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.

[facthunter]

You don't really get your hands dirty working on a Motorbike but you DO need a Bike stand and often "Special Tools" and to know what you are doing.  Working on neglected DIESELS gets your Hands dirty. Nev

[Jerry_Atrick]

Well, today was a bit of a ship day. I took a  couple of hours off work to ride with my son for his first ride on his bike. After a short while, he pulled in for something so I came along side him to see what was the matter. I guess I was a little cavalier because I leant towards him, the bike leant the other way I tried to stop it by putting my right leg down, but my fott slipped on the wet and some stones on the road and the bike edged further down. That 250kgs and my leg were in a war, and eventually the 250kgs won. I finally succumbed and let it down gently enough - technically a drop, but no damage - not even the storm guards or the top box was damaged. 

 

But, I now have a torn right hamstring.  They didn't scan it, but after some prodding, they think it wil take two weeks before I can get physio, and 4 weeks before it will heal. Thankfully the builder was not too far away and rode mine home, got his van and gave me a lift. 

 

All I can say is it was self inflicted by a plonker. 

 

Rang the GP, told me to go to A&E/Casualty. Got ther, and bloody hell, it was busy. The little TV screen was saying 1/2 hour to see a triage nurse (which is a total waste of time), an hour to see another nurse, and then 6 hours to see a clinician. While I was waiting there was a lady about 75 - 80 years old, and doubled over in pain. Another member of the public was talking to her and when he was called away, I went over to see if she was OK and if she wanted me to fetch someone. She was in obvious pain. She said she was on morphine but it wasn't doing too much good. I got her a cup of coffee (she had cash and no card, and I wasn't going to worry about £2) and we got talking. 

 

She asked what was wrong and how I did it. I explained that it was quite embareesing and told her how I fell off a stationary bike. She laughed a bit and told me off for making her laugh as it hurt, and said "yes, that is embaressing.. I used to be a biker. What bike do you have?" We had a great conversation and recalled some of the stuff she did and accidents she had. It made the time go quicker. It was already 7pm and she had been there since midday, but she did explain she had been seen a few times, had tests, and was waiting for results. 

 

The physio called me in, got me to drop my dacks and lay on the bed as she prodded the hammie. A prod here and there was no prblem, then excruciating pain, and there more excruciating pain. "OK, I can see what you have done." She did some lateral and vertical movements, and decided without a scan that it hadn't detached from the bone, arranged for a painkiller injection and told me to come back in 2 weeks - to the physio outpatients - not A&E, thankfully.

 

Before I took off I said goodbyes to the lady and wished her the best. She had told be she bought a used Transit van and had converted it herself to a camper - with only the solar and electrics being done by a pro. Kudos to her, I thought. 

 

[facthunter]

Has the Back of your Leg Gone Black? . Be aware of the Possibility of  clots forming. Nev

[nomadpete]

Mods

 

Please move Jerry's above post to the appropriate thread.... the

 

"WTF! Maybe I'm getting old!"

 

Thread.

 

 

 

Edited 52 minutes ago by nomadpete