Disolut

actually I want one because there's a welded hole in the bottom of mine that's finally cracked. Don't see one on Ebay.

Hi all. Looking for an oil pan, part #11210-MAT-E20, in good condition, for my 1999 cbr1100xx. Anyone parting one out or have a spare lying around? Let me know. -Disolut

Y'all are rock stars! This is great info. Very clear. Today the chain, tomorrow the world. N.

so I've never adjusted a chain before. Owned shaft bikes for most of my life. But here, think I, no time like the present, you have some time off, let's get to work. Off I go to the hardware store, for a breaker bar, a three-foot piece of pipe, a 22mm socket, a 27mm socket (12pt because I couldn't find a 6pt), time to have that rear axle nut off. 1st: the book shows it on the right side. On bike the nut is one the left. The nut's the bigger one, right? 2nd: the nut, and axle, happily turn together. My instincts tell me that's bad. But my instincts suck nads. So: how do I loosen the rear axle nut? I would love to head back in to work on Monday and inform my colleagues that, on my vacation, I got my nut off. C'mon, help a brotha out. -N.

I love opinions. Specially yours. Yeah, the mechanic weighs in at {a lot heavier than me} and who knows what else he's done to his forks besides oil in 'em. He might just be lazy and compensating for Ye Olde Stock Front Springs. Is why I'm coming here. I trust the Board way more than Some Guy.

the recommended fork oil weight with Wilbers .95 front springs is 2.5wt. the stock recommended fork oil is Pro Honda SS-8, which means what weight, I don't know. Various board members have mentioned using 3wt, 5wt, and 10wt. My local bike shop mechanic -- he's new to me but he's been working in the area for years -- raised his eyebrows aaaaaaall the way up when I told him 2.5 was the recommended fork oil. He said it would be really fast, probably too fast, and he said chatter on the freeway would be a problem. I hate chatter. Here's another thing to note: same mechanic's daily rider is a '97 Bird with 70,000 miles on it. He's using 20wt fork oil, said he started at 10 and worked his way up. Anyway, I'm trying to decide whether to try 2.5wt, 5wt, or 10wt. Anyone want to chime in? I'm mostly freeway riding. Also, I assume brand isn't a big issue, but wtf do I know. -N.

Hey all. Anyone have an idea where to get black replacement clutch and brake levers for the Birdie? Silver's easy, but as long as I'm replacing them I'd prefer black (not carbon). Are our levers like any other levers out there whose after-market replacements might come in The Fastest Color? -Noah

Tonight after another round of brake bleeding and a short shakedown ride I noticed what looks like a leak from the secondary master cylinder. Well, it might explain the air bubbles in the lines, at least.

thanks, Dano. I'm going to give your ideas a shot and hopefully get the brakes all tight and touchy once and for all. We'll see how it goes tonight. And man, am I getting good at this bleeding thing... I used a pump bleeder on everything and then manually pumped the rear brake pedal for the final touch, just like it says in the manual. -N.

Damn, you're right, I did forget the tire's cupped. (It really is, too.) Addendum: took her out for a little spin, seems to me that the front brake response is still somewhat mushy and there's a lot more travel on the front lever than I'd like before the brakes engage. Any ideas on how to tighten things up and increase the feel? Besides vaginal reconstruction surgery?

Okay, I'm stumped. I have bled the entire system round twice, per the manual: Front brake lever: 1) left front brake caliper upper bleed valve (bled clear) 2) right front brake caliper upper bleed valve (stream/cloud of small air bubbles no matter how much I bled it out, refilling the master cylinder at least six times) Rear brake pedal: 3) right front brake caliper center bleed valve (bled clear) 4) left front brake caliper upper bleed valve (stream of tiny air bubbles no matter how much I bleed it) 5) rear brake caliper center bleed valve (bled it clear) 6) rear brake caliper 'outer' (rearmost) bleed valve (bled it clear having pumped the rear brake and held it down as described in the manual, no problem) Rear brake seems to function OK; front brake is mushy, does not immediately engage. Am at my wit's end. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what might be introducing air into the system, or where? Or whether it's a different problem? I can see no evidence of leakage anywhere. For the record, Spiegler kit, brakes functioned fine prior to installing the new lines, new OEM pads. All lines and line connections have been torqued to spec. Kept the OEM line bleeders. I look forward to the inevitable cries of "Sell it!", "Ask Nik to help", and "D) Hookers". Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions, of course.

That is an Erion 4-into-1 racing exhaust. I know 'cuz I got one. Nice pipe. I think they may not make them anymore.

thanks for the help, will do. -N.

I got a wild hair up my ass about the handlebar position on my Birdie and picked up the Gilles Variobars a few weeks ago. So far I have a couple of problems. First, they don't come predrilled, so you have to figure out all that on your own, and you have to have access to a drillpress and vice grips and all that shit. And you have to not fuck it up or the $$$$$$$$$$ you spent on the bars (no exaggeration there) is toast. So I haven't dealt with all that yet. Second, the stock handlebar weights and bar-ends won't fit the Gilles Variobars, so you have to buy those too (I assume); unfortunately, it doesn't appear that LPUSA distributes them in the states. Which I am concerned leaves me totally fuxx0r3d for weighting the bars and keeping the vibration low and the buzziness at bay on long trips. My third issue so far is actually a little speculative but it seems to me that the furthest up and forward position of the Gilles Variobars with the 70mm riser/extensions (the only other option listed for the CBR1100XX is 60mm) is about the same as the Helibars currently provide, which is a disappointment. I would rather the bars come closer, as far as positioning goes, but I can't seem to manage it with the current setup. So here's a couple of questions for the Gilles-wise out there: 1) how the heck do I weight the bars? Where can I get heavy bar-ends and hopefully inside-the-handlebar weights that fit the Variobar? 2) My new brake and clutch lines are two inches (5cm) longer than stock. Can I fit, say, the 100 or 120mm riser/extensions, or would those hit the screen or tank? 3) I originally thought that I would just be able to reverse the fork tube clamps the riser/extensions connect to -- switch them and flip them, it's hard to explain unless you've actually worked through installing them -- so that the risers have an 'underhand' arch in stead of an 'overhand' arch (think of a pitcher throwing a baseball). However, it looks like that will push the fork tube clamp against the gas tank at full lock and dent the hell out of it. Can this be done? Would raising the forks in the triple-tree help? Am I totally insane? Thanks in advance for the advice.

I want to order some things online from Lockhart Phillips USA and I'd like to avoid sales tax if I can. I would use Parts411, but they're here in California, and I'd have to pay the 8.5% or so in taxes that I would avoid if I ordered the same parts through an online vendor based in another state. Any suggestions/recommendations for a reputable outfit? They must be an LPUSA dealer.