Day before yesterday: Lit a fire under the guy who sold me the DT125R as he was ignoring my messages asking for copies of the receipts for the parts he used in the "rebuild" so I know what parts were replaced and can check they were fitted properly. He was full of BS excuses about the issues with the bike, claiming that either I or the guy who delivered it must have sabotaged it as "it was fine when it left here"! He wasn't able to explain why either of us would have stretched the throttle cable so it had 2" of free play, taken the lock nut off the speedo pickup so it fouled the brake disc or loosened a petrol pipe so it leaked. Accusing me of that was a mistake, and I told him that I had been wiling to just call it quits if he gave me the info I needed, but if he insists on winding me up by making such offensive suggestions then I will make a claim against him and he can try running that defence in court, while the MOT tester can explain to a Dept of Transport inspector how he passed a bike with numerous dangerous faults. Anyway, I got the info I needed the next morning. I thanked him but also told him to never ever sell a bike in that sort of condition again because if it had been bought by a youngster or someone with no mechanical nouse who just took the MOT at face value and started to use it, the bike would almost certainly have suffered a catastrophic failure and mostly likely a serious crash when one of the bodges gave up the ghost.
Yesterday: Tried to fit the new throttle cable to the D(eath)T(rap). Inevitably one of the screws holding the top of the carb on got chewed up, but thankfully I managed to get a hacksaw blade on it to cut a new slot so I could use a bladed rather than cross head screwdriver. Unfortunately, however, the Haynes manual for this model is absolutely rubbish and it doesn't explain how to release the cable at the carb end where it is attached to the throttle slide. In fact it doesn't even mention the throttle cable at all in the entire book, save for suggesting that you check and adjust the free play every now and again. However, the Haynes manual does have a schematic of the carb and it seems the bike is fitted with one intended for a later model. It looked like I'd have to pull the return spring out, but it also looked like it might not go back again in if I did. With no wifi in the workshop and because it was raining, no 4G either, I came back in the house to watch a You Tube video which gave me the info I need and will finish the job tomorrow.
Just gone in the garage to look at them and stroke them both before I go to the supermarket. Does that count?
Last night. Fitted the throttle cable to the DT125R Replaced the broken fork cover brackets on Carla. Or rather, I tried, but had to give up because it involved lying down on the floor, which the dog interpreted as "cuddle time", so every time I assumed the position he came over and started licking my face and generally getting in the way. I didn't have the heart to send him away, so we just had cuddles on the floor of the workshop for half an hour while I listened to a documentary about the Battle of Talas on my phone.
Did this the other day when the permafrost had receded a bit New battery, oil an filter change on my 899 ready for when we are actually allowed out again! Original battery did really well I thought, been on there six and a half years, can’t wait to get out on it again Sorry @Ducbird , in my haste to get on with the job I completely forgot about your bin shot!
After waiting for a CoC to arrive since September finally it arrived today. However it didn’t arrive at my house it arrived at my mums because I’m doing building work at my house, the bikes are at my mums and registered there, 100 miles away. Yesterday BMW emailed me to say they’d sent a hard copy. Happy days, at last! 5 months! However all did not go as planned. The letter arrived, my younger brother looks after my 94 year old mother who has dementia. Unfortunately she got hold of the letter/certificate before he did and decided it was no more than a circular and shredded it! You can’t make this stuff up! I have had to write a grovelling email requesting another CoC . That’s the extent of my bike stuff today. I can’t even go out and stroke them!
Took the chain and sprockets off my Monster and cleaned all the cack out from behind the front sprocket. All shiney now ready for the new stuff.
Ran the lovely red one, it started after 3 or 4 revolutions of the engine after sitting for at least 2 months so all seems well.
Investigated why the horn stopped working , checked the fuses , pulled the wires off the horn , checked the voltage across the wires whilst the wife was pressing the button , took the horn off , cleaned the contacts and the horn with contact spray , pushed the wires back on , horn now working , refitted the horn , refitted the cover , checked the horn still working , all good .
Fitted a new magnesium sump, clutch casing and cover. Tidied up the Rapid Bike wiring and treated her to some of Motul’s finest.
Yesterday After finally getting the S4R running the other week, I took it to be MOT'd. Or rather I tried and failed to do so because when I knocked the bike into gear it lurched forward and stalled as the clutch is obviously also shagged. V annoying. Dragged the DT125 out to run over to the mechanic doing the report on and then sorting the DT175 (at the seller's cost) to have a look at the carb as it turns out that it is a cheap Chinese aftermarket copy jobbie and may well be the source of the poor running. Today Bought a decent looking secondhand genuine OE Mikuni carb and a rebuild kit off eBay. Received 2 of these new fangled locks from M&P (library pic), but not before receiving a text from DPD (Dishonest Parcel Delivery) to say I had not been in when the driver had tried to delver. Bollocks I was. Both me and son #2 were home, as was the dog, who has hearing like a bat, is very territorial and goes f*cking nuts whenever anyone even approaches the house, never mind knocks on the door. I can only assume the driver must have been a ninja before he gave it up to become a courier! After a very annoying chat with a patronising customer service bot which had the temerity to "say" "Oh, it looks like you're having a bad day, but let's not fall out!" which only further increased my fury, it turned out the parcel was with my neighbour and not back on the van to be (re)delivered on Thursday as the text had erroneously stated. Still need to find an OE throttle cable and air filter......
