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warren t claim

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Quick help please.

You know the score. Last week i sold my kymco scooter to fund a mk 1 fiat panda.

Browsing local stuff for sale cheap i find a suzuki 400 burgman. 12k miles (19k kms) year 2000 for euro 500.

Can't help myself, Going to view this afternoon .

Any specific experience of this year burgman to look out for. I think this is still carburettor in 2000, which is good.

I have lasted all of 7 days with only 1 bike in garage.

That was a big NO.

You just know within seconds of viewing.  Why do peole try to hide things in adds or on the phone. I think the poor scooter had not had much love in its life. And far to many broken body panel fixings bodged together hidden away.

Oh, and a broken digital mileage counter !! Saying  19 k kms.

As if i would not be checking.

On the bright side the panda fund is still intact.

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Check the rear wheel bearings and rear frame work. The problem with the bigger scooters is that because they cover everything mechanical up with panels and covers, and thus accidental neglect is easy for an owner to fall into ? 

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This was my Piaggio 400 Xevo. No idea how long I was running it like this, as it didn't handle well at the best of time.

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Went to look at a Monkey at a dealer this morning, 2019 with 271 miles on the clock.  For something that's probably only on it's 2nd tank of fuel it was pretty tatty - various fittings were Titanic-grade rusty, paint was rubbed off at various spots, chain was bone-dry and orange (suggesting scrote ownership).  I realise they're made cheap but it's hard to see why it costs more than twice what a WK Scrambler does.

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On 6/12/2020 at 8:13 PM, Fat_Pirate said:

Went to look at a Monkey at a dealer this morning, 2019 with 271 miles on the clock.  For something that's probably only on it's 2nd tank of fuel it was pretty tatty - various fittings were Titanic-grade rusty, paint was rubbed off at various spots, chain was bone-dry and orange (suggesting scrote ownership).  I realise they're made cheap but it's hard to see why it costs more than twice what a WK Scrambler does.

Was it a Chinese one? I believe they come out of the box looking like that...

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To be fair it is a pretty rare colour by the looks of things. The paint on the tank is damaged where the tank pad was fitted:

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The remains of the pad are now gone but the whole area where it was has bleached like the top right corner in the photo above. Must have been something in the bonding agent that reacted with the paint after prolonged sunlight exposure. 

I went looking for a replacement tank but there isn’t one on eBay the same colour in this country. Plan is to find a slightly bigger tank pad and cover it all up.

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1 hour ago, 83C said:

To be fair it is a pretty rare colour by the looks of things. The paint on the tank is damaged where the tank pad was fitted:

7B44422C-319C-4F53-80CA-31C308EB8143.thumb.jpeg.3a345f7e80a82b0e37bdf089c340345b.jpeg

The remains of the pad are now gone but the whole area where it was has bleached like the top right corner in the photo above. Must have been something in the bonding agent that reacted with the paint after prolonged sunlight exposure. 

I went looking for a replacement tank but there isn’t one on eBay the same colour in this country. Plan is to find a slightly bigger tank pad and cover it all up.

Well that's a shitter!  I feel your pain about the tank.  I can't get one that won't cost me a bloody arm.

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More work on the Monet, just cleaning basically. The gearbox and crank cases look almost new, just wiped the thick dust off with an WD40 soaked rag.

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Love the repairs that have been done over the years to keep it on the road.

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My brother is making up brake and clutch cables, and the new points and back plate should be here soon.  Then engine can then be slotted back to together. Carb all good as are the exhausts.

New front tyre and tube obtained ready to be fitted, and wheel bearings changed (practically push bike wheels). The rims are nicely aged, but only surface rust and peeled paint. They will last for many more years.

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On 6/12/2020 at 8:13 PM, Fat_Pirate said:

Went to look at a Monkey at a dealer this morning, 2019 with 271 miles on the clock.  For something that's probably only on it's 2nd tank of fuel it was pretty tatty - various fittings were Titanic-grade rusty, paint was rubbed off at various spots, chain was bone-dry and orange (suggesting scrote ownership).  I realise they're made cheap but it's hard to see why it costs more than twice what a WK Scrambler does.

That sounds terrible. I think its all down to how its looked after. My mates has done over 5k miles including all weather commuting it still looks great. We went for a ride today after which we cleaned our bikes. Also I think this blows the "Chinese bikes rust/break so much because of cheap components" out of the water. No more likely because they are so cheap people don't take care of them. See Citroen Picasso's for further details. I also think you are spot on about the price though. My mate reckons if the WK had a Triumph badge it would be 5K.

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On 6/12/2020 at 8:23 PM, Jazoli said:

None of the 125's are really worth the asking IMO it's just skewed by the learner laws, especially when you cam get a perfect SV650 for the same money which is a proper bike.

So true. The only worry is when I pass my test I might end up with a garage full!

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Finally started doing some jobs on my Speed Triple.

First up, insurance, managed to reduce the  250 quid I was quoted by my existing insurer  to a much more reasonable 85 quid via Compare the Meerkat.

Second, fitted a new front tyre, a Metzeler Racetec, really grippy tyres which are surprisingly durable. Will swap the rear Bridgestone for a Racetec soon, but might go for a different size, 190/55/17 or 180/55/17, the 190/50 profile it currently has seems a bit reluctant to turn in. 

Third, discovered the battery was borked, so sourced a proper OE Yuasa replacement for 48 quid delivered. The battery box on this is tiny and there was minimal leeway for anything other than the exact correct model of battery. 

Hopefully I might actually ride the sodding thing now, it's barely gone anywhere since I bought it last autumn.

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Well the road back to standard with my bandit gsf600 is going really well indeed I think.

This is how she was when purchased as a non runner.....

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Interesting to say the least, certainly not my taste at all. 

So I decided to be proactive with it and spent many hours searching eBay with the help of some alcohol for encouragement. 

This is how it looks right now......

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I have had some electrical gremlins to deal with and some dead bulbs. Overall I think I am through the hardest parts with the old girl now.

Rev counter and Speedo are supposed to have T5 bulbs ..... They are replaceable with far cheaper and just as bright 286 car bulbs (as found in every single french car) to achieve this....

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I am still looking for side grab handles, a decent black seat and a proper headlight but currently they are over my budget. 

The micron system is about the only thing that I am willing to keep non standard long term too. I'm either getting old, nostalgic or both I think ?

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New Chinesium radiator to replace the knackered original on my Pan at the weekend, along with a clutch slave and master rebuild:

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Radiator seems pretty good for the money, the fit wasn't quite right (as these things often tend to be) but got fitted in the end with a bit of wiggling and happily it fits under the fairings. The expansion cap was extremely tight coming off and now it pushes coolant back into the expansion tank, so I'm hoping a new cap will sort it.

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1 hour ago, warch said:

It does look a lot bigger than the old radiator, I suppose that will be an advantage when it comes to riding in hot weather and heavy traffic. 

I think the problem with the old radiator is that a lot of the fins had corroded and generally turned into a bit of a mush, meaning that air couldn't flow through it effectively. I tried soaking it to clear all of the crap out of the fins but it didn't work, meaning that, as you say, the bike struggled to stay cool without a lot of airflow. Hopefully this does the trick, although I reckon in good condition the original radiator would be plenty good enough.

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New speedo sensor arrived, was a bit of a bollocks to fit as the inner bolt was a pig to access. Speedo all working again.

It tried to understeer me into a hedge on the way to get petrol, I checked the tyre pressures and the rear was half what it should be.......I'm usually more on top of that so kick up the arse noted.

On sunday a run up the north coast was achieved. This is normally my favourite road and it's fairly local. Unfortunately with the relaxation in lockdown rules it was the busiest I've ever experienced it. Cyclists everywhere causing mahoosive tailbacks meant it was a bit of a waste of time. Heading inland was a better idea for the return leg.

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I really really need a new tyre now, but I'll likely not use the bike again until next month so it can wait.

Another bike might be arriving shortly to sit alongside the current fleet - my best mate started riding on a bandit 600, which now shares his garage with a 1200 bandit and a honda firestorm. The 600 isn't being used, and it will likely be heading my direction.

The plan would be to tidy it up and insure my dad on it, so he can use it occasionally and I can use it for taking the kids out on pillion rides and other more mundane riding duties.

It's a proper 90s colour (sort of green blue) and is standard bar an aftermarket exhaust system. I reckon values of bandits are bound to start firming up

Sent from my SM-A202F using Tapatalk

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Another YouTube question I think relates heavily to bike people, filmed and edited a video together with different editing techniques, frame rate, effects etc to document working on my bike. Would be good to see if anyone has any better angles they'd suggest that work with the GoPro on a tripod as we had difficulty getting it close enough and resulted to using phone cameras. 

 

There's the video and hopefully there's some ideas there from you!

 

Cheers

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On 6/17/2020 at 11:57 PM, hairnet said:

you get used to which side the spacers go :)

putting the axle back in - the hardest bit  - try doing that on ya own with a 180 wheel and tyre :D

jealous of the gearbox sprocket - ive been there when king kong has tightened them to 200 lb ft+ :D

wheres the burnout to celebrate :D

No burnouts on my baby! Nah we haven't done front pads yet, I want to make sure it'll not go forward when I eventually attempt one in an unspecified carpark ?

On 6/18/2020 at 12:02 AM, hairnet said:

cameras?

looks ok its not dark and ya can see whats going on

head cam maybe of yer doing something slightly complicated - get a closer view then

kiltox mug and hat fer winter :D

 

Glad it looks alright, we shall be getting our own stuff hopefully if all goes to plan, but I've got HubNut merch for the noo that'll have to do ?

 

Good plug tho must investigate

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