The friendly "dumb" bike questions thread

[gareth_r]

crofty1984 said:

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 put rearset footpegs on, the lever now goes backwards off the gear change shaft to meet your boot, mirroring the change.

Depends how far back you go. AFAIK, before US regulations standardized the controls, all British road bikes were "race shift" as standard, except Triumphs (and, latterly, under Triumph's influence, BSAs). Rearset options were a reversed lever, or an external linkage or a replacement internal mechanism to keep the race shift.

[tvrolet]

gareth_r said:

Depends how far back you go. AFAIK, before US regulations standardized the controls, all British road bikes were "race shift" as standard, except Triumphs (and, latterly, under Triumph's influence, BSAs). Rearset options were a reversed lever, or an external linkage or a replacement internal mechanism to keep the race shift.

I was going to post something along these lines - except of course it wasn't called 'race shift' back then - it didn't really have a name, we just accepted different bikes had different controls. My old Norton Commando was first up, and the rest down; my Triumph is first down and the rest up. As young(er) lads when we were having shots of other mates' bikes it was always a question we had to ask - is first up or down?

I've owned bikes with the shift on either side, and with first up or down and no problems switching between. But overall I liked shift on the right (which meant brake on the left, so under braking it wasn't all right-side pressure) with first up and the rest down (which seemed to be better for shifting under acceleration)...now dubbed 'race shift'.

...then we have foot clutches - Harley is heel down to disengage (aka toe-to-go) whereas Indian is toe down to disengage, heel to go. And hand changes can be either side too. Good thing us humans are adaptable.

[crofty1984]

KTMsm said:

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

That's perfect, thanks! Looks like 80/20 for me.

[Bob_Defly]

tvrolet said:

I was going to post something along these lines - except of course it wasn't called 'race shift' back then - it didn't really have a name, we just accepted different bikes had different controls. My old Norton Commando was first up, and the rest down; my Triumph is first down and the rest up. As young(er) lads when we were having shots of other mates' bikes it was always a question we had to ask - is first up or down?

I've owned bikes with the shift on either side, and with first up or down and no problems switching between. But overall I liked shift on the right (which meant brake on the left, so under braking it wasn't all right-side pressure) with first up and the rest down (which seemed to be better for shifting under acceleration)...now dubbed 'race shift'.

...then we have foot clutches - Harley is heel down to disengage (aka toe-to-go) whereas Indian is toe down to disengage, heel to go. And hand changes can be either side too. Good thing us humans are adaptable.

Why not just make everything race shift? Does non race shift have any benefits on the street? If not, how did it become std?

[gareth_r]

Bob_Defly said:

Why not just make everything race shift? Does non race shift have any benefits on the street? If not, how did it become std?

US legislation.

The British industry had almost disappeared, most Japanese bikes and Harley big twins were left foot and one down. I assume that the D. O. T. just went with the majority.

[tim0409]

My BMW 650 Xcountry is off the road at the moment after being recovered by the AA. It cranks but doesn’t fire (no spark).
I’m currently investigating the issue, but I also want to extend the main battery lead as is a bit short and puts stress on the terminal fitting. I’ve ordered cable in the past and got the wrong size, so would be grateful if anyone can help with what I need to order. The copper element measures around 3mm and the outer diameter is around 4mm; it’s quite sturdy cable with quite a thin outer sheath (see pic).

The other issue is the side stand switch. I’ve read that this can be a point of failure and it has three wires (white, red, and brown). Which wires do I need to connect to bypass the switch as there seems to be conflicting advice on the forums.

Thanks in advance.

[HybridTheory]

HybridTheory said:

Got home yesterday at 1500 bike was fine, 0500 today wouldn't start .

Have checked fuses all seem ok .

I have lights

Heated grips work which are connected to the battery and they power on

Anything else I can check

Bike is a fzs600 2001 cheers

Edited by HybridTheory on Sunday 3rd March 17:42

Fixed ! Was the starter replay…..

[Biker 1]

tim0409 said:

My BMW 650 Xcountry is off the road at the moment after being recovered by the AA. It cranks but doesn’t fire (no spark).
I’m currently investigating the issue, but I also want to extend the main battery lead as is a bit short and puts stress on the terminal fitting. I’ve ordered cable in the past and got the wrong size, so would be grateful if anyone can help with what I need to order. The copper element measures around 3mm and the outer diameter is around 4mm; it’s quite sturdy cable with quite a thin outer sheath (see pic).

The other issue is the side stand switch. I’ve read that this can be a point of failure and it has three wires (white, red, and brown). Which wires do I need to connect to bypass the switch as there seems to be conflicting advice on the forums.

Thanks in advance.

Try something like this:

https://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/cable-sizing-select...

[Bob_Defly]

Clutch replacement. I've never done one before, what exactly do I need?

It's a Yamaha TTR-230, so from here: https://www.partspitstop.com/oemparts/a/yam/52869e...

I'm guessing I need:
5 x Parts 8 & 9, the friction plates and steel plates.
4 x Part 11, new springs
Do I also need parts 18 (another friction plate) or 19 (spring cushion)?

I'm hoping to still use the same crank case gasket as it's fairly new. Other than oil, is there anything else I'm missing?

[KTMsm]

Bob_Defly said:

Clutch replacement. I've never done one before, what exactly do I need?

It's a Yamaha TTR-230, so from here: https://www.partspitstop.com/oemparts/a/yam/52869e...

I'm guessing I need:
5 x Parts 8 & 9, the friction plates and steel plates.
4 x Part 11, new springs
Do I also need parts 18 (another friction plate) or 19 (spring cushion)?

I'm hoping to still use the same crank case gasket as it's fairly new. Other than oil, is there anything else I'm missing?

Depends what's wrong with it - if it's just slipping and the steel plates aren't buckled and there's friction material left, many will just put an additional steel in

Obviously that's not the way if you're about to go around the world or similar

Or if the steels aren't buckled(check on a piece of glass) it's perfectly acceptable to fit just the frictions and there's almost certainly a cheaper aftermarket supplier of those

[Bob_Defly]

KTMsm said:

Bob_Defly said:

Clutch replacement. I've never done one before, what exactly do I need?

It's a Yamaha TTR-230, so from here: https://www.partspitstop.com/oemparts/a/yam/52869e...

I'm guessing I need:
5 x Parts 8 & 9, the friction plates and steel plates.
4 x Part 11, new springs
Do I also need parts 18 (another friction plate) or 19 (spring cushion)?

I'm hoping to still use the same crank case gasket as it's fairly new. Other than oil, is there anything else I'm missing?

Depends what's wrong with it - if it's just slipping and the steel plates aren't buckled and there's friction material left, many will just put an additional steel in

Obviously that's not the way if you're about to go around the world or similar

Or if the steels aren't buckled(check on a piece of glass) it's perfectly acceptable to fit just the frictions and there's almost certainly a cheaper aftermarket supplier of those

How do I find aftermarket plates? EBC ones seem to be more expensive, and Amazon ones look a bit crap.

[KTMsm]

I usually just have a quick Google or look on the specific bike forum / FB group

I'm in the UK TRF and we get something like 25 or 50% off EBC

The last one I replaced had different thickness plates in different places

I measured and my thickest ones were now suitable as the thinnest ones - so I just bought 3 new thick ones to bring the assembly back to standard measurement

[pb8g09]

One from me:

Is there an age where it’s realistically too late to learn how to ride a motorbike?

Let’s also assume you’re not that confident even on a push bike?

[black-k1]

pb8g09 said:

One from me:

Is there an age where it’s realistically too late to learn how to ride a motorbike?

Let’s also assume you’re not that confident even on a push bike?

No, but get confident on a push bike first.

[Marquezs Stabilisers]

I used to instruct. If you can't ride a bicycle well with decent balance, learn to do that first! Seen your situation plenty of times and it does not work.

The oldest person I ever taught was 71. He was great and passed his test first time.

[KTMsm]

pb8g09 said:

One from me:

Is there an age where it’s realistically too late to learn how to ride a motorbike?

Let’s also assume you’re not that confident even on a push bike?

Probably need more information but the main thing is wanting to learn

You can probably find a local trainer who will let you have a go on a little 125 or scooter cheaply - my local school have steel protection bars all over theirs so it doesn't matter if you drop them

The main thing I found about bikers is that everyone is eager that you should learn and willing to help far more than when you learn to drive a car

[G321]

My Yamaha is going in for MOT this week, I'm assuming from what I've read it will need reflectors adding to pass. Is it just a case of getting some from Halford to stick to the rear plate and forks?

Edited by G321 on Sunday 17th March 11:16

[PT1984]

Mine past the last 2 years without reflectors.

[mikey_b]

G321 said:

My Yamaha is going in for MOT this week, I'm assuming from what I've read it will need reflectors adding to pass. Is it just a case of getting some from Halford to stick to the rear plate and forks?

Edited by G321 on Sunday 17th March 11:16

They aren’t mandatory on the forks unless it’s new enough that they were fitted when it was new. You’ll definitely need a red one at the back though. Anything will do, I failed once after fitting a tail-tidy which didn’t have a built-in one. They stuck onto the number plate a self-adhesive thing no bigger than a 20p coin, and then passed it. That little dot stayed there for the next few years and passed every time.

[G321]

Hopefully they'll be able to supply one for the plate at the MOT centre then, it's going for a service first so can sort it then