So, a 70 mile ride home (mostly motorway) gave me a reasonable feel for the bike.
The bike shop were lovely, recommend them. Waltham Cross Motorcycles. Even gave me a free Yamaha T-Shirt and stuck in some more fuel to ensure I got home without needing to stop (nice touch).
Bike was comfortable, and got me home. Pulled well, didn't thrash it, enjoyed the ride, except for:
Wind noise - so loud - see other post.
and, Ahhhhhh, the 6000 rev buzz. It's still there! NOOOOOOOOOO was so looking forward to have a hand that doesn't get all pins and needles through vibrations. Perhaps it's me. The left is always fine. But I was still having to shake the hand or waggle fingers every 10 mins or so :-( Damn it!!
other than that, seems to whine a lot when you come off the throttle. Normal? Do they have a fair bit of gearbox whine? Not a problem, just a noise I've not had when riding before.
As B1kerdude said, clutch was a bit bitey, but I adjusted it a little and brought the biting point closer to the handlebars - much better (more where I'm used to the biting point being).
I already feel so much more confident in corners. I'm not a quick rider, but I felt more confident in how the bike handled bumps and didn't put the fear in me if I hit a bump mid corner.:-) WIN!!!!
Found out the bike has an alarm - oh no - I've only ever heard alarms are a ball ache, draining batteries. - Hope mine is OK.
Gonna pop out and try the lights this evening - hoping I can actually see the road ahead for a change.
Money doesn't buy happiness, but it buys beer, and that helps!
You get used to the buzz, I don't notice it any more.
Check you're not gripping the bars too tight 
Regarding the whine, have a look at the front sprocket, does it have rubber cushioning on it? IIRC the OEM one does, but many aftermarket replacements don't, so that can cause the sound.
Also check the chain tension, it should be 45-55mm whether on the side or centre stand.
To fix the heavy/ bitey clutch, do the MT-07 clutch lever mod, gives you a longer friction zone and makes the pull lighter too.
Regarding the alarm, if you ride it regularly, it shouldn't be a problem. Personally I keep mine in my shed hooked up to an Optimate to sort that issue.
Glad to hear you enjoy riding it!
Wind noise? get some ear plugs in
Got to say, I never noticed a buzz on my bars, there was a large lump screwed into the ends on mine, are yours the same? Or as Grahamm suggests, perhaps your grip is a little tightish.
I did the MT07 clutch mod on mine initially, but passed it onto Grahamm for free and went hydraulic. Absolutely light years difference in reliability, consistency, lightness, and performance. Transformed the bike for me and the best single investment I made on it.
(28-10-25, 06:59 PM)HarryHornby Wrote: Found out the bike has an alarm - oh no - I've only ever heard alarms are a ball ache, draining batteries. - Hope mine is OK.
What alarm is in it? Fitted a few over the years and refitted many that were poorly fitted by so called professionals.
Remove a few cheaper ones that were causing problems.
Have Meta alarms in all my bikes, the one in my 600 lasted 20 years before finally giving up and never had any issues with them. Bought a new replacement and fitted it.
Hey Unfazed, it's a Def Com T installed in 2012
Money doesn't buy happiness, but it buys beer, and that helps!
(Yesterday, 07:32 PM)HarryHornby Wrote: Hey Unfazed, it's a Def Com T installed in 2012
That is a Meta and a thatcham approved alarm. Usually very reliable. At 13 years in may be getting close to end of life, but that said the Meta 357T V2 I installed on the FZS600 in 2004 lasted 21 years.
Replaced it early this year with the 357T V3.
Expensive but I find it gives me peace of mind when parked close to where I am going.
If the immobliser circuit is wired there is a bypass plug available.
It is no longer available and was replaced by the Defcom 3.1b.
If you need to replace the alarm and get a DEFcom3.1b, do not go with the optional TAG II as it looses the Cat 1 rating with it.
Yesterday, 10:31 PM
(This post was last modified: 9 hours ago by b1k3rdude.)
(28-10-25, 09:41 PM)unfazed Wrote: (28-10-25, 06:59 PM)HarryHornby Wrote: Found out the bike has an alarm - oh no - I've only ever heard alarms are a ball ache, draining batteries. - Hope mine is OK. What alarm is in it? Fitted a few over the years and refitted many that were poorly fitted by so called professionals.
@Harry - the shop told me that they were going to remove it before they sold they bike. They said they remove alarms from all the bike they seller, as the electrical problems are not worth the aggro. Are you sure they didnt just forget to remove the fob, or does it actuially have alarm...?
@unfazed, when I saw the fob it looked like an old meta M357** type - https://www.abacusalarms.co.uk/motorcycle-alarms.html
Ah, B1kerdude, they said "oh it has an alarm so we decided to keep it on, instead of removing it"
It works, for now. One to keep an eye on.
Money doesn't buy happiness, but it buys beer, and that helps!
10 hours ago
(This post was last modified: 10 hours ago by unfazed.)
(Yesterday, 10:31 PM)b1k3rdude Wrote: (28-10-25, 09:41 PM)unfazed Wrote: (28-10-25, 06:59 PM)HarryHornby Wrote: Found out the bike has an alarm - oh no - I've only ever heard alarms are a ball ache, draining batteries. - Hope mine is OK. What alarm is in it? Fitted a few over the years and refitted many that were poorly fitted by so called professionals.
@Harry - the shop told me that they were going to remove it before they sold they bike. They said remove alarms from all the bike they seller, as the electrical problems are not worth the aggro. Are you sure they didnt just forget to remove the fob, or does it actuially have alarm...?
@unfazed, when I saw the fob it looked like an old meta M357** type - https://www.abacusalarms.co.uk/motorcycle-alarms.html
Yes they are the exactly same, and the best one to go with as they are waterproof. The modified key type are a great idea, but not totally waterproof.
I have always dealt with Abacus alarms, easy to deal with and extremely helpful.
I hope he got the red code card with the keys.
This has the disarming code if you lose the fob and the long code that is needed to program a new fob to the alarm.
Whatever you do DONT touch the alarm until you've sorted out the clutch issue. I was an approved installer at one point, Meta's got a bad name back in the day mainly because the internal battery was allowed to drain below it's recoverable voltage. Unlike today they had what called memory effect, won't bore you but it can't recharge fully and slowly dies. They were also pigs to replace, the same applied to early Datatools only they couldn't be replaced without cutting open the unit.
The other problem was crap installations, to fit any decent system takes about 6 hrs! Many were fitted in an hour (piggy back i.e. run the wires on the outside of the loom) or so back in the day again all about workshop time, stealers got no extra payment beyond a set fee and only if there were an approved installer. Back in the day pretty much all sports and over 600cc bikes had to have an alarm or no insurance and it was very easy to get installer status if you was a stealer. Interestingly today it's trackers for any bike over 20k. All the wires are black only the ends are colour coded and the wire are way too long so they can be cut and the colour is lost and wired one at a time, that plus they should cut into the bikes loom, which mean in some cases a complete strip of body work/firings. I did a few Goldwings they took almost 2 days! Both still have them fitted and still work albeit their internal batteries have been changed.
Anyway the point I'm making is if it's been wired in correctly you're going to have to unpick the loom and trace each wire, cut it and repair. If it's just piggy backed it's fairly simple but can still go wrong and you'll end up with a dead bike! A bike which is under a warranty and potentially has other problems, think about it!
Later
@Harry, did you buy the extended warranty as suggested or did you only go with the 3 month version?
So far we have the following points that you have mentioned -
- Grabby clutch or clutch cable.
- Alarm still fitted (after the shop SPECIFICALLY told me they would remove it) - have they details the make/mode and shown you where its fitted..? can you post photos on here..?
- they said they did the valve clearances - @Gnasher is there a way to visually verify this from the outside of the engine..? (eg signs that the cam cover has been removed, or listening to the engine when its cold. etc etc.
Are there any other that we have missed..?
(9 hours ago)Gnasher Wrote: Whatever you do DON'T touch the alarm until you've sorted out the clutch issue.
Gnash, re-read Harrys post. He didn't say there was a prob with the alarm, only that it has one and he hoped it 'wasn’t' going to be a prob down the line
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