Inconsequential ramblings of an Old Git

[A_morti]

You will get hit for duty, handling fees, and Vat on top of the webike bill including shipping.

I bought the cbr a handlebar from Thailand and had a similar experience.
The handlebar was 82€ all in from the dealer.
It looked like I'd be way ahead with it costing just 17€ in Thailand. In the end I spent about 97€ for the bar, 4 mudguard screws, a silencer nut, bar end weight and HRC tank pad.

[mangocrazy]

You will get hit for duty, handling fees, and Vat on top of the webike bill including shipping.

I bought the cbr a handlebar from Thailand and had a similar experience.
The handlebar was 82€ all in from the dealer.
It looked like I'd be way ahead with it costing just 17€ in Thailand. In the end I spent about 97€ for the bar, 4 mudguard screws, a silencer nut, bar end weight and HRC tank pad.

Bugger. There's always a catch when something seems too good to be true...

[mangocrazy]

You will get hit for duty, handling fees, and Vat on top of the webike bill including shipping.

I bought the cbr a handlebar from Thailand and had a similar experience.
The handlebar was 82€ all in from the dealer.
It looked like I'd be way ahead with it costing just 17€ in Thailand. In the end I spent about 97€ for the bar, 4 mudguard screws, a silencer nut, bar end weight and HRC tank pad.

Bugger. There's always a catch when something seems too good to be true...

Except there really doesn't seem to be a catch.

At 8:30 this morning there was a knock on the door and there was a box that had come all the way from Japan in less than six days (two of them non-working). No duty or handling fees and no VAT. And a brand new genuine Honda part in the box.

My gast is totally flabbered, dude...

[Taipan]

You will get hit for duty, handling fees, and Vat on top of the webike bill including shipping.

I bought the cbr a handlebar from Thailand and had a similar experience.
The handlebar was 82€ all in from the dealer.
It looked like I'd be way ahead with it costing just 17€ in Thailand. In the end I spent about 97€ for the bar, 4 mudguard screws, a silencer nut, bar end weight and HRC tank pad.

Bugger. There's always a catch when something seems too good to be true...

Except there really doesn't seem to be a catch.

At 8:30 this morning there was a knock on the door and there was a box that had come all the way from Japan in less than six days (two of them non-working). No duty or handling fees and no VAT. And a brand new genuine Honda part in the box.

My gast is totally flabbered, dude...

Does happen. I've got away with a few things i was expecting to pay duty on, notably from the good ol' USA. I expect they're too busy with Euro stuff to worry about things from other places?

[Count Steer]

There's something about goods of value less than £135. If you buy through a portal they're supposed to charge the VAT at that point rather than chase payment on import.

However, I bought some software for less than that from Amazon.com rather than .co.uk (by mistake) and got hit with the full raft of VAT, handling etc etc.

[mangocrazy]

My wife's sister lives in the USA, so every so often I receive 'gifts' from her. Managed to avoid duty/VAT etc. so far. Goods get sent to good ole Tennessee, stripped of all the packaging and paperwork and forwarded on in a secondhand looking box. Has worked so far...

[Mr. Dazzle]

Yep, VAT can be charged at the sellers end under a certain amount, although I have to admit I thought this was only within the EU (and whatever TF we are now).

I would be inclined to start with the simpler explanation though. Can't check em all

P.S. mango for the sake of pedantry you're actually evading VAT with your American parcels, not avoiding it

[mangocrazy]

P.S. mango for the sake of pedantry you're actually evading VAT with your American parcels, not avoiding it

Quite so.

[mangocrazy]

The transaction for the Webike part has finally hit my account and it totals £62.32, which I'm very happy with. Webike quote prices in Euros, which in my case totalled €73.13 - this gives a conversion rate of 1.173 €uros to the pound which sounds about right, so all good.

[Sadlonelygit]

When I order stuff from a well known firm in Brizzel, they have a euro page for export stuff, which is vat free as I need to pay the TVA at my end in the country of destination.
Don't know why, and to be fair I don't care that my local postie just shoves whatever it is in my post box without a douanes penalty!
He does however get a nice bottle of red every year!

[mangocrazy]

The ride out on my LC with my mate Ash proved a number of things to me...

1. I am not bike fit
2. The clutch action on my LC is way heavier than it should be
3. The head bearings are well past their best (but then they are over 20k miles and 44 years old)
4. The gear lever needs adjusting

So we've both agreed we need to get out more on the bikes (point 1), and I've adjusted the gear lever position (point 4) and will try it out real soon...

That just leaves points 2 and 3.

I seem to recall in the dim and distant past that I added an extra plain plate to the clutch to stop it slipping. Realistically I need to give the clutch a proper coat of looking at over the winter, verify if I did add another plain plate (or was dreaming I did) and treat it to new springs and friction plates. I've also been advised to increase the effective length of the clutch actuating arm by 10mm to add leverage. This will entail some cutting and shutting and a trip to my tame welder friends.

Riding on some of Derbyshire's crappiest roads today brought home to me that the bike felt decidely loose at the front end. I know that 'they all do that, Sir' but this was above and beyond normal LC flappyness. So I've ordered a set of taper roller head bearings and whether they get fitted this side of winter depends entirely on the weather in the next month or so. Crap weather/return of the monsoon season will mean they get fitted sooner. Decent weather means it's another job for Future Mango...

[Eclipse]

2. The clutch action on my LC is way heavier than it should be

Not sure if it would help but Venhill make teflon lined cables

Introduced in 1995, Venhill Featherlight clutch cables are made in the UK, using marine-grade stainless steel inner wire that runs through a Teflon liner, reducing friction and giving a light action, easing pressure on the hand, especially in stop/start traffic and during long rides. The PTFE ('teflon') lining also removes the need for lubrication. Each cable is ‘bird-caged' – a special process applied to the end of the inner wire, which allows solder to penetrate the weave of the cable, making the bond with the nipple much stronger. To find the clutch cable for your bike go to Part Finder on the home page.

I am going out for a ride with my brother tomorrow to Dunstable Downs

[mangocrazy]

2. The clutch action on my LC is way heavier than it should be

Not sure if it would help but Venhill make teflon lined cables

Introduced in 1995, Venhill Featherlight clutch cables are made in the UK, using marine-grade stainless steel inner wire that runs through a Teflon liner, reducing friction and giving a light action, easing pressure on the hand, especially in stop/start traffic and during long rides. The PTFE ('teflon') lining also removes the need for lubrication. Each cable is ‘bird-caged' – a special process applied to the end of the inner wire, which allows solder to penetrate the weave of the cable, making the bond with the nipple much stronger. To find the clutch cable for your bike go to Part Finder on the home page.

I've used Venhill throttle cables and they are very good indeed. But the cable is a new (couple of hundred miles old) OE Yamaha part, so should be OK. If all else fails I'll give one a try.

[Screwdriver]

I've used Venhill throttle cables and they are very good indeed. But the cable is a new (couple of hundred miles old) OE Yamaha part, so should be OK. If all else fails I'll give one a try.

Make sure the cable is 90º to the operating lever on the crankcase.

[mangocrazy]

I've used Venhill throttle cables and they are very good indeed. But the cable is a new (couple of hundred miles old) OE Yamaha part, so should be OK. If all else fails I'll give one a try.

Make sure the cable is 90º to the operating lever on the crankcase.

There's virtually no scope for getting it wrong or (more accurately) not getting it the way Yamaha intended. The ferrule at the top of the crankcase cover directs the cable at its intended angle. The cable does describe an arc before it enters the crankcase cover, but it's a fairly gentle one.

DSCF4385.JPG (564.26 KiB) Viewed 1087 times

When you look inside the crankcase cover and see the mechanism there's no scope for misalignment. And with the mechanism disconnected from the clutch pushrod, the cable action is so light that there is virtually no resistance when pulling on the clutch lever. All the clutch 'weight' resides in the clutch itself.

DSCF4390.JPG (640.42 KiB) Viewed 1087 times

So my attention will be focussed primarily on the clutch itself. New clutch plates and springs would seem to be in order and if there is an additional plain plate it will be removed. But that can wait until weather stops play in November or December. For now it gets ridden.

[Screwdriver]

Have you looked at the clutch basket for wear?

<edit> I misremember how that cable is set up. I thought it was the type with an external actuator.

[mangocrazy]

Have you looked at the clutch basket for wear?

That's on the to-do list when I change the friction plates and springs. But it can wait until the weather turns proper shitty over winter.

[A_morti]

Before you strip the clutch apart - is there any part of the cable where it might be damaged, kinked or pinched and only have friction when there's weight on it?

[mangocrazy]

Before you strip the clutch apart - is there any part of the cable where it might be damaged, kinked or pinched and only have friction when there's weight on it?

The cable is only about 6 months/100 miles old and is an OE part. It's as smooth as a very smooth thing when you pull the lever in with the actuator mechanism disconnected from the clutch pushrod (i.e. like it is in the second photo above).

I'm in no hurry to strip the clutch. It's a job for over the winter...

[mangocrazy]

I've been in France for a couple of weeks and on the bike front have verified that a) the new OE Honda clutch slave cylinder has fixed the VFR's clutch problem. No real surprises there. And b) the carburettor/lack of performance problem still persists. That is also not a great surprise.

I've brought a spare set of carbs down with me and if I CBA and have time, I'll fit them. As its stands the bike will accelerate up to 3 figures, albeit in a rather more leisurely fashion than I would like and it's perfectly OK to use as a shopping trolley. The lack of performance was a pain on the way down in July, but I won't be repeating that journey on the VFR any time soon.

Assuming the van is up to the job (this is yet to be confirmed) the Falco wil get loaded in the back of it and will return to Blighty, leaving the VFR to complete its tour of duty. Riding the two back to back highlighted just how superior the Falco is in every respect. But then the design is a good 15 years younger, so hardly surprising.

After reading this back, I have to admit this post is largely an exercise in stating the bleeding obvious...