which is called PLX532

Spots? what would they cost me? didn't consider them nor do I know good or sh1te brands for bikes.

SW Motech seems to be the only one I know.

ayux4rj6zql2ph

frozenfrozen wrote: »

cheap and cheerful thing to do, clean the exhaust downpipe with black harpic or give it a polish with autosol.

frozenfrozen

Prisoner 6753 wrote: »

skip to about 1 minute 10 to see it going on, just picked the first video on a youtube search for it so could be bad but I used it and it 100% works

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXcM6g-JaBo

ayux4rj6zql2ph

frozenfrozen wrote: »

skip to about 1 minute 10 to see it going on, just picked the first video on a youtube search for it so could be bad but I used it and it 100% works

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXcM6g-JaBo

I appreciate anything that can help. Thank you for that

LLewellen Farquarson

LLewellen Farquarson wrote: »

Thanks, just placed an order. The screen on the k1200gt is just a fraction too low for me, and this will solve it nicely. Looks very well made, and cheap at < €20

Well, it arrived and was fitted.
Firstly it is very well made. I feel embarrassed just paying €20 for it. The postage to China would cost that.

Unfortunately the screen on the K is just too big, and the extender too heavy. This causes the extender to vibrate and the screen to flex. So it's back to earplugs for me.

Sonic, if you haven't bought one I can drop it over to you and you can try it out. If it works you can give a tenner to your favourite charity and it's yours.

Sonics2k

LLewellen Farquarson wrote: »

Well, it arrived and was fitted.
Firstly it is very well made. I feel embarrassed just paying €20 for it. The postage to China would cost that.

Unfortunately the screen on the K is just too big, and the extender too heavy. This causes the extender to vibrate and the screen to flex. So it's back to earplugs for me.

Sonic, if you haven't bought one I can drop it over to you and you can try it out. If it works you can give a tenner to your favourite charity and it's yours.

That'd be great man. I'm off work for a few days after a tosser in a van knocked me off, but I'm riding a bit now and then.

I'll send you a PM as soon as I can.

Krusty_Clown

So today I added a cheapo Chinese (Wish.com) alarm to my bike. It cost a whopping €10.60 including delivery, and took about two weeks to arrive from China. It's a pretty simple vibration-based alarm, that is not wired to the ignition - you connect it directly to the bike battery. You arm it manually, using one of two supplied remote fobs, and disarm using another button on the remote fob. I connected it up an hour ago and seems to be working exactly as expected. Instructions are the usual two pages with crappy diagram, but given that it's wired directly to the battery, is pretty simple to work out.

Picture below, of the alarm in question. So, has anybody else fitted an alarm like this? Any risks or problems? Doesn't seem to be an inline fuse (unless it's contained within the unit itself). While it'll never be as good or secure as a factory fitted alarm, I'm hoping it's an improvement on having no alarm (unless the drain is too great), and it if works only to deter the cat from sitting on the bike, it'll have been worth the asking price! Anyone else any experience with these? Foolish to fit a €10 alarm on a €10k bike, or better than nothing?

arybvtcw0eolkf

LLewellen Farquarson wrote: »

Well, it arrived and was fitted.
Firstly it is very well made. I feel embarrassed just paying €20 for it. The postage to China would cost that.

Unfortunately the screen on the K is just too big, and the extender too heavy. This causes the extender to vibrate and the screen to flex. So it's back to earplugs for me.

Sonic, if you haven't bought one I can drop it over to you and you can try it out. If it works you can give a tenner to your favourite charity and it's yours.

I was going to update the thread this evening about this.

At idle it does cause the screen to vibrate but when I'm on the move its grand.

It has certainly extended my fuel consumption, this week I got 155 miles on a full tank as opposed to 130-135 before the reserve light came on.

Con's, it causes the screen to move and vibrate at idle.

Pro's, lots.. Clean air, no buffering and added fuel economy.

(BMW R1200GS, 6'1'' rider).

Hotblack Desiato

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Picture below, of the alarm in question. So, has anybody else fitted an alarm like this? Any risks or problems? Doesn't seem to be an inline fuse (unless it's contained within the unit itself).

Never connect anything to the battery without a fuse. Doesn't matter if it cost €10 or €1000. Any fault in the unit or wiring will mean a fire.

Krusty_Clown

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Never connect anything to the battery without a fuse. Doesn't matter if it cost €10 or €1000. Any fault in the unit or wiring will mean a fire.

Yeah, makes sense. Will disconnect it until I pick up an in-line fuse. Any suggestions on where to pick up an-line fuse with battery terminal connectors?

conor2469

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Yeah, makes sense. Will disconnect it until I pick up an in-line fuse. Any suggestions on where to pick up an-line fuse with battery terminal connectors?

Motor factors usually have a display with various electrical bits and pieces. Or failing that Halfords have them.

Hotblack Desiato

Soldering and/or crimping, with heat shrink tubing on top is the way to go to make these sort of connections. Easy if you know how and have the tools...

arybvtcw0eolkf

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Any suggestions on where to pick up an-line fuse with battery terminal connectors?

HALFORDS

zubair

So i pulled the triggger on a new exhaust setup as the old ones were whisper quiet. Baffles were taken out straight away, they have a nice deep note and it sounds like a motorbike now, will miss it being a bit of a sleeper but glad the big, ugly, insanely quiet, exhausts are gone.

I'm glad I went with these black widows over the delkevics I was initially looking at, 100 bucks cheaper and I think they look pretty good. If i didn't have to buy 2 end cans and pay twice the price I would have gone for the delkevics. Thanks to those who gave me advice and feedback.

arybvtcw0eolkf

I've more Chinese take away on this bike that my local Chinese Take Away :cool:

Fitted a phone holder with USB charger, and for safety put an inline fuse on the positive (fuse was from Halfords but probably made in China too lol).

Works a treat