The friendly "dumb" bike questions thread

[airsafari87]

rugbyleague said:

Now this is a dumb question! sorry if its been posted before.....I bet it has.....

I've recently bought new boots as the zips had gone on my old ones....

I'm now struggling to change up gear!

Bike is a new Hayabusa, boots are Sidi Adventure 2.

Do I need to bed them in, so I can get them under the gear shifter?

No problems with previous boots, smaller at the tow end though.

Don’t know what your old boots were? But if they weren’t as chunky as the Sidi’s you will probably have to adjust the gear lever peg position.

[HybridTheory]

Starter relay and cut off relay purchased and annoyingly the fuel pump also split whilst pulling the tank back....

[bimsb6]

HybridTheory said:

Starter relay and cut off relay purchased and annoyingly the fuel pump also split whilst pulling the tank back....

I’m not sure what the question is ?

[carinaman]

bimsb6 said:

HybridTheory said:

Starter relay and cut off relay purchased and annoyingly the fuel pump also split whilst pulling the tank back....

I’m not sure what the question is ?

From the previous page Yamaha FZS not starting. Battery seems OK.

[HybridTheory]

carinaman said:

From the previous page Yamaha FZS not starting. Battery seems OK.

Yep cycled to work last few days...good for the old fitness

[rugbyleague]

Crudeoink said:

rugbyleague said:

Now this is a dumb question! sorry if its been posted before.....I bet it has.....

I've recently bought new boots as the zips had gone on my old ones....

I'm now struggling to change up gear!

Bike is a new Hayabusa, boots are Sidi Adventure 2.

Do I need to bed them in, so I can get them under the gear shifter?

No problems with previous boots, smaller at the tow end though.

Just got to get used to the new boots / bed them in. I always have this issue after going from shorty style boots over the summer months to full sized boots when it gets cooler, lots of mis-shifts!

edit:_ typo

Edited by Crudeoink on Tuesday 5th March 16:56

Thanks for this a morning walking around the house with the Sidi boots on, followed by 150miles in the Lake District this afternoon has seen the new boots starting to behave.....A couple of odd moments when driving through the gears (selected 1st but missed the up-shift and got very noisy) but actually not too bad overall, just need to make sure I put my feet on the pegs in the right place..Honister pass and Buttermere magical!

[BigGingerBob]

Why is race shift backwards?
I can't think of a reason for it to be better/quicker to have one up/six down or whatever the pattern is compared to the other way.

[trickywoo]

BigGingerBob said:

Why is race shift backwards?
I can't think of a reason for it to be better/quicker to have one up/six down or whatever the pattern is compared to the other way.

Easier to shift up while cornering.

I run race shift on my super duke because it’s a lot nicer pressing down for another gear when accelerating hard than hooking your foot under and pulling up.

[black-k1]

To keep your foot out of grounding range when changing up mid corner.

[Marquezs Stabilisers]

This seemed like the best place for this question. Where I live is great...except for the takeaways, which are mediocre. We're on the edge of Glasgow, but just too far out for the Deliveroo / Uber Eats etc apps.

However, I have a FireBlade, with a top box (genuinely). Has anyone ever used one of the lined bags the delivery riders do, and can anyone recommend one? Need to keep my Mother India or Paesano warm on the way home!

[Xcore]

Looking for a full face lid, budget around £200, some decent deals on higher end ece 22.05 lids being sold to clear, or do we think eve 22.06 is a must have?
Looking at a hjc i71 or last years Hjc rpha 70.

My head doesn’t seem to fit agv but favours hjc and scorpion

[Speed addicted]

Marquezs Stabilisers said:

This seemed like the best place for this question. Where I live is great...except for the takeaways, which are mediocre. We're on the edge of Glasgow, but just too far out for the Deliveroo / Uber Eats etc apps.

However, I have a FireBlade, with a top box (genuinely). Has anyone ever used one of the lined bags the delivery riders do, and can anyone recommend one? Need to keep my Mother India or Paesano warm on the way home!

Just use one of those insulated bags for frozen food, we live in the sticks north of Aberdeen and use them to keep food warm regularly.

Something like this is ideal.

https://www.halfords.com/camping/coolboxes/halford...

[Biker 1]

I have a z900rs kwak. 22 plate, low miles. Previous owner had it remapped & it runs great. I have heard a lot about using E5 petrol. Would it cause any issues on a remapped engine??? I read various articles on E5 being kinder to rubber, not condensating readily, better mileage & more octane = power
Currently running on Tesco E10......

[Rene Souffle]

Biker 1 said:

I have a z900rs kwak. 22 plate, low miles. Previous owner had it remapped & it runs great. I have heard a lot about using E5 petrol. Would it cause any issues on a remapped engine??? I read various articles on E5 being kinder to rubber, not condensating readily, better mileage & more octane = power
Currently running on Tesco E10......

I doubt it’ll make any difference if you’re using it quite quickly.

However it’s worth finding out if the remap has been done to run on E5 fuel. If so, you’re best using that to get the most of the bike

[trickywoo]

Biker 1 said:

I have a z900rs kwak. 22 plate, low miles. Previous owner had it remapped & it runs great. I have heard a lot about using E5 petrol. Would it cause any issues on a remapped engine??? I read various articles on E5 being kinder to rubber, not condensating readily, better mileage & more octane = power
Currently running on Tesco E10......

Octane rating is resistance to pre ignition combustion . In itself it has no effect on power or fuel consumption.

If your bike has a knock sensor a higher octane may improve performance slightly in extreme situations.

With a bike as new as yours e10 won’t do it any harm. If you are storing it over next winter I’d definitely go with a full tank of e5.

If money is no object e5 is better, mainly because it will be the premium offering with more cleaning agents.

[Marquezs Stabilisers]

Speed addicted said:

Just use one of those insulated bags for frozen food, we live in the sticks north of Aberdeen and use them to keep food warm regularly.

Something like this is ideal.

https://www.halfords.com/camping/coolboxes/halford...

That looks absolutely ideal!

[Biker 1]

Rene Souffle said:

I doubt it’ll make any difference if you’re using it quite quickly.

However it’s worth finding out if the remap has been done to run on E5 fuel. If so, you’re best using that to get the most of the bike

That's the issue - I have the dyno readout, but nothing in the paperwork to suggest the remap was specifically for E5 or E10.
Runs fine on E10, although starting when the engine is hot can occasionally require a couple of prods on the starter button.

[crofty1984]

Question - I don't know what to call the tyres I'm after. I'm getting to the point on my little green lane project that I am thinking about tyres. I'm not looking for something that are pure square-block knobbies more one dialled back from that. Most of my riding will be on the road, but I definitely want them to be decently grippy for when the time comes to pop down a muddy track.
What are they called? Any suggestions. The bikes only a lightweight 17bhp thing so no need for anything too performance!

[crofty1984]

BigGingerBob said:

Why is race shift backwards?
I can't think of a reason for it to be better/quicker to have one up/six down or whatever the pattern is compared to the other way.

There's a historical aspect to it, though it's not the whole story. The day-to-day bike the race bike was based on probably had a "normal" pattern and the lever pointing forward from the gearchange shaft and your feet in a mid position. When you out rearset footpegs on, the lever now goes backwards off the gear change shaft to meet your boot, mirroring the change.

[KTMsm]

crofty1984 said:

Question - I don't know what to call the tyres I'm after. I'm getting to the point on my little green lane project that I am thinking about tyres. I'm not looking for something that are pure square-block knobbies more one dialled back from that. Most of my riding will be on the road, but I definitely want them to be decently grippy for when the time comes to pop down a muddy track.
What are they called? Any suggestions. The bikes only a lightweight 17bhp thing so no need for anything too performance!

80/20 means 80% on road 20% off or you can go further 50/50 etc

Really depends what lanes you ride - if it's dry then 80:20 will do, if it's muddy, they won't

Here are some of the more popular ones

Edited by KTMsm on Sunday 10th March 17:55