Yes to semi-synth. Just had mine in for a service. New plugs, oil & filter, and air filter. They charged £8 per litre for the oily stuff... nearly had me dialling 999!!!

Here is the Mivv oval carbon. Each to their own and all that , plenty of other good cans out there - but I'm very happy with my choice. Paid £230 for it inc delivery from eBay.

Good luck with the FUEL can, lots of people like them. I fitted a Mivv Oval last week on my gen 1 and would highly reccomend them too.

Great write up PieEater

Right chaps,  So after I turned the bike the right way up    ...


... I purchased some 2001 R1 headers with an exup valve for £60 of eBay (cheers for the idea unfazed). Fitted the valve yesterday and the bike is transformed  . There is a bit of a rattle now from 'down there' but I should be able to sort that by adjusting the cables a little more - I know there are a few threads on rattling exups. The valve looked straight and true when I installed it. The pulley was very corroded on the outside of the valve as were a few of the fixings, but the insides looked good and moved freely. I'll be sticking the R1 headers and the exup cables back on eBay soon  - job done!!


I don't understand how some riders choose to remove the valve and ride without one. Each to their own of course, but the bike is so much better with a working exup. I've put 900 miles on it in the last few weeks and the 30 miles on it today were by far the best.


Thanks again for your help with this. Next stop will be r6 shock upgrade and an Ivan's kit (thanks for the email Mike). But for the mean time with a low mileage (sub 10k) bike , standard (apart from seat and screen) , I'm happy to wait a while for those.


Roll on summer 

Here you are unfazed! A pic of the plate, ex up cables (I think)  in top right hand corner of pic.

Sorry for the lack of photos and thanks for the replies so far. I'll work in trying to get some pics uploaded. I have done a bit more reading up and also had a good look at what is on the bike.
So.... There is a flat, solid plate bolted over where you would normally expect to see the exup cover.  The exup cables have not been removed from the bike. The ends of the exup cables that have been cable tied together and are hanging redundantly the above the plate.


Having done another 80 miles on it today I have got a bit more familiar with how it rides. The top end is still how I imagined it would be; a smooth rush of power, that pulls cleanly from 6rpm. The low pulls smoothly through the revs when pulling away from standstill or accelerating from low rpm, the engine doesn't significantly bog down. However, there is quite a difference between the power available below and above 6rpm.


The main issue im noticing is when holding a steady throttle anywhere between just under 3rpm and up to 4rpm. In this rpm range the bike kind of chugs and sounds like it is coughing slightly. Not enough to cause panic - but it sounds different to the smoothness of the engine when at tick over or at higher revs. At these moments it gives the same sensation as riding a bike with an extremely slack chain - a repeating pulsing motion of being surged forward slightly fraction and then held back while on constant throttle. (Chain and sprockets are fine by the way)


So.....


I suspect the exup has been removed and not replaced. (The bike is 2002 with only 9k miles - probably been sat for long periods during which the exup could have seized up).


If a mechanic removed the valve for modding purposes, would they remove the cables too? Not just the valve itself.


Do these engines that have had a dyno jet kit fitted run this way?  more specifically, do dyno jetted bikes run like **** at low revs but then hit 6rpm and then fly!?


My lack of experience on litre bikes is holding me back here. It still feels beefy and a step up in power compared to the cbr600f, but I know something isn't right. If anyone who can prove insurance and leave there own bike as deposit wants to meet and take it for a spin in Hertfordshire, let me know!