What did you do to your bike today?

As I sat on the bike I heard an odd noise as it lowered, realised my rear hugger is flapping about and it has 2 bolts missing on the chain side!

I'm fairly sure the Kwaki garage forgot to put them back in after they adjusted the chain as I can't see them unscrewing themselves and coming off during riding!
 
Went on a meet round the Peak District. Did the Cat and Fiddle twice stopping off at the pub on the 2nd run. As we sat there at 1630, whilst almost dark, it started bloody snowing.

I just got home after covering the 152 miles from there and I have never been colder. Brilliant fun today though.
 
MatteH Oxford said:
Naa, not as much as the starter or headlights. A lot of proper race bikes don't even have a battery or starter motor, the generator provides more than enough power for an ignition system.
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Do you mean the other way round where a bike runs total loss of no generator? Very common in the paddock engines completely working for power and not elec. Just means youve to plug it into the charger between sessions.
Starter is a given but I mean when running if a battery isnt holding charge then youll start seeing lumpy misfires
 
Something exotic & individually designed for racing like a motogp bike would run a small lithium battery to power the electrics yes, perhaps the odd enthusiast built bikes with specialist looms fitted. It's a bit of a major faff though for your average track bike owner, you may as well keep the alternator/stator and ditch the battery & starter. For example the stator on my blade weighs next to nothing, might as well keep it to run the ignition rather than pop the cases to remove it.

With regards to 'normal' bikes that have a charging system + battery, the battery would have to be well & truly knackered to divert that much power away from the charging system so that it affects the ignition system. It would almost definitely be the sort of bad battery which wouldn't start the bike off the stater motor in the first place; it would have had to have been bumped or jump started to get it running.

I've never had a car or a bike that ran rough that was due to a slightly discharged battery. The few that I have had with running issues related to a battery problem, the battery was so terminally dead the vehicle wouldn't start in the first place without extra assistance.
 
Big difference in terms of bikes and cars with usage though. Bikes revving much higher means a lot more spark and the battery is so much smaller that when it starts to not hold then its not got much else in there to rely on. Only a possibility mind you.

In trend with the thread I fitted my heated grips today, R&G ones. Theyre £35 compared to the oxford sport ones I had before at double the price.

In comparison between them the R&G one really do lack the build quality of the Oxford- very ironic as the oxford ones are pretty well known to fail! The fitment of the grips on the bar was awful, one too tight and one too loose. Overcame with shaving a bit of the bar (Not cool!) and by wrapping the throttle tube with insulation tape before fitting.

Electrics are cheap and ive added extra heatshrink and insulation tape in a bid to keep the water away from the connections.

The control box is meant to be mounted to the bars using a given clamp however (and this seems common among sports bikes) theres no room on the bars to fit an extra clamp without fitting longer clipons. The Oxford control box not is not only designed to fit better by piggy backing the clutch bar clamp but its also a better feeling build.

All in all, the oxfords are a much better build but they burnt out on me and the ebay shop refused to honour the warranty. Ive gone for R&G's this year but im already slightly regretting it as theyre a bit naff but if they keep my hands warm then ill happy.

R&G


Oxford Sport
 
The breakdown of current in the primary windings of the coil(s) provide the high voltage spark, the current drawn to operate them is only about 2-3 amps at most. The thickness of the wiring on the +/- of the coils is testament to that, it's tiny.
 
Thanks for the write up on grips Souleh, after this mornings ride I think I am going to need to get some heated grips, and going on your review I wont be getting the RnG's,
Looking at the Oxford ones now, quite a few different revisions, V7 at £55 or get the latest V8 with a much simpler loom for like £75 though, bit steep, but does look much better....
 
I forgot to mention in my post above that the grips didnt actually come with a positive battery terminal connector. I just soldered one on but its just another sign of poor quality.

Rode this morning with them on and I hate to say it but I regret even more buying them. My hands were never cold but they were never hot either. The oxfords at full power would be near to burning you in sport gloves but my hands simply felt as if I was riding in normal temperatures instead.

Overall this leaves me a bit stumped. My initial (over the top) reactions are to sell these on for half price and get a set of oxfords from a reputable dealer and keep the receipt.

Ill get pictures later of the grips, having had to use some pressure to get the left grip to fit its left looking a bit worn already despite being brand new.

Not very satisfied :rolleyes:

Anyone else using these?
 
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Freezing out there this morning! Bits of ice all over the bike :D

I feel like the Michelin man with the amount of layers under my leathers!
My Arai is so badly sealed too, cold air getting in everywhere, might take to taping it up, my face is freezing, hands are getting cold too, might pop to HG this weekend and take a look at their heated grips...
 
Got the bike in for its 12k service yesterday. Aside for headlights adjusting, front brake pads replacing, rear brake fluid replacing and balancing the carbs, it was good to go!

Decent mechanic too as he was happy with me observing what he was doing with the bike so I learnt a little bit more about it. One day I'll be brave enough to attempt replacing brake pads etc myself...
 
After years of winter riding you will not tolerate sitting in some ones car with the heater on I can not stand it myself.

Also look after yourself rap up as mother says it will pay in the long run seriously if not you will start to walk with limps e.t.c :D true I do after a long ride in the cold.

Keep warm people.
 
Hahahaha. Oh dear, how embarrassing. I posted this a few days back:

Zbornak said:
What did I do to my bike today? I pushed it home!

Stopped off somewhere to sort my gear out then was unable to get any power despite charging the battery fully just a few days ago. Something in a little yellow box under the seat was whirring away like crazy. Not sure what it was, it was next to the flasher. Possibly related to my installation of heated grips a few days ago?
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I now know what it is. When I installed my new hot grips, I put the hot grip battery terminals underneath the main terminals instead of on top! Unbelievable how much hassle the whole thing caused. Deary me.
 
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