The friendly "dumb" bike questions thread

[nute]

Can anyone recommend a vacuum brake bleeder?

[carinaman]

raining_sulphur said:

I have a cheapo multimeter yes, need to have a play really.


There’s the snippet from the manual.

Does the sidestand cut out work?

Mine does. I went shopping yesterday chose the parking bay in the corner furthest away from the entrance. Someone was waiting for that space when I left so I paddled rather than walked the bike out backwards. Stalled it twice by putting it in gear and letting the clutch out with the sidestand still down.

7-30 says check the turn signal light, which I assume is a green light on the dash. It says to check the battery is fully charged.

Page 397 says fuse 5 is the signal. I'd check that fuse.

[raining_sulphur]

carinaman said:

raining_sulphur said:

I have a cheapo multimeter yes, need to have a play really.


There’s the snippet from the manual.

Does the sidestand cut out work?

Mine does. I went shopping yesterday chose the parking bay in the corner furthest away from the entrance. Someone was waiting for that space when I left so I paddled rather than walked the bike out backwards. Stalled it twice by putting it in gear and letting the clutch out with the sidestand still down.

7-30 says check the turn signal light, which I assume is a green light on the dash. It says to check the battery is fully charged.

Page 397 says fuse 5 is the signal. I'd check that fuse.

So, side stand cut out still works. I checked the indicator bulbs the other day, they’re ok. Battery is only 6 weeks old, but reads good on the multimeter. No issues starting either. Just checked fuse 5, 15A in the small fuse box behind the relay, fuse is good. Has to be that relay, right? The signal relay part of it anyway.

[Speed addicted]

nute said:

Can anyone recommend a vacuum brake bleeder?

I have a mityvac that’s been very good over the years. Can’t fault it really.

[Speed addicted]

raining_sulphur said:

So, side stand cut out still works. I checked the indicator bulbs the other day, they’re ok. Battery is only 6 weeks old, but reads good on the multimeter. No issues starting either. Just checked fuse 5, 15A in the small fuse box behind the relay, fuse is good. Has to be that relay, right? The signal relay part of it anyway.

Or the switch?
Put a 12v feed to the signal side of the relay and see if it works?

[gareth_r]

Would it be possible to replace the turn signal part with a separate 2-pin electronic flasher relay?

[carinaman]

The dashboard green indicator for the indicator flashes or stays off? If it stays off it indicates the relay?

[carinaman]

The part seems to be £10-£11 inc. p&p from eBay.

[gareth_r]

Not worth messing about, then.

[KTMsm]

nute said:

Can anyone recommend a vacuum brake bleeder?

I have a cheap Chinese knockoff of a mityvac on eBay for around 15 quid works great for lots of stuff

[raining_sulphur]

carinaman said:

The dashboard green indicator for the indicator flashes or stays off? If it stays off it indicates the relay?

Stays off, yes. Relay is on order, should be here Friday. Just trying to diagnose fault in case it’s not the relay.
Cheers guys, appreciate all the help so far.

[raining_sulphur]

raining_sulphur said:

carinaman said:

The dashboard green indicator for the indicator flashes or stays off? If it stays off it indicates the relay?

Stays off, yes. Relay is on order, should be here Friday. Just trying to diagnose fault in case it’s not the relay.
Cheers guys, appreciate all the help so far.

So, update…
New relay arrived today, all fixed. £12 part to the rescue. A happy ending for once.
Thanks for all the help/advice.

[Krikkit]

raining_sulphur said:

raining_sulphur said:

carinaman said:

The dashboard green indicator for the indicator flashes or stays off? If it stays off it indicates the relay?

Stays off, yes. Relay is on order, should be here Friday. Just trying to diagnose fault in case it’s not the relay.
Cheers guys, appreciate all the help so far.

So, update…
New relay arrived today, all fixed. £12 part to the rescue. A happy ending for once.
Thanks for all the help/advice.

Always nice when it's an easy fix, nice one 😁

[carinaman]

raining_sulphur said:

So, update…
New relay arrived today, all fixed. £12 part to the rescue. A happy ending for once.
Thanks for all the help/advice.

Yay, I am pleased it's fixed and I learnt that Suzuki fitted relays that provided indicator and side stand cut out functionality.

[Biker 1]

As per suggestions several pages back, I have put down foam rubber interlocking mats on my concrete lean-to floor & have ordered a breathable indoor bike cover, all to combat condensation over winter.
I only ride in the dry, so she could be laid up for a few weeks if the weather carries on like this!
Next upgrade: battery charger. I was thinking CTec, or maybe Noco, & as ever, am asking for the PH Massive view.
I don't want to remove the battery from the bike, & was thinking of attaching the charger for perhaps a few hours during weekends.

Any suggestions??

[A500leroy]

Biker 1 said:

As per suggestions several pages back, I have put down foam rubber interlocking mats on my concrete lean-to floor & have ordered a breathable indoor bike cover, all to combat condensation over winter.
I only ride in the dry, so she could be laid up for a few weeks if the weather carries on like this!
Next upgrade: battery charger. I was thinking CTec, or maybe Noco, & as ever, am asking for the PH Massive view.
I don't want to remove the battery from the bike, & was thinking of attaching the charger for perhaps a few hours during weekends.

Any suggestions??

I use the oxford one and it comes with a snap connector so you just charge over the weekend without the faff of getting to the battery every time.

[Speed addicted]

A500leroy said:

Biker 1 said:

As per suggestions several pages back, I have put down foam rubber interlocking mats on my concrete lean-to floor & have ordered a breathable indoor bike cover, all to combat condensation over winter.
I only ride in the dry, so she could be laid up for a few weeks if the weather carries on like this!
Next upgrade: battery charger. I was thinking CTec, or maybe Noco, & as ever, am asking for the PH Massive view.
I don't want to remove the battery from the bike, & was thinking of attaching the charger for perhaps a few hours during weekends.

Any suggestions??

I use the oxford one and it comes with a snap connector so you just charge over the weekend without the faff of getting to the battery every time.

I use an optimate, had it for about 15 years with no problems. Again there’s a short lead on the bike battery so you don’t have to remove anything.

[airsafari87]

+1 on the Optimate. Ctek is a good alternative also.

If your bike has a lithium battery just make sure you buy one that’s designated for lithium batteries.

[Biker 1]

Thanks as ever!
Optimate looks like a contender. I guess I'm looking for a no faff solution with some sort of quick connector. Would be handy to have an automatic one that can detect if battery is Lithium, lead acid or whatever...

[KTMsm]

If you just want a cheap top up charger any cheap crap will do

If you might want to recover a near dead battery only a CTEK 5amp upwards will do

I've got about 20 chargers including Aldi. Lidl, optimate, Noco but I mostly use the CTEK as they only have to save 1 battery to pay for themselves - the Noco does have one feature the CTEK doesn't - possibly 6v charging so compare specs before you buy