Car insurance costs are set to be studied by the Competition Commission after the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said the market was "dysfunctional".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18268650

This long bank hols I be going on my first longish trip for me going down from wet Yorkshire to my homeland of Devon staying at my sisters for the duration in honoring , as it's my first trip of over 100 miles have you any pointers of what to look out for etc :lol

Preferably cheap as possible please?

Hi all,


I'm looking for a hugger for my 2000, but the budget won't stretch to a new one. Does anyone know if there are any OEM huggers from other bikes, i.e. YSF600R that will fit the MK1 FSZ600?  I don't mind a bit of modification.


Failing that, anyone know where I can get a cheap one that will fit?



Cheers,


Jamie

... when refitting your FZ1 rear wheel and need the torque settings, do not look at the owners manual and assume the rear caliper bolts are 40nm, the same as the front.
Because when you dig out the laptop and look at the service manual, the rear caliper bolt should be 22nm and fully explains why the bolt snapped off.  :o

Also Yamaha want to charge over £7 for a replacement (in black). I figured the siver one I had in the garage will fit just fine!

Hello all.


I'm using my first post to seek advice.


I recently acquired a 2001 Fazer 1000 which has done 34k miles. The bike is a one owner machine and is in very good condition. The previous owner has certainly looked after it, and the 34k mileage was accrued 2 weeks each summer on 3k mile European holidays, which I know to be true.


The service history is stamped up for the first 16k or so then the owner said he did it himself after that. Having asked what he meant by that he replied that oil was changed (fully synthetic) once a year - so every 3k miles, chain and sprockets air and oil filters etc all done by him. I took it from that to mean the valve clearances haven't been checked in this time.  The bike runs well however, with no untoward noises or rattles etc.


So on to my question.  I've ridden the bike for the last month or so and in that time have got a feel for it. I'm not a fast rider so for me the handling is still adequate, but I do suffer from a lot of high frequency vibration through the handlebars at 4-5k revs, so much so in fact that my hands get pins and needles after just 30 odd miles at around 80mph.  I'm sure there are a number of possibilities for this, not least the carbs may need balancing, but I've been shocked by the cost of a full service running at around £500.00  The gearbox is also very clattery when compared to my 1200 Suzuki Bandit.


Otherwise the bike is in such good condition I thought of it as a keeper, but now I'm unsure if spending £500 on a service for an eleven year old bike is wise? What do you guys think my options are?

i check the oil and water levels and tyre pressures when i clean the bike, at least once a week. bike is always left in the same garage place on the centre stand so oil level readings are very consistent. i changed the oil 2 or 3 months ago and did my usual trick of slightly over filling and letting some out and it's been fine and very level with the 2 dots on the sight glass since. except for the last couple of days however where it's very nearly at the top of the sight glass!

do you think any of the following or another reason?

- my concrete garage floor has had quite a severe subsidence in the hot weather without cracking at all, causing it to tilt
- the bike has decided to fossilise various engine / geaarbox components and thus create oil
- a mischevious burgler has been breaking in and filling my bike with oil on the sly
- i should commit myself for i am obviously losing the plot

fuzzled as puck.

:car Parked up at the local Garden Centre yesterday, went to start the car and couldn`t release the steering lock or turn the ignition key. Called the AA and the guy had to butcher the ignition barrel trying to sort it out. Ended up with a hot wire system to keep me going.
The outcome is that I need a new ignition barrel and probably a new steering column :'( Imobilisor still works as does all the other electrics except the clock and outdoor thermostat.(fuse ?)
May end up fitting a switch for the ignition and a push button for the starter motor and forget the steering lock and new ignition barrel.

was out on my fz6 (2005) today and a couple of times I got really bad front brake judder when braking quite hard at low speed.
brake disc would have been cold as I'd been parked up for over an hour. It's done it before but then it just stops doing it?
Not washed it for 150 miles, I use a wash & wax but rinse the discs well.

any thoughts?

Cylinder 1 seems to have given up the ghost... Spark plug and cap seem ok and I can't see any other problem. Was hoping to take it to the IoM tomorrow.

What are the usual suspects (apart from the plug and HT leads)?

Cheers, S