Biker's Cafe Chatroom

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Never tried heated kit myself, but fitted heated grips to the 765 RS, and the S1000R comes with factory fitted heated grips - they do the job for me; then I use the engine casings when stopped to sort the cold tips out - though you need enough red lights on your commute for that
 
Jack
Cleaning kit

New bike owner with possibly stupid question.

So it seems I need to clean and lube my chain regularly. With zero bike knowledge I was not aware of this.

Would the above stand and kit be everything I need to do this?
 
utajoker said:
Jack
Cleaning kit

New bike owner with possibly stupid question.

So it seems I need to clean and lube my chain regularly. With zero bike knowledge I was not aware of this.

Would the above stand and kit be everything I need to do this?
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Yes, the stand will get your rear wheel off the ground to make cleaning / lubing easier, assuming your motorcycle doesn't have a centre stand you could use instead.

I have no experience with the Moto Grime stuff price is okay, and it would do the job. Don't spray the lube as they are in the photo though. Spraying the outside, around the cog, just means it'll fling off the moment you pull away. I tend to spray down onto the top of the chain just before it goes round the sprocket so when it inevitably flings it actually passes through the chain link on its way.

As for lubrication, little and often. You may be tempted to cake it on, but it'll just fling the majority off and will need to be lubricated again at the same interval anyways. You also need to adjust the chain on occasion, so cleaning / lubing regularly is a good time to check if adjustment is needed to prevent excessive chain / sprocket wear.


It's all part of the fun :D
 
My top tip for chain adjustment is to keep (or ask to take from the bin at your nearest recycling centre) an old 6 foot fluorescent light tube.

Why? Because they are straight with parallel edges. Once you think you have your chain adjusted, hold the tube up to the rear tyre, first on the chain side and then on the brake side. If the rear wheel is straight, the other end of the tube should be parallel to the front tyre with an equal gap either side.

Do not rely on chain adjuster markings on the rear swing arm. I had an old Suzuki 1100 where the markings were 3 mm out on one side. I paid good money to put the bike on a Motoliner jig as I thought the frame must be bent. Nope, the frame was spot on, but the markings were off.
 
Well, sadly it looks like my claim is dead in the water! Turns out the witness statement came from the car behing the third party, and they reported that the other party had been indicating for some time before the collision.

I've gone over the accident numerous times in my head, and I honestly don't recall seeing an indicator until my front wheel had pretty much reached their rear bumper. The cars behind the TP were bumper to bumper so I can only assume that the indicator was obscured...

The Solicitor has told me that if I wish to proceed, I will have to pay for the Police report; but I don't think this is going to help - any cars behind the witness will be unlikely to have seen any indicator, just because of how close they were to eachother.

Going to have a read of their letter when it comes through, as I'll need weigh up the costs going forward, if I choose to fight - I'll be paying for Doctors reports, Court fees etc etc! Presently, I'm not liking the chances of success Vs the costs I'll have to pony up - hopefully I can still go for 50/50 but I think any Personal Injury stuff is a non-starter now; guess I'll have to chalk it up to a painful experience, and hope it doesn't become a costly one now!

As for the bike repairs..... it's still sat in BMW awaiting staff to look at it.

Edit: looking at about 2k in costs - but I really don't think there's much chance of success, so I reckon it'll be good money after bad.

I've asked my Solicitor to try for 50/50 - hoping that will at least give me some avenues to recover some of my costs, and maybe pay something for the whiplash my GP found - though I'm not dead set on getting a payout now, I'd quite like to put this all behind me (but every little helps and all that). Irrespective of the TP indicating, I'm pretty sure the Highway Code is pretty clear that they still need to check everything is clear - but I'll have to leave that to the Solicitor/Insurer to work out (sadly we both have the same Insurer!)

Something odd that cropped up though - and I'm not sure where I stand: after the accident I was put in touch with a Solicitor via my policy; I didn't get the best impression from them, after the initial phone call - and once I provided all the photos etc I had, they went into radio silence and didn't even acknowledge my emails.

I chased them up a week or so later, to see if they needed anything else, or if they were actually dealing with my claim - they then sent an ail with all the legal documents and a digital document link to sign - their email clearly stated that if I didn't sign, they wouldn't be able to act for me. As I had chosen my own Solicitor whilst they went into that period of no Comms, I decided not to sign anything and leave it.

Turns out this Solicitor did in fact start acting for me, by obtaining the witness report etc - so I'm hoping I won't have incurred any costs with them; considering I never signed the documents and provided my ID to officially instruct them to act on my behalf...
 
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Terminal_Boy said:
My top tip for chain adjustment is to keep (or ask to take from the bin at your nearest recycling centre) an old 6 foot fluorescent light tube.

Why? Because they are straight with parallel edges. Once you think you have your chain adjusted, hold the tube up to the rear tyre, first on the chain side and then on the brake side. If the rear wheel is straight, the other end of the tube should be parallel to the front tyre with an equal gap either side.

Do not rely on chain adjuster markings on the rear swing arm. I had an old Suzuki 1100 where the markings were 3 mm out on one side. I paid good money to put the bike on a Motoliner jig as I thought the frame must be bent. Nope, the frame was spot on, but the markings were off.
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Handy tip - the same can be achieved with string iirc, I think I only did it once or twice not longer after I passed; so not 100% on the process.

Personally I use a vernier calliper to measure the rear axle (erm) 'blocks' to ensure both sides are equal, though I appreciate not all bikes have the same adjusters. I also try to get both sides the same, so that when I do adjust going forward, all I need to do is to turn the adjuster nuts by one 'flat' on the head of the bolt - that way I know that both sides are always adjusted the same.
 
Rimsy said:
DAS booked for early Jan (I know....) And deposit placed on Trident 660!! Never before have I been so anxious about weather forecasts . Truly praying the the mildest January on records please.
Regardless.... Really excited!
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Aaaand passed. Week of wind and rain but thankfully no ice (like now!)
Picked up my trident last week not managed to get out on it as much as I'd like but loving the little amount of riding Ive got in so far.
 
NooBish AbbZ said:
My first weekend volunteering for Blood bikes this weekend coming up; riding a Kawasaki Versys 650 which is certainly a bit taller than my XJ6N. Hoping for some sunny skies!
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Had a couple of small jobs today so I was out for around 3 hours straight. Bike was alright(a Versys 650); way quieter than mine though, which is a shame :p I picked up some ligament damage in my thumb last week skiing too, which by the end of the run was ******* killing me :(
 
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Had my first icy ride late last night. Left work at about 23:45 for a 12 mile cross country, untreated road ride at -4°c Went fine. Heated grips were on max and kept my hands warm enough and stopped the Reynauds well enough. Took it nice and easy and just assumed there would be no/little grip in each corner. No dramas, no oh **** moments, kept everything smooth and gently flowing. Could deffo feel the bike sliding about though. I've got 30 years of car driving on untreated country roads, so I'm sure that helped in keeping her rubber-side-down!
 
haaammit said:
Had my first icy ride late last night. Left work at about 23:45 for a 12 mile cross country, untreated road ride at -4°c Went fine. Heated grips were on max and kept my hands warm enough and stopped the Reynauds well enough. Took it nice and easy and just assumed there would be no/little grip in each corner. No dramas, no oh **** moments, kept everything smooth and gently flowing. Could deffo feel the bike sliding about though. I've got 30 years of car driving on untreated country roads, so I'm sure that helped in keeping her rubber-side-down!
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Such a horrible feeling tipping into a corner thinking 'please grip, please grip'. As you say, smoothness is King!
 
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Another few hours Blood Biking this afternoon. It felt colder today than yesterday(had to scrape ice off the odometer as I got on, first thing) and had a few familiar places to go to, which was nice :) (Places along my regular summer-evening blast route)

I've been on a Versys 650 for the weekend which has been a significant change from my XJ6N. Feels taller than my bike which isn't ideal as I'm a bit on the short side, and certainly a bit more cumbersome around bends than the XJ, although that could be me not being so accustomed to the bike and the icy roads I've mentioned. Seems a little gutless, too but that might just be the lack of noise. (XJ has an entirely road legal race system on <3)

Edit: Blood Bike now dropped off for this weekends rider(looks like it's gonna be warmer for them) And as I got back I thought I'd have a mess about with my bike (XJ6N) just to see how it feels. Only had a sit on it and it feels so small(in a good way) so agile, so light!
Battery now on charge as I'd like to get out on it a little bit towards the end of this week.
 
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HURRAH!!! After BMW having my bike for 15 weeks, they have just got the estimate for repairs over to my insurer! So much for the "it'll be 8 weeks before we can look at it" they told the mechanic I originally picked, way back in September.

Just hoping that my insurer doesn't take ages to approve the repair work now, and that BMW can get it back together and out the door in time for the Season start... it's a share of 2K in repairs, so one would hope that would be an automatic approval on a 10k bike - but hey, it's insurers so who knows eh.
 
Scort said:
HURRAH!!! After BMW having my bike for 15 weeks, they have just got the estimate for repairs over to my insurer! So much for the "it'll be 8 weeks before we can look at it" they told the mechanic I originally picked, way back in September.

Just hoping that my insurer doesn't take ages to approve the repair work now, and that BMW can get it back together and out the door in time for the Season start... it's a share of 2K in repairs, so one would hope that would be an automatic approval on a 10k bike - but hey, it's insurers so who knows eh.
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Only £2k on a BMW, take it you just scuffed a lever or something then ;)
Fingers crossed for it being sorted in time for the nicer weather.
 
tom_e said:
Only £2k on a BMW, take it you just scuffed a lever or something then ;)
Fingers crossed for it being sorted in time for the nicer weather.
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I wish lol - it was all left-side damage, crash protectors (bar and spindles)/mirror/indicator/clutch/nose and side fairing/engine casing/gear lever - some highlights:

 
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