what did you do with your fazer today ?

[fazersharp]

Long time no nog  Yes there is a shade of red that is the fastest Fazer -- its very dark red - almost black you might say - in fact it IS BLACK 

[unfazed]

You have been quite for a long time Noggy. Were you in long hibernation or did you go to the dark side and buy an electric bike 

[robbo]

Refitted my newly powder coated and freshly tyred rear wheel. Next job will be a valve clearance check, just waiting for the oil pump gasket to arrive before I start. Ran the engine for the first time since October, all good, started sweet as a nut. Hopefully valve tolerances will be in spec., then just an exup service to do, slap some tax on for April, then head off for Le Mans the weekend after Easter for the 24 hour endurance.

[unfazed]

Turned over 97000 miles on the 600 today while out for a wander around South West Cork. Rolled it out of the shop in Nov 2003 with 1 mile on it

[Grahamm]

Well, after having a nightmare of a time trying to replace the rear disc and a bolt refusing to move, I've finally got it out, put the new disc on, changed the chain and sprockets and went out for a little pootle around the block today to make sure everything is working fine so I can ride down to North Devon tomorrow to catch some waves

[noggythenog]

You have been quite for a long time Noggy. Were you in long hibernation or did you go to the dark side and buy an electric bike 

I got old.........i'll never be that old though........


Up visiting the homeland the other day and spotted an american trying to rock a kilt.........the cheapest tea towel looking bit of scabby cloth i'd ever seen................i bet he rides an electric bike....or a segway......a black one 

[Grahamm]

Well, after all the hassles I had with replacing the rear brake disc and after installing the new chain and sprockets, my FZ6 sailed through its MOT today with a clean bill of health for another year

[robbo]

Bolted on the pannier frames and got the camping gear loaded on. Early(02:40am) start tomorrow, headed for Le Mans for this weekends 24 hour endurance. Got yet another new tent to try out along with a ridiculously expensive airmat. Let’s hope it’s been money well spent as Fridays weather forecast is wet, to say the least. Recently read that Chris Walker is riding for the only all Brit team ADSS 97. I’ll be rooting for Yart Yamaha.

[notsofast]

First blast of the year in the sunshine this afternoon - Pretty good but still a lot of grit on some of the back roads to spoil the fun.  Bike ran perfectly after its hibernation but now the l/h fork seal is weeping.  Ordered up replacements and a seal driver.  I am away over the weekend but will get it changed out next week.

[Grahamm]

now the l/h fork seal is weeping.  Ordered up replacements and a seal driver. 

Before you do that, have you checked that there might just be a bit of crud caught under the seal?



OK, that's weird, that's supposed to be a link to a YouTube video, but the forum software is not letting it appear.

Try ht*ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lJH3nnw6mM and swap the * for t

[notsofast]

now the l/h fork seal is weeping.  Ordered up replacements and a seal driver. 

Before you do that, have you checked that there might just be a bit of crud caught under the seal?

Yup - Run a piece of thin plastic up the inside of the seal.  It seemed very easy to get past the lip so I think the seal is worn anyway.

[notsofast]

now the l/h fork seal is weeping.  Ordered up replacements and a seal driver. 

Before you do that, have you checked that there might just be a bit of crud caught under the seal?

Yup - Run a piece of thin plastic up the inside of the seal.  It seemed very easy to get past the lip so I think the seal is worn anyway.

So I received the new fork seals, seal driver and headstock stand over the last week but as the good weather was forecast to break, I decided to go for a blast this afternoon instead.  It was a great run on some fun roads in the sunshine.  The previously weeping fork seal stanchion remained bone dry which was good news but I was struggling with "enthustiastic" cornering and kept on feeling the front very vague as if under inflated (which it is not) but flighty at greater corner speeds.  I initially put it down to the remaining salt and winter debris however, on inspection the right hand side of the front Angel GT is below the wear indicators - near bald on a line probably where the softer compound starts.  The profile is uneven also.  Still plenty on the centre and the LH side.  I favour right handers so I guess that makes sense and a lot of the "good" roads up here are resurfaced yearly with tar and chips leaving an extremely abrasive surface whilst providing poor grip levels.  I changed the rear less than 800 miles ago and it still looks great - should not have been so cheap and replaced the pair.....

[robbo]

Parts stripped off in preparation for valve clearance check. WSB on tv now, so will get back out to the garage after racing’s finished. Hopefully no shims will be needed as busy biking weekend coming up, but didn’t want to put it off any longer.

[Grahamm]

Nothing on the bike, but gave the shed a good sweeping out to get rid of all the leaves and other crap that had got in there during the winter, so if I drop bolts or screws etc I'll have better a chance of finding them again!

[robbo]

Valve clearances all in spec , so just need to finish reassembly, give the exup a service , then all good for some more fun and frolics. Weather for Yamaha Day looks well iffy at present, so fingers crossed it will be fine for the Mayday Run.

[fazersharp]

Not today but yesterday. Had a ride out to view the practice flypast for the kings coronation. 100 mile round trip.

[robbo]

All back together. Fresh coolant, exup and front calipers serviced. Doubt if I’ll bother with Yamaha Day at The Ace, as no LOFO interest and journey for me is mind numbingly boring. Hope the forecast improves for the May Day run, although will give Hastings itself a swerve.

[robbo]

It was the traditional May Day Run to Hastings yesterday. Despite the sketchy weather forecast there was a good turnout. Although it's a motorcycle event, it brings out quads, Yank cars, in fact anything of interest with wheels and an engine. Unfortunately I saw the aftermath of three bike accidents and hope no one was badly hurt. Possibly this was the first ride of the year for many, and skills could maybe have been a bit rusty.
It was good to catch up with Kitcrazy, who's now back in the Yamaha fold with a very nice Tracer 9 GT, having had daliances in the BMW and Kawasaki camps.
It's definitely worth doing the ride into Hastings at least once for the experience, but the resort gets absolutely rammed with bikes. It's quite a few years now that the group I ride with have opted to make straight for Rye, for a relaxed meal and a chill out.
We were very fortunate with the weather, and only encountered maybe a 5 minute shower around Appledore, certainly not worth stopping to don waterproofs. We were soon at our usual pub stop, before splitting for home. The trip meter showed 153 miles for the day, which together with my trip to Le Mans the other week,meant my new rear tyre has done 1k miles already .

[notsofast]

Ordered a replacement front tyre last week and spent the thicker end of 4 hours trying to spoon it into position yesterday evening. First thing this morning, I wrapped it in a tyre warmer to try and make it easier but to no avail and I conceded defeat.  Jumped in the car and took it to a local garage who had it over the rim literally within the minute.  I then tried to balance it on my newly purchased wheel balancer and after 30 minutes, concluded that the balancer shaft was ever so slightly out of true.  Rolled the shaft on a sheet of glass and it had a 1mm bend over its length.  A few pieces of wood and a deft thump with a persuader got it close to true hence a reasonable balance thereafter....
Hopefully get it scrubbed in over the next day or so weather dependent.

[Grahamm]

I'm going to be taking my Driving Test soon, so I went out on the FZ6 to check out some of the local routes and spot any odd junctions or weird changes of speed limits etc and racked up 80 miles checking out five of them.

[fazerscotty]

Took it for it's MOT - passed.
(Has anyone had a failure on a Gen 1 Thou - ever?)

[robbo]

One look and you can tell the bike's well cared for, and a fast red one to boot .
Last Thursday was the last dry day in the south for a while, so took the opportunity for a whizz up to TTT Motorcycles at Sudbury in Suffolk. I've done a few ride outs to this general area in recent years, so knew where the good B roads were. However, a few miles short of Thaxted, the road was closed for resurfacing, the diversion being single track lanes, which made for an interesting 20 minutes or so, before we got back on tarmac proper.
It's quite a set up at TTT's, which has a large unit, with clothing,helmets,oils etc displayed along the perimeter walls. The rest of the space occupied by mainly classic Japanese and British bikes, with a cafe area with a varied menu in one corner. The bike prices were a little eyewatering, but I suppose that's what the market dictates for a rideaway classic.
After a spot of lunch we headed homeward, stopping off at Finchingfield, which is a very pretty "chocolate box" village, for a few shandies and general chill out. Petrol stations in this area are pretty thin on the ground, and my pal on his MT10SP was getting quite anxious when the filling station I'd aimed for, was shut. However he now knows, when we got to the Shell station at Ongar, that the MT will do at least 116 miles on a tankfull....just. The M25 at Brentwood was rammed, causing us to filter all the way to the Dartford Bridge. The delay caused me to get caught in a shower about 10 miles from home. A good day out clocking up only 156 miles which felt like more with the diversion and M25 grief taken into account. I'd recommend a visit to TTT's for anyone in that general neck of the woods, that fancies a bike ride.

[fazersharp]

Well thanks to the  it seems that I was one of the very few who saw at least in most part what the kings flyover would of looked like.
Long live king -

[Anquetil]

New rear tyre fitted. A nice ride in the sun to Llandudno, via Ruthin, Denbigh, St Asaph. Betws yn Rhos, Colwyn Bay, Rhos on Sea. A coffee at Coast Cafe then back. Just over 100 miles. 

[Anquetil]

A ride to Lakeside Cafe, Tanygrisiau, Blaenau Ffestiniog, via Ruthin, Cerrig, Fron Goch, Llyn Celyn. 130 miles round trip. Quite a few bikers out and several at the cafe. Quiet roads.