[someone]

Adjusted the chain and installed some USB sockets. No idea where to fix them, so will probably leave the sockets sitting loose up front, with a suitably located cable tie just to ensure they cannot drop down into anywhere they could interfere with riding.

Gote some fuse holders coming tomorrow, so can then also install the TomTom. That will go on the other side of the bike though, so it was no extra effort doing the two separately.

Hurray for the option port though, it made things very easy. Wired a sumitomo connector to some double female bullet ones. Then stuck a male bullet on the ends of the USB's cable and all worked first time whilst still being ready to attach the TomTom cable.

Also made some male to double female cables to use as splitters in case I want to add more items in the future.

 

[someone]

I probably took my wheel out of alignment trying to understand the alignment marks. Hmph.

I usually just clean my chain with paraffin (kerosense) and a chain brush when it is dirty, if not a spray now and then with some WD40 chain cleaner, otherwise just give it a spray with WD40 chain wax

The use of WD40 products though is simply because they are available cheaply in my local Aldi.

 

[someone]

Wired in a GPS.

 

[someone]

Let's have a pic of your bike with the box on! :nerd:

If you would like to see my bike with a box on…

I have the stop light kit installed, but it seems to have stopped working. Need to properly look into it, but the problem area seems to be the socket part that fits in the mounting plate. Either a loose wire or it is just not properly connecting with the box.

Photo was two months ago, now I have a cushion on the seat, grip puppies, and the phone case on the bars has been replaced by a proper GPS. Still need to work out how to fit the throttle lock.

 

[someone]

I think you have the same screen as I do , I have only just put mine on , how do you find yours.

The bike came with it so I cannot compare what is is like with and without the screen. But I do a lot of riding on motorways and dual carriageways to get away from London and I have never had any problem with feeling the wind against me, so it must be working! Same with protecting me from bugs (summer) or grime (winter), it always needs cleaning.

My only real complaint is that every now and then it gets pushed back a tiny bit (rotates on the ball joints to the arms a little) which causes it to shake. Easy enough to fix by just giving a push forward. That only started after I put in the bar risers. I guess because it mounts on the bars that has has changed the angle a little too much, as the arms now sit around an inch higher relative to the instrument panel.

Although I cannot compare to riding the bike without it, I am sure it makes a huge difference with the wind that is is definitely worthwhile. Other than the mount I cannot imagine any other screen doing anything better.

 

[someone]

I did find out the problem with the stop light on the box not working, it was just not making contact, just by a tiny fraction. A little push from underneath fixed it, until the bike started moving. So yesterday I glued a large O-ring between the socket and the plate to give it a bit of extra height.

Also yesterday I gave the bike its weekly clean (just to get rid of bugs), chain wax, and also topped up the coolant as it was at the lower level.

 

[someone]

Yesterday I did not merge it with a car.

Checked my video today to see what I did wrong, I was a little over the limit with 56 on the speedo on a (widely ignored) 50 road, so at GPS speed probably 52 mph. But that was it.

I was in the third lane of three, maybe six or seven car lengths from a car in front but matching speed, and there was a car in lane two to which I was getting closer to overtaking.

My front wheel was roughly 7½ yards from its front wheel before it started to change direction (I was able to measure with a lane divider line). And it was still a second later until its indicators came on, by which point its front wheel was only an inch from the divider, and I was probably only two yards from its back wheel.

Thankfully once straddling the divider the driver must have finally decided to check their blind spot and aborted, before I fully got to test how good the brakes on these bikes are, and those of the cars behind.

I was so paranoid the rest of the way home that I must not have been paying attention and missed something. But it was so close when it started to change direction that it was already in my peripheral vision. There was no advanced information which should have caused me to have done anything differently.

My camera is only a cheap one (SJCAM SJ4000) and mounted on the bars, so suffers slightly from the vibrations. But being able to learn from situations like this is exactly why I have it.

Otherwise it was the end to a 350 mile ride up to the Norfolk coast where it became increasingly windy and grey. But it was a public holiday, and there were still lots of people playing on the beaches. And it is getting dark early now, I finally arrived home at 8:30pm and it was fully dark, this incident was half an hour earlier and though dusk was still quite bright. Must be time to finally sort out some LEDs, or go on shorter trips!

My little bike lives to ride another day.

 

[someone]

Your speedo indicates 56, but GPS actual is probably 52? Are you running a 14T countersprocket?
I'm glad you and your bike are okay.

Thanks. I am on standard gears too, but it is quite well known in the U.K. that our speedos are inaccurate.

This is because vehicles capable of speeds above 25mph cannot show a speed greater than the actual speed, or lower than the actual speed less a tenth of it + 6¼ mph. So manufacturers make them deliberately over read a little to avoid the risk of accidentally breaking the law.

As there is no accuracy regulation in the U.S. your speedos, ironically, tend to be more accurate as no compensation is applied. And I believe in E.U. countries they use the stricter U.N. E.C.E. regulation where the allowed difference is just a tenth of the speed + 4 kp/h (2½ mph).

I assume Honda comply with the U.N. formula here too though, as there is no reason to make separate British versions of their software when other regulations are the same, and the bikes are capable of displaying normal or metric units. It is not like four wheeled vehicles where you need to make physically different right-hand drive models.

Basically though it means if it a British vehicle shows 50 mph you can be travelling at anything from 38¾ mph (U.K.) or 42½ mph (U.N.) to 50 mph, but if you are doing 50 mph it could show anything from 50 mph to 57½ mph (U.N.) or 61¾ mph (U.K.).

 

[someone]

Yesterday felt like a day where everything was going wrong. I am amazed I did not drop my bike. Twice. I have said before how I dropped it the second time I rode it, but apart from feeling a little unstable at times it has not happened since.

But the first time I had stopped in an empty car park to fiddle with something, probably change the battery on my camera, drink some water, something like that. I then decided to get off the bike, so started to learn it onto the side stand. You can guess what I had not done when I stopped, but after realizing it was leaning too far I was able to stop and right it.

Then later on I had taken a wrong turn on a country road, so when it opened up for a junction I went to do a U-turn to head back. As part of the British test to get a motorcycle licence you have to do a U-turn, and I have never had any problem doing them on a test ground, but on the road I am really bad at them and so almost always waddle into a three-point turn. That is what I did here too, so it was only a 90° turn, but I guess I was too cautious as there was some gravel between the two lanes, and at full lock it stalled and started to go over. No idea how I managed to save it that time, but somehow I did.

Separately, when I was almost home I has to cross a box junction, where you are not allowed to stop in a painted box unless turning right. Traffic was congested opposite because of a road closure (the one I wanted!) so I was going slow to allow a space to open for me to cross, only as it did a car in the second lane cut me up to take it. Immediately followed by a minivan (which is what we call a small van rather than big car, which we instead call people carriers) who clipped my mirror.

Despite all that, the only damage to the bike was I somehow scratched away a small piece of the grey stripes stuck on the tank. Annoying, but I will take it given how the day went. I have a tank protector I keep meaning to install, so will just have to make sure it is positioned to cover that up.

Next to do with the bike is give it a clean, then contact the dealer for an overdue 16k mile service. The overdue 8k one was in the middle of May, so it has been a good summer. Not sure how long is left before the miles go down as the colder and shorter days come back.

 

[someone]

I have an external temperature gauge too, I mainly use it before leaving to decide what I need to wear.

Anyway, not today but on Sunday I decided to have a nice lie down next to my bike. Well not so much my decision as the bike's.

Was turning into a lay-by (a rest area) and there was so much dirt and gravel on the edge of it that in aiming for the clean patch in the middle I missed something.

The road was surfaced dressed (chipsealed) and I did not notice the pile of road-coloured gravel in the middle of the entrance that was probably left over from the surfacing and never cleaned up.

I was just finishing straightening up from the turn, and so the wheel just went and I had no time to do anything other than pick myself up off the ground.

All things considered the bike seemed to get off lightly, although having just paid for a dealer service including new chain and sprockets, and needing to get new tyres in the next week-or-so, it is very annoying. At least all of this can wait:

Everything that mattered seemed to be okay, but once I started riding I noticed it felt as though I was steering a tad to the right. I had bent the bars too.

Although it was only noticeable whenever I set off after stopping, it was quickly forgotten whilst riding. I still managed 179 miles via the scenic way home after the fall, on all manner of roads, including some filtering. So the bike is safely rideable with the bent bars, though it is something I want to sort out as soon as possible.

The OEM ones are around £100 here, so I think I will get Renthal ones as they are cheaper and should be stronger. But I am a reluctant mechanic, and a little uneasy about needing to drill holes for the controls so not sure whether I will do the replacement myself or get a mechanic to do them. Though the cost of labour for the latter will probably end up as the same as OEM bars.

Although the bike is what is important, as with free healthcare I am free to repair, the only damage to me was a sprained left thumb. It is still sore but the swelling is going down. It was only when I got back into London it was starting to become a problem when I had to indicate.

No photos from that day out, it clouded over and I was pretty fed up with everything to enjoy it. That I kept to my planned ride rather than just heading straight home was more out of defiance than fun.

But I had an enjoyable day on Saturday, which included a 900 year-old abbey, though the remains are only a measly around 500 years old.

 

[someone]

Thank you, the thumb is still a bit sore but the swelling has gone. I think by Sunday it will be good enough to safely get back on the bike, to get the last few miles out of the tyres. Then I can replace them next week, then look to work on the bars the one after. Now that it is getting colder and wetter here there will be fewer opportunities to just ride for fun until spring so it would be a shame to waste an opportunity if healthy.

The Renthal bars look similar to the OEM ones in the photos. Here is one of the sellers:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RENTHAL-...915535?hash=item5d5bba9ecf:g:ougAAOSwEK9TvRwO

I have also seen compatible Alpha Rider bars which are cheaper and seem like they come pre-drilled, but I have never heard of the company or found any reviews to feel I can trust them. With Renthal I feel confident they will be a good product.

 

[someone]

I have already ordered the Renthal bars! They should arrive tomorrow, but I was already aware of the problem of them being incompatible with most bar ends. I have read they are hefty enough not to need added weights, so just ordered the plastic bungs as they were only a couple of pounds (the currency!). If it is a problem though I can just buy the Renthal bar ends later.

Maybe wrongly, but I just assumed that the Honda ends and inner weights would not work anyway with OEM bars because they need to be clipped in?

I do not think you can buy BikeMaster stuff in the U.K., I went with their bar risers, but ordered from the U.S. as it still worked out good value with shipping and tax. The size and weight of bars though will probably make them too expensive to import.

But the main reason for being tempted by the Renthal ones was the strength. When the bike was serviced they noted there was a bend in the bars, though not a problem, and at that point they had never been dropped. I reckon it was the time some local youths tried to steal the bike. As the mirror stem was rotated out of position around the bar, and one of the ends loose, I think they had tried to pull on the bars to break the steering lock.

As I already had to replace the bars once, a drop shortly after getting the bike caused the throttle not to spring back, I am thinking strength is important. My old 125 ended up on the floor too often but, and admittedly it was a lighter bike, its Yamaha bars were unscathed. Though not so light that the bars did not break my finger when they landed on it.

 

[someone]

Some - Renthal bars are probably much stronger than OEM or BikeMaster bars. Way to go. Please keep us posted on the installation and how you like riding with them. Rick

Finally got a mechanic to sort out swapping the bars last week. I had got used to the bent ones that I no longer noticed the odd position, though somehow it still made me less confident on corners.

Went out this weekend and I did not notice any difference from them. Which was the idea, so that is a positive.

The real test is how well they hold up when the bike is dropped, and that was something I dod not feel like testing. Though there was a moment when I stopped at a junction, went to put my foot down, and the road was sunken slightly so it was not there when I expected it to be.

What I did notice, though, were the peripheral differences. I had noticed that the grip puppies were reducing some of the heat from the heated grips, so I decided not to put them back on. And the reduced diameter was actually quite nice. But I had totally forgotten my hand would get numb holding the throttle, it seemed the puppies had fixed that. Also the smooth hard rubber of the nasty Honda grips meant the throttle would slip slightly, so I had to get readjusting my grip. No wonder I have to squeeze so tight my hand goes numb.

I am torn what to do now. Putting the puppies back on seems obvious, but winter is coming and the heat difference is noticeable. Also the added diameter just trades one kind of discomfort for another.

And I also could not put my palm rest back on, as it had been stretched by the puppy so it no longer fits. They are cheap, though, so I have ordered a replacement.

I had also bought a Go Cruise style throttle lock, which seemed to be hit and miss but worked enough for a few seconds to allow me to release my right hand to adjust the mirror etc. To use that I had peeled back the end of the puppy so it was just on the bare grip. For some reason without the puppy it just does not get tight enough, even though it was not attached to it. And annoyingly I lost the rubber band it came with, as that would probably have helped.

Because of the reduced inner diameter of the Renthal bars a bar end based throttle lock would likely not be an option now. And I have given up on the NEP one being able to work with this bike.

Which was the final issue, just not having bar ends at all was strange, not being able to hold them when I shifted my hands. For now I have the plastic stoppers to fill the ends, as supposedly the Renthal bar ends have no weight to them to be much use, and the added weight of the bar supposedly makes them less useful anyway. Not sure how true that is, but I did not really feel any extra vibration (from 300 miles on Saturday, and 180 miles on Sunday).

But I have a plan to reuse the nice and heavy Honda bar ends, having seen this video:

Basically, you can use an anchor shield as an equivalent of the usual rubber stopper that most third-party bar ends use, but which are too wide for the Renthal bars.

The video suggests an M6 sized shield, which happens to be the size of the screw for the Honda ends too, i.e. 6mm diameter thread. But those screws are not long enough to use with a shield, so today I have ordered the shields and also some allen head bolts, so will update on how they work.

I still need to replace a bit of plastic, but that can wait until a less expensive time. Having just done a 16k dealer service with new chain and sprockets, then new tyres, and the new bars.

Two more expenses to come though, as the tax is now due for another year. And I want to pay for a proper (ACF-50) proper deep clean to protect it for the winter. Gritting and treating he roads has already begun so it makes a difference.

 

[someone]

I did not install my bar ends, because the 100mm bolts I ordered are too long. A shame as otherwise the anchor shields appeared to be perfect for the job.

Unfortunately I cannot find anywhere selling 85mm button head bolts, at least not unless buying from a trade supplier with a minimum order, as that is the length of the bar end and shield.

So for now I have ordered some socket head bolts, which means they will stick out from the end but will at least let me install the ends.

Otherwise just went for a ride to take advantage of a gap between the rain. It is still reasonably warm here, into the 50s °F, just a shame about the weather.

Which also means horrible road spray, and I lost my visor wiper (the rubber sort that goes over a finger). I even felt it bounce off my knee without realizing what it was. I assumed it was just a stone bouncing up as it was the only thing I did not thing to check I may have dropped.

The rain actually held off for longer than forecast, so I ended up returning earlier than necessary. Enough time to think maybe the sun would last that I sprayed down the bike to remove the salt and grime, only minutes before the rain did finally arrive.

 

[someone]

Rode it. Which is a bit of an event now it is winter as the weather is not so great for leisure riding. Last year I literally only rode once in each of December, January, and February.

But it is still reasonably warm in the U.K., in the high 40s °F. Rain was due this afternoon, so just a little 150-ish mile trip to the coast and back before it arrived. Totally messed that up though as the rain arrived whilst on the motorway home. But after bad weather last weekend it was just good to be on it whilst I had the chance.

Especially as I almost had to cancel as the bike would not start this morning. It was okay yesterday when I started it up after lubing the chain. It felt like it would go though, and after several minutes of holding the start for ten seconds it finally started.

The other problem with winter other than cold and wet and ice is the dark. Today's sun times for London are 7:52am to 3:52pm so one projects I want to do this winter is adding aux lights. I have decided where to mount them, on the bolt which holds the front fender to the forks, and where foreign models have a reflector mounted.

Denali have a dedicated L-bracket tat looks good, just need to check the width of the bolt to see if it will fit. Otherwise need to decide which lights to get, which will be the difficult part.

My other winter project will be to install the remote control lock for my Top Box. Not something I particularly want, but it was on special offer when I had to replace the lock so I might was well use it. But more importantly, it will provide a constant power feed to the box. So that made me think I could ad a light inside the box using an LED strip light to make it more usable in the dark.

But before that, at least one more day this year will be for riding rather thank tinkering. After some early rain tomorrow it should be a sunny day.

The trip I have planned should get me up to roughly 14,950 miles this year. Just have to hope the weather will hold out a bit longer so I can reach the full 15k.

 

[someone]

The trip I have planned should get me up to roughly 14,950 miles this year. Just have to hope the weather will hold out a bit longer so I can reach the full 15k.

And more! Going by GPS tracking it ended up as 16,278 miles and 26 yards.

I forgot to check the odometer at the end of the year, but reckon it had to show just under 17k given where I first stopped for petrol this year (at 17,102.6 miles but around 110 miles from home).

I deciding to use the bike to visit my parents for Christmas instead of the train. It meant a 175 mile journey there in heavy rain, though. The bike was fine, but there reached a point my glasses kept steaming up and then water started sticking to the outside of the visor. Presumably due to road grime. They need to put roofs on lay-bys as stopping to dry things off only makes them worse.

Also last year I fuelled up 79 times (with 220.14 British gallons), but only once visited a petrol station twice. After I noticed early in the year that that was the case I tried to see if I could continue the whole year without repeating. So now I am seeing how much longer I can make this last, which is only slightly more difficult than it should be as I mainly plan my stops at supermarkets.

This is it on a map, they are nicely spread out.

 

[someone]

It was a three day weekend in the U.K. so stupidly I took advantage of it by going out for a bike ride each day. Stupid because of this…

I do not know how I did it, let alone those of you in live in such climates where that is normal!

That was earlier on Sunday, when there was also an important cricket match taking place. I had been listening to it on the radio while riding. But as it got closer to a potentially historic finish I knew had to pull into a lay-by so I could properly listen, and watch on my phone, but unfortunately none along the road were in shade.

The ending was amazing and it was definitely the decision to sit in the sun rather than ride, both to experience the game and for safety. England beat Australia by pulling off a near-impossible comeback of a magnitude that had not happened since the eighties. The 1880s.

But I am not sure which felt best: the incredible match and result, or suddenly being hit by air flowing into my vented clothing when I set off again on the bike.

Mid 70s forecast for the rest of the week (mid 20s °C), then low 70s (low 20s °C) next week. Still way too hot.

In total I covered over 1,140 miles, so today I did nothing with my bike as we both recover.

 

[someone]

Saturday: I turned the ignition key! Amazing feeling, and so smooth.

Had to pump up the tyres a bit, the weather is cooler now but almost being dragged around with a dragged around with the steering locked probably did not help. Then I loaded it up with luggage and rode it home.

Sunday: Went to West Bay, which is where the TV show Broadchurch was filmed, but is also a popular biker spot. When they redeveloped the harbour square, which was used for motorcycle parking, they came up with a circular design with seating in the centre to people could look at the bikes! There are too many places which offer little to no bike parking, leaving you to have to use car spaces and pay. Instead they turn it into a feature and the local economy benefits. Though their location is helped by a great road in along the top of the cliffs.

Glad to have had my bike back in time to take advantage of the weather, as it felt like the last day of summer. Setting out early I was regretting wearing my vented jacket, even with an extra layer underneath it felt cold and time to switch to the winter one. But as the day went on it was in the high 70s °F and there were hardly any clouds in the sky, correct wardrobe for perfect riding weather. And with the match finishing early, it became the last day of the last test of the last international cricket in England and Wales this year, which is technically how I define seasons anyway.

Today is cloudy and damp, though it is supposed to get sunny again as the week goes on, so hopefully there might be another last day of summer next weekend.

This week for the bike it needs a good clean, I think the chain may need adjusting, then to contact the dealer about the seal they replaced leaking and to see if they can explain why their lock failed.

 

[someone]

Glad you are well, though, Slevin.

I came off last year on gravel on a turn, luckily at much slower speeds. I was going into a lay-by and the edges were covered in mud and gravel, so I went for the middle of the lane not noticing loose gravel from when the road was resurfaced. It bent my handlebar too, though otherwise just the edge of the front fairing was cracked, so it held together. Given the cost to replace have just left it as it is as it is holding together okay. Though every now-and-then I check eBay.

Having already replaced the stock bars once I replaced them with Renthal ones as they are much stronger. Apart from having to take them to a mechanic to get holes drilled for the controls (not really a difficult job to do yourself, but I just felt I would rather have someone else do it) the only issue is you cannot fit normal bar ends. The thicker metal obviously makes the inner diameter smaller. So I bought some shield anchor bolts and used them to be able to fit the OEM bar ends.

Today I am going to get a new front tyre as that is worn too much, and hope they say the rear is okay. The wear is fine, but it may have squared off too much. But I cannot take any risks as while my dad is in hospital I am riding a lot through countryside. On roads covered in mud, because it is harvest season, in a lot of rain, because it is autumn, and where the road surfaces are a lot like the one Slevin encountered, as it is a low lying area where the wet ground causes roads sink causing those cracks with big height differences.

 

[someone]

Replaced the broken alarm with a new one.
Installed some LED spotlights.

Have been meaning to get some LED lights ever since getting the bike, but where to mount them was a problem with the way the forks sit in the cowl. And I never really needed to travel on unlit roads at night so it was easy to never get around to it.

But now with my dad ill I am travelling to visit him twice a week, and staying at his house while there. That is a 125 mile trip from London to the hospital, then 30 miles more to his house. So far I have been able to leave early enough to avoid the dark, but sunset is already 6:22pm there today and getting a quarter hour earlier every week. Soon it will become unavoidable.

Then I saw some on Amazon that were only £12 and mount through the mirror bolts. I was not expecting much, but they were cheap and simple enough I could at least try them.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07RL51358/

I also bought a switch, using the option connector for the switch to trigger the relay then put the lights direct from the battery. If the lights are no good, I have a setup now in place where I only need to replace them with better ones.

I have not had the chance to test them yet, I rode home from the hospital but it only got properly dark once I reached London. But the difference having them switched on when parked in a small yard was quite significant. The issue will be who far versus how wide they scatter the light, and getting the aim right, especially with them so high on the bike. It is clear they will make a difference, the question is just whether enough of one.

As I was running out of time I just had to "mush" everything under the seat to get it to fit back on. There really is not much space under there for the amount of wiring, relay, and inline fuses I now have. I am going to need to properly work something out to route it tidily.

Coming off the battery I now have the lights (via the relay), the motion alarm, a 12V connector under the pillion seat (originally intended to be so can plug in a solar trickle charger), and my top box. I bought the remote lock for the box, more so I could use it to provide a 12V power supply in the box, though the remote is really nice to have. When it works. Which is not often enough.

And coming off the option connector I have my TomTom mount, a USB port at the front of the bike, and now the light switch for the relay.