October 2009 - Posts

• Pitpro 140 Big Foot Pit bike

  As most of my customers know I'm not a fan of some of the junk motorcycles and scooters that are getting churned out of China at the moment. The lack of build quality is appalling on some brands. But after a recent ride on a Pitpro I can definitely say that Pitpro is not one of these cheap quality Chinese brands. I recently bought a Pitpro 140 Big Foot to go riding with my 6 year old of a weekend. Now she's not the fastest rider in the world so I didn't need some kind of rocket, latest high tech, all singing all dancing dirt bike to keep up with her and the Pitpro seemed to fit the bill. The price was right and I thought the little 140 engine would be under powered enough to safely plod along behind her Yamaha Peewee. And here was the first under estimation of the Pitpro. Kick starting this bike in the shop for the very first time gave me the shock of my life. I was expecting a sound along the lines of a Honda CT110. WRONG! This thing absolutely barked from it's Pro Circuit looking muffler and the note it gave made it sound like it had a fare bit of grunt. The next day and we were at the track. I normaly start my daughter off and let her do a few laps just to let her get her bearings. She only got half way around the track before she gave me the "come on dad" wave to let me know she was ok. I jumped on the Pitpro and I was away after her. HOLY CRAP! For a 140cc engine this thing really got up and went. First gear wheelies were easy. Second gear wheelies were easy with a bit of clutch and third and fourth gear wheelies just require you to sit towards the back of the seat and tug on the bars with a dab of the clutch. I couldn't believe how fast this thing went. The brakes and the handling were pretty good too and as a value for money package the Pitpro was worth every cent. This bike was one of the most fun bikes I've ridden in a long time. Checkout the website for more info: www.pitpro.com.au   Posted Oct 14 2009, 02:35 AM by E2W with no comments

• Honda CBF250 valve clearances

  I'm not too sure what it is about the Honda CBF250 but they seem to loose their valve clearances really quickly between services. The past few that have come through the shop have all required shims to be replaced to get the valve clearances back within spec. And on the CBF250 they need checking every 12,000k's. The Honda CBF250 that was here today was the worst example that I've seen. In all fairness this bike had not been maintained properly right through it's 21,000 kilometer life and this has played a major factor as to why this bike had issues. The owner was complaining of the bike being hard to start and after a quick chat about the bikes lack of proper maintenance I already had an idea what was wrong. Once the bike was here I went to work on it and it wasn't long before the problem was identified. No valve clearance at all on the exhaust valves. After removing the cams and re-shimming the valves it was put back together. It actually took two attempts to get the valve clearances back into spec and a jump of 10 shim sizes to get the gap correct. A jump of 10 shim sizes is unheard of and its understandable why this one wouldn't start due to the cam holding the exhaust valves open. If you're the owner of a CBF250 and it's due a service I recommend you remind your mechanic that the valves may be in need of some attention. This reminder may be the difference between a bike that goes and a bike that doesn't.              Posted Oct 14 2009, 01:33 AM by E2W with no comments Filed under: Honda

• October's bike of the month - Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade

  I've been thinking of starting a "bike of the month" section featuring some of the exceptional examples of customer's bikes that come through the shop. And to kick it off Octobers bike of the month is this 2006 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade. This is one of the cleanest Fireblade's I've ever seen. For a bike that's over 3 years old it's incredible that there isn't a spec of dirt on it. This Fireblade has some really nice touches to. Everything from a carbon fiber front and rear guards, billet clutch and brake levers, aftermarket pipe and some other cool parts that make this one stand out example.  Posted Oct 14 2009, 12:48 AM by E2W with no comments Filed under: Honda

• Michelin Pilot Power promotion is in full flight

  The Michelin Pilot Power promotion where you could end up winning the bike of your dreams is in full flight. All you have to do is come in to Everything Two Wheels, buy a matching pair of Michelin Pilot Powers and you automatically go into the draw to win the bike of your dreams. Last months sales of Michelin Pilot Powers have been phenomenal and I'm nearly out of stock of the batch I bought for the promo. Have no fears though a new shipment is on its way. Prices are as follows: 120/70/17 Front $220 180/55/17 Rear $307 190/50/17 Rear $311     Posted Oct 01 2009, 04:05 PM by E2W with no comments Filed under: Michelin Tyres

• The 2009 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade is boring!

  My Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade is boring!!! When an owner of a Fireblade rang me and made this statement I thought to myself "this guys a nutter!" How could anyone say that the CBR1000RR is a boring bike? Great power, great handling, nice to ride, what more could you want from a bike. "It's too black". Obviously he was talking about the color scheme when he said it was boring and nothing to do with the way the bike performed. After a bit of a chat with the owner we'd worked out that a change in color of the wheels could be just enough to brake up the blackness of the paint scheme. So I whipped out the wheels and off they went to the painters. The owner wanted a nice shade of gold similar to the color on some models of Ducati. A week later the wheels were back and bolted back in. And the results, well have a look and see what you think.    Posted Oct 01 2009, 03:33 PM by E2W with no comments Filed under: Honda