The Bikeshite Thread

[twosmoke300]

Shot gun rear light zx6r is a lovely real world sportsbike, as is the 9R

[srad34]

Anyone got any experience of the ZX-6R - likely the late 90s eaely 2000's carb'd ones? Like these, for a couple of examples:

 

https://www.keepbiking.co.uk/used-bikes/kawasaki-zx-6r-600-g2-brackley-201806057183972?at_source=autotrader&at_medium=desktop&at_campaign=website-visit&_ga=2.103668227.205439400.1528125201-1819011430.1527958642

 

 

I had one (99) I used as a trackbike a couple of years back. The engines are very strong, its a fast engine, chassis and standard suspension were spot on once set up for the rider's weight. The only mods being full system, dynojet and K&N filter, all good.

If I had not cartwheeled it into the scenery, I would still have it

 

Folk usually suggest CBR600 but personally, found the power delivery very linear and a bit slow, but deffo solid. Early R6's are plagued with cylinder crack issues which kills the engine (Tell tale smoking when hot). Eary GSXR600 K1/2/3 are a good solid bike too but watch the gearbox...

They are all popular track/race bikes so tread carefully as many find their way back onto the road!

[andy18s]

You'll get a cracking ZX9r for that money

Plenty fast enough in the real world and some interesting colour schemes out there too

[Guest Hooli]

 Are big miles on sports bikes an issue? Anything in my budget seems to be on 30k plus.

 

That's barely run in, bikes last over 100k without trying these days. People are scared of miles on bikes as so many are toys that only do a few thousand a year.

 

You'd need to budget for a few jobs like changing the fork oil & maybe steering bearings, but generally those go with age not miles & are often the reason people think their new bike rides so much better. In case you're not aware the fork oil gives you damping at the front so when it wears out (water ingress, goes missing) you loose front end grip/feel/solidity.

 

My suggestion bike wise would be something more sports tourery like Thundercats but maybe something newer. Because when I went to a big bike I got a RF600 & the full on sports position was damn hard on my wrists, especially as a new rider because I was riding too slow to get held up by the wind. Plus I found if the bike is too capable it's off putting as you think you're trying hard & getting no feedback from the bike because it's hardly trying. No idea on particular models though.

[Guest Hooli]

I need to strip the clutch hydraulics on my GSX14. yesterday morning it decided that I need to pump the clutch several times before it'll disengage for more than a few secs when it's been standing. Seems like a slight leak to me, so that's next week's job as it's been decided I'm using the car for Shitefest anyway.

[tommytwo]

Apologies if I am posting in the wrong thread. I own a Honda 125 Super Dream that I am considering selling and I hope you biker guys can give me a heads up re price. I have owned the bike for 21 years, bought with 11000 miles on the clock and now reading 25500 miles. Reason for selling is I am coming up to 75 years young and have had poor health recently. Guess its time to hang up my helmet.

 

Runs perfect with no cam chain noise or rattles, oil changed once every year. Over the winter, I de-rusted the swinging arm and got it sprayed, replaced the fork seals, fitted new back brake shoes and new tires. Also fixed a broken wire in the charging system. Pictures are from two years back but it looks just the same now. Bike will have a new twelve month ticket very soon. Could do with a new seat cover as I have repaired and not replaced it in my ownership.

 

I would appreciate an opinion as to where to advertise the bike (not Gumtree) and a good guess on a fair asking price. Thank you kindly.

[srad34]

Ref spotting ex track bikes, they are usually found with mint road bodywork, marked wheels, often scarred chassis parts, possibly even track scrubs too.

Thing is we see a few that look mint at a few paces, but bodywork hiding crash damaged frames.

 

Dont mix ex-trackday bikes (not scrutineered) and race bikes (scrutineered) as maintenance varies hugely.

 

If you are not clued up, you could easily end up with a complete turd for strong money. I would take someone with you who has a bit of nouse as the worst thing you could do is get shiny bike syndrome! - Be wary of traders as they will tell you pretty much anything to bag a sale.

If I could say anything, it would be to look for something with service history and all the original bits, its more likely to hold value and is a better indicator on the owner (Bolt on tat and Monster sticker kits with no service history is something I avoid for resale)  

[Fat_Pirate]

Thanks for the advice srad43. Like cars anything that looks "barried" to my eyes I'm skipping past so hopefully thats a bit of a head start.

Unfortunately don't know anyone into bikes (no one I know rides) so I'll have to try and keep myself in check when looking at anything.

 

I was favoring a dealer (given I know not what I'm looking at) but now I'm not so sure. I'd just be taking them at their word that there was nothing wrong, same as a private sale, just with a sellers premium. Garrr buying cars is much easier!

 

I'm near Basingstoke which I don't think is far from you, would be happy to come along and look at stuff (but please don't let me buy anything).  

[Jerzy Woking]

I've had a few high mileage sports bikes - just sold my 80,000 miles CBR600 easily enough, as i did my 110,000 mile Fireblade.

 

Bikes doing a decent mileage each day will burn off the condensation in the oil unlike those used for a couple of miles a day. My 1985 GSX-R 750 had reached just over 180,000 miles when it was killed in an accident - and was still on the original exhaust system. 

 

High mileage sportsbikes should not be feared.

[trigger]

Here's a odd question, my father in law owns a 2014 Triumph 675 Street Triple, on Saturday he had a K&N fitted at a local bike specialist and on Sunday he went fora ride with his friend.

 

Going along the A120 towards Clacton he was over taking a car at around 70-80mph (dual carriageway) when suddenly the throttle jammed fully open and next then he knew he was going over 100mph and unable to slow down, thankfully he somehow managed to knock it out of gear and pull over and clean his pants.

 

He started it again and it revved it's bollocks off so he switched it off and waited a few minutes before trying again in which it was fine, now he's too scared to ride it in case it happens again. He's spoke to the garage who's fitted the K&N and said they had never heard that happen before and said it was nothing they had done and he rang the Triumph dealers who also said they had never known that to happen before but have said to bring the bike in for a investigation.

 

I know sod all about bikes but has anyone heard of this happening before?

[RayMK]

No, but I'd check everything in the throttle system for correct operation and also compare the K&N installation with the standard set up to see if there are clues as to the cause.  If the bike has carburettors (too lazy to check!), then don't rule out carburettor icing. Changing the airflow characteristics can make some carbs ice up quite readily, even in warm weather. Maybe fitting a kill switch would be advisable until confidence is restored or the cause found.

 

PS. As this is a modern bike it may be riddled with electronics e.g. an ECU fed by multiple sensors. If so, have the electronics checked and see if fitting a K&N may have strained wiring or caused a sensor to be deleted.

[John F]

tommytwo, on 06 Jun 2018 - 6:08 PM, said:

Apologies if I am posting in the wrong thread. I own a Honda 125 Super Dream that I am considering selling and I hope you biker guys can give me a heads up re price. I have owned the bike for 21 years, bought with 11000 miles on the clock and now reading 25500 miles. Reason for selling is I am coming up to 75 years young and have had poor health recently. Guess its time to hang up my helmet.

 

Runs perfect with no cam chain noise or rattles, oil changed once every year. Over the winter, I de-rusted the swinging arm and got it sprayed, replaced the fork seals, fitted new back brake shoes and new tires. Also fixed a broken wire in the charging system. Pictures are from two years back but it looks just the same now. Bike will have a new twelve month ticket very soon. Could do with a new seat cover as I have repaired and not replaced it in my ownership.

 

I would appreciate an opinion as to where to advertise the bike (not Gumtree) and a good guess on a fair asking price. Thank you kindly.

 

That's a lovely bike, I had a CB125T in my fleet back in the 1990s. Silky smooth compared to the 125 singles

 

It's difficult to assess value though... at a guess you might get somewhere between £800 and £1250, if the pro-link suspension is in good order.

[Bfg]

Here's a odd question, my father in law owns a 2014 Triumph 675 Street Triple, on Saturday he had a K&N fitted at a local bike specialist and on Sunday he went fora ride with his friend.

 

Going along the A120 towards Clacton he was over taking a car at around 70-80mph (dual carriageway) when suddenly the throttle jammed fully open and next then he knew he was going over 100mph and unable to slow down, thankfully he somehow managed to knock it out of gear and pull over and clean his pants.

 

He started it again and it revved it's bollocks off so he switched it off and waited a few minutes before trying again in which it was fine, now he's too scared to ride it in case it happens again. He's spoke to the garage who's fitted the K&N and said they had never heard that happen before and said it was nothing they had done and he rang the Triumph dealers who also said they had never known that to happen before but have said to bring the bike in for a investigation.

 

I know sod all about bikes but has anyone heard of this happening before?

.

I've experienced similar (..but possibly not the same) when coming down from the Alps on an autobahn in Switzerland ..which, very oddly to me, stopped at a traffic light before the city (Lucerne if I recall).  I was on a Triumph 750 but that was 30 years ago.  Unwittingly I ..on the Triumph with a stonking big white Avon fairing, tank bag and otherwise packed high with long-distance touring 'stuff', went through the stream of cars slowing to stop at now red traffic lights ...at a heck of a rate.   Bloody idiot of a friend on his T150v Trident was some way behind (again !) and didn't know what I was doing but anyway followed me through those red lights ..with the opposing traffic now starting to cross !   

 

The problem was simply the cable adjustment from the throttle. Somewhere along the route - the outer cable had become just slack enough to come out of its socket and then was hooked on the shoulder of the throttle's casting ..so the inner cable then had no slack within the outer cable to close into.  90mph cruising speed possibly dropped to 80mph when the throttle was closed and the traffic slowed ..but without a word of a lie - it felt like the bike was accelerating

 

Me, having the peace of mind to realize what had happened - then didn't have the peace of mind to simply turn the bloody ignition off.   No.., I instead rode one-handed through the stream of cars and red lights while frantically trying to see around the tank bag to tap the cable free.. ! 

 

Plonker 

[twosmoke300]

Trig , my guesses is that they haven’t routed the cables correctly or the filter has broken up and jammed the butterfly

[Jazoli]

The 675 is fuel injected, fitting a K&N should not disturb any cables or sensors as you don't need to disconnect or remove anything to change it.

 

It can only really be a sticky throttle cable or throttle body as they are a purely mechanical connection to the throttle.

 

As for not being able to stop it accelerating he could have simply pulled the clutch in or hit the kill switch

 

I had it happen on my Triumph TT600 but it wasn't the bikes fault, parking it upside down in a gravel trap led to a few loose stones rattling around and one jammed the TB's

[panhard65]

Apologies if I am posting in the wrong thread. I own a Honda 125 Super Dream that I am considering selling and I hope you biker guys can give me a heads up re price. I have owned the bike for 21 years, bought with 11000 miles on the clock and now reading 25500 miles. Reason for selling is I am coming up to 75 years young and have had poor health recently. Guess its time to hang up my helmet.

 

Runs perfect with no cam chain noise or rattles, oil changed once every year. Over the winter, I de-rusted the swinging arm and got it sprayed, replaced the fork seals, fitted new back brake shoes and new tires. Also fixed a broken wire in the charging system. Pictures are from two years back but it looks just the same now. Bike will have a new twelve month ticket very soon. Could do with a new seat cover as I have repaired and not replaced it in my ownership.

 

I would appreciate an opinion as to where to advertise the bike (not Gumtree) and a good guess on a fair asking price. Thank you kindly.

I had a cb125 a couple of years ago and got 800 for it fairly easily. Mine had been resprayed and didn't look as nice as yours so I would bung it on ebay as a classified add for 1250 and see how it goes.

[twosmoke300]

Well the versys has been pressed into use . Hopefully saving some money in fuel visiting the new lady (35 bloody miles away ) .

 

Only thing I’ve noticed so far is that it’s quite vibey - is this normal ? It’s certainly worse than my sv650s was

[Jazoli]

Well the versys has been pressed into use . Hopefully saving some money in fuel visiting the new lady (35 bloody miles away ) .

 

Only thing I’ve noticed so far is that it’s quite vibey - is this normal ? It’s certainly worse than my sv650s was

 

Yes they are vibey, mine was, the SV650 v twin is very smooth in comparison.

[Guest Hooli]

Like the others said Trigg, sounds mechanical. Maybe they trapped a cable or something when the tank was off to get to the airbox (guessing that's right for those, it is on most bikes).

 

I'd remind him about the big red kill switch by his right thumb...

[srad34]

Going along the A120 towards Clacton he was over taking a car at around 70-80mph (dual carriageway) when suddenly the throttle jammed fully open and next then I knew I was doing over 100mph and unable to slow down..... 

......officer

[martc]

Going along the A120 towards Clacton he was over taking a car at around 70-80mph (dual carriageway) when suddenly the throttle jammed fully open and next then he knew he was going over 100mph and unable to slow down, thankfully he somehow managed to knock it out of gear and pull over and clean his pants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Something similar happened to me - at 30mph though, and in Warsaw (yes in Poland, in the 80's)) on my Moto Guzzi SP1000. It had been drizzling, the cobbles were slick with 2 stroke oil and I was trapped in a sunken tram rail with a tram bearing down on me. I opened the throttle to escape and the bloody thing shot off like a scalded cat. I couldn't slow it down and I couldn't get out of the tram line trench and a junction was ahead. I hit the kill switch, allowed it to slow and slowly rode up the edge of the trench and over to the side of the road.

 

Once I'd calmed down I had a look at the cause - one of the screws holding down the throttle slide cap on a carb had loosened and the slide was stuck partially open, it was also sucking in air - both factors contributed to the high, uncontrolled revs. 

 

On another Guzzi (a V50 in this case) the revs became difficult to control and it started to idle at about 2500 rpm. The reason? A crack in the intake rubber, sucking in air and upsetting the carburation.

 

In both cases the trouble was an air leak. And some one has been messing with the Triumphs air intake system. Check for air leaks, and mechanical integrity - smoothness of throttle, no loose parts etc.

[trigger]

He did say that he felt silly for not hitting the kill switch but he panicked as he didn't expect that to happen, he may off hit the clutch but I'm not sure. I'll pass on what you guys have said though.

[Bfg]

.

My BMW K75 Ultima (..following on from my previous post < here > ) had its tyre changed and was MOT'd on Wednesday and today was taxed. It's now ready and legal to earn its keep again.    but my savings are down by £200 (with tyre + MOT + tax for 6 months)

 

The starting-to-slip clutch will need doing soon, but if I ride her sensibly and just for the daily commute to & from the boat-yard ..then perhaps optimistically I hope she'll last through until I take her off the road sometime late December.   We'll see !

 

The new Bridgestone BT45, on the back, felt not a lot different to the Avon Roadrider.  If anything just a little less tracking across ridges along the concrete section of the A14.  No noticeable difference on the farm's dirt track, but it felt harder dropping into a pothole.  Tbh I've not checked the tyre pressure since it was fitted and I have done very limited miles., and non at all on wet roads.  Anyone interested in feedback later on ought to drop me a PM ..as I'm sure my experience with one tyre versus the next on this particular bike - is of no interest to most of you.

 

I bid you safe but fun riding.

Bfg  

 

 

courtesy : < http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/bmw/bmw_k75rt_ultima.htm >

[hairnet]

Hopefully bike will enjoy its couple days bondage

[They_all_do_that_sir]

Zzr has a terrible rattle at idle, sounds like a dry clutch....

 

First panic was cam chain tensioner but using the screwdriver to the ear trick it's 100% coming from the alternator.

 

I've heard of the nut holding the end of the alternator drive shaft working loose on these and resonating at low rpm so hopefully that's all it is.

 

I'll be in there at the weekend anyway to give the pilots another nudge richer, it was running very lean so I turned them up bit by bit till it was running sweetly, it's **almost** there. Miles easier to start now and not cutting out at junctions! Previously I had to feather the throttle on approach to stops etc...

 

 

 

Sent from my F3211 using Tapatalk

[LostnotFound]

In relation to the ZX6R hunting from Neyhur:

 

If you have any local bike supermarket style places I found it useful to have a sit on and prod of a few different bikes even without much intention to buy from there. That told me that a supersport wasn't going to work at my height and weight. I'd already had the disappointment of seeing the insurance quote on a certain lovely blade that was knocking around these parts.

 

In traditional internet forum manner of recommending what the poster owns to try and justify their decision. I'll say I love my VFR750. It's got clip ons, a full fairing and a lovely V4 sound. It's not a full on sports bike if you read all the reviews but in reality it's still a lot more arse up head down and sexy looking then all the upright stuff in the work car park, the same would be true of Thundercats and ZZRs. Plenty of 750's for a grand upwards if you want the bullet proof gear driven cams. Your full budget would get you a huge range of 800s from low mileage to newer ones. 

 

It may all sound silly to the old hands on here, but if you'd have asked me to draw a motorcycle as a kid I'd have drawn a sports bike, so it's nice to pretend to live the dream I had back then.

If you have any local bike supermarket style places I found it useful to have a sit on and prod of a few different bikes even without much intention to buy from there. That told me that a supersport wasn't going to work at my height and weight. 

 

In traditional internet forum manner of recommending what the poster owns to try and justify their decision. I'll say I love my VFR750. It's got clip ons, a full fairing and a lovely V4 sound. It's not a full on sports bike if you read all the reviews but in reality it's still a lot more arse up head down and sexy looking then all the dull upright stuff in the work car park.

[plasticvandan]

I should post in here more often,seeing as I a.Don't own a car and b.ride an MZ!

My newly bought TS150 is currently in bits.In between my dad last running it three years ago and last week it had siezed solid,despite dry garage storage.When he brought it up to me i noticed he had left fuel tap on reserve rather than off.lifting the head revealed a rusty gungy mess.Took me 2 days to get the barrel off,it had siezed half across the exhaust port so my usual fill it with diesel method struggled a bit.in the end user a block of wood and a hammer,with my foot on a spanner on the crank to give it some directional tension.Bore looked good aside from some staining where the rings had stuck.I've given it a wipe with some wet and dry and it's cleaned up well.gudgeon pin took all morning to get out after heating the piston.Needle roller bearing scrap.siphoned half a pint of rusty diesel out the crank case,think it's helped clean it out.bottom end rollers look shiny so I've doused it in 2 stroke and it all spins freely,so I'm hoping the main bearings are ok.

Should have a new genuine piston and gaskets etc tomorrow,so hopefully bring it back to life

[Dave_Q]

I had an early VFR750 as my first big bike, and I did rate it, although after a while I got used to the power and wanted something faster. The engine is a peach but they are quite heavy.

 

I then got a fireblade and frankly, it was too fast for me. I was always cautious about giving it full beans in 1st to try and keep it on 2 wheels. I also found it very uncomfortable for rides of over an hour or so.

 

I reckon with bikes just buy with your heart. If you're set on something then just get it. It's all very well stating (correctly) that a supersport won't work for everyone but you don't know until you've owned one for a while.

 

I'm happy with my SV650 now, but if I hadn't got to it via the blade I would probably still be lusting after the shouty shiny plastic thing wondering what if.

 

I would probably get another supersport in the future, probably a 600, but the SV will do 60 in under 4 seconds and allegedly* top 100 with ease, that's enough for me really and the £100ish insurance bill makes up for the relative lack of speed.

[Fabergé Greggs]

I wish the DVSA would hurry up and announce this licence upgrade scheme so I can get my hands on some 90’s lunacy.

 

I presume Brexit and MOT change chaos has slowed down progress.

[DodgeRover]

I had to ride various customers bikes over for MOTs - I never really jelled with the CBRs although I can't understand why, absolutely competent etc, I did however love the 250 and 400 imports, FZ and FZR Yamahas seemed to suit me better in any capacity - possibly the Hondas were a little too refined?