gharknes

why not do a spot weld on the clip ?

It's not really a bad noise, it's just the normal chain type sort of gearing sound only louder than it was, perhaps it will bed in in a few days, I will go back tomorrow and get the guy to order a rivet type link, I don't like the sound of the clip senario, I can remember my push bike had a clip and they wheren't very secure. thanks guys for the replys

ok thanks, I will look for the rivet type tommorrow, what about the noise ?????????

I had my chain replace with one of those SBSR type chains and it is very noisy, I only changed the chain, is this normal while it runs in ? Also I noticed that the manual says not to use a chain with a clip type master link, I read this after the chain was fitted and it is a clip type, we don't have the same choices here in Thailand for spares, can anyone tell me why a clip type chaain is not suitable for the blackbird...................should i take it back and get it replaced again.

Partially correct. Actually, both cables pull, they are mounted so that one pulls the throttles open the other pulls them closed. They go to a pulley centrally located on the throttle bodies and wrap the pulley from two different directions. It is likely that the open cable has frayed and is binding at the housing. When you get the tank and airbox off, you'll see how it all works. cheers guys, that explains it very nicely thankyou, so I could be working with one cable right now as they both would push and pull depending on direction, that could explain why it went slack, I just had the plugs changed a week ago and I'm not sure the guy routed the cables correctly as I have been having idle problems also.

Can someone please explain how the throttle cables work and why there are 2 of them, my throttle went slack today and I had to adjust the cable adjuster on the handle bar right out as far as it would go to get some revs, it is still working but it isn't right.

yup, i have the same problem, it certainly isn't going to improve anything except for the oil producers profits.

well haven't go very far but noticed an improvement straight away, looks like the oil has an input to this, I now have motul 3100 20W50

my gear change definately gets way worse as the bike heats up, it becomes very difficult to go from 1st to 2nd without bouncing off, this is either due to the oil thinning at high temp or something in the box needs attention, i use motul 10W40 fully synth and run in a hot climate 80+ my problems are worst after siting in traffic for long periods, the ws manual states oil thickness as a possible cause for poor gear selection, but doesn't say whether thinner oil causes problems or thicker, i am changing to a semi synth 20W50 tomorrow and also doig a few other things like bleeding the clutch, will post my findings in a few days.

Ant can you give us some idea of the problem with the clocks, are the all dead or some work others don't, i have a little electrical background and may be able to sort it for you.

looking at the HID bulb, does it not come out of the holder the same way stock bulb does, this would make a much better fit

The HID ballast unit draws about 3.5 amps, HID bulb is 35watts. The HID bulb is not connected to your stock wiring so the 35watts is of no bearing, the balast is, if the balast is rated at 3.5-4 amps then the ballast wattage is less than 48 watts. I=W/V "I" being current so W = I X V this being te case stock wiring will be fine

JasonW is bang on the money.

passenger comfort ?

FI birds only require a 1 second start.

hey ant can't help with the clocks but nice to see another BB owner in Thailand, I'm in Pattaya, maybe we could me half way some time and compare notes

Is it a sort of tinkling sound ?

Dish soap as in like Fairy Liquid that you do dishes with, corrosion is the only problem if you don't use an additive. Water on it's own has a heat transfer capacity of 100%, used with a Glycol based additive this reduces to 50% Wouldn't dish soap produce suds ?

it's not that the fan runs when stopped, it is so hot here that it runs all the time, I just need the best cooling in my Bird that I can get and I'm convinced that water wetter will help a great deal, imagine florida mid summer stuck in traffic all day 100f and nowhere to go except 10 feet forward.....................let me know what yourndeatails are via email gharknes1@lycos.com and i will be most greatfull

I live in Thailand and getting parts and accessories is difficult to say the least, as it's very hot here and you can find yourself sitting in traffic quite a lot, traffic lights can stay red for a long time, this makes my Bird very hot indeed, the fan can be on constantly for maybe 30 mins until you find some clear road to get the air flowing, so that's the problem I want to improve on. The only way I can of doing that is to use "Red Line Water Wetter" but guess what, you can't get it here, I have contacted several online motor suppliers and they won't ship to Thailand, I am still working on it. So here is the favour, would anyone like to go out buy a bottle of the stuff and mail it to me, I can pay all costs using Paypal so that is a must, if it doesn't arrive I promise I will not hold anyone to it, stuff gets lost in the post all the time, I would be very greatful if someone could do this for me, my Bird gets very hot and I need to do something about it.

should it really be that difficult to change gear on a bike, i have riden many and the xx gives me a lot of grief, but i do understand what you are getting at, i think thicker none FS oil will help, pity to waste the oil change from last month but i'm not happy so it has to go, i will keep it if there is no improvement and use again.

I adjusted the balancers and mine stated to shift way better!! read the manual and it will explain! Hope this helps balancers, can someone explain further please, i am still having serious clonking grinding, smooth as silk when cold really rough when it gets hotter, i use 10W40 motul FS oil and it seemed to get worse when I changed oil, don't know what was in before, i know honda's clonk but this is beyond that, sometimes it stops in neutral between 1st 2nd shift and i just can't get 2nd unless i stop, when stationary there is no clonk into 1st but i have to release the clutch a little to get it to move trough the gears, i'll bet there is something needs adjusting but i can't think what it could be.

water will only damage electrical components if they are on at the time, you may well laugh at what i'm about to tell you but here goes......my laptop got a spill of coke a while back on the keyboard it wasn't a lot but enough to shut it down, i tried switch cleaners solvents and all sorts of things to no avail, I then experimented with a contaminated area on the plastic cover and realised that the cleaners and solvents didn't work on the coke, they just turned it into a gooy mess but what did work was soap and water, so out came the dish washing gear and i washed the motherboard with fairy liquid and water in the sink then rinsed with the running tap, then i used high pressure air to blow all the water off and dried it with a hair dryer, reassembled and it worked first time, no problems at all, like new...........I'm typing on it now, so the moral of the story is that water only does damage it the eqipment is on due to shorting. The ECU on the bike is probably sealed so water can't get in there, the rest of the electrics should be ok, some plugs relays and connectors may need to be cleaned, you may have to replace the relays etc, every thing else should be well sealed including inside the engine and the braking system, they are designed to keep fluids in so they will keep fluids out, the air filter and inlet side may need some cleaning but injectors and fuel system should be sealed enough to avoid contamination, you may have problems with bearings etc if it was salt water and wasn't washed off immediately due to corrosion.

is it a sort of tinkling sound

if you had the right tools, couldn't you drill down through the exhaust outlet through the plate next to A1 giving gases and noise a more direct route to the exit, crude i know but the effect might be interesting.......nothing ventured nothing gained.