The Bikeshite Thread

[UltraWomble]

i drive past yon dub on saturday morning........

 

i will be in comber on the 21st...........

Lack of pennies means I cant afford owt right now sadly.

[Fat_Pirate]

Superduke broke down on the way home.  I was happily hooning along when it started to chug, then the EML came on, then the whole dash went out and it was dead.  I found myself coasting along at about 70mph, which at least gave the opportunity to find a decent place to stop.   I was only a mile from home so I pushed it, which was no fun in the sun wearing kevlar jeans and boots (and it's about 180Kg).

 

Got it home, put a voltmeter on the battery - NOTHING, completely dead.  It's a Nitro from Wemoto and less than a year old, RUBBISH.  

[andy18s]

£600ish....

and a couple of Cagivas

[John F]

Wowsers! That Cagiva Freccia is cheap! That's a lot of bike for the cash, if it's in good shape.

[DodgeRover]

Mmm Cagiva, anybody vanning back to the UK with a Cagiva sized space?

[John F]

It looks like it's in NL / B from the advert.

 

EDIT Yep, it's in Twello, NL

 

http://www.motofun.nl/occasions.aspx?did=3371&pagesize=12&pageid=3&zoek=0&sl=pa&so=gallerij

[stuzo]

Project nearly done ready for my test next month

[stuzo]

 

 

Still miss my wee bike I'm sure that's

going to change once I can ride my bandit

[cobblers]

Superduke broke down on the way home.  I was happily hooning along when it started to chug, then the EML came on, then the whole dash went out and it was dead.  I found myself coasting along at about 70mph, which at least gave the opportunity to find a decent place to stop.   I was only a mile from home so I pushed it, which was no fun in the sun wearing kevlar jeans and boots (and it's about 180Kg).

 

Got it home, put a voltmeter on the battery - NOTHING, completely dead.  It's a Nitro from Wemoto and less than a year old, RUBBISH.  

I'm not a bike expert but if the battery is genuinely at zero then the fault is more likely to be charging related than battery relate, unless it's wazzed all it's juice out, it's made up of six cells and at worst one of them will fail so you should still see 10v with a multimeter.

For it to be at zero it needs to have been drained faster than it's being charged. Don't get me wrong, you still need a new battery cos it'll have been damaged by being discharged, just check the charging system out once you get it started again.

[Guest Hooli]

I've never seen a battery hit 0v & not be dead. I very much doubt the bike would run on the battery below about 9v if the charging system wasn't working to top up the voltage the engine etc saw.

 

I'd fit a battery as it will be dead now, even if it was ok. Then test the charging with a voltmeter so I was happy things were as they should be.

[MrDuke]

Quick question - are XJ600s really awful compared to (older) Fazers? They seem to be very similar, but a lot cheaper.

[PiperCub]

^^ There's nothing really wrong as such with XJ600's, they were/are underrated, solid enough bikes that were simply overtaken by newer/faster/more powerful/fancier models like the Fazer (& Bandits, Hornets etc). I always quite liked them, nearly bought one once (went to see it, someone beat me to it!), they are a simple bike derived from the XJ550 (another underrated bike) that are nice to ride, not fancy or flash but straightforward and quite cheap to run. Admittedly, the 'Diversion' ones are rather ugly to my eye but again, nothing really wrong with them. 

 

A chap I used to work with had a 550 for many years on very little money, I rode it a couple of times, thought it was a nice thing despite it wearing (IIRC) about 60K miles. 

[PiperCub]

I'm not a bike expert but if the battery is genuinely at zero then the fault is more likely to be charging related than battery relate, unless it's wazzed all it's juice out, it's made up of six cells and at worst one of them will fail so you should still see 10v with a multimeter.

For it to be at zero it needs to have been drained faster than it's being charged. Don't get me wrong, you still need a new battery cos it'll have been damaged by being discharged, just check the charging system out once you get it started again.

 

What he said! You need to check what output your alternator is giving downstream of the regulator as that could be fried which has screwed the battery by overcharging it. 

 

For a new battery - I used Tayna to replace the one in my LC the other day. I've used Tayna a number of times before for car batteries and been very happy so having bought bike batteries locally previously (& had each one of three last only two years), I tried Tayna, they do better quality - I hope - Varta ones for not much more than a cheapo brand one locally would be. I paid under £26 incl delivery for a small 5.5Ah one for the YPVS.

 

Give them a try. Also, their delivery is ridiculously fast, well under a day from ordering. The only small downside is they are dry charged so you need to fill them with the acid they provide but that's hardly difficult. 

[primeradoner]

Dropped my ex Barry Cade  BMW off for Mot yesterday and walked into town to meet Mrs PD for a meal and drinks. Just checked the MOT history and its passed. Got to try and use it a bit more often though.

[Jerzy Woking]

I have had a couple of XJ600's, an XJ900 and half a dozen or so 600 Diversions. Not bad bikes - the only thing I found on all of them is that the suspension is very soft on them. Engines are reliable enough, and thrive on revs. Single disc models are a bit bum clenching at times when rapid speed loss is required. Build quality is ok, although condesation in silencers (due to short rides) rot them alarmingly quickly.

 

They can still be fun though, like when i rode my XJ900 on a trackday at Cadwell Park and passed so many "better" bikes throughout the day.

[hairnet]

Being up early sucks

 

Sadly all the zetors we're modern so no pic

 

Boat was in at 5am was at the castle in limerick at 0730

 

Up the galty between mitchelstown and cahir now

 

Dog love me

[hairnet]

Zzzz

[Fat_Pirate]

Took the duff battery off - the problem is the negative terminal, it's loose and seems to be broken off inside the battery.  Waggle it and it shows full voltage!

 

I'm going to get a Varta from Tayna, as recommended by Pipercub - thanks for that.

[Guest Hooli]

Zzzz

 

Don't go to Tipperary, it's shit (not shite).

[andy18s]

Quick question - are XJ600s really awful compared to (older) Fazers? They seem to be very similar, but a lot cheaper.

[John F]

Don't go to Tipperary, it's shit (not shite).

 

The locals don't call it "Tip" for nothing...

 

If you're in the Dromkeen / Pallasgreen area, say hello to my cousins for me

[John F]

I have had a couple of XJ600's, an XJ900 and half a dozen or so 600 Diversions. Not bad bikes - the only thing I found on all of them is that the suspension is very soft on them. Engines are reliable enough, and thrive on revs. Single disc models are a bit bum clenching at times when rapid speed loss is required. Build quality is ok, although condesation in silencers (due to short rides) rot them alarmingly quickly.

 

They can still be fun though, like when i rode my XJ900 on a trackday at Cadwell Park and passed so many "better" bikes throughout the day.

 

I've owned an XJ900F and ridden a few others... they're fast but old-fashioned, and feel a bit remote.

 

They are cheap though, and the shaft drive is ace.

[hairnet]

The locals don't call it "Tip" for nothing...

 

If you're in the Dromkeen / Pallasgreen area, say hello to my cousins for me

Was near there this morning all asleep tho

[hairnet]

Have to say fazer

 

Far more modern to ride easier for bits brakes far better and early ones are cheap enuff not to bother

[DodgeRover]

 

Quick question - are XJ600s really awful compared to (older) Fazers? They seem to be very similar, but a lot cheaper.

I spotted that as well, bargain I think.

[UltraWomble]

Any views on these?

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/252471667165?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

 

I love those Repsol colours and I reckon a 300 should be just about right, i.e not too slow and not too fast. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/REPSOL-HONDA-Mobylette-/142425551592?hash=item21293972e8:g:pr8AAOSwPWRZT21n

[strangeangel]

For reasons I can't fully explain, I am now the proud* owner of this mint*, unmolested* and well cared for* Honda SH50:

 

 

 

 

 

WCPGW etc.

[UltraWomble]

Christ on a moped

Good luck getting it on the road. When selling give me a kick will you - I want something for up at the van.

[Dave_Q]

Have piloted such a steed during the Pizza Hut times, must say it was a decent ride and far, far preferable to the flabby Peugeot Looxor they were in the process of replacing them with. 

 

Obviously they were all restricted but the Hondas did an indicated 32mph everywhere, the Peugeots did about 28 on the flat, 32 downhill and as low as 20 uphill with me and 3 people's dinner on it.

[Dave_Q]

PS: I am very happy to hand over the title of Rankest Moped on AS (provided that bub did sell on the TGB as I believe was his plan)