Life on a Honda 2008 CBF1000A purhcased on Facebook Marketplace. A Flog's Blog

[facthunter]

The Book is widely acclaimed regardless.  IF you are NOT depressed you must be Living in a Make believe world . That Treatment is usually for acute anxiety.  Nev

[rgmwa]

He had a mental and physical breakdown which he describes in the book. 

[facthunter]

I read Mine MANY years ago I think it's worth reading more than once. It's 39 degrees here at the Moment. Must be over 40 in Melbourne.  Nev

[pmccarthy]

The most thought-provoking bit was when his mate refused to let him use a piece of a coke can to shim his brake lever (as I recall). Because his mate rode a BMW and expected everything on it to be perfect.

[Jerry_Atrick]

Dang it.. although put on my Christmas wish list, it didn't come. I think I can read it on Kindle Unlimited.

 

Anyway, I haven't ridden the bike much since the first major commute.. It seems as I have got older, the faff about putting on the kit to go riding has become more of an impediment compared to the convenience of jumping into a car than it used to be. I am also guessing living an an uncongested part of the world and down narrow country lanes also helps the car in the mode of transport selection. 

 

But, I have had a couple of rides since.. all local and mainly for shopping. The correct plate for the topbox finaly arrived and has been installed. The topbox fits neatly and has been put to good use for Christmas shopping, including picking up the turkey (I severly dislike turkey as an eating meat). I noticed the brake light wasn't being activated when operating only the front brake. I bought a £5 replacement part from eBay, but needn't have bothered. One of the wires came off from the original switch and it was clear a bodge job of a rair on that cable had been done. With the storm guards fitted, it was a pain to fix, but I finally managed to properly connect the broken wire, solder it, and seal it, and it is as good as new. 

 

On Sunday, the wx was fantastic - sunny, 8 degrees C, little wind, so I gave it a bit of a ride around town. I was also testing out a camera mount that bolts to the windscreen, but it is too unstable even for image stabilisation. One of the things the deer crash taught me is have a dash cam or similar going. 

 

I have also noticed the mechanic seems to have overfilled the oil. I will take a reading tomorrow in accordance with the process stipulated in the owners handbook, and if so, it will be off to the shop to get them to drain some of the oil. The stator in the CBF1000A only likes it when the oil quantity in within the right range. 

[nomadpete]

2 hours ago, Jerry_Atrick said:

I have got older, the faff about putting on the kit to go riding has become more of an impediment

We all get softer (and wiser) as we collect more birthdays.

Sounds like nice riding weather for this time of year.

We had snow in Tassie on xmas day.

[facthunter]

Wasn't that bad weather  to keep out a Lot of refugee Boat People from NSW? Nev

[Litespeed]

We don't get refugees in Port Stephens, we call em terrorists.

 

Commonly seen sinking boats on the ramp or riding jet skis.

 

If they don't return they are called bait.

[facthunter]

 I would have called them" Burley". Stuff to attract the fish. The stuff they inhabit is "flotsam and Jetsom".  Nev

[Jerry_Atrick]

OK.. back to the Bike... The model/series (both Mk I and Mk II version) are know as "Biffers" over here. I understand this to be slang for unattractive woman. Well, I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder, because most people remark how good they look.. 

 

Anyway, with the Mini immobilised, the Volvo crapped its pants yesterday - only slightly. It sounds as if the rear brakes are in dire need of replacement - with the grooved discs all but confirming it (booked tomorrow). But, I know there is some drivetrain issues at the rear and hoping it isn't the driveshaft about to fall off. So, I decided yesterday to look harder for the second car (read the EV thread). 

 

As the weather was nice, I got geared up, even with this persistent lurgy and headed about 30 miles to a car yard that had a petrol car that fit our bill advertised. It was one of a three-showroom company. Guess what.. they haven't got it yet - they are expecting it within 10 days. However, he did point out to me another example - later model with less miles, but better appointed for only £500 more - which is £500 more than my budget. These dealers rarely move on price because they make their money on finance, of which I am not availing to myself.

 

Google maps told me it was about an hour a way my A roads or I could go back about 15 minutes to the nearest motorway junction, and it will still be an hour away. Unf, I don't have a phone mount on the bike, so I memorised the way as much as possible, and headed off. About 2.5 hours later, I finally found it. Bristol is a big city and has some wonderful spots. But, it is an old city and that patchwork of road infrastructure is nothing short of a labryinth which is impossible to navigate without real time sat nav capability. Every few blocks, I had to find a legal place to stop, pull out the phone, and inevitabley retrace some of my steps. 

 

Finally, I found the dealer, but they had a queue a mile long so I visually inspected the car - it looks good... may just buy it. 

 

Got on the bike and rode back using as much oif the M5 motorway as possible. But I struggled to feel a smidge of heat on the heated grips on the hands, and they were quite cold all the way. That didn't impress me much, to say the least. The I noticed at below 2,500rpm, the heated grips status light would flash green. What the hell did that mean? Would have to wait to get home and look it up. I had worked out though, that it was cutting off the heat and learned that if it thinks the bike doesn't have the engine on by reading the voltage coming out of the regulator/rectifier. This was backed up with the bike virutally shutting down when I stopped to pick up some groceries. While turning the key lit everything up (it was dark now), pressing the start button was met with a resounding silence. 

 

F!. So, did the trick that older European cars needed, switched the ignition right off and right on again, prayed a bit, and it fired up. I rode it the rest of the way home and was thinking oh my, how big will that bill be?

 

From my research so far, it could be the stator, the reg/rectifier, just loose and corroded connections or a combination of all three. The stators are a known issue with that model (2006 - 2010) and an upgraded electroset stator will set me back about £140. However, the stator flywheel was modified to allow more oil to flow through, and they are around £500. Sheep!

 

The weather is pants this week, at a forecast of -3 degrees c when I would normally take off for work. The weather has been dry until today, so there is a possibility of black ice - which means, if I can manage to score a car, I will be driving in, otherwise an expensive train ride in this week unless I delay my London commute by a day in which the weather is forecast to get materially warmer. 

 

The plan is to empty our my dilapiidated garage this week, which I have to do to make space for the son's bike anyway. Then, after picking up his bike, I will first inspect the connections and run voltage and ohms tests (I forget what they call ohms tests these days) to try and isolate the issue. I am hoping it is just the connectors, but if not, it will probably mean a new electoset stator (about £150), but apparently second hand reg/rectifiers off Yamahas from about 2009 are the bees knees.. though will find the actual part it is and get new. The battery is a Yuasa installed new about a year ago, so if it is gone, it is likely because of something else causing it. 

 

Glad I bought a new multi-meter about 6 months ago. 

 

[Jerry_Atrick]

Nothign to be sad about, @nomadpete - these bikes are known for stator issues and I am looking forwad to getting my hands dirty again...

 

 

[nomadpete]

Right now, you probably don't really relish getting your hands dirty. There are enough other things going on, to keep you amused.

 

Besides, riding beats disassembling, any day.