The "Today I did something to my bike" thread

blade1 · 10-08-2018 02:10PM

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Dunno about all this silicate free stuff though, does it matter and is there really any difference with bike specific coolant?

Some can be mixed but some can't and AFAIK it's nothing to do with the colour.

CJhaughey · 10-08-2018 03:07PM

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Dunno about all this silicate free stuff though, does it matter and is there really any difference with bike specific coolant?

The workshop manual for mine specifies "Mobil Antifreeze". That's it. I went to Halfords and there were two types of Mobil Antifreeze. I said fcuk it and bought their own brand pre-mix stuff

It really depends on the cooling system you have, Honda has used a mechanical seal system that utilised ceramic washers, if you use silica based coolants it damages the seal and you have a coolant weep from the seal area which necessitates stripping the pump and rebuilding or replacement with a new one neither of which is cheap.

Silica was originally specified in hard water areas to clean the cooling system acting as an abrasive to clean passageways and pump internals.
Not all bikes suffer from using silica based coolant but some will have trouble.

Hotblack Desiato · 10-08-2018 08:26PM

You'd have to be a bit dumb to put tap water in your cooling system if you lived in a hard water area!

With pre-mix there's no water added by the end user so presumably no need for silicates then? The label doesn't say if it has any or not. Bike is a Triumph. I flushed out the whole system last year when I had to put in a new water pump.

Mixing different types of antifreeze should be avoided alright but when doing a flush and fill that's not an issue obviously

CJhaughey · 11-08-2018 07:06AM

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

You'd have to be a bit dumb to put tap water in your cooling system if you lived in a hard water area!

With pre-mix there's no water added by the end user so presumably no need for silicates then? The label doesn't say if it has any or not. Bike is a Triumph. I flushed out the whole system last year when I had to put in a new water pump.

Mixing different types of antifreeze should be avoided alright but when doing a flush and fill that's not an issue obviously

Coolant is a minefield now, it used to be simple but like many things it has turned very complex.
Thats why I try and simplify it by using a known standard of coolant and sticking with it.
People are funny they may not even know they are in a hard water area so user error can always be a factor when mixing water and coolant, hence the reason pre-mix has become popular.

blade1 · 11-08-2018 08:16AM

Another plus if you have a water softener system in your home is you have water for rads and batteries and zero chance of any scaling.

ayux4rj6zql2ph · 12-08-2018 05:45PM

Could I ask which green is better?

CJhaughey · 12-08-2018 06:04PM

Personally I like the Metallic British Racing Green on the binnacle. The other one looks too blue, more like a Ford Mallard Green.
Little known fact British Racing Green is actually a mark of respect to the Irish Road racing scene from the Gordon Bennett Cup in 1903

ayux4rj6zql2ph · 12-08-2018 06:08PM

CJhaughey wrote: »

Personally I like the Metallic British Racing Green on the binnacle. The other one looks too blue, more like a Ford Mallard Green.
Little known fact British Racing Green is actually a mark of respect to the Irish Road racing scene from the Gordon Bennett Cup in 1903

Yes I did think it looked too blue when I seen it. The paint shop said the colour code wasn't coming up on their system when entered and when the panels were scanned it also wasn't showing up anything. should I just revert to the original green if I can find out the original paint type?

CJhaughey · 12-08-2018 09:19PM

Prisoner 6753 wrote: »

Yes I did think it looked too blue when I seen it. The paint shop said the colour code wasn't coming up on their system when entered and when the panels were scanned it also wasn't showing up anything. should I just revert to the original green if I can find out the original paint type?

It looks like the Jaguar Racing special edition colour.

ayux4rj6zql2ph · 12-08-2018 09:37PM

CJhaughey wrote: »

It looks like the Jaguar Racing special edition colour.

It’s very close to it alright.

Here is a picture before painting

Hotblack Desiato · 13-08-2018 12:22AM

Putting car decals/livery on a two wheeler is just a bit off...

ayux4rj6zql2ph · 13-08-2018 12:34AM

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Putting car decals/livery on a two wheeler is just a bit off...

It’s supposed to have them

Hotblack Desiato · 13-08-2018 12:48AM

I know. I remember when it came out.

ayux4rj6zql2ph · 13-08-2018 12:50AM

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

I know. I remember when it came out.

the Jaguar F1 team itself existed from 00-04, but I have seen very few of these around

Emmersonn · 13-08-2018 06:14AM

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Putting car decals/livery on a two wheeler is just a bit off...

To each his own.

ayux4rj6zql2ph · 13-08-2018 11:14AM

Lads how do I embed photos from the laptop?

ayux4rj6zql2ph · 13-08-2018 12:04PM

Mock up photos of how it will look with the new decals in both colours

PS I don’t know how to embed

ayux4rj6zql2ph · 13-08-2018 12:06PM

Centre stand and top box fitted

Anything else I could add to improve the look?

blade1 · 13-08-2018 01:31PM

Prisoner 6753 wrote: »

Centre stand and top box fitted

Anything else I could add to improve the look?

Looking good and that's a nice look Strom especially in those colours!;)

Add you say?
Spots,hand guards,engine bars and a bash plate!

A pic of my Tiger that I sold last summer.

frozenfrozen · 13-08-2018 01:38PM

cheap and cheerful thing to do, clean the exhaust downpipe with black harpic or give it a polish with autosol.

ayux4rj6zql2ph · 13-08-2018 02:39PM

blade1 wrote: »

Looking good and that's a nice look Strom especially in those colours!;)

Add you say?
Spots,hand guards,engine bars and a bash plate!

A pic of my Tiger that I sold last summer.

Lovely looking bike blade1.

Handguards and engine bars are part of the short term plan.

Also looking at givi V35 or 37 cases plus the holder which is called PLX532

Spots? what would they cost me? didn't consider them nor do I know good or sh1te brands for bikes.

SW Motech seems to be the only one I know.

ayux4rj6zql2ph · 13-08-2018 02:40PM

frozenfrozen wrote: »

cheap and cheerful thing to do, clean the exhaust downpipe with black harpic or give it a polish with autosol.

frozenfrozen · 13-08-2018 02:52PM

Prisoner 6753 wrote: »

skip to about 1 minute 10 to see it going on, just picked the first video on a youtube search for it so could be bad but I used it and it 100% works

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXcM6g-JaBo

ayux4rj6zql2ph · 13-08-2018 03:05PM

frozenfrozen wrote: »

skip to about 1 minute 10 to see it going on, just picked the first video on a youtube search for it so could be bad but I used it and it 100% works

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXcM6g-JaBo

I appreciate anything that can help. Thank you for that

LLewellen Farquarson · 14-08-2018 11:17AM

LLewellen Farquarson wrote: »

Thanks, just placed an order. The screen on the k1200gt is just a fraction too low for me, and this will solve it nicely. Looks very well made, and cheap at < €20

Well, it arrived and was fitted.
Firstly it is very well made. I feel embarrassed just paying €20 for it. The postage to China would cost that.

Unfortunately the screen on the K is just too big, and the extender too heavy. This causes the extender to vibrate and the screen to flex. So it's back to earplugs for me.

Sonic, if you haven't bought one I can drop it over to you and you can try it out. If it works you can give a tenner to your favourite charity and it's yours.

Sonics2k · 14-08-2018 11:58AM

LLewellen Farquarson wrote: »

Well, it arrived and was fitted.
Firstly it is very well made. I feel embarrassed just paying €20 for it. The postage to China would cost that.

Unfortunately the screen on the K is just too big, and the extender too heavy. This causes the extender to vibrate and the screen to flex. So it's back to earplugs for me.

Sonic, if you haven't bought one I can drop it over to you and you can try it out. If it works you can give a tenner to your favourite charity and it's yours.

That'd be great man. I'm off work for a few days after a tosser in a van knocked me off, but I'm riding a bit now and then.

I'll send you a PM as soon as I can.

Krusty_Clown · 14-08-2018 04:39PM

So today I added a cheapo Chinese (Wish.com) alarm to my bike. It cost a whopping €10.60 including delivery, and took about two weeks to arrive from China. It's a pretty simple vibration-based alarm, that is not wired to the ignition - you connect it directly to the bike battery. You arm it manually, using one of two supplied remote fobs, and disarm using another button on the remote fob. I connected it up an hour ago and seems to be working exactly as expected. Instructions are the usual two pages with crappy diagram, but given that it's wired directly to the battery, is pretty simple to work out.

Picture below, of the alarm in question. So, has anybody else fitted an alarm like this? Any risks or problems? Doesn't seem to be an inline fuse (unless it's contained within the unit itself). While it'll never be as good or secure as a factory fitted alarm, I'm hoping it's an improvement on having no alarm (unless the drain is too great), and it if works only to deter the cat from sitting on the bike, it'll have been worth the asking price! Anyone else any experience with these? Foolish to fit a €10 alarm on a €10k bike, or better than nothing?

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arybvtcw0eolkf · 14-08-2018 11:53PM

LLewellen Farquarson wrote: »

Well, it arrived and was fitted.
Firstly it is very well made. I feel embarrassed just paying €20 for it. The postage to China would cost that.

Unfortunately the screen on the K is just too big, and the extender too heavy. This causes the extender to vibrate and the screen to flex. So it's back to earplugs for me.

Sonic, if you haven't bought one I can drop it over to you and you can try it out. If it works you can give a tenner to your favourite charity and it's yours.

I was going to update the thread this evening about this.

At idle it does cause the screen to vibrate but when I'm on the move its grand.

It has certainly extended my fuel consumption, this week I got 155 miles on a full tank as opposed to 130-135 before the reserve light came on.

Con's, it causes the screen to move and vibrate at idle.

Pro's, lots.. Clean air, no buffering and added fuel economy.

(BMW R1200GS, 6'1'' rider).

Hotblack Desiato · 16-08-2018 10:01AM

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Picture below, of the alarm in question. So, has anybody else fitted an alarm like this? Any risks or problems? Doesn't seem to be an inline fuse (unless it's contained within the unit itself).

Never connect anything to the battery without a fuse. Doesn't matter if it cost €10 or €1000. Any fault in the unit or wiring will mean a fire.

Krusty_Clown · 16-08-2018 12:06PM

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Never connect anything to the battery without a fuse. Doesn't matter if it cost €10 or €1000. Any fault in the unit or wiring will mean a fire.

Yeah, makes sense. Will disconnect it until I pick up an in-line fuse. Any suggestions on where to pick up an-line fuse with battery terminal connectors?

The "Today I did something to my bike" thread

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