November 2009 - Posts

• Honda VTR1000F Firestorm 48K service

  With 50,000k's on the clock this Honda VTR1000F was in desperate need of a service. There were lots of items on this bike that were in a state of neglected or simply worn out. The oil and filter were due a change, the brake fluid was black and well and truly in need of replacement, the clutch fluid was the same, the air filter was filthy, the rear brake shoes were down to the metal, the tyres were bald and somehow the bush in the clutch lever had managed to fall out? After a chat with the owner he decided that the only option was to do everything and bring this bike back to its former condition again. Everything was done oil, filter, air filter, brake fluid, clutch fluid, coolant, spark plugs, valve clearances, carbs balanced, brake pads and tyres. If anything was in need of attention this bike got it. One of the biggest dramas was getting the pin out of the rear caliper. Who ever put the last pair of rear brake pads in hadn't lubed the pins that the brake caliper moves on and the result was an hours worth of my time squirting WD40 onto the caliper bracket and moving the pin backwards and forward until it decided it was going to come out. To finish the service off a set of Michelin Road 2 tyres were fitted. It was a massive amount of work that we did to this bike but it was definitely worth while. I'm sure the owner will notice a masive change in how this bike goes and stops as he rides away from the shop.    Posted Nov 30 2009, 07:18 AM by E2W with no comments Filed under: Honda

• Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade 1st service

  The Honda CBR600RR has been dethroned as my favorite bike of all time. And replacing it is the Honda CBR1000RR. I never really liked the previous model of CBR1000RR. With me not being the tallest person in the world I always felt over stretched and as if I was lying on top of the bike. With the latest version of the Fireblade the seating position is a lot more compact which actually made me feel more like I was riding a 600 rather than a 1000cc bike. But open the throttle and you definitely get reminded that this is no 600cc bike. This thing was a rocket. The only thing that spoils this bike is the ADR compliant rear mud guard. It really does look crap and like it was an after thought once the bike had left the factory. But not to worry, as part of the first service on this bike a Valtermoto fender eliminator was being fitted. There a little bit fiddly to fit but once on they make the rear end of the bike look sweet. A point of interest with regards to the service on the Honda is the oil that is recommended. Looking at the workshop manual Honda say the new Fireblade runs a 10/30 oil and not the more common 10/40 or 20/50 that most bikes shops stock. To play it safe I shipped in some Genuine Honda HP4 10/30 oil instead of using the Motul 10/40 that I run in the shop. The after service road test was fantastic and I instantly liked this bike from the first moment I sat on it. I see the tax department is still running the 50% small business investment allowance for small businesses who want to invest in a new vehicle. 50% back of $18,000 at the end of the tax year............perhaps it's time I bought myself a new bike?????   Posted Nov 19 2009, 05:32 PM by E2W with no comments Filed under: Honda

• The worst worn motorcycle tyre I've ever seen!

  This has to be the worst worn motorcycle tyre that I've ever seen. When the owner of this Honda ST1100 turned up at the shop I couldn't believe my eyes as to the condition of his tyres. The front  tyre had become so worn out that the steel belting of the carcass had started to fray and actually cut the palm of my hand open as I removed the wheel from the bike due to the sharp fragments that were now sticking out of the tyre. The tread was gone and the profile of the tyre was so distorted even pushing the bike around the shop was a handfull.  I'm surprised this tyre stayed air tight while in such a bad state. The rider doesn't know how lucky he is to have not crashed riding with tyres in such a poor condition. Insane stuff!   Posted Nov 18 2009, 10:22 PM by E2W with no comments

• Vacuumate throttle body balancer

  As anyone who comes to Everything 2 Wheels for their motorcycle servicing knows were always looking for ways to improve the quality of the service you receive. And to keep the quality of the workmanship second to none I like to invest in the best tools and equipment that money can buy. One of the latest additions to my tool box is a Vacuumate carburetor and throttle body balancer. Vacuumate really are the best of the best when it comes to workshop equipment and this digital balancer ensures that your throttle bodies will be tuned with the precision that only an electronic balancer can give. At just under a $1000 for the unit there not cheap but I was more than willing to pay for such a quality item because the end result is a better quality of service to our customer's motorcycles.      Posted Nov 16 2009, 06:00 PM by E2W with no comments

• Suzuki C46 FI failure code

  The dreaded Suzuki C46 FI failure code. It's strange, I hadn't seen a Suzuki with this FI failure code in a long time and then I see two in one week. The first one was on a GSXR750 and the second was on a GSXR600. There are two options to fix this problem. The first option is to replace the exhaust valve control unit which is pretty good a stopping working (and usually just as the bike has gone out of its warranty period) or the second option is to replace the exhaust system with an aftermarket item which does away with the need for the control unit. Either way it's not a cheap fix. The control unit costs $800+ or a replacement exhaust system can cost anything up to around $2000. The owner of the 750 wanted to keep the bike standard and went for the option of replacing the control unit. The owner of the 600 upon hearing the cost of fixing the issue decided he could live with a red flashing warning light on his dash.        Posted Nov 16 2009, 01:56 PM by E2W with no comments Filed under: Suzuki

• Suzuki SV650 ABS

  The Suzuki SV650 is now available fitted with ABS. And the one here today was in for its first 1000k service. While this bike was on the bench with its oil draining out of the engine I was walking around it just checking over a few things. As part of this check I had a squeeze of the brake levers and I have to say they felt really spongy compared to a non-ABS bike. I think it's just down to the fact that the brakes have a huge ABS brake modulator full of valves that operate them that give the brakes such a soggy feeling. On saying this once on the road the brakes felt ok and did a pretty good job of pulling the bike up. I'm still sitting on the fence about bikes with ABS and I'm not too sure if I'd be paying the extra $1000+ that it costs for the up spec ABS models of bike in the market place. But again it's a device that would only have to work once to have paid for itself. Posted Nov 16 2009, 01:35 PM by E2W with no comments Filed under: Suzuki

• Honda VFR800 24k service

  It's been a while since we've had a VFR800 come through the shop. The one that was here this week was a 2000 model in need of a 24,000k service. As I started pulling this one apart I got a memory jog of what a pain in the *** it is to get the fuel tanks off Honda's that came out around this period. And the fuel tank had to come off in order to check the valve clearances. It could have been so easy for Honda to have fitted quick release fuel line clips but instead there was this whole procedure where you had to drain the fuel take before undoing the fuel line banjo bolt. In most cases you still managed to get yourself, the bike, the workbench and the floor covered in petrol when you popped off the return line no matter how best you tried not too. There was never an easy or clean way to take the tank off one of these. The rest of the service was pretty straight forward, valve clearances check, throttle bodies balanced, oil and filter changed plus the usual lubing of all the cables and levers. The service gave this bike the ‘new bike' feeling again. Posted Nov 16 2009, 12:58 PM by E2W with no comments Filed under: Honda