General chat thread... Links, pictures, banter etc

goodlad

That sucks man! ****ing pointless ***** just damaging the bike.

At least you found a cover for only a tenner!

Totally different topic. Does anyone know if RPM will remap my stock fuel injection maps or if they will only map a power commander?

EDIT: Website also doesnt give opening hours. Anyone know?

blu3r0ri0n

goodlad wrote: »

That sucks man! ****ing pointless ***** just damaging the bike.

At least you found a cover for only a tenner!

Totally different topic. Does anyone know if RPM will remap my stock fuel injection maps or if they will only map a power commander?

EDIT: Website also doesnt give opening hours. Anyone know?

The repair kit was a tenner lol...dont ask about the cover!:p

neamhspleachi

blu3r0ri0n wrote: »

That's why I think someone either hammered sideways with their fist or punched it, no other explanation.

tempted to give one of these a try, what do you think?



or...

Have used similar before & found it very good, especially for the type of dent you need it for Blue

Zascar

Cienciano wrote: »

Ah here, we need a special thread, "KTRIC's latest bike"

Appropriate thread name change :pac:

KTRIC

Zascar wrote: »

Appropriate thread name change :pac:

Did tell ye all I'm getting a new bike !! :pac:

Oh and you spelled my name wrong :P

blu3r0ri0n

neamhspleachi wrote: »

Have used similar before & found it very good, especially for the type of dent you need it for Blue

You have no idea how happy that comment made me!

P.s. sorry for the thread hijack :P

Skill Magill

KTRIC wrote: »

Did tell ye all I'm getting a new bike !! :pac:

Oh and you spelled my name wrong :P

At the risk of being carded, did he use KT instead of P?

goodlad

Anyone heading to the druids rally tonight?

Zascar

Would anyone be on for some evening spins over the next while? It's increasingly difficult for me to get out on weekend, so while it is still light until around 10pm might be a good idea to get a few spins going. Did this a few eyars ago and had a weekly one. Anyone game?

DubVelo

You know the way LED indicators can flash too fast?
I know I can fix them by something, something, something electrickery but should I bother? I can't decide.
Partly I think flashing twice as fast means twice as visible, but then I was thinking maybe they might attract attention of law enforcement unnecessarily either here or when I take it touring in foreign parts?

Wossack

can put resistors inline with the LED's so the relay works as it used to. Or you can replace the relay with one that handles the LEDs

wouldnt say its a problem here, but I wouldnt be doing anything to draw the gendarmes attention when abroad

Cienciano

Zascar wrote: »

Would anyone be on for some evening spins over the next while? It's increasingly difficult for me to get out on weekend, so while it is still light until around 10pm might be a good idea to get a few spins going. Did this a few eyars ago and had a weekly one. Anyone game?

I usually go for spins midweek after work, but I finish work early (4pm) and go then. And it's usually spur of the moment, weather looks good and I go. We need more than 2 people or it'll seem like we're going on a date

cantdecide

So I've pretty much never dropped any of my bikes in the past. My Mille has now been on it's side three times in not much over a year. The bike had had some dodgy paintwork from the previous owner from a drop at traffic lights. In my ownership, first was a tumble while turning due to a gammie side stand switch. That meant I got both sides painted. Then there was the time I ran into hydraulic oil at a crossroad while scrubbing in tyres with literally less than 100m on them. A couple of weeks ago my bike fell (or more likely was pushed over) due to the same gammie side stand- I thought I got away without any damage but I've found slight damage that will need further attention on the otherwise clean left side.

So the bike has a lip for a nice relaxing lie down every so often. I've spent €3k smothering the bike with love on everything from C&S to tyres to paint to all the pattern failures to rectifying cut corners from previous owners in an attempt to make the most of the bike since I've had it and it's still not 100% the way it should be. Frankly I'm starting to wonder if it's just cursed Maybe it's just the fact that every time I try to get out on it I either don't get the chance or it rains or something but frankly it's just kinda giving me the willies at this stage...

Any thoughts?

blade1

Time for a change?

cantdecide

blade1 wrote: »

Time for a change?

I'm definitely starting to wonder what it's all been for with this bike. I've never gone to town on an already running bike like I have with this one but I just can't get ahead. At the same time, I've blown whatever money I would have had to change it on overhauling it and it's still got battle scars on the RHS knocking it's value and saleability down. Add to that a slight rough running issue that I haven't been able to get to the bottom of and you can see where the battle fatigue is coming from. Fundamentally, it's a cool bike I like owning and almost none of the issues are 'because Aprilia'. It all just seems to be bad luck which doesn't give me much faith in riding it at the moment tbh.

blade1

cantdecide wrote: »

I'm definitely starting to wonder what it's all been for with this bike. I've never gone to town on an already running bike like I have with this one but I just can't get ahead. At the same time, I've blown whatever money I would have had to change it on overhauling it and it's still got battle scars on the RHS knocking it's value and saleability down. Add to that a slight rough running issue that I haven't been able to get to the bottom of and you can see where the battle fatigue is coming from. Fundamentally, it's a cool bike I like owning and almost none of the issues are 'because Aprilia'. It all just seems to be bad luck which doesn't give me much faith in riding it at the moment tbh.

I know how you feel!
I used to have an RD and I swear,every week something different would go on the bike,and every week I'd fix it, thinking surely there can't be anything else go.
But no, every f*cking week some thing else would go!
Bike was driving me insane but I still liked it!

At some stage you may just have to move on!
If you think it's bad luck and you have no faith in it anymore, then that's telling you something!

Skill Magill

cantdecide, whats up with the bike at the mo? Exactly?
If you can pin down whats up, it can be sorted

cantdecide

Skill Magill wrote: »

cantdecide, whats up with the bike at the mo? Exactly?
If you can pin down whats up, it can be sorted

It was running fine before I removed the engine from the bike to remove the front cylinder/ head (they come out as one) in order to sort out a stripped spark plug thread and to adjust valve clearances. It all went back together as per the Haynes and after initially getting the timing wrong I got it sorted and she was running fine.

After the first 80km or so it developed a mild running issue, like a mild intermittent running putt putt unsteadiness in the 3.5k rpm range. All the power is still there and it revs freely otherwise. I've tested the intake rubbers (I'm not 1000% sure I can eliminate them but I'm pretty much certain they're ok), the functioning of the injectors, the coils (4 of them), the leads, the vac hoses, the plugs and plug gaps (bike serviced with the correct plugs) and I've cleaned the Pipercross air filter and I've ran the tank through with Dipetane. I can't really rule out the intake boots as there are some splits in the outer layer and I can't really rule out the injectors needing to be cleaned- maybe there was some crap in the tank that was disturbed by the tear-down.

Skill Magill

I hate to say it but,
"It was running fine before I removed the engine from the bike"
perhaps you missed something?

cantdecide

It's not impossible but I really feel as if I've been through everything repeatedly to the extent where I almost certain I have everything accounted for. I feel like it has to be an air leak or something like that. However, I am worried about it being compression loss as a result of the tear-down.

I am on the verge of giving up and going to my mechanic for a full round of testing. I suppose even it it was compression loss, I know how to get the engine out again myself. It just comes down to the fact that I will struggle to cover any cost at all at the moment- I have €2k for course fees coming up and I can't think where I'm going to get my car insurance money together let alone justifying (aside from actually being able to cover) any kind of further expense for the bike, which is essentially a luxury item.

Skill Magill

Walk away from it for a few hours, refresh. Then maybe, take it out and try to refit it?

Wonda-Boy

Skill Magill wrote: »

Walk away from it for a few hours, refresh. Then maybe, take it out and try to refit it?

~Yeah it could be something very small....but yeah coming back to it after a break can work wonders. Something could be on but loose or alot of stuff can look the same but be different screws, tubes etc.

cantdecide

I've actually been walking away and coming back for a couple of weeks I've had the tank off half a dozen times There really isn't all that many options in terms of vac hoses and wires and I've double and triple checked everything to the extent I'd eat my hat if something has been missed or put back wrong.

DubVelo

Wossack wrote: »

can put resistors inline with the LED's so the relay works as it used to. Or you can replace the relay with one that handles the LEDs

wouldnt say its a problem here, but I wouldnt be doing anything to draw the gendarmes attention when abroad

Yeah, makes sense really, should probably just sort it before I go away.

KTRIC

Heres me with a Honda Varadero jalopy I rented for the long weekend in Bavaria. This is one big yoke !! To put this pic into perspective, I'm 6ft4.

Took it from Munich down to Salzburg then over to the west of Austria through the Alps only to be greeted by what can only be described as a storm that wouldn't be out of place in the Lord of the Rings !! :eek: , it was sitting between two peaks as we ascended , i've never been so quick to high tail it !!

Nearly dropped the Varadero in the process !! :rolleyes:

goodlad

I was in cotters last week to collect some Givi stuff they ordered for me and as always i couldnt resist trying some gear on.

I needed a waterproof textile jacket as i dont have one.

Tried on the Richa Challenger and the Akito Terra.

The akito was waaaayyy more comfortable! Ended up going with that.

Got caught on sunday in some mental downpours and was bone dry. Not bad for 100 quid!

Oh and incase anyone is on the lookout, the Richa challenger is also down to 120 quid this month in cotters.

DaveD

Test rode the S1000R today. Really impressive bike. Found it very easy to ride, very comfortable too, although the lack of fairings made things a bit breezy on the M50. Having never been on anything bigger than a 600 I have to say the power was unreal! There's some punch from 5k onwards.

The popping from the exhaust is quite addictive too!

Zascar

Riding home this evening, filtering through traffic, and a big bastard of a wasp starts crawling up the inside of my visor! I'm not normally afraid of wasps but it freaked me out. Stopped dead and stalled the bike, managed to flick it off ok, traffic around me must have been wondering what I was doing hahah

Richard tea

Zascar wrote: »

Riding home this evening, filtering through traffic, and a big bastard of a wasp starts crawling up the inside of my visor! I'm not normally afraid of wasps but it freaked me out. Stopped dead and stalled the bike, managed to flick it off ok, traffic around me must have been wondering what I was doing hahah

Nothing worse. I hate the feeling of something crawling on the back of me neck. I couldnt continue and would have to pull over. I think I mentioned it here before when I hit a Bumble bee on my shoulder doing about 40kph. It honestly felt like a stone was thrown up from a truck:pac:

prunudo

Zascar wrote: »

Riding home this evening, filtering through traffic, and a big bastard of a wasp starts crawling up the inside of my visor! I'm not normally afraid of wasps but it freaked me out. Stopped dead and stalled the bike, managed to flick it off ok, traffic around me must have been wondering what I was doing hahah

We'll forgive your fear this time, seeing a wasp 3 inches from my eyes with nowhere to go wouldn't exactly fill me with happiness either!