JohnS

TuffGuy The term stretch should never be used with chains. Chains wear the pins rollers and bushes, the sideplates are high tensile steel and will not stretch they will break first. I know you frequently hear people talking about a stretched chain butit does not happen. JohnS

I suspect that you have a disc with some run out. This will push the pads back over time giving the impression of lever free travel. If this is the case the further you ride between brake applications the worse it will be. It also fits the brake noise. It is quite difficult to check for this on a floating disc, if you don't know how it may be best to leave it to an expert. JohnS

Sorry to say so but its engine out time. You will have major problems changing that bearing in place. It could be done but would need some tricky pulling equipment. The big problem is what are the rest of the gearbox bearings like? Also where are the pieces of the cage? That type of failure could be the result of clutch abuse or lubrication problems, either way I would want to look inside before something really expensive happens. JohnS

The light coming on on FI Birds after a wash is a known issue for me and one that can be fixed. On my 2005 it was lack of watershielding on the loom under the tank. JohnS

Late engagement is not caused by fluid problems. With air in the system the clutch will engage closer to the bar rather than away. Changing fluid should be done once a year but will rarely cause problems other than corrosion. Fluid in brakes is different, they get hot enough to boil the water in the fluid resulting in no brakes. Your problem is that for some reason there is less clearance on the throwout bearing (or no clearance). If this has only happened since you had the clutch apart I would look inside again. A quick way to check is to pull the slave cylinder and push the piston back to the bottom of the bore, make sure the mastercylinder lid is off and that it does not overflow. Refit the slave cylinder and try the clutch. You should have to pump it a couple of times before the clutch works. If this happens the clearance on the rod is good and the problem is in the clutch itself. If there is no clearance I would still suspect the clutch. Look for anything that will change the position of the cover plate in relation to the release mechanism you are looking for something that will make it closer to the bearing. The springs will only increase the load on the hydraulics they will not change the engagement position. If the springs were too heavy they will start to cause things to flex and bend which would cause the clutch to drag. Good luck JohnS

I have that setup on my bike (except the filter) and can share some of my experience. I would only use an operator with a Eddy Current type dyno that is using the Tuning Link software. Tuning Link takes the operator skills out of the equation and works well. You must isolate or remove the PAIR system You must fit a o2 sensor eliminator if you have a FI bike with one. When mine was done it was great and compared to the stock Dynojet map for an Akrapovic equipped bike it ran a lot better. 142hp and 85 foot pounds torque. John Samson

I have serious concerns about using lowering links on any Honda with the same suspension as the Bird. That includes Fireblades, NSR 250 and Blackbird plus probably some others I dont know about. Changing the length of the link imho causes higher loading by changing the geometry of the suspension, I can't see it being a good engineering practice. If you really want to lower it, make new plates and adjust the position of the shock mounting hole to change the ride height. If done this way you will not screw up the rising rate that the linkage is designed to give. JohnS

I just fitted a Power to the front and a dual compound Pilot Road 2 to the rear. I have not ridden far enough to comment on the combo yet but wondered as I have not seen mention of the Road 2 on this site. Are they being sold in your area yet? They are in plentiful supply in Aus. JohnS

Sorry to the poster I missed the no in front of Amor All JohnS

You can put Amor All on your tyre if you want but I certainly wont put it on mine or advise anyone to try it on theirs. JohnS

Remove the slave cylinder and push the piston back with a G clamp or similar. This will push fluid back into the reserviour (make sure it does not over flow). That should shift the most stubborn air bubble. Also when you do this have the inlet to the slave in the verticle position. JohnS

The megaphone at the end of an exhaust amplifies the exhaust pulse travelling back up the pipe but narrows the power band. Yamaha EXUP valves do not choke the exhaust as such but do change the effective length of the pipe so that it resonates at a frequency suitable for lower rpm ranges while retaining power at the top end. The valve in the illustration above is too far back to have this effectand probably acts to retain a higher gas pressure in the system as described like an EGR. I think we are only beginning to see developments in this area and the future will show great gains in exhaust technology. I look forward to seeing the results of the testing of the end cans and IMHO the real problem in Blackbird exhausts is in the header and collector area. It will be difficult to lift 20hp without changing this component. JohnS

Sorry TuffguyF4i I have to disagree with you on this one. Even in normal operation with no misalignment there will be significant loads placed on the threaded rod. The right angle on the end of the link ensures that whenever a force is applied either in compression or extension it is acting through a lever that is the length of the distance through the centreline of the threaded rod to the centre point of the mounting block bolt hole. This will apply a bending moment to the threaded part of the link that will occur beside the locknut. I would bet that the unit broke beside the nut and probably at the bottom of a thread groove as this point is a natural stress riser. This is an inherant weakness in this design and will in my opinion always have potential for problems. IMHO it is simply not good engineering practice to offset the end of the link in this manner. JohnS

The heating element is a part of the O2 sensor located behind the collector box in the exhaust. Use a digital multimeter to check the voltage on the white wires (I think) but check which is which by searching on google on 4 wire O2 sensor. If you have 12v across the heater wires then replace the sensor. If you have no power to the sensor then it will be an ECU or wiring problem (you do not want this). JohnS

I am currently in the process of adding a NSR 250 rear suspension to a cafe racer that I own (the NSR 250 has the same plates and link as a Bird) as well as lowering my 05 Blackbird because of short legs. As a result of this I have had a very good look at this suspension system and I do not believe that lowering links are the way to go. I would prefer to make new plates that relocate the shock mount in a lower position rather than fitting an adjustable link. The use of a link causes the triangular plates to rotate around the pivot where they attach to the swing arm and changes the angle that affects the rising rate. Making new plates is the same net effect as fitting the shim at the top of the shock but can lower or lift depending on the position of the hole. I believe that the link will result in increased loading and incorrect suspension operation. John S