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Topics - Falcon 269
26
« on: 13 August 2017, 05:53:50 pm »
As mentioned in the 'Ivanising 2017' thread, I have a spare Full Monty jet kit and air filter to hand. I'll be down in Liskeard, Cornwall, from 15 - 22 Sept and if anyone would like to get their Fazer 'Ivanised' this side of April 2018, this is your chance. Contact me by e-mail (mikegreatorexAThotmail.com) for more details. 
27
« on: 31 July 2017, 12:57:48 pm »
First, the confession. Yesterday I took my '99 R1 out for a run, the first she's had since being taken a few miles to the testing station this time last year. No big deal, except that this is actually the first time I've ridden at all in the last 12 months.  With the Soup Dragon spending most of 2016 in and out of hospital for some pretty serious issues, I just didn't feel like riding and at the back of my mind was the nagging thought that the way our luck was going, I'd end up in A&E for good measure. Two of us out of action wouldn't have been too clever under the circumstances.  Next, the decision. Well, decisions, in fact. Although I love the R1 to bits, she's just too much of a missile for me to ride properly on the road these days, so I've decided to put her into mothballs for the next couple of years. With only 16k miles on the clock, in totally original condition and absolutely mint at that, she's worth around £3.5k according to ebay. No point in paying insurance, tax and MOT only to ride her for a couple of hundred miles each year. So full service, drain carbs and fuel tank, up on the paddock stands and polish every few months. The second decision is to get the Fazer out more. Now, that wasn't so difficult, was it ... ? 
28
« on: 01 April 2017, 07:11:53 am »
I've just posted another thread about my plans to visit Scotland in early July to do some 'Ivanising'. I have also got a handful of owners waiting for me to make a similar trip south of the border and I'm thinking about late August/early September, which is when flight prices start to get more reasonable again. Although it's very early doors, I'm about to head off on a 3-month tour of Europe and so I thought I'd scope out interest well ahead of time. If you would like more information or would like to provisionally book a slot, please e-mail me direct (not PM, thanks) to mikegreatorexAThotmail.com and I'll get back to you ASAP. Please allow me a few days to reply because I may not always be online during our travels. As I mentioned in the Scottish thread, I suspect this might be my last dedicated 'Ivanising' trip because it's getting more difficult to fit them in with everything else that's going on since I retired. A nice problem to have, eh? So, if you've been thinking about this for a while, now may be the time to go ahead and do it - while you still can. Cheers! Mike
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« on: 01 April 2017, 07:01:46 am »
In response to requests from several Fazer owners north of the border, I've booked flights to come over with my toolkit to work in Glasgow and Edinburgh from Friday 7 July to Monday 10 July inclusive. My thanks to the guys who've waited patiently for me to make the trip - I look forward to meeting you all in the summer. Although I have 7 names already on the list, there's time for me to slot 2 or 3 more in during my stay. If you would like to know more or reserve a slot now, please e-mail me (mikegreatorexAThotmail.com) and I'll get back to you ASAP. I'm about to set off on a 3-month tour of Europe by motorhome this morning, so it may be a few days before I can reply. This is likely to be one of my last dedicated 'Ivanising' trips as I'm finding it more difficult to fit them in to my diary. Seems like what they say about being busier than ever in retirement is true! Cheers! Mike PS. Please don't use PMs to contact me as I find it much easier to manage these trips via e-mail message. Thanks.
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« on: 31 August 2016, 02:14:28 pm »
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« on: 31 August 2016, 02:06:03 pm »
Like the title says, LSL rearsets for a Gen 1 Fazer 1000.
£110 incl p&p.
PM or e-mail direct (mikegreatorexAThotmail.com)
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« on: 11 August 2016, 02:30:43 pm »
OHi all, Update: In view of the number of owners in Scotland and the north of England who have been in touch, I'm looking to add a couple of days to the schedule north of the border. Dates will have to change accordingly, so now most likely 29 Sept to 3 Oct inclusive.I'm working on a possible trip with the toolkit over the period 15 - 18 Sept inclusive. Likely venues are west Midlands, just south of Leicester, and somewhere along the Doncaster - Grimsby axis. I've got 9 slots available and have 4 confirmed at this stage. Anyone wanting more information or to reserve a slot, please e-mail me (mikegreatorexAThotmail.com) with your postcode and a contact phone number. Cheers! Mike
33
« on: 14 June 2016, 08:08:56 am »
Although I might be making a trip to the UK with my toolkit in September, for various reasons beyond our control, the travel plans my wife and I had made for our first year of retirement have had to be put on hold. However, I will be in Liskeard visiting family from 7 - 12 July and I've already had someone ask if I could 'Ivanise' their Fazer while I'm down that way. Date will either be Saturday 9 July or Sunday 10, depending on which works best for everyone. I will only be working on one day because this is supposed to be a family holiday. I can do three bikes in a day so if you'd like more information or want to reserve a slot, please e-mail me direct (mikegreatorexAThotmail.com) and I'll get back to you dreckly.  Cheers! Mike
34
« on: 21 March 2016, 09:09:26 pm »
For a few reasons - but mainly due to the hassle of trying to get my Fazer through Spanish MOT-equivalent with non-standard bits - I've decided to remove some of the many goodies I've put on the old girl over the years. These will be going in the For Sale section soon and I'll be bringing the items back to the UK with me when I drive over in late June. Just a taster at this stage: Akrapovic conical race header system (stainless steel) and titanium end can. No longer available, these are rare to find and in really good condition. Ohlins shock with remote preload adjuster. Overhauled about 4k miles ago and fitted with .85 spring. Will be sold with original .9 spring in the box as well. LSL rearsets. Light and lovely. TCP undertray and painted side panels in original, faster blue. Deep Purplish Blue Metallic Cocktail, to be precise. I'll let you know when the auction starts ... Start saving!
35
« on: 28 January 2016, 05:13:59 pm »
With retirement from the day job looming, I'll be hitting the roads of Europe in May (in the motorhome, not the Fazer ) but before that I'm visiting family in the UK and doing a bit of 'Ivanising' while I'm back there. I'm in country from 24 April to 1 May and I already have 9 bikes lined up to work on during that time. However, I may have scope to slot a few more in without upsetting the domestic harmony (got the missus with me this time!), so if you'd like to know more please drop me an e-mail (not a PM, please) to mikegreatorexAThotmail.com. Please include your postcode to help me plan the art of the possible. Cheers! Mike
36
« on: 02 August 2015, 09:41:10 pm »
... which is a saying used by us expats as a way of coping with the inconsistencies and frustrations of Spanish bureaucracy. 
Take my latest example. Yesterday I had to take Mighty Thou for its two-yearly MOT-equivalent, the ITV test. Having experienced some 'issues' due to the bike's mod state (a good deal different to the original spec when first registered here in 2007) I had a Spanish riding mate set up my appointment with a friend in the local test centre. Let's just say there was a little deal sweetening discussed beforehand ...
So, I rock up with a borrowed Akrapovic carbon silencer and baffle fitted in place of my usual titanium Akra (which tellingly has ‘Not for road use’ engraved on it!), newly fitted number plate surround and an OE clear screen. These are all things that have caused teeth-sucking on previous tests so I figured I'd make things easier for all this way. Remember the thread title now. Cue much teeth-sucking because the silencer, while E-marked and clearly road legal, wasn’t presented for test with a copy of the European type approval doc! FFS! They change the bloody rules every time I go there. Same applied for the made-in-Barcelona TCP undertray which has been on the bike for the last two tests. Why this retrospective application of recent regulation changes is allowed under EU law is beyond me but there you go.
At this stage I get told to go the office for a refund of my test fee (there was that, I suppose) and to come back with the offending items changed or documented. Then, while waiting for my money back, friend of friend and his oppo have a conflab and I get told to go round again … result, methinks! They’ve clearly decided on the common sense reasonable man approach - well, more likely they’ve realised that their Saturday night drinking vouchers are about to disappear down the road! It’s at this precise moment that the Mighty Thou decides to have a total electrical failure that I posted about yesterday. I spent the next hour in a quiet corner of the test centre troubleshooting before I jiggled the damaged wires and got the old girl going again. I’m now set to sprint for home before she conks out again and ready to write the morning off as one of life’s disappointing moments but lo and behold, ITV hombre suddenly says ‘documentos y 20 euros’, vanishes into the office for 2 minutes and comes out with the coveted ITV sticker. I slip him his ‘gift’ in an old fag packet and head out of Dodge with a smile on my face.
Now, in case you’ve missed it in all the excitement of my tale, the oddest thing here is that I got the pass certificate in the end without them ever actually testing any part of the bike. No noise check or emissions test, no lights/indicators run through, no brake test, no chassis parts etc etc. No mention of the R1 forks, nada. Me, I’m not going to argue but honestly, why didn’t they just ignore the teeth-sucking preamble about type approval paperwork and save us all 2 hours of phaffing about on a Saturday morning?
I think that for as long as I live here some aspects of the Spanish mentality will remain forever a mystery to me.
PS. Watch out if UK MOT testers ever start taking serious note of EU type approval requirements!
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« on: 01 August 2015, 04:17:57 pm »
After years of reading others' misfortune with total electrical failures, it happened to me today. Fortunately it wasn't in the middle of nowhere and I managed to sort it and limp home. Inside the rubber boot forward and left side of the carbs there's a cluster of electrical connectors, including a couple of red ones. One of these is a 2-pin connector taking power to the ignition switch. As you can see from the photo, mine had severely overheated to the point of melting the connector block and the wire insulation. I'm going to replace the connector and damaged wire tomorrow but I discovered from another old thread on the FZ1OA that one of the red wires leading to the connector is actually the feed from two red wires which are crimped together further back in the loom. Apparently, corrosion or dirt in this crimp can be the root cause of the overheating so I'm going to check that, too. Might be worth taking a look at yours next time you have the tank up.
38
« on: 14 January 2015, 05:06:08 pm »
Hi all I've had a few enquiries over the past month asking when I'll be back in the UK with my 'Ivanising' toolkit, so I figured it was time to gauge interest more widely. Subject to sufficient demand, I hope to make a visit during the period 23 - 26 April. I don't have a lot of flex in my personal schedule this year but with luck these dates will work for most of those on my reserve list. Venues are entirely open at the moment but Bristol looks a possibility for at least a couple of owners. If you are interested in finding out more about 'Ivanising' and/or would like to provisionally book a slot in the programme, please drop me an e-mail (mikegreatorexAThotmail.com) and I'll get straight back to you. Please don't use PMs because I will only ask you to resend via e-mail ... it's easier to coordinate all the details by e-mail as the cunning plan takes shape, you see. Cheers! Mike
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« on: 16 September 2014, 05:21:52 am »
Hi all I'll be in Liskeard later in October for a few days. If anyone in Cornwall or Devon would like to get their Fazer 'Ivanised' during that time, please drop me a line (mikegreatorexAThotmail.com) and we'll set something up. For those north of Devon and beyond, I hope to make a trip over with the toolkit early Spring 2015. Cheers! Mike
40
« on: 24 January 2014, 07:47:27 am »
Hi everyone, I am starting to put together a plan for an 'Ivanising' trip over the period 15 - 18 May. So far I have around 7 names on the list and it looks likely that I will begin on the Thursday in Bournemouth/Portsmouth then move on to Cheshunt before winding up somewhere around Barnsley on Sunday. I also have owners from Milton Keynes and Stoke to fit in and the final schedule will be tweaked to best accommodate everyone who signs up. To make the trip viable, I need a minimum of 10 bikes to work on so I'm already close to going firm on this visit. However, I would like to make an early decision so that I can book flights while they're still reasonably priced. If you would like to get your Gen 1 'Ivanised' drop me a line by e-mail (not PM, please) ... mikegreatorexAThotmail.com ... and I'll provide you all the information you need on installation options and so on. To help me with planning routes etc, please include your full name, your postcode and a contact phone number. First come, first served, so don't delay! Cheers, Mike
41
« on: 13 September 2013, 06:23:58 am »
Some of you may have been wondering why it's been a quiet summer as far as PB sightings and posts are concerned. As we all know, it's not like Trevor to keep his gums clamped shut and his famous Fat Finger off the keyboard for any length of time.  Well, I saw him yesterday in Benidorm and - with his permission - I'm about to give a quick explanation as to why he's been off the grid for so long. Earlier this year, Trev had a hip replacement operation here in Spain which ran into complications. He had further surgery back in the UK to replace the affected implant and was laid up for several months as a result. Without going into huge detail, he spent about 6 weeks without any hip joint at all while an infection was cleared up and a bone graft done to prepare for the new implant. Not fun but he coped thanks to the tremendous help and support of friends and especially wife Annie and son, Tony.  Three weeks post-op, Trev hobbled back to the Snow Hole in Denia and started his physio and rehab. All was going nicely when Fate stuck another bloody great speedbump in his path. This time it was a serious loss of feeling and function in hands, arms and legs caused by issues with the vertebrae in his lower back and neck. Just under 2 weeks ago, he had an op to sort out the lower end but he still needs another op to relieve pressure on his spinal cord higher up. That op is scheduled for this evening and suffice to say there's a lot riding on the outcome. I've seen him a couple of times this week in the private hospital in Benidorm, most recently yesterday. Now that he knows what's to be done, he's going into theatre with a very positive attitude, which is just as you'd expect from PB. He's got a top team in his pit - his words - and he's looking forward to being at his birthday bash in Mallorca early next month as planned.  Please spare a moment today to think about Trevor and offer up a quiet wish or prayer that all goes well for our friend tonight. Mike PS. Also posted on the other Fazer Thou forum.
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« on: 24 June 2013, 05:31:34 pm »
After a weekend of Ivanising you'd think I'd have spent enough time recently with carbs on the bench, wouldn't you? Well, I managed to shoot meself in the foot twice this weekend ... First, a couple of weeks back I had the R1 carbs apart to unbung some blocked pilot jets. Not ridden enough, 'nuff said. While I was at it, I fitted new float bowl gaskets. Held them in place in the bowl covers with a couple of small dabs of sticky silicon grease. All great so far. Saturday I fitted the R1 radial master cylinder to the Fazer. Just needed to do the final bleed on Sunday ... no probs, do it after a ride on the R1. The first 150 miles were brilliant - love that R1 motor - then suddenly I'm on a 750 3-cylinder. Don't think I'd buy a triple if that's what they feel like ... but anyway, it ran on 4 below 3k rpm and on a whiff of throttle, so nursed it home and set about clearing the workspace. Just bleed those Fazer brakes and move it out the way - oh, bollox! R1 master cylinder must be good because it's blown one of the caliper seals!  So, off with the calipers and out with the seals. Then shuffle over to the R1 and pull the carbs on that one. First float bowl I opened up revealed a blocked main jet. What's this? Looks like some kind of gel ... ah!! Guess who's just learned that HT silicon grease doesn't dissolve in petrol. A small glob must have been squeezed into the float bowl where it took its time finding a home in the main jet. Problem solved. As for the caliper seals, what's with Yamaha parts pricing these days? Fowlers quoted me just under £130 for 16 bloody rubber rings! At least Dick Turpin wore a mask!  Although it goes against the grain, I'm trying pattern seals at £37 for the full set from Wemoto. Claimed to be OE standard and I'll take a chance on that, since I figure Yamaha don't make their own anyway but buy them in and slap them in Yamaha packaging. Wish me luck ...
43
« on: 22 June 2013, 05:13:41 am »
Hi all, Fresh back from last weekend's travels with the tool kit, I've had a few more fresh enquiries about 'Ivanising' and along with the names on my reserve list, it looks like some folks would like me to return again this year. Which is nice. I'm thinking provisionally of mid-Sept and so far I have 'possibles' scattered all over the UK from Dorset to Scotland, via the East Midlands and North Wales. I'd need to get cracking with booking flights and so on before they get to silly prices, so if you'd like to register your interest and/or ask for more information, please contact me direct by e-mail (not PM!) ... mikegreatorexAThotmail.com ... and I'll add your name to the list. Cheers! Mike
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« on: 05 June 2013, 03:31:41 pm »
Eleven years and 50k miles means time for a major service. Soup Dragon is away for a week so no time interference from management. Loving the bike lift. R6 shock replaced by Ohlins which had been away for new spring and refresh. Fork oil changed, valve clearances done and all the other major service interval items. Cleaned and polished, ready for another 50k miles.
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« on: 05 April 2013, 05:58:15 pm »
When we bought our place in Spain 11 years ago, the underbuild garage was one of the things that persuaded me to buy. We saw a few show houses with tiled underbuilds and that's what I fancied doing with mine but it's taken me a few years to get around to it. Since November last year, though, I've been on my hands and knees most days tiling all around the outside of the house and - as if that wasn't enough - I then pressed on to do the garage. Outside was about 100 sq mtrs, the garage a mere 80 sq mtrs. Anyhow, job finished this afternoon - at last!  Before:   and after:   I doubt it will ever be this clean and tidy again! Mike
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« on: 04 April 2013, 07:34:12 pm »
It's been mentioned a few times in 'Ivanising' threads that I had plans to make trip with the toolkit in May. Family things and work have conspired against that but I think I can slot in a trip early in June. Provisional dates are Friday 14th June - Monday 17th June. I have around 6 names so far. I need to work on at least 10 bikes, though, to make it worthwhile travelling over. If you'd like more information, please drop me a line direct (mikegreatorexAThotmail.com) and I'll tell you all you need to know (and probably loads you didn't ) by return. Cheers! Mike
48
« on: 29 July 2012, 12:21:38 pm »
... the day I collected the Fazer from Carnell's in Milton Keynes and I still can't think of another bike that could take its place. After a decade of ownership and 46k miles, the old girl has lost about 30lbs, gained almost 20bhp and has had more than a few other changes to suspension and appearance.  To celebrate the anniversary, this morning we converted 20 litres of Snr Repsol's finest unleaded into sound and speed. Fun at its finest. Simply the best.
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« on: 12 January 2012, 09:05:07 am »
As discussed in another current thread, I'm planning a trip with the toolkit in early April. Provisional dates Friday 6th through Monday 9th. Venues to be confirmed but presently I have owners in and around Weston-Super-Mare, Worthing, Harlow and Sheffield. If you're interested and would like more details, please e-mail me direct (mikegreatorexAThotmail.com) including your town and postcode. Hasta pronto! Mike
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« on: 06 January 2012, 04:26:38 pm »
Went on a lovely ride along the coast today (sorry, 25c and sunny - had to be done ) and reprised a photo shoot I did back in Jan 2006. There's been more than a few changes to the old girl over the years since we moved to Spain and since I first got her back in 2002. From this:  To this:  Followed by this:  And this:  To arrive today at this:  Almost ten years old, 44k miles on the clock (yeah, must try harder ) and she runs and rides better now than ever before. Which is nice.
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