finally got my bike, actuially got it a few weeks ago now but not had chance to post. it's been tracked but bar the front mirrors/indicators it's road ready. first on list is bleeding the clutch as it's biting way too early, getting the side stand sorted (it leans way too far so i', getting the pivot repaired and/or the stand extended slightly) and the belts and service. came with full service history, I've already bought a rear seat unit and pilly seat so I can take the missis out. came with 2 lots of fairings too which i'm real pleased about as if I track it myself i'd rather not get the ones that are on it messed up. so happy to finally have it! if anyone has any tips on things to keep on top of with general maintenance or some mods worth doing then let me know. I'm already eyeing up a c.f 23 litre tank for it but that will have to wait a while
Its usually the master cylinder that needs bleeding . Take the top off and the rubber theres an 8mm bolt inside . Loosen it and pump the lever , very slowly , you will probably see some air come out . Unless you already new of course .
It's a great bike, you'll love it. There are a lot of things you can do to improve it though. Biggest improvement for me was nothing to do with performance but really transformed the bike. These bikes, as standard, have really marginal starting circuits and they only get worse with age. This results in reluctant, slow turning over and there is so much resistance in the cables that the current draw leaves too little for the ignition circuit. It's all a vicious circle. To make it worse, this then puts your sprag clutch at risk and that is a right pain to fix. Solution is a top notch battery combined with heavy duty cables in your starting circuit. If you are that way inclined, you can cobble up your own or you can adapt cables from Halfords. Simplest way though is to get a kit from @Exige on here. He also sells cam belts, so you might be able to negotiate a deal. Second best thing I did is the quiet clutch mod but you may be one of those who hears the racket of a clutch knackering itself as music...
thanks for the help guys. got a really good gel battery for it, but it is a little slow now and again, I heard about the cables so I will get some of them, I also looked into the quiet clutch mod, but I need a spare old friction plate don't I? I also looked it up on here but the one thread I found I became completely confused as the guy who posted it didn't seem to grasp how to do it and all the talk of stack thicknesses and his clutch slipping etc confused the fook outa me, so if you wouldn't mind PMing me a guide on how to do it i'll have a go, altho I need an old friction plate which obv I won't have till this clutch is due a replacement. cheers again guys
I started off with an extra friction plate but have now come to the conclusion that it is entirely unnecessary. All you need to do is re-order your existing plates. This will reduce your stack-height a little, which theoretically might increase your chances of clutch slip but I am running a considerably reduced stack-height and I am getting no slip whatsoever. So all you need to do is remove right-hand fairing side, remove clutch cover, making sure you lay the bolts out in the pattern they need to go back in, as some are similar but not quite the same lengths. Undo the spring bolts in a reasonably even manner - I use an electric screwdriver for this... remove springs and caps. Withdraw the pressure plate, which will bring the pushrod with it, then remove the plates, one at a time and place them on the r/h footpeg, so they are conveniently in the order they need to back in. Switch one of the last friction plates you took out for the last plain plate you removed and replace the plates back in the slots. It is not really too critical that have the exact theoretical order as long as only plain plates get placed adjacent to each other. it's not a good idea to have friction plate against friction plate but plain plate against plain plate is fine. The last plate to go in before the pressure plate should be a plain plate, otherwise the general idea is to have plain and friction plates alternating but with a few plain plates adjacent to each other at top and bottom of the stack. I have actually removed quite a few plain plates and have an ultra low stack height. I get no slip and the clutch works beautifully with a very light action and no drag whatsoever. I can actually not only tap up easily from 1st to neutral at rest, I can also tap down just easily from 2nd to neutral. I use a couple of magnets on telescopic stalks to get the plates out easily. I found some in Sainsburys of all places that are so powerful, they will even lift out the aluminium friction plates via the ferrous sintering in the friction material! When you replace the pressure plate, grease the pushrod first. The friction plate has a triangular arrow moulded into it, this has to line up with the post with a slot in it. When you tighten the spring bolts, do it evenly and do not tighten with anything more than gentle hand pressure. You can easily strip the threads and they wont come undone as the spring pressure will prevent it. The quiet clutch mod relies on the fact that the slots machined into the basket for the friction plate tabs have rounded bottom ends to them. If you put a plain plate in first, then the friction plates all sit above this rounded bottom end, as they will be above the first plain plate, whose slots have square ends at the bottom. However, if you put a friction plate in first, it jams down into the curve at the bottom and this has the effect of damping the movement of the whole stack, so no more chatter. No more chatter means much reduced wear, so its win/win.
