Got to be a first!


Still, it's always good to find the problem so you can be confident of a fix.

 Thanks a Jay,  always  thought stainless  was better?

There's a lot of discussion about this Tex, but stainless steel can cause problems.


http://www.estainlesssteel.com/gallingofstainless.html


I've only replaced the OE studs on my bike once in 100,000 miles and 14 winters of salt, and I wonder if I"d used stainless steel whether it wouldn't have eaten the aluminium cylinder head away more quickly or made them really difficult to get out.


It's surprising how easily hideously corroded OE studs come out with a bit of heat.


I stick with OE for a lot of items (oil filters etc) because they were designed to work with other parts on the bike and not cause problems, and even though they get into a right state, OE studs will last a long time. They're cheap and sacrificial and no one really looks at exhaust studs so there's no bling factor really. What I mean by sacrificial, is like my discs were still good up to 120,000 miles because I used OE brake pads. Harder pads eat discs. Sure if you're racing, you change them but you don't expect discs to last when racing ...

Conversely, the Ohlins on my bike has now done 100,000 miles and is pretty much exactly the same as when new. Looks almost like new too. It was the budget 400 quid job without the reservoir so maybe the expensive ones need more love.

Tell you what,won't there be some FZ1's at the right money ? I think you'll get a new one for around £ 6500/7000.You could put all kinds of goodies on it,Gillies rearsets,acropovic can,trick levers,etc for another grand,what a tool that would make for the money! Is the MT10 worth upwards of £3000 more?

Ah, the age old question of value versus desirability. Yes, a heavily modded FZ1 would be a weapon, but you'd be putting money into a bike that will be less desirable in 3 years time. Is it worth it? I dunno, the Gen 1 was worth modding because it was (and still is!) such characterful and usable bike, but the FZ1, not so much. Simon Hargrieves built a very rapid Fazer and PB featured another naked FZ1 which was excellent, but I think it'd only be worth doing the same to a bargain second hand FZ1, not a new one.

The MT-10 brings Yamaha's street bike bang up to date to compete head on with the BMW S1000R and Tuono V4 and there's a lot of value in that.... as Dek with the S1R suggests.

It was also interesting to compare the Tuono to the MT. The MT's design, fit and finish is incredibly precise. Just looking at the routing of pipes for the oil cooler, water pump and so on - the clearances between them and the engine is half a centimetre whereas on the Tuono it's more like one centimetre. It's so compact every item looks almost like a it should be on life size Tamiya model.

And it has obviously been designed to be accessorised to death. The tiny guard for the clocks is held on with four big fasteners so that's going to be dead easy for aftermarket guys to create screens for, and the rear end is the same. Four screws and the numberplate hanger gets swapped out for a rack or a better looking hanger. In fact, the rear end looks like they just gave up, styling wise. There's not much of it either, so pillions will hate it. Those weird triangular lumps either side of the radiator hold the coolant overflow bottles, by the way. They probably help direct air at the rad too, but they are odd looking.

From a distance, it doesn't look that special, but close up, you can see it's an R1M, and that's not so very different from Rossi's bike. Honestly, looking at it close up, it's deeply desirable.

I had a sit on the KTM Superduke GT too, Tmation. Very very comfy, 23 litre tank, honking great 1300 twin, nearly as much power and torque as my ZZR1400 but way lighter.... It'll be an utter weapon on the road, I think.

I got a set from Markman Industrial. Or was it All Balls Racing. If forget.


If a bearing has failed, the roller caged one is a bastard to remove. It kind of welds itself into the aluminium of the wheel. Good luck!

Don't panic Noggy, I was only joking!  I even consider hipsters on Ducati Scramblers real bikers. And scooter riders for that matter. For me it's two wheels that make you a biker and it doesn't matter if you're on a Goldwing or a Melody. Mind, Harley riders... well, they're something else entirely. I'm not even sure they're from this planet. JOKE! Before someone misses the tongue in cheek.


I just made the colossal mistake of moving out of London when the prices went up and now I live 60 miles out and can't afford to move back so I either take the train (4500 per YEAR to stand) or use the bike. Which I'd have anyway.


I like the helicopter idea. I bet it's cheaper than Midland Mainline's season ticket....

It also looks cheap and flimsy like a chinese bike..

Really? You could say that about all the MT range. The 09 is littered with bits and bobs too, but I don't think it makes it look Chinese at all. Chinese bikes are big lumps of roughly finished metal and plastic stuff with substandard paint, but this looks precision engineered. The problem is it looks over designed.

What I mean by that is that it's like the whole of Yamaha's design team are still fascinated by their CAD/CAM tools and have over designed everything. Not everything has to a recess here, a clever angle there or an embossed widget stuck on the doohickey. They just need to chill out a bit and use beautiful shapes rather than trying to use every tool in Autodesk's menus.

Does anyone know anyone who can enlarge fucking STUPIDLY small tank they've given it? Seriously, if a MotoGP bike has 22 litres and an Isle of Mann TT R1 has 24, why the fuck can't they put a 21 litre tank on a naked bike. They're so proud of their cruise control and crow about it being able to be used for distance and then stick a titchy little tank on it.

Yet another bike that can't touch the Gen 1 for usability.

I'm still buying one though. Or should I wait for the Tracer version which is almost certainly being tested right now.....

I want one badly. In black with subtle hints of red, please!

Like this one ?






Yes please.

At last. A Crossplane 1000 Yamaha that doesn't have a race riding position. That looks proper dangerous. I want one badly. In black with subtle hints of red, please! In fact, I'd go as far as a 'fuckyeah!' with that one.


It probably means a Tracer version in a year's time, too. I'll be amazed if it's under 10k at MCN is suggesting though.


I'm highly amused that they managed to get Rossi and Lorenzo on the same stage for the launch!

Heat is the solution. Mine were horrendously corroded and I thought it was more likely I'd snap them off undoing them, but a couple of seconds of heat with a blowtorch and they came out without a problem.

Good work. Electrical issues take a long time to track down.


I'm going to have to do something with my wiring. The clock lights are so dim I can hardly see the mileometer or the time at the moment. I presume it's corroded wiring and I know it's going to cause a complete failure before long.

Hi guys, if you don't know, eBay are doing a 20% off until 10pm tonight so I used the discount to buy a FoxHunter hydraulic 800lb bike lift for under 200 quid! Bonus. I've wanted one for ages but they aren't cheap.


The redemption code is CUKFLASH and you have to spend more than 20 quid and the max discount is 50 quid, but I saved 50 quid on the bike lift. More here


http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shoppi ... rotection#

I can't quite believe it but my standard exhaust is busy snapping in two where the link pipe enters the muffler can and it's on a countdown to falling off. Has anyone got a spare standard exhaust? I'm in the Beds/Milton Keynes area and can collect at the weekend.