I buy a 4L container of paraffin from my local B&Q-lasts at least a year doing Tracer chain regularly. Protect tyre wheel & frame with newspaper. Have a dedicated chain cleaning brush that gets in the nooks & crannies then clean towelling rag and finally apply good chain lube or engine oil to clean chain.

Well I have given into an urge that has plagued me for years now and bought my self a BLUE motorcycle, yes the true colour, but I might fit some Silver bits to it just cos I can.


What bike is it? You ask.


Well I am loathed to tell you because i know you will all be green with envy.





It is not in my possession yet, but am going over to give it a good once over tomorrow, but I have done the deal and electronically shaken hands on it.

Below is a picture of the mighty one, not actually this very one but its the same in most details, apart from its has been in a barn for the last 5 years, a dry barn I hasten to add and was last started about 18 months ago.

I know you jealous lot of foccers are all on the edge of you seat thinking is a a Moto Guzzi or a Laverda Jotta or some such beast, no I tell you much, much better that either of those.

It is a

I bought my 1992 C90-G Cub back in January with 11000 miles on clock. Replaced the tyres with new rubber & the exhaust  which was pretty rusty. Rode around on it this summer-the highlight being taking it to the Manx GP late August( in the back of a van). It made the TT course an interesting experience although I prefer a manual clutch it was enjoyable.
Mr Honda never intended these little bikes to last 25-50 years so there are areas to watch out for especially the underside of the main frame tube that can rot out and under the plastic section at the back where water can collect. Eventually the rust can reach the top mounts of rear suspension with MOT problems.
I stripped mine down this autumn and have had some welding work done on the main frame & have powdercoated all the steel bodywork.
Have got a brand new Lifan 110cc 4speed motor with manual clutch ready to fit and hope to be returning to IOM for next years Manx GP.
Does yours have a name yet, Tommy?. Mines known as "Henry" (Honda-Fonda get it?)
You seem to have got a bargain-I paid considerably more than you but its a "keeper"

So when the theft problem in London becomes so severe that insurers refuse to offer cover at a reasonable rate in these postcode areas, the only bikers risking travel in the capital will be "out of towners" -the rest will be the thieving scrotes that for "health & safety" or "human rights" reasons the police-who are paid to uphold the law- refuse to chase/catch giving them the green light for their activities. Perhaps we will end up like gun-toting Americans having to defend our own property. I wouldnt be shedding any tears if any of the lowlife thieves got their comeuppance, whether at the hands of the cops or the public.

Quote from: Dave48 on 25 October 2017, 07:57:36 am

What Gets My Goat?......It would be easier to make a list of the few things that DONT!
Politicians,Religions, Brexit, The Media, Cagers, the moronic TV programmes designed to cater for the brain dead, "Celebrities", Spokespersons, Interviewers asking really stupid questions, Facebook,the general dumbing down of everything, the compensation culture, the willingness to blame others for ones own shortcomings etc etc. What a state of affairs

You are me!
 Desperately trying not to become like Victor Meldrew( At least I still have some hair on my head! )

Ironically, people sticking to the right hand lane on the slip road, forcing me to undertake really gets my goat.

And particularly those who fail to understand the purpose of the slip road which is to enable them to join the carriageway at an appropriate speed to allow them to "slot in" to the traffic flow without causing other motorists to brake or take evasive action. Followed an idiot down slip road who attempted to join lane 1 of M5 at 40mph ffs!

Currently in my 2nd year with Bennetts, renewal due next Feb. Will have to wait & see if I am going to be"quote me happy" 3rd time around.
My previous insurer was Carole Nash who really started to p**s me off in year 3! Like you, Fazersharp, I dont want all this annual hassle-its everything nowadays, bank, savings providers, internet & TV, house contents ins etc etc. Whatever happened to "LOYALTY" being rewarded?

The main problem with the rear caliper on the FZS 600 is its location-its perfectly positioned to receive a deluge of water/road crap. REGULAR attention is the only solution. Poor design by Yamaha-they managed to fit a top located one on many other bikes-my Tracer 700 is fine sitting above the disc.
Re braking: Was talking to a highly qualified/experienced friend  who has been riding bikes since God was a lad recently & we both agreed the value of front braking down to low speed (in urban traffic) & then feathering rear for the last few mph for greater finesse/control. Obviously there are occasions-like very slippery conditions where enthusiastic use of front brake would spell disaster-there is no hard & fast rule that covers all conditions but there is no comparison between drum brakes of years gone by & modern disc set ups. Saw a bike on IOM at Manx GP this year with massive full width front brake drum with what appeared to be 4/8 leading shoe linkage-fully ventilated with mesh covers to keep the flies/stones out but at 150+mph coming over the mountain give me discs any day

My mistake-its an age thing-just ask Tommy-he knows all about it(Some say the reason he wraps his bike up for the winter is that SILVER wont stand up to the elements ) Red is the way forward, Red/Black/Silver is ACE, Blue is very acceptable until you are ready to upgrade

At least there is some useable space under the Fazer seat. If I want to carry a small disc lock on the Tracer I have to leave the toolkit at home!

Welcome & congrats on owning a FAST RED Fazer! (Some owners of other colour bikes simply will not accept the truth )  This is the place for answers so whats your question? Fire away-we wont take the mickey(not much anyway!)

Couldnt agree more about the summer holiday traffic in North Wales. Was up on Anglesey 1st week in July and although the island itself wasnt bad, we met all you describe and then some on the journey up through Bettws-Y- Coed & our detour up the Llanberis Pass.
Last few winters I have put the bike into hibernation for Nov-Feb but like yourself I dont know how long I will be able to continue riding with a progressive lung condition so intend to "live life to the full" while I still am able to.
I remember how quiet those self same roads can be come winter time-just have to watch out for the odd blizzard in Snowdonia

Was just checking the rate of duty for my 700 Tracer on the DVLA website and I see that bikes over 600cc are rated at £85 per annum (or more if you pay half yearly or by instalments).
Now I run a small car a Fiat Panda Pop 1.2 with an emissions figure of 119gms C02/km. This is the latest version of the car with the Euro 6 compliant engine & the VED is £30 per annum.
This got me looking at the V5c for the Tracer and I see it doesnt state a C02 figure but seeing as its a 2016 model with fuel injection,catalytic converter etc and with better fuel consumption than the Panda (DVLA quote 54.5mpg for the car), regularly returning 65plus mpg I wonder why bikes are penalised so?


This wasnt the end of this story as I then looked at the VED rates for new cars first registered April 2017 onwards and it appears they have new criteria for calculating duty rates which mean that the motorist once again is going to be mugged by the govt.


There are several different tables for VED based on age of vehicle(date 1st registered) and I accept that older vehicles are going to be more polluting than new ones but there is no fairness in the present system and I assume that they tax us motorcyclists on the basis that they see us as hobby riders or leisure pursuers not as a class of road user that actually helps reduce pollution & congestion.


And finally why all this emphasis on C02 emissions? In my opinion diesel particulates represent a far more immediate & significant threat to our health & well being but of course diesel was "sold" to Joe Public as the way forward a few years ago and now we have 50% of cars diesel powered, many of these being used for short stop-start journeys rather than for their intended purpose-long distance travel.
Crazy world isnt it?

Theres nothing like a good bit of downshift "blipping" with a bit of simultaneous 2 finger braking
In a cage its somewhat different using the mantra  "Brakes to slow-Gears to go" so since our bike gearboxes are sequential we can employ some fancy finger & wrist action( )[size=78%] to enjoy ourselves at the same time demonstrating mechanical sympathy for the engine & drivetrain[/size]