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

We do have 06 Birds in Australia and the only change from 05 is te color scheme. The instruments are the same as my 05 and the rest of the digital dash models. JohnS

The head is aluminium and non magnetic. I actually sell the expanding spark plug tap but I dont think it will help in this case. If the plug just spins it would indicate a significant loss of thread and you will not get the hole any smaller with the tap. The best way to fix it is to remove the head. I dont think you have a hope in hell of working through a small hole recessed in the head and spreading a rag to catch the filings. I can see where it would work just not on this application. If you want to try with the head on use lots of grease on the tap and remove it after each turn or so to clean off the swarf and then regrease it and continue. When you fit the thread insert you have to break of the tang that lets you screw in the insert, dont drop it. Then use a mighty vac and a thin hose to suck out any debris. Good luck JohnS

Those holes on a Mikuni carb are usually for the overflow and if you have fuel coming out then the engine is flooding. If the bike has been standing for a while pull the float bowels off and clean everything including float pivot and needle and seat. Otherwise look for the obvious like leaky floats etc it is most likely from standing and a clean out will fix it. Some bikes have hoses coming off the fitting and usually routed down in front of the swing arm pivot to take the fuel to where it can do the most good (under your rear tyre). Do NOT run the engine with the carb flooding like this as it can cause serious damage if it gets enough fuel into the chamber to cause a hydraulic lock. JohnS

Definately not trying to start a pissing contest on things electrical but heres my take on how a XX alternator works. The unit is a permanent magnet alternator with 3 sets of stator windings and is a very simple (primitive) and cheap design. In an automotive alternator there is no permanent magnet to spin within the stator. The magnet is created by energising the rotor windings via the slip rings and brushes. This process is controlled by the regulator and is able to reduce alternator output as voltage rises above the regulators preset threshold. With the XX alternator the regulator controls the output of the alternator by switching the output of the unit to earth when the voltage of the alternator reaches the regulators threshold value. It does not matter if the alternator is charging the battery or heating up the regulator the load is still the same. This I am sure is the reason we see so many problems with this design as I stated in my post they run on full load all the time. Output is proportional to engine RPM and interestingly will result in a flat battery if idling just below 1000 RPM for long enough (dont ask me how I know this). Replacement of stator windings and RR units are constantly being discussed here and is very common. This is also why the later finned RR units last longer than the early ones. Many bikes share this design from dirt bikes up. The only bike that I have ever owned that did not was a YZF 1000 which ran a conventional alternator. For the doubters out there refer to the link below which covers a wealth of info on this topic. http://www.thegsresources.com/garage/gs_statorfacts.htm Sorry if the above does not come as a link cause it doesn't look like the editor recognises it as one. The link deals with GS Suzis but the basics are the same in both cases. JohnS

To avoid confusion when diagnosing problems with the Blackbird charging system it is important to understand how the charging system really works. You will not hurt the alternator by operating it at high output because of a flat battery. It always works at max output and what does not go to the battery or other accessories is shorted to earth by the regulator and is sunk as heat. You will hurt the alternator by running with a battery with a high resistance or open circuit. There seems to be a lack of understanding on how the system works I am happy to write an article on it and post it if people want to know. There are more cases of the alternator damaging the battery than the other way around. JohnS

Just to make it clear and I dont think it is relevant to what happened in this post, it is possible to reverse charge a battery but it has to be dead flat before you can do it. I saw it done as a practical joke many years ago and yes it had the guy scratching his head for a long time. You then fix it by putting a bulb across the battery and reapeat the process the right way when it is dead flat again. If your battery was dead you could probably hook one up the wrong way without seeing too many sparks but it would get very expensive. JohnS

Tyres is how we spell it in this part of the world. Its our heritage as convict decendents. John S

The change due to exhaust length has nothing to do with friction. It is all about the time it takes a positive pressure wave to travel the length of the pipe and exit the muffler causing a negative pressure wave to return up the pipe. When the timing of this causes the wave to arrive just before the exhaust valve closes the system is at max efficiency. If you shorten the pipe the neg wave will arrive earlier and the peak torque output will occur at higher rpm. JohnS

The climate there is very similar to Brisbane Australia. I have jad a mesh jacket for a couple of years now and would not be without it. It is cordura on all the panels that are likely to hit the road and has body armour and a back protector. The rest of the jacket is mesh high strength material and lets the air flow through. It really makes a difference but you have to watch dehydration. When you wear a leather jacket you sweat and when it stops working your body seems to limit the output. With the mesh jacket if you are still hot it really sucks the water out of your system as the evaporation is so good. A camelback is a must for a trip. JohnS

If you fit a power commander and remap a Bird with the O2 sensor in place it will keep leaning the OEM map to compensate for the extra fuel you are trying to put in. I believe that a lot of the problems are down to the PAIR system. I intend to try my sensor again when the PAIR gets blocked off. JohnS