My Sinnis Apache..

[Hooli]

LiamB said:

Hooli said:

I'd do this & change the fork oil too. Factory stuff is ste in Jap & Yank bikes so I can only imagine chinky bikes have ste in too. Should improve front end feel at least.

I might get them to change the oil if they have any in, but if they have to order it in I won't bother. I'm impatient..

They should have oil in, that's what does the damping. They'll have it on the shelf as you just pick the right weight in the same way you pick the same engine oil.

[Jammez]

I had one of these for a few years to commute on as I didn't want to put the miles on my big bike. I had a 20 mile motorway, then 10 mile town commute. It was a pain on the motorway unless you could draft a megabus!

Round town it was great fun, really cheap to run, I managed to get it trade so only paid about £800 brand new and sold it with 20,000km on the clock for £500. Various bits of plastic would fall off but the important stuff all worked fine. Changing the sprocket did make it a little better on the motorway but the main thing is to keep it really clean & use a protector on in as things do rust if it's well used.

I used to constantly paint the exhaust and down pipe to try & stop it dissolving so if you can get a better quality one it's worth it.

Have fun and enjoy it!

[Yazza54]

LordFlathead said:

You may as well order two and do the other side at the same time. If one has gone, chances are the other will be on its way.

May as well order 4, 2 for next week

They shouldn't be bloody going this soon!!

[Yazza54]

Hooli said:

I'd do this & change the fork oil too. Factory stuff is ste in Jap & Yank bikes so I can only imagine chinky bikes have ste in too. Should improve front end feel at least.

Probably full of oyster sauce







In all seriousness though Liam, I'm glad you're enjoying it. I hope these little blips don't set the trend is all.

[LiamB]

Hooli said:

They should have oil in, that's what does the damping. They'll have it on the shelf as you just pick the right weight in the same way you pick the same engine oil.

Ah I see, they should change it then. I'll find out what the standard stuff is, it's probably in the manual somewhere..

Jammez said:

I had one of these for a few years to commute on as I didn't want to put the miles on my big bike. I had a 20 mile motorway, then 10 mile town commute. It was a pain on the motorway unless you could draft a megabus!

Round town it was great fun, really cheap to run, I managed to get it trade so only paid about £800 brand new and sold it with 20,000km on the clock for £500. Various bits of plastic would fall off but the important stuff all worked fine. Changing the sprocket did make it a little better on the motorway but the main thing is to keep it really clean & use a protector on in as things do rust if it's well used.

I used to constantly paint the exhaust and down pipe to try & stop it dissolving so if you can get a better quality one it's worth it.

Have fun and enjoy it!

Great to hear another person had a good one
Yeah I keep cleaning it but I'm not sure I will bother with protecting it until the weather turns for the worst again, doesn't get too dirty now.

I might just paint the exhaust with heat proof paint, then eventually buy the stainless pipe. It's still strong, it just looks st.

Yazza54 said:

May as well order 4, 2 for next week

They shouldn't be bloody going this soon!!

They lasted 2 years

[Yazza54]

Forgot it was second hand, that's still bloody poor though

[Hooli]

Yazza54 said:

Forgot it was second hand, that's still bloody poor though

It's not great but then you dunno how dirty it was kept & what it was ridden in, could be sand or something off a building site landing on the bike everyday which killed them rather than crap seals.

[Yazza54]

Hooli said:

It's not great but then you dunno how dirty it was kept & what it was ridden in, could be sand or something off a building site landing on the bike everyday which killed them rather than crap seals.

True, see how long the second set installed using Liam's technical wizardry last

[LiamB]

Yazza54 said:

True, see how long the second set installed using Liam's technical wizardry last

fk that st, I hate forks. I have literally no idea about them apart from they are two pieces of metal that make it more comfortable. It's going to the bike shop so they can change a couple of other things too.

[Yazza54]

Only one way to learn mate

[13aines]

Only way way to learn indeed...

If you MUST take it to a garage, at least spare some time to watch this video... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrmYJgcGX30

Then at least you'll learn something about how the forks come apart and it won't be total black magic anymore, but if I was you i'd watch some videos, read some stuff online and just have a crack!

You're best learning on this simple st than the bikes you'll have in the future thats for sure.

[Jammez]

I'm pretty sure I've got a standard front sprocket kicking around in the garage somewhere. Brand new, bugger all use to me. PM your address & I'll chuck it in the post to you if you want it.

[13aines]

Yes, they are great.

I'm not a big fan of what he does to his bikes, so don't watch his "update" videos... but his maintenance tutorial videos are very good indeed!

Great to watch, they're really informative, well made, and everything is explained well for even the newest newbs. Also, he's always got a tip for knocking up a useful homemade tool!

[LiamB]

13aines said:

Only way way to learn indeed...

If you MUST take it to a garage, at least spare some time to watch this video... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrmYJgcGX30

Then at least you'll learn something about how the forks come apart and it won't be total black magic anymore, but if I was you i'd watch some videos, read some stuff online and just have a crack!

You're best learning on this simple st than the bikes you'll have in the future thats for sure.

Good video, certainly helped explain the voodoo magic. Cheers for showing me that guy, he's got some helpful stuff.

I would do it myself, but my tool kit consists of a hammer, a mallet and masking tape. When I get some decent tools I will attempt st like this.

Jammez said:

I'm pretty sure I've got a standard front sprocket kicking around in the garage somewhere. Brand new, bugger all use to me. PM your address & I'll chuck it in the post to you if you want it.

Cheers mate, very generous of you. I'll PM you in a bit. Always good to have spares.




I have done 1000km on the bike now and I am very happy with it. I would say it is my favourite bike I've owned so far

[y2blade]

How is it going Liam? Good weekend on it?

[LordFlathead]

y2blade said:

How is it going Liam? Good weekend on it?

Yeah safety check needed.. first time I changed fork seals it tried to kill me, better see he's still alive

[LiamB]

LordFlathead said:

y2blade said:

How is it going Liam? Good weekend on it?

Yeah safety check needed.. first time I changed fork seals it tried to kill me, better see he's still alive

Still going. I haven't been riding it much as I haven't had the seals done yet, and the rear pads need replacing too.
I'm still waiting for the parts to arrive because I couldn't order them until Sunday because I lost my wallet

They should be dispatched today, then I am going away for 3 days work tomorrow so should be here by the time I am back.

[LordFlathead]

And hopefully by then we have had some better weather in which to enjoy it. If you're going to do the fork job yourself you will need a large vice fitted onto a sturdy bench and preferably someone that has done it before. I struggled with a load of different ways and eventually managed to cobble something together as a compressor which allowed the energy in the spring to released SLOWLY

[LiamB]

LordFlathead said:

And hopefully by then we have had some better weather in which to enjoy it. If you're going to do the fork job yourself you will need a large vice fitted onto a sturdy bench and preferably someone that has done it before. I struggled with a load of different ways and eventually managed to cobble something together as a compressor which allowed the energy in the spring to released SLOWLY

Before I do anything like that, I need decent tools. Until then it will be going in the garage for work. Cheers for the advice though


The work I had got pushed back to next week so I got to clean the bike today and get some T Cut on it. Mainly on the exhaust and swingarm as they were annoying me the most. I think it came out better but it still needs work.

Before (Should of taken the picture without the soapy st)


After




That exhaust is really starting to annoy me too, need to replace it with a shiny one.

[y2blade]

That soapy picture made my tinkle tingle!