Let there be... different light

We need to talk. Times are tough, and I have to let you go.

The stock rear light cluster, I mean. Nice enough, but I think it looks out of place with the smaller seat.

I eBayed a smaller chromed light, and tonight I bodged it on. Now, normally I'd go in with the angle grinder, but the kiddies were in bed, so I had to do it on the shush. Also, there may be an element of learning involved here, in that I decided not to cut the stock light cluster mount to bits - yet. It also mounts the indicators and number plate, so it'll need some thinking through.

The temporary solution was to put a bit of 20mm x 20mm x 2mm aluminium angle across the two mounts for the stock light cluster, and hang the new light underneath. It doesn't look ideal, but it'll do for now. I can always go back and screw it up later.

Anyway, cut to the chase, here's the new light in situ:



I'll leave it until next weekend, then if I'm still enamoured of it, I'll likely lop the top off of the mount, run a bar across from the indicator bolts, and mount the rear light on top. Or not, as the whim takes me.

Something to watch out for is that The Man requires rear reflectors (stuck to my panniers, huzzah), and also a number plate light. The stock cluster has a clear patch underneath that ostensibly lets some light down onto the plate, but I'll have to add another light to do this. LED, naturally. eBay, ho!

[Update]

Ho'd!



Winner!

Warp core offline: proceed on emergency impulse power

Prepare to jettison warp engines and disengage by sublight evasion.

Another day, another adventure. Sunday beckoned, flouting her tempting charms at me, and off I went for a jaunt. Just a few miles, off to try and find the missus (farming, as she has a wont to do), then on to le supermarché pour la grub et les stúff.

There were a few big bumps in the road on the way, courtesy of emergency repairs to the winter potholes - which I'm sure the Cooncil intends to sort out properly later - but I didn't think anything of them. See as I cunningly build an alibi for myself for what is about to occur...

Exiting the car park and hitting a little hill, the bike suddenly faded and spluttered. Oh dear. This again - it happened on the Lang Way Roond trip as well, on the Lang Way Hame, due to the main jet needle being unsecured and riding way too high (mea culpa).

A quick haul onto the pavement, and the diagnosis began. The last thing I'd done before going out was to grab my trusty multitool(*), and damn glad I was to have it.

The plug was seriously fouled. Hmmm, that's familiar. I immediately suspected the needle again, but decided to clean the plug and lean the idle mixture out first to see if that sorted it. Nope, although I did get another 1/4 mile closer to home, nursing the bike along in gaps in the traffic.

At the next spluttering expiration, I parked up and unscrewed the throttle assembly on top of the carb to check the needle. Unfortunately, it was fine, properly secured under the clip and spring. Hmm, it did seem like a jetting problem, but not the needle this time. If the main jet was clogged, surely it would run lean, not rich?

Maybe the engine was just cooked? I gave it some time to cool down, with the plug out, cleaned everything up again, reset the idle mixture to 2 turns out, and had another go at getting home.

Bizarrely, the bike ran fine at idle and up to about 1/8th throttle, but on 1/4 throttle it just choked and faltered. I was quite impressed that it managed to get up to 30, nearly 40 downhill, on 1/8th throttle, and I managed to route through some industrial estates rather than holding up traffic on the big roads.

Eventually, I nursed it into my work car park, but with a big hill between me and home, Something Must Be Done. I was swithering between admitting defeat and calling my rescue service, or even shoving the bike into the work foyer overnight, but manned up and went for the carb strip. This is perfectly possible at roadside with pliers and a small Phillips bit, just take care not to lose any screw or nuts.

With it all apart, the cause was suddenly and glaringly obvious:



[Dramatisation]

Yup, the main jet had actually fallen off and was lying in the float bowl. That explained the behaviour fully - with no jet in the tube, as soon as the needle was raised, fuel was flooding up into the carb.

Huh, typical Chinese quality control! By which I mean that the stock 90 jet was fitted just fine, but some chump must not have tightened up the 95 jet that I - I mean, he or she - replaced it with.

Ah well, adventure over. With the jet secured properly, the bike immediately ran fine again.

The lesson here is that these bikes really are idiot proof, if the idiot can just stop mucking around with them.

So, no more fiddling, I promise. Well, I mean after I try the 100 and 105 jets again...


(*) Should Plod ever argues the toss with you about carring a multitool with a knife blade, please do remember this phrase: folding pocket knife with a cutting edge not exceeding 75mm/3", and I'll be having it back with an apology after I speak to the duty solicitor.

And the performance is... is.... iiiiiiiis...

But first, some more ẁorship at the temple of LED.

The lower spots (£15 delivered!) came with a nice LED ring but 55W halogen foglight main bulbs. There was no way I was going to traumatise my poor little dynamo and battery by wiring in another 110W of load, but fortunately there are LED equivalents for the H3 type bulbs.

As you can see, they're tecno-tastic. It's like living in a bright bluish-white Futureworld. The moment there's a LED equivalent of the Xenon BA20D headlight bulb, I'll be on it like Angelina Jolie on an African orphanage.

But that's not why we're here, is it? It's to find out if de-catting the bike made any difference to the performance. Well, did it? Did it? Wait - why am I asking you? I'm the one who knows.

The glaciers withdrew briefly today, and I went for a lunchtime drag along the handy local dual carriageway. Up the on-ramp, feeling good, 30mph, 40, and an indicated 50 as I hit the main carriageway. Throttle pegged, here comes 55, and the 60-ish that's the usual top end. But wait - what's this? Do we see 65? We do! Do we see 70? Near as dammit, we do, in 5th and a fraction over 10,000 RPM. That's more like a real 65, but it's comfortably faster than the bike has ever shown on the flat, enough to keep up with the traffic and safely overtake Micra Man.

So we're clear, that's the purpose of getting that little bit of extra performance. It's not about burning rubber on the shopping trip, it's about the difference between holding up and keeping up with cars on open roads. Slower isn't safer if it means you're being tailgated by Astra Man.

For those keeping score, that's with a 17 tooth front sprocket, stock CDI, aftermarket coil and HT lead, a K&N stylee filter, 95 main jet and a DR8EIX plug (DR9EIX is a better for extended high RPM). Now that the engine can exhale, I'll re-try the 100 and 105 jets to see if the needle can go into the Forbidden Zone past 70.

So, was chopping the cats worth it? I'd say yes, but only because I did it on the cheap and enjoyed the process. If you had to pay for 2 aftermarket exhausts - assuming that you could find ones that were definitely cat-free - would it really be worth spending 1/5th or more of the price of the bike to get another 3 or 4 mph?

That's up to you to decide, gentle reader. I can only write my own tale. What's yours?