Inconsequential ramblings of an Old Git

[Cousin Jack]

Same reason I sold mine. It was heavy, and with a full 22 litre tank and a big top box, top heavy. I broke my shoulder in dropping it, so it had to go.

But I do miss it.

[Taipan]

Do you use eBay? Are there no tanks on there from warmer countries, Spain, Italy, Greece etc?

[mangocrazy]

Do you use eBay? Are there no tanks on there from warmer countries, Spain, Italy, Greece etc?

VFR tanks in anything approaching reasonable condition are going for silly money. It seems that it's not the climate that's doing the majority of the damage, but ethanol promoting internal rusting. And the EU has been the main driver towards ethanol adoption, so Europe is in the same boat as the UK. I'd forseen this and do have a spare tank back in Blighty, so will give that a good looking at and if it's serviceable will bring it down in the van in September when we return for the autumn round of house-bothering.

[636mick]

How about a VFR Crossrunner to replace it? All the benefits but much more upright, easier to move about. Mines a 2011, suits me nowadays after years of big tourers. Just an idea.
Mick

[mangocrazy]

How about a VFR Crossrunner to replace it? All the benefits but much more upright, easier to move about. Mines a 2011, suits me nowadays after years of big tourers. Just an idea.
Mick

From what I read on t'interwebs, the VFR800X Crossdresser is a fair bit heavier than my old VFR750 (242kgs wet, if what I read is true). And as my VFR is already too heavy, that's going in the wrong direction for me. I really want something under 200kgs fully wet.

I'm not even going to think about the VFR1200 in that context... <shudder>

[A_morti]

It's a tricky balancing act. Significantly lighter weight, but comparable comfort and power, and newer (less worn out).
I guess you still want at least a half fairing for those longer trips.
The sv650s might well be the one. Er6f, maybe? A Tracer 700 could work if the budget gets that far.

[mangocrazy]

It's a tricky balancing act. Significantly lighter weight, but comparable comfort and power, and newer (less worn out).
I guess you still want at least a half fairing for those longer trips.
The sv650s might well be the one. Er6f, maybe? A Tracer 700 could work if the budget gets that far.

That's the way my thinking is going. A late model 'pointy' (with half fairing) would be just the job I think.

[mangocrazy]

I've been skulking around ebay looking at SV650s and reading up about them and the model I'm leaning towards was made up until 2014/2015, so a ten year old low mileage model is liable to be on my radar over the winter. What gives it real plus ponts is the fact that it's a V-twin, and I have plenty of form in that area (six to date).

But back to the present, I managed to drag myself away from the cooling fan long enough to do a bit of VFR-bothering (it's heading towards 36 deg C here today). I took the top cover off the two rear-facing carbs and could see nothing amiss there. I can't undo the float bowls with the carbs still on the bike, and can only access the top of the back two carbs, so it's a quarter of a job at best. When we return in September I'll bring a spare set of carbs with me if it's still acting up.

However I did manage to give the choke lever a few more mm of play, which may (or may not) make a difference, and I also re-routed the chunky speedo cable that was passing through one of the carb inlet air ducts to somewhere well away from the duct. Behind the steering head Honda created a sort of mini plenum chamber that's fed by air being routed into it by the fairing and sundry bodywork. The RH side is open and clear but the LH side has throttle cables passing through and there's no way to avoid that. But the speedo cable has no need to be there and so it's been given its marching orders.

Will it make any difference? I have no idea. And given how hot it is outside I'm in no real hurry to find out...

[Bustaspoke]

I've been skulking around ebay looking at SV650s and reading up about them and the model I'm leaning towards was made up until 2014/2015, so a ten year old low mileage model is liable to be on my radar over the winter. What gives it real plus ponts is the fact that it's a V-twin, and I have plenty of form in that area (six to date).

Will it make any difference? I have no idea. And given how hot it is outside I'm in no real hurry to find out...

Regarding the SV650,if they still made the Gen II 'Pointy',I'd have bought a new one.When I took my new £5000 OTR,GEN III in for it's first service the mechanic ended up going for a 'Test ride' on it,just to make sure everything was correct & when he came back with it he congratulated me on my purchase,told me that he previously had a K7 pointy & reckoned they're a cracking bike.I told him that I also have a K8 pointy & it's been so good that I decided to buy a new one
Sorry to hear about the heat,it's lovely over here

[mangocrazy]

Regarding the SV650,if they still made the Gen II 'Pointy',I'd have bought a new one.When I took my new £5000 OTR,GEN III in for it's first service the mechanic ended up going for a 'Test ride' on it,just to make sure everything was correct & when he came back with it he congratulated me on my purchase,told me that he previously had a K7 pointy & reckoned they're a cracking bike.I told him that I also have a K8 pointy & it's been so good that I decided to buy a new one

It doesn't help that folks hoard them, of course... Nag me at regular intervals to buy one so I don't forget...

Sorry to hear about the heat,it's lovely over here

I will be venturing out in the early evening - it's 'Tapas on the Prom' night tonight

[mangocrazy]

Today's my last day in France (fly back Friday morning) and so it's case of cleaning up and finishing up. I'd initially decided that I would remove the clutch slave cylinder from the bike and bring it back with me for some interrogation at HQ. So off came the slave cylinder and a substantial amount of fluid dribbled to the floor as I was doing it (clutch hose still firmly connected). This was expected, given the amount of fluid I'd been feeding it.

On a whim I pulled out the clutch pushrod and had a good look at it and about 15-20mm from the slave cylinder end there was a clear groove worn into the pushrod where it passed through the slave cylinder oil seal. Bugger - new push rod time. I did a quick check on the usual parts web sites and not only could I not find a part number, they weren't even listed on the fiches.

My initial thought was to bring the slave cylinder and push rod back with me and get my local engineering shop to make a copy of the push rod while I overhauled the slave cylinder.

Then I thought about how a couple of strange metal objects in my hand luggage would look on the airport scanners... Did you pack your bag yourself, sir? Would sir care to explain what these objects are doing in your luggage? Would sir like to step this way? Would sir like to drop his pants and bend over?

So I decided not to take them back with me. Cowardly, I know, but...

Instead I decided to simply turn the pushrod round and insert the crusty ringed end into the back of the clutch and fit the pristine, unmarked end into the slave cylinder. Hopefully the oil seal will actually seal on the unmarked shaft and harmony and peace will be restored. I'm aware I'll only be able to do this trick once...

Anyway, the clutch is all bled up and has a rubber band over the clutch lever holding it in, and I'll see whether or not I have a pool of fluid under the LH side of the bike when I return in approximately 6 weeks time.

I'm not holding my breath...

[KungFooBob]

Does the clutch pushrod really seal into the slave?

In my limited experience of hydraulic clutches (Ducati and Suzuki) the slave had a piston, very much like a brake caliper, that pushed the pushrod into the clutch. The pushrods had seals to stop the engine oil getting out.l, but didn't have any slave side seal as it didn't come into contact with any fluid.

Seems an odd system on the Honda.

[mangocrazy]

Does the clutch pushrod really seal into the slave?

In my limited experience of hydraulic clutches (Ducati and Suzuki) the slave had a piston, very much like a brake caliper, that pushed the pushrod into the clutch. The pushrods had seals to stop the engine oil getting out.l, but didn't have any slave side seal as it didn't come into contact with any fluid.

Seems an odd system on the Honda.

I think it's just Honda - they do things their way. This is an exploded diagram of the slave cylinder. There is definitely an oil seal in the back of the slave cylinder piston. Oil seal is 19, piston is 11 and piston fluid seal is 13. Whether the oil seal is to keep engine oil in or clutch fluid in, I don't know. If I have a puddle of fluid under the bike when I check next, it's probably to keep engine oil in.

I have a spare motor back in Sheffield, so will be getting the slave cylinder off that and having a good look inside.

RC24_clutch_slave_cylinder.JPG (50.24 KiB) Viewed 507 times

[mangocrazy]

I'm back in Sheffield now and having checked my spare motor, it is an entirely clutch slave cylinder-free motor. I can only assume either I or the previous owner had appropriated it. Also, before leaving France and with the bike having sat overnight it became clear that my ministrations have not fixed the problem - the clutch lever feels 'floppy' for the first half of its stroke and is clearly set to fail again.

So I started looking at the cost of a new complete slave assembly, using the part number (22860ML7010) to search on. This revealed an interesting factoid - Honda use the same part on the ST1100. And while Fowler's price is €165.89 for the part, Webike Japan have it listed at €48.34 and €24.79 shipping from Japan. So less than half price for a part that has been posted halfway around the world. Unsurprisingly, Webike.JP got my business...

Tiny steps...

[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...