No posts for a while, since nothing has happened to the bike. Nothing has dropped off, disintegrated, exploded, or vanished into a parallel dimension. It's very strange.
I did have an oopsie when the bike missed, spluttered then ground to a halt on a hill. A frantic checklist finally revealed the problem: out of fuel. Oops. Apparently 100mpg doesn't mean that it runs forever on one tank. A flip to reserve and we were off again.
A back-of-the-envelope calculation reveals that was 320km on approximately 9 litres of fuel (I didn't fill it up initially), which is as near as makes no difference 100mpg. I expect that'll get a little better as the engine runs in, but I'm more than happy with that. I should get 350km+ out of a full tank, before reserve.
On the modding front, I added an auxiliary LED brake light on the top of my toolbox-topbox, but I managed to snap it while fitting, and it disintegrated while I was riding. I liked it so much though that I've ordered another. Further gearing changes can wait until the bike is run in - the 16 tooth sprocket gives it just enough extra that an indicated 50mph isn't a chore and (indicated) 60mph is achievable in short bursts without thrashing the engine.
While I remember, be cautious about believing any fleaBay seller flogging LED bulbs as R10W indicator replacements. Unless they want to tell you what the resistance is, I'd suggest that they're vanishingly unlikely to be plug-in replacements.
When I said I'd ordered a Pioneer Nevada front mudguard, I thought I had, but after acknowledging the initial order, Chinese Motorcycle Parts Online apparently can't be bothered communicating with me at all regarding the reason for not sending it, or their stock situation regarding alternative parts. I expect a phone call would sort it out, but I don't really want the part that much. I'm not sure if they understand the principle that click-to-buy encourages impulse buys - but only if you actually service your online orders.
For the record, the bike's first scheduled oil change at 300km was done at 330km - but was actually its third change. Once at 0km, again at 100km. I take de-swarfing pretty seriously. I should now let it get to 1000km before the next oil change, but I don't know if I can bear to leave it that long...
The plug looks fine at 300km, so I think I've got the fuel mixture about right. Although I could and may buy a combustion tester; for those who haven't seen one, it's effectively a spark plug with a window that lets you see the colour of the combustion in the cylinder. I have a car-sized one from the Ancient Olden Days, and expect if I find the right combination of Googlisms then I can source a smaller one, even though we're living in the Future now.
I used to forget the bike needed petrol and would go a month without looking in the tank to check and wonder why it was still sloshing about, despite using the bike every day.
ReplyDeleteEventually a trip to the garage just to be on the safe side, then blushingly hand over around 3 0r 4 pounds needed to fill the tank to the forecourt attendant and say, see you next month..
Makes you wonder why successive governments have been so keen to prevent the base, common and popular from riding bikes, especially when you factor in how few resources it takes to build a bike compared to a regular car - or worse, a hybrid.
ReplyDeleteAnd the more people we get riding, the more cagers will be used to looking out for bikes, and the safer we'll all be.
While I'm dreaming, I'd like a pony. With Alyson Hannigan riding it.