Author Topic: What have you done with your bike today? (Read 241349 times)

Fat Rat · « **Reply #3060 on:** January 31, 2023, 20:57:12 »

I took the T7 out yesterday and today, nothing major, just a long way round to my daily trip to the swimming pool and back.

Steve T · « **Reply #3061 on:** February 03, 2023, 15:01:23 »

Went out snow spotting . . .

From the car park for the Well of Lecht, at the bottom of the Lecht hill road

And the ski centre – still enough white stuff to keep the tows busy

Steve T

2112 · « **Reply #3062 on:** February 04, 2023, 16:22:28 »

Today I managed my first run out of the year with MorpethMatt. It was great to get back out and we had a little bimble up through Rothbury, on to Wooler and the over to Berwick and then back down the coast. We stopped off at Marshalls Restaurant which is just South of Berwick (off the A1167 next to the Go Outdoors warehouse) for a bite to eat which was spot on and we shall be back their again. We stopped off at Budle Bay for a picture and it's rude to go past Bamburgh Castle without a picture too. Great to be back out there and my Corbin seat is a thing of pure wonder, very happy.

kwackboy · « **Reply #3063 on:** February 04, 2023, 17:49:29 »

Rode it to work, cleaned it, rode it home ..

It's now back I the garage ready to get dusty again ...

mr_diver · « **Reply #3064 on:** February 04, 2023, 19:59:09 »

Put the battery back in the Varadero, connected the battery lead for the Gerbing heated jacket I bought last weekend and took it out for a spin.

100 or so miles around the some of the B roads and single tracks between Port Talbot and Llandovery.
Came back down the upper Swansea valley and back over the top to Glyn Neath.

Heated jacket worked well, couldn't stick it at 75% for more than a few mins, 50% seemed about right.
My heated grips died just after going through Llandovery had to switch to the winter insulated gloves.

I was wondering if it was an issue with low voltage cut out, or maybe the heated jacket drawing too much power but it would seem from testing this theory later that the old Hotgrips I have don't have the auto cut out of the newer ones.

Got home and discovered the wiring loom I made for a ignition switched relay had corroded badly and was making intermittent contact for the heated grips circuit. - it's gets covered in road crud, but there is precious little space under the seat and it has lasted 6 years!

Spent the next hour assembling a new relay loom from the bits in my tool box.
Heated grips and bikeviz bullet lights back working!

Bike is now filthy and likely to get worse this week commuting to work if the roads don't get salted.

But at least my hands will be warm again!

Steve T · « **Reply #3065 on:** February 07, 2023, 13:08:32 »

Looking for more snow . . .

Nae sna to be seen!

Steve T

TLPower · « **Reply #3066 on:** February 07, 2023, 17:02:04 »

Today I decided that it was the day to connect the charger, you know just to put of "oomph" just in case.

Battery charger said 0.0 amps and 1.2volts after an hour, I connected another battery + to + and - to - to give it a hand and it's dead Jim.

Seven years old

.

It was a Yuasa YTZ14S, any recommendations from the hive mind?

Rusty Nuts · « **Reply #3067 on:** February 07, 2023, 17:45:01 »

https://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/content_prod/549067?glCountry=GB&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7qqjkPuD_QIVUoFQBh0hRQMDEAQYASABEgIuBfD_BwE

endintears · « **Reply #3068 on:** February 07, 2023, 19:24:11 »

Personally I'd go with the Yuasa again; the big KTM needs the highest cold cranking amps it can get.
Mine has a fairly new Motobatt fitted (not by me) and even fully charged is sluggish turning over in cold weather.
There's lithium of course but overkill IMHO

Brockett · « **Reply #3069 on:** February 07, 2023, 20:25:17 »

The Optimate should be left connected for a few days to see if it can bring the battery back to life.

Barbel Mick · « **Reply #3070 on:** February 07, 2023, 21:03:07 »

Or put a 'normal' battery charger on it for a few hours, then the optimate? But, if it's been dead for a week or two it might be knackered?

kwackboy · « **Reply #3071 on:** February 07, 2023, 21:20:32 »

Its 7 years old, Buy a new one

Anyway , with the price of energy these days it'll cost just a much trying to charge it ...

Barbel Mick · « **Reply #3072 on:** February 07, 2023, 21:29:37 »

He's a Yorkshire man kwackboy, break news like that to him gently!!

kwackboy · « **Reply #3073 on:** February 07, 2023, 21:39:41 »

Anyone who can afford to run a KTM and a ladder to get on it can afford a new battery...

Ianmc · « **Reply #3074 on:** February 07, 2023, 22:01:08 »

Have a look on “Tayna Batteries” website.Really good batteries with better cranking amps than most major manufacturers.Really good prices and delivery is second to none as in next day.

Mr Nick · « **Reply #3075 on:** February 07, 2023, 22:01:31 »

My KTM's Yuasa died after about 6 years and I put a Motobatt in its place as they have served me well elsewhere. It does pack a bit less in the way of punch compared to a new Yuasa, but it had more than an old one... Would I buy the same one again? Probably not, but I've also seen more issues with Yuasa batteries lately, so not sure I'd go with one of them again, as I'm not convinced they're worth the substantial price difference over other comparable AGM alternatives. Tayna ask £100 for a Yuasa, and they have a Leoch with the same CCA for £27. Even if you only get 3 years out of the Leoch, you're still better off.

Anyhoo, I was enticed by some more orange bling from the local Aliexpress, and got round to putting one of them on today after it arrived by spy balloon.

It cost me all of £7 inc delivery, and, even though the supplied bolts were too short, it seemed rude not to. I had stainless bolts the right length in my stock anyway, so not an issue.
The other shiny shiny I picked up was an orange oil filter cover for £5, but that can wait until the next change, even though there's not much oil comes out with it being dry sumped.

Mr Nick · « **Reply #3076 on:** February 07, 2023, 22:10:04 »

You know that feeling you get from time to time that you are a bit of a numpty?
The store I bought that slave cover from had others branded with other LC8 engined models, but not a 990 one, so I'd got the blank one. There's nothing wrong with that: there is with me having laser engravers and not thinking about doing my own until looking at it on that photo above.
Tomorrow, that comes off & gets something burned into it.

TLPower · « **Reply #3077 on:** February 08, 2023, 13:15:16 »

Thank you all for replies, after an overnight charge it was showing a measly 2.4 volts and zero amps. After looking at the specs on the Tanya Batteries site I went for Mr Nick's offering of the Leoch, it has a 24 month warranty as opposed to the paltry 12 months of the Yuasa with the same 230 CCA for a fraction of the price.

Again, many thanks.

Mr Nick · « **Reply #3078 on:** February 08, 2023, 16:50:34 »

Shiny farkle take 2...

I was wondering what to engrave into the cover, and settled on the same as what is on the side panel:

A few minutes in editing software then the laser did this in about 30 seconds:

If you didn't know what it was meant to be, it just looks scratched, but it is what it is.

Fat Rat · « **Reply #3079 on:** February 11, 2023, 12:05:43 »

Recently I had a Gel pad fitted to the T7 seat (that seat is like a scaffold board). It is much improved but I wanted better, so I dropped it back down to Chaos Custom. They are going to chop out the original seat foam and install something a little kinder to my arse.

Pictures to follow (excluding my arse).