What did you do to your bike today?

To be fair to Aprilia their reliability has improved massively. The amount of warranty work to new bikes sold is very low.
 
On my suzuki sv650 k3 model, i've had problems with the front brakes being very spongy. Today I sorted them by stripping them down, greaseing the pistons with RRG and sliders etc with the correct grease.

However, I've took away the metal retaining springs that sit on the bottom of the caliper and I assume they are there as an "anti rattle" feature?

I do notice they do rattle over bumps but thats nothing. They do interfear with the pads when applying, as they are mis shaped, but took them out and think thats one of the reasons why my brakes have been so poor. Now I can do 2 finger braking :D

Should be okay with out these springs?

I also adjusted my cluth properly at the rod end rather than the lever and wow what a difference. I've also changed out my k&n air filter to a stock filter and got a good seal on the air box as pervious owner must have broke the little plastic stopper thingy in the thread. Managed to source some new screws and now she runs better!
 
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ElliorR said:
To be fair to Aprilia their reliability has improved massively. The amount of warranty work to new bikes sold is very low.
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the damage has already been done though,even f they are 100% reliable now its a hard reputation to put right,ducati even more so,will never forget a brand new 999 in the showroom with huge puddle of fork oil where it had leaked out

same with Italian cars like alfa,fiat,terrible reliability,can't knock the styling though far better than the Japanese,but id pick reliability over looks everytime,you can wring the neck out of a jap bike and it just wont break

@ben,you ought a keep the anti rattle plates on,shouldnt affect the movement of the pads when braking,carefull the pads don't rotate slightly with the disc and wear out your caliper,mine was doing that till I bent the anti rattle plate back so it pressed against the tops of the pads better
 
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wazza300 said:
the damage has already been done though,even f they are 100% reliable now its a hard reputation to put right,ducati even more so,will never forget a brand new 999 in the showroom with huge puddle of fork oil where it had leaked out

same with Italian cars like alfa,fiat,terrible reliability,can't knock the styling though far better than the Japanese,but id pick reliability over looks everytime,you can wring the neck out of a jap bike and it just wont break

@ben,you ought a keep the anti rattle plates on,shouldnt affect the movement of the pads when braking,carefull the pads don't rotate slightly with the disc and wear out your caliper,mine was doing that till I bent the anti rattle plate back so it pressed against the tops of the pads better
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Cheers wazza, Ill keep an eye on it for now. The spring use to catch on the bottom of the piston iirc. I tried to give it ago at bending it as one of them looks bent but didn't have the right equipment. And £20 for the 2 springs seems a tad expensive.
 
mattup said:
I wouldn't want to buy a bike that you have owned if that's how you treat it!

You need to calm down.
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Oh this bike isn't for sale, coming up to 70,000 miles an regularly see's 12k before gear changes..

TallPaul_S said:
Completely agree the car driver was a ***** for pulling out, but my point was that the gap in traffic was exactly the sign that a car could be pulling out. We have to take our safety into our own hands, if you leave it up the other numpties on the road we'd all be in wheelchairs! :p that sort of defensive riding, thinking all the time about what that car is doing, why is that happening, what could be happening there etc. is how you have to ride to avoid accidents.
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agnes said:
No signs of anyone letting white car in, both sides a little trigger happy. And yea, biker could have read the road better, but as could have the car driver...



Ohhhh, this sub forum has become one of those sub forums. Calm down, he's riding very casually... Get off your high horse and back up.

White knights these days, so stuck up their arses.
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wazza300 said:
cant see anything wrong tbh,cars pulling out on you like that is to be expected,its a daily thing really

I always slow down at junctions/side junctions because you can almost guarantee that someone will pull out on you,esp with it being wet,pays just to be careful in those spots
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I wasn't posting to cry victim or foul play, It was more to suggest how much can change in a single second in traffic. Now i did see the gap and expected a car to be pulling out of the first lane..not across into the second lane travelling the wrong way out of a one way street.

Then not just 200m away a car pulls out with plenty of time from the roundabout but decides to not go anywhere other than block the exit for me and the lorry :(
 
Ben-Irvine93 said:
However, I've took away the metal retaining springs that sit on the bottom of the caliper and I assume they are there as an "anti rattle" feature?

I do notice they do rattle over bumps but thats nothing. They do interfear with the pads when applying, as they are mis shaped, but took them out and think thats one of the reasons why my brakes have been so poor. Now I can do 2 finger braking :D

Should be okay with out these springs?
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I will be OK without these springs but they will be noisy, I put mine back in because the caliper knocking started to wind me up, just keep bending them and greased every few weeks so they keep the right shape. The anti rattle backs to pads make a big difference in noise too, when i changed to SBS pads my pads would knock as they didn't have the backing, i had to rummage through the bin to get my EBC pads to get the backings put on. Quiet brakes :D
 
Changed the spark plug on my YBR last night and finally changed over the speedo drive, it's nice to have a speedo reading back again!

Also ordered an Abba stand for the new bike, pricey but more than worth it if it means I don't have to balance it on paddock stands also means I can do any rear suspension work myself.
 
agnes said:
No signs of anyone letting white car in, both sides a little trigger happy. And yea, biker could have read the road better, but as could have the car driver...



Ohhhh, this sub forum has become one of those sub forums. Calm down, he's riding very casually... Get off your high horse and back up.

White knights these days, so stuck up their arses.
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What a hypocritical fella you are.

Talking of white knights to the rescue.......
 
ConTRo13R said:
I wasn't posting to cry victim or foul play, It was more to suggest how much can change in a single second in traffic. Now i did see the gap and expected a car to be pulling out of the first lane..not across into the second lane travelling the wrong way out of a one way street.

Then not just 200m away a car pulls out with plenty of time from the roundabout but decides to not go anywhere other than block the exit for me and the lorry :(
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Didn't realise that was a one way street... that's just... I mean, WTF :confused: :eek:

Yeah that's some pretty bad driving right there :p
 
Glaucus said:
Ouch. That's silly money
Xj900f -1992 I think.

If its anywhere near that much ill have to do it myself.
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If there not upside down forks then you should do them yourself, Hardest thing is suspending the bike, the fork seal & dust seals are a piece of **** to do. Only thing you have to be careful of is putting in the right amount of oil & Exactly the same in each fork.
Best way of suspending the bike is slinging a piece of rope over a joist & have a hook on either end that hooks under your bars, Once the bikes up the rest is easy. :)
 
4T5 said:
If there not upside down forks then you should do them yourself, Hardest thing is suspending the bike, the fork seal & dust seals are a piece of **** to do. Only thing you have to be careful of is putting in the right amount of oil & Exactly the same in each fork.
Best way of suspending the bike is slinging a piece of rope over a joist & have a hook on either end that hooks under your bars, Once the bikes up the rest is easy. :)
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I had a read of my Haynes manual last night because apparently the SV really benefits from replacing the rear shocks and the fork springs and like you say it looks pretty straight forward to be honest.
Not worth paying someone to do if you've got a way of lifting the bike and an afternoon spare.
 
ride it first and see what you think,most niggles can be cured by adjusting the suspension,theres a place in Halesowen does free setups,ill try and find the name of it

its only when the bike covers a lot of mileage or gets old that the suspension starts to feel soft

I think they sell k-tech spring kits aswell at that place,but you can buy the hyperpro kits off ebay

@glaucus,i cant remember now if it was 175 or 75 quid to have my seal done,i only had one done as it was leaking,they are upside down forks though
 
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wazza300 said:
ride it first and see what you think,most niggles can be cured by adjusting the suspension,theres a place in Halesowen does free setups,ill try and find the name of it

its only when the bike covers a lot of mileage or gets old that the suspension starts to feel soft

I think they sell k-tech spring kits aswell at that place,but you can buy the hyperpro kits off ebay

@glaucus,i cant remember now if it was 175 or 75 quid to have my seal done,i only had one done as it was leaking,they are upside down forks though
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Streetbike?
 
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