BigMac

Hey Redbird, it wasn't. But it was your pic that reminded me of a little satiric ditti written by Kevin Bloody Wilson and kind of famous (called "Living nextdoor to Alan"). It took the piss out of all those toffs living in their grand palaces only to find that government policy put some budget public housing next door and some aborigines move in. They really take the piss out of Alan Bond as they've got a faster and better car than him because "it's a red one" What's really humourous is that Bondy goes to prison a few years later for doing a whole bunch of people out of billions only to make a small fortune inside selling his self-painted art. And to think that he was the Aussie hero who brought the Americas Cup to Perth.

I just got 19660km from the OEM chain. There was still room (just a little)to move on the indicator on the swing arm but I thought it was probably worthwhile replacing now rather than risk it breaking. My dealer recommended an EK chain and AFAM sprocket combination. The rear OEM sprocket on the rear looked perfect but the front was a different issue. All up including fitting it cost me A$392. Apparently this will be the last time I buy sprockets again as EK chains give you a lifetime warranty and replace them free of charge if you buy one of their chains. I'll let you all know how I find the EK chain performs.

I'm not going to recommend this effort as there's probably someone who knows a lot more about ABS and fibreglass than I do and thinks I've committed heresy. I dropped my bird about 12 months ago and put some nasty cracks and snapped off some of the top cowl. I bonded these back together by using epoxy resin and chopped glass mat applied to the rear of each. I roughed up the ABS using some emery cloth and a box cutter. I also took out a chunk of the front tire guard too which I've replaced with glass. Total cost for all these repairs was A$75 or so. I didn't paint at the time as I wasn't sure it was going to work but 12 months of daily riding later they've held up perfectly.

Perhaps I'll take the mirrors off and repaint the bike red. Who needs a turbo or nitrous when you have these easy options available...?

I don't get anymore than 230km prior to hitting reserve. I used to get 250 and could run to empty at 270km. This was city driving too. I've had the bike since new and its unmodified. I originally found it quite a perplexing issue until I realised that I'd started riding with bag sitting on the tail. Take the bag off and the fuel economy improves - a little.

I could tell you every scratch, ding, mark, scrape... where it is and how it got there! One moment it looked perfect and the next it just collapsed. I pushed my foot down and the bike didn't come up - it just gave away.

I had a quick search but anyone else had this problem. I busted the kick arm off the center stand today. It just folded up on me like warm plastic. :shock: I thought there's probably heaps of people out there with stands available or could have got a replacement from the dealer but I was replacing the chain and sprockets so I didn't want to muddle about for too long. I took it off, cut out the kinked section and welded some new heavier gauge steel in place. And if you're wondering, no the bike wasn't loaded when I tried kicking it up. There was no corrosion in the metal, just seemed to fatigue itself to death? By the way I got 19800 km from my chain and sprocket. Rear is still like new, front has some shark fins appearing (all OEM still). There was still some stretch left in the chain but I thought hey better to replace than break.

I'll have to work out how to post pics for those that want to have a look. Cheers

Not wanting to get into all sorts of discussions about whether or not to fit an SD to the XX. I've been caught in two situations over the last 5 years with mine where I've needed to swerve and pull up hard. Once on uneven road and the second time I bumped a cats eye. Both situations resulted in serious tank slap bringing me down. After eliminating as best as possible probably issues with suspension, head bearings, tyre wear and pressure I decided to try fitting a damper. I also think they look cool too(lol!) So I purchased a Hyperpro bracket. You could make one yourself or develop with someone who can bend and weld stainless. The bracket was very poorly manufactured and Serco the Oz distributor were very unhelpful even when provided with photos of how and why it wouldn't fit. It was just 0.75mm too small - doesn't sound like much but enough to make a difference. I waited 6 months for it to arrive and didn't want to wait another for a replacement. My dealer was very helpful and offered to refund me completely even though the distributor wouldn't take the product back. With a mate we found a way to install the bracket by filing back some of the bikes frame. Success! Problem number 2. The Hyperpro literature recommend a 120mm stroke on the SD so I chose the appropriate WP. Alas 120mm is too short for a standard install. I've overcome this by turning the damper around. It seems that WP have manufactured their current range with short bodies, but when mounting down the side of the bike the shorter body reduces mounting play because of the dual chamber design on the newer SD's. The end cap and tie-end are interchangeable but a real bitch to remove due to the threadlocker applied. So I used bench vise to grip the chrome shaft with some aluminium (aluminum for our US friends) protection on the jaws. The real test - how does it perform and is there a noticeable difference. It really depends what damping force you desire to dial in. But for my purposes headshake from tyre wear is reduced to almost nil and there's a marked improvement in stability when bringing the front down after... (yep I'm too old but still a young lad at heart) Does it slow down steering noticeably. Again it depends on how hard you dial it in but the simple answer is no. My old R1 was fitted with a Hyperpro constant force unit many years which required weekly testosterone injections to deal with. Was it worth it? All up I've paid about $750 (OZ cash) and in normal commuting it hasn't made a difference worth the dollar. On the track through the chicanes or braking into a corner theres a really noticeable difference and a new feeling of confidence. The real test will be if I'm ever in another situation like before and manage to stay upright. Hopefully I'll never have to write back with the results of that test. Safe travelling to you all.

I just changed out the platinum plugs in my '98 at 19,000KM. The bike was running a bit rough and since it didn't immediately appear to be fuel or carb balance issues the plugs were the next easiest thing to check. No 1 was stuffed - all fouled up with unburnt fuel and stuff. Seemed it wasn't firing properly which I traced back to a faulty lead on No 1. The other plugs were in good repair although some deposit characteristic of running a little too rich or too long on idle was present. I surmised this was probably due to bad firing on No 1 since I checked them only 8000KM ago when I balanced the carbs and all four were spot on like new. I always check plugs when I tune as their condition will tell you alot about how the engine is running. Replaced the lead and the plugs. Gone with the Iridium version now. Maybe a slightly warmer plug as she warms up a bit faster and easier now than before. I could also be wrong - the lead may have been gradually breaking down over a long time too.

Used oil with a little creosote makes some stuff that stinks much it'll treat in ground wood of any sort and prevent all rot and pest attach for 50 years or more. My grandfather used it this to prevent termite attacks in his home and it work. Never spent money on a pro for pest control. Also made sure the rest of the family gave him some space for a few weeks too!

I have a sick bird at idle and low RPM. No power and lots of vibration under 35000rpm. Seems from reading these forums that it might be carb and/or plug problem. Had the same platinum plugs for 17,000kms now. Iti didn't just happen - has been a growing concern for over 2 months. Bad at cold start but was getting better when she'd warmed up. Now no amount or warming up takes away the problem. Pulled the plugs and cylinder one's plug is a bit dark and sooty. The other 3 were a bit wet but only damp around the outside, the electrode themselve were a pretty nice brown to black colour. I'm going to replace the plugs in the morning and see if this makes a difference.

I've had a ventura system for the five years I've ha my bike. It bolts on very easily into the tail and looks neat. However, the bag material leave much to be desired bere. Easily get holes in the stress spots and lost the whole bag even though it was tied on correctly! When the bag is totally worn out I'll combine with a dri-rider or r-jays pack instead.

It all comes down to how efficient a light bulb really is. There is nothing to prevent a genuine 100W get a 100W sticker rating but really oly be throwing out 60W light and losing the rest as heat. By rule thumb most bulb are only 50% efficient. Stick in a really ineficient 100w bulb pumps out 65 w heat and 35 W light and you get less light and more warmth around the campfire. Grease doesn't fix this. Grease helps make heat transfer easier perhaps to some sort of extrernal heat sink either naturally in the frame or from elswhere.] A quality buld gets more light and less heat and last longer, runs cooler too. Tell me where I can get one of those and we'll all be very happy.

Gent's you've all been very helpful. I've got a digital camera and when I work out how to use it this weekend I'll take some happy snaps and post them on my page. I'm interested to know more about what this fork chatter means though? THanks