April 2009 - Posts

• Honda CBR600RR 1st service

  If I was asked what bike I would like if I could only have one bike in the garage, without hesitation it would be the Honda CBR600RR. These have to be one of the best bikes Honda have ever produced. There really isn't anything I can fault on the CBR. Handling, perfect. Engine, perfect. And the way the bike rides being so user friendly it scores 10 out of 10. It's at home having a slow plod down to the shops as it is being used full throttle on a track day. I couldn't do the first service quickly enough on this one today. I really look forward to the road test after working on these. If you're in the market for a mid range sports bike I recommend you get down to your local Honda dealer for a test ride. Be sure to take your cheque book with you!    Posted Apr 30 2009, 06:37 PM by E2W with no comments Filed under: Honda

• Piaggio MP3 - They dont fall over!

  OK, it's taken me a few services of the Piaggio MP3 before I've finally come to terms with the fact that they don't fall over at will. This is the third one I've had in the shop and today I just decided not to worry about the scooter falling over and just get on and do the service. We did the usual first service which included replacing the engine oil, the oil filter and replacing the final drive oil plus a general check over of the scooters nuts and bolts. The Piaggio MP3 really does pull a crowd. Between this and the Honda CBR600RR with the green and white Hansspree paint job that were sitting in the window for the past few days, it was interesting to see even mums with kids in the pram stop and have a look. It's amazing what sticking a third wheel on a scooter can do. Posted Apr 30 2009, 05:19 PM by E2W with no comments Filed under: Vespa & Piaggio

• Continental TKC80 - How long do they last?

  The biggest question I get asked about Continental TKC80 is "how long do they last". Well I can now tell you. The owner of this Suzuki DL650 managed to get over 9000k's out of this set before they got down to around 1.5mm and needed to be replaced (click on the pictures for a bigger view). Of that 9000k's the owner had done a bit of everything from highway commuting during the week to full off road adventures out in the bush. After chatting to the rider he was very happy with the way they performed both on road and off and would have another set fitted in time for next summer's adventure riding season. But in the meantime seeing he'd only be using the bike for freeway commuting during winter he opted to replace them with Bridgestone Trailwings. I'll keep you posted how the Trailwing go too.   Posted Apr 28 2009, 01:29 PM by E2W with no comments Filed under: Continental tyres.

• Bug - Kymco - Orion 10k service

  Even with the onset of winter in Melbourne at the moment the flow of bikes and scooters coming through the door isn't showing signs of slowing down. This Bug (Kymco) Orion was in for its 10k service. These really are a nice well built scooter. The only thing that lets them down is the spare parts supply from Kymco and Im not talking odd ball parts either but general service items. The past few Bugs I've serviced I've had to do the service then get the owner back in for a second time to replace parts that I couldn't get hold of at the time and today was no exception. No air filters in stock and a 3 to 4 week wait before any will be in the country from Kymco Australia. It's a shame because it lets down what is a nice brand of scooter. Posted Apr 28 2009, 01:01 PM by E2W with no comments Filed under: Bug

• Triumph Speed Triple slightly worn tyre

  "Talk about getting your monies worth" The rider of this Triumph Speed Triple rang me and said he had a flat tyre and could I come collect the bike from his house. It wasn't long after I was standing outside his garage and as he opened up the door I couldn't believe what I saw. The tyre was so badly worn that the steel belting of the tyre was starting to show through. Not only was the belting starting to show but the tyre had also now become porous and that's why it went flat. After a bit of a struggle to get it in the van we were back at the shop and I went to work fitting the new Michelin Pilot Power in a 180/55/17 to the rear wheel. This has to be the worse worn tyre I ever seen on a motorcycle.   Posted Apr 22 2009, 04:48 PM by E2W with no comments Filed under: Michelin Tyres

• Triumph Tiger and the Michelin Road 2

  With the delivery of my stock of TGB scooter spares I've been working 7 days a week to get through the back log of work and maintenance that the Domino's Pizza scooters so dearly needed. After spending most of Sunday in the shop I was having a quick walk around with the broom before calling it quits for the day. I looked out the shop window and saw a guy with a Triumph Motorcycles T-shirt on crossing the road and heading towards the shop. I opened the door of the shop and the conversation went like this: "Are you open?" "Depends what you want" "I'd like to buy that $316 Michelin Road 2 tyre sitting in your window" "Yes, were open" It turns out the rider was over here from Tasmania for the weekend and was just about to head home for the boat when he saw me standing in the shop. His bike was parked at his mate's house just around the corner from the shop. The next part of the conversation went like this: "It's 5.30, and the ferry leaves at 7.30. Does that give you enough time?" "You'll be out of here and heading for the ferry by 6" I put the bike up on the bench I did one of the fastest tyre fittings I've done in a long time. Where else in Melbourne can you get a tyre fitted while you wait at 5.30 on a Sunday? Posted Apr 20 2009, 10:07 PM by E2W with no comments Filed under: Michelin Tyres

• TGB Scooter spare parts

  The past few of months have been a real headache for me with regards to the fleet of TGB scooters I maintain for Domino's Pizza here in Melbourne. The collapse of Stoney Creek Power Sports came at a time when my stocks of TGB spares were already low and then to suddenly have the supply totally cut off all together was a nightmare to say the least. But to every cloud there's a silver lining. And that silver lining is called Mojo Scooters who are the new distributors of TGB scooters for Australia. I'd heard on the grape vine that Mojo Scooters were looking to take over the TGB brand and after a quick Google search I found out just who Mojo Scooters were and their phone number. Michael the owner of Mojo Scooters spoke to me and explained that the taking over of the TGB brand was 99% there but still not a done deal. I explained the situation I was in with the Domino's scooters and he promised that he'd do all he could to help once he'd sealed the deal with TGB Taiwan. And true to his word he did. A few weeks after we first spoke the guys from Mojo Scooters were back on the phone and told me that they understood the position I was in and that they were prepared to air freight what ever spares I wanted direct from Taiwan. I fired off an email that day with a massive list of all the parts I needed to get the Domino's guys back up to speed again. Two weeks later the parts were here via air freight and ready for collection. The service and support from Michael and the guys at Mojo Scooters has been fantastic to say the least and I'm glad that a distributor that understands there's more to selling scooters than just selling a scooter has taken over the brand and going to back TGB products up with excellent customers service and spare parts back up. If you were thinking about buying a scooter but had crossed TGB off the list due to the recent troubles with the brand, fear not. TGB Scooters are back and backed by a fantastic new distributor in Mojo Scooters.     Posted Apr 18 2009, 12:56 AM by E2W with no comments Filed under: TGB

• Aprilia Scarabeo air horns

  I need a bigger horn. Well, don't we all? The customer who owns this Aprilia Scarabeo wasn't happy with the mild mouse like sound of the standard horn fitted to his scooter and asked could I fit an air horn kit. "Sure, no problems. Bring it in and I'll fit them up". And this is where the fun started. The owner supplied his own air horns that he'd bought off Ebay and to be honest I wasn't expecting such a big combined air horn and compressor unit. I pulled off the front plastics of the scooter but couldn't find enough spare anywhere to locate the horns. The Aprilia Scarabeo is a well equipped top end of the price range scooter that comes with a heap of modern electronics and gizmos. After taking the front cover away and finding an array of relays, electronic control units plus a pretty sizable brake balancing unit it was obvious that the horns weren't going to fit anywhere around the is area. I started removing more and more bodywork looking for a space big enough to take the horns. It took a good half hour to work out that the only place these horns were going to fit were behind the fuel tank located in the floor of the scooter. Now that the hard part was figured out the easy part could begin. Fitting the wiring, the relay and plumbing it all in to the horns was done with the usual chop cut and solder and about an hour later I was ready to give them a try. I turned the ignition on and gave the horn button a good hard press. Christ they were loud and I've got to say even the dumbest of Volvo drivers wouldn't be able to say "sorry mate, I didn't hear you". If your fed up with drivers cutting you off and you feel the need to let them know you were there I can recommend getting a set of air horns. They really do make a difference.        Posted Apr 17 2009, 11:48 PM by E2W with no comments Filed under: Aprilia

• Sachs City fixed at last!

  I was glad to see the back of this Sachs City. It was one of those jobs that just dragged on way too long. This one was the one that had its regulator/rectifier fail over a month ago. I learnt a good lesson from trying to repair this one and the lesson is that not all of the scooters that look the same have the same parts inside them. People will tell you that the Sachs City is just a copy of the Jianshe or the Vmoto or the Bolwell......the list goes on. But after trying to source a rec/reg for the Sachs I can tell you 100% only the Sachs parts will fit Sachs scooters. On saying that the new distributors of Sachs scooters were very helpful in supplying parts after taking over the brand from the now liquidated Stoney Creek Power Sports. They were well organized and couldn't do enough to help me out with supply of spares. It's nice to know that someone with drive and enthusiasm has taken on the brand and can see the value in good quality after sales service and spare parts back up.    PS. If anyone wants a rec/reg for a Vmoto Montago please ring me and you can have it. Just make sure you don't want it to see if it will fit on a Sachs City. Posted Apr 17 2009, 11:45 PM by E2W with no comments Filed under: Sachs

• Kawasaki Z750

  Every now and again I get on a bike and think ‘wow, this is a really nice bike'. And today was one of those moments. After doing a 6000k service on this Kawasaki Z750 I took it for the usual test ride as I do with all bikes and scooters that I work on. As soon as I pulled away from the shop the smoothness in acceleration was very evident as it whizzed up the speedo. The seating position was very comfortable and the bike felt very compact and easy to handle. The biggest thing I noticed was the lack of ‘snatch' when you were on and off the throttle. Unlike some Honda's and Yamaha's the fuel injection was seamless right from idle and also when closing the throttle to change gear. I think that if I was looking for a bike that was a good all week commuter but could handle a foot peg scratching session of a weekend the Kawasaki Z750 would most definitely be on the list of bikes to have. Another one for my imaginary Lotto winner's garage collection.   Posted Apr 02 2009, 03:55 PM by E2W with no comments Filed under: Kawasaki

• Continental Sport Attack tyres

  I'm shifting lots and lots of Continental tyres of late for everything from a scooter to sports bike and in all sizes. More and more riders are moving away from the more mainstream brands like Michelin, Dunlop and Bridgestone and trying out the Continentals. This pair of Continental Sport Attacks went on a Honda VTR1000F to replace the worn out Michelin Pilot Powers. The rider had been doing some research and decided from the good feedback he'd seen on some of the local motorcycle forums that the Continentals were the way to go. If you want to try out a set give Everything Two Wheels a ring on 03 9077 7312.     Posted Apr 02 2009, 03:32 PM by E2W with no comments Filed under: Continental tyres.

• Yamaha SR250

  This has to be one of the cleanest Yamaha SR250's I've seen in a long time. When the owner rang me to book the bike in for its 30,000k service and with it being nearly ten years old I was expecting a bit of a dog to turn up at the door. As soon as it wheeled in the shop I thought ‘wow, what a clean bike'. Normally bikes in the 250cc bracket tend to get a hard life as they go from new owner to new owner and suffer the consequences of repeated inexperienced riders dropping them or crashing them. But not this one. The bike was totally original and in prefect condition. It really was a pleasure to service this one. Posted Apr 02 2009, 03:26 PM by E2W with no comments Filed under: Yamaha