DRX got a few miles today, with the new tyre and speedo, altho i think the speedo maybe a little ambitious lol so will have to investigate that, but also got it a nice new MOT, so all good for another year 
TopCats Bikes Thread
- Thread starter TopCat1127
- Start date
So did a thing today lol found these bonafide genuwine chinesium Yoshi cans on fleabay for £120 delivered lol, must be worth a punt i thought, i wasn't wrong lol, look the part and sound awesome with a bit of modification to the baffles 
Jobs a good un
sometimes chinesium comes up trumps lol
ps check the smelling on the badge
Jobs a good un
sometimes chinesium comes up trumps lol
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ps check the smelling on the badge
OMG so i have
Jesus seems to approve
Mate the comments i'm getting from the septics is getting worrying on the DR groups
well at least he'll have saved uOMG so i have
Mate the comments i'm getting from the septics is getting worrying on the DR groups
Well he may have saved that one but Kate the Kawasaki has had my attention recently lol bought a pair of Mikuni's off a mate (nice n nearly new ones) so set about making some adaptors to fit the Kwak and also linking the carbs together, with single sided choke operation and a new throttle cable (which still needs finishing) looking good tho
Fabulous piece of fabrication
Well it is what i get paid for lol even used aircraft fasteners
Woohooooooo got the little beastie running!!
Even managed a trip out to a local bike meet lol
Looks pretty neat all put together, still got some jetting to play with, but damn is it a fun little bike to ride 
Even managed a trip out to a local bike meet lol
Looks pretty neat all put together, still got some jetting to play with, but damn is it a fun little bike to ride
She looks good TC. Back as an apprentice a mate had a Kwak 400 and I was on my 250N Superdream. So I recognise the Honda filler cap. We used to do day trips around N Wales with girlfriends on Pillion.
Paint next ?
Paint next ?
Tank is off a CX500c so good spot, still got a few finishing touches, as well as some electrical upgrades, but yes, full strip and repaint is deffo on the cards at some point, altho the head gasket has reminded me that this little thing is 47 years old lol
CX 500 Custom as you well know. That was my suspicion.
I tried a CX once. V soft front forks, that was before I knew anything about bike suspension, I don’t know much now!
Stating the age of your engine just proves that I’m Old.
I tried a CX once. V soft front forks, that was before I knew anything about bike suspension, I don’t know much now!
Stating the age of your engine just proves that I’m Old.
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C/O our colonial friends in the fens
Suspension is like gearboxes lol flippin black art, i do however, know much more about suspension than gearboxes, especially those bloody liquid ones lol the 12.5L yes i did say 12.5L lol tank nearly caught me out thurs night hahahaha, won't be doing that again lol
Oh and the bike is 47yrs, the tank and seat aren't
The Lad turned up today to do some pigeon poo on the race van, so i snapped this while he was here, thats his MV Agusta Tourismo Veloce 800 triple, lovely beastie to ride with quite a bit of new tech on board (which took some getting used to when i took it for a spin the other week lol)
Proper oldskool vs nuskool photo this
Proper oldskool vs nuskool photo this
So those on FB will have seen that i've been having some fun with the dumbasses at Halfords over a bike battery lol.
The battery off Kate has been giving me grief since i bought it last april, basically didn't seem to hold a lot of charge and what was in it was struggling to get out, but after it's last charge it was showing 12.6/12.7v but had very little current, as in the starter solenoid would just multiple click instead of spin the motor.
Off it trotted to Halfords explaining my issue, and that i wanted it replacing under warranty, at which point the young lady said she has to test it, which i expected, but didn't expect them to say it needs changing but not covered by warranty....................... hmmmmm MANAGER!!!! and then proceded to have a conversation with someone who started explaining about electrons etc, at which point i shut him down explaining my job and that he's talking **** lol and he said that i should understand it then..............yup CURRENT is failing not volts lol............ AAAAAAAAAAAAnyway he got told i wasn't dealing with him any more and wanted a replacement battery (keep reading you'll see why lol) at which point i was told i would have to pay, so i said ok, but i will be taking up the FAILED battery saga with not only YUASA UK but his superiors too as i wasn't happy...........
At which point he wandered off instructing the young girlie to test the new one too.....................
It gets better lol, after explaining to said young girlie earlier, that the moisture on my battery was hydrochloric acid and she should probably clean her hands and wear gloves (she used sanitiser gel before putting gloves on - i s*** you not lol) and after realising i was totally immersed in the land of stupids and slapped myself for not realising earlier lol she then proceded to fetch the new battery................. but while she was putting it on the counter i noticed the box was damp and dry patches where it was damp previously............here we go lol she undoes said box (well it sorta fell apart!!) at which point she fetches it out the box to test it................at which point i'm waiting for her to spot the fact that cell#1 next to the vent is almost empty............nope lol so stopping her before she does a volt and CURRENT test on a battery with a dry cell lol explaing that the battery she has before her is now dead defunkt deceased fubard knackered, you get the point lol.................i left lol
Promptly popped in to see my mate Guy who was sponsoring us racing at Motoedit, and he ordered me a GEL battery, which came the next day, he checked and charged it before i took it too, probably cos he knows wtf to do with batteries hahahahaha oh yeah and he tested the old battery and came to the same conclusion i did, volts were good but the plates were contacting under load, so would basically lose a cell, once the load was removed the plates contracted and hey presto volts returned ish, his meter told us it was chucking out 65amps............ from a 150amp battery isn't good!!!
This is something i should have done much sooner lol not only were all my starting issues on kate magically pushed into the cavern of no return lol but also the ignition issues had vanished too, all down to that effin battery!!!!
Bike now starts on the button, runs and idles better, and picks up better.................lesson learnt!!!
This week has also been about sorting out some decent floodlights for DRX, i'm on set 4 now lol thanks to cheapo listings that don't explain that the lamps have to be cycled through various stages every time they are switched on!!!
But these ones don't, theres on and on lol yellow light for fogs, white light for floods, flippin brilliant, even found a double switch to mount on the bars, finally got them all fitted and working today and am well happy
New lights mounted on the crash bars
New switch unit (wanted 2 singles but they sent single and double.......still ongoing lol)
High beam with fog LED's
High beam with Flood LED's, loads better
Now i have 2 working bikes lol
The battery off Kate has been giving me grief since i bought it last april, basically didn't seem to hold a lot of charge and what was in it was struggling to get out, but after it's last charge it was showing 12.6/12.7v but had very little current, as in the starter solenoid would just multiple click instead of spin the motor.
Off it trotted to Halfords explaining my issue, and that i wanted it replacing under warranty, at which point the young lady said she has to test it, which i expected, but didn't expect them to say it needs changing but not covered by warranty....................... hmmmmm MANAGER!!!! and then proceded to have a conversation with someone who started explaining about electrons etc, at which point i shut him down explaining my job and that he's talking **** lol and he said that i should understand it then..............yup CURRENT is failing not volts lol............ AAAAAAAAAAAAnyway he got told i wasn't dealing with him any more and wanted a replacement battery (keep reading you'll see why lol) at which point i was told i would have to pay, so i said ok, but i will be taking up the FAILED battery saga with not only YUASA UK but his superiors too as i wasn't happy...........
At which point he wandered off instructing the young girlie to test the new one too.....................
It gets better lol, after explaining to said young girlie earlier, that the moisture on my battery was hydrochloric acid and she should probably clean her hands and wear gloves (she used sanitiser gel before putting gloves on - i s*** you not lol) and after realising i was totally immersed in the land of stupids and slapped myself for not realising earlier lol she then proceded to fetch the new battery................. but while she was putting it on the counter i noticed the box was damp and dry patches where it was damp previously............here we go lol she undoes said box (well it sorta fell apart!!) at which point she fetches it out the box to test it................at which point i'm waiting for her to spot the fact that cell#1 next to the vent is almost empty............nope lol so stopping her before she does a volt and CURRENT test on a battery with a dry cell lol explaing that the battery she has before her is now dead defunkt deceased fubard knackered, you get the point lol.................i left lol
Promptly popped in to see my mate Guy who was sponsoring us racing at Motoedit, and he ordered me a GEL battery, which came the next day, he checked and charged it before i took it too, probably cos he knows wtf to do with batteries hahahahaha oh yeah and he tested the old battery and came to the same conclusion i did, volts were good but the plates were contacting under load, so would basically lose a cell, once the load was removed the plates contracted and hey presto volts returned ish, his meter told us it was chucking out 65amps............ from a 150amp battery isn't good!!!
This is something i should have done much sooner lol not only were all my starting issues on kate magically pushed into the cavern of no return lol but also the ignition issues had vanished too, all down to that effin battery!!!!
Bike now starts on the button, runs and idles better, and picks up better.................lesson learnt!!!
This week has also been about sorting out some decent floodlights for DRX, i'm on set 4 now lol thanks to cheapo listings that don't explain that the lamps have to be cycled through various stages every time they are switched on!!!
But these ones don't, theres on and on lol yellow light for fogs, white light for floods, flippin brilliant, even found a double switch to mount on the bars, finally got them all fitted and working today and am well happy
New lights mounted on the crash bars
New switch unit (wanted 2 singles but they sent single and double.......still ongoing lol)
High beam with fog LED's
High beam with Flood LED's, loads better
Now i have 2 working bikes lol
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Interesting stuff Tony. Some time ago I invested in a Silverline Battery Load Tester that would be useful to demonstrate the lack of current. It wouldn't however, help to get the message across to ignorant non believers !
I may have mentioned that for many years, I looked after IT for a large motorcycle shop in Norwich. Chris Ball of CJ Ball Motorcycles was in my class at school ( along with my wife, his 2nd hand bike sales manager and a woman who would later become a dame after running HMRC for several years, but that's another story ).
Anyway, I am always curious about things and have notced when I see new 'wet' bike batteries, that they tend to come as a kit in a box. This has a dry, empty battery and a plastic gizmo with a set of tubes for individual cells, containing the acid. It seems that to avoid spillage and conform with international transport laws, that it is done this way. At point of sale, well probably at point of stock control, somebody takes the battery out of the box, removes the top and fits the gizmo in place to deliver exactly the right amount of that acid into the cells. So adding your crop of zombie idiots to the situation makes me think that is where things are going wrong. The cells don't get the right amount as they are ham fisted, and that sets the scene for the battery's lifetime. After that they get charged for the first time, before sale. Imagine a shelf of these in the stores.
I struggled at first to find a photo, as most seemed to come with a single electroltye bottle, which would be even more likely for them to get wrong ! But I then came across what I have seen many times. Here's a pic :-
Car Battery Load Tester 6V-12V 100Amp Charging System Checker Automotive Repair | eBay
1 x Battery Tester. Test for 6V-12V batteries and charging system output (<16V). Designed with handle, it is very convenient to carry.
www.ebay.co.uk
I may have mentioned that for many years, I looked after IT for a large motorcycle shop in Norwich. Chris Ball of CJ Ball Motorcycles was in my class at school ( along with my wife, his 2nd hand bike sales manager and a woman who would later become a dame after running HMRC for several years, but that's another story ).
Anyway, I am always curious about things and have notced when I see new 'wet' bike batteries, that they tend to come as a kit in a box. This has a dry, empty battery and a plastic gizmo with a set of tubes for individual cells, containing the acid. It seems that to avoid spillage and conform with international transport laws, that it is done this way. At point of sale, well probably at point of stock control, somebody takes the battery out of the box, removes the top and fits the gizmo in place to deliver exactly the right amount of that acid into the cells. So adding your crop of zombie idiots to the situation makes me think that is where things are going wrong. The cells don't get the right amount as they are ham fisted, and that sets the scene for the battery's lifetime. After that they get charged for the first time, before sale. Imagine a shelf of these in the stores.
I struggled at first to find a photo, as most seemed to come with a single electroltye bottle, which would be even more likely for them to get wrong ! But I then came across what I have seen many times. Here's a pic :-