Two Mot Failures in 1 Day

[2E]

Well.. i took both the CB750 and the GT550 into Swifties for MOTs today..

And both of them failed.:shooter

Which means im now bikeless until such time as i can go about sorting the problems out on them (10 Days or i get charged again)


Right heres the problems:

CB750: Alls good, but front right hand fork seal is leaking, i have too much of a conscience to clean up the leak with white spirit to of bodged it through the mot... yes i could quite of easily done it as im now being ribbed for by my brother :shooter

I need to shove the bike back into the shop as the lovely woman who hates us has started up again about the amounts of bikes in front of the house.. (we all have two currently..:grin2)

And im not repairing fork seals in the middle of alcatraz estate... so that one can go into shop whenever they can fit it in.:reading

GT550: 'The Horns aren't loud enough' what the hell??

They were fine riding back.. beeping at everyone to test them.. i dont get it.. but they said there was a couple of 'advisories' (which dont fail you?) of the headlamp not pointing correctly, although i did point out that GT550's were not designed to have round headlights and so the light/fairing was a mod.:grin3

Anyway in the interest of fairness, they told me to run the bike home, fix my new horns to it (Motrax Snail Horns) and then run it back to them before 6 and itll pass...

So off i went.. but the damn horns wont fit.. the stupidly oversized plastic snail shape will not fit in the gap where the horns go, so ive come up with an idea to extend the original wiring of the horns into the fairing and throw the horns in there..:(

I've not meddled with the bikes main electrics so if anyone local is a dab hand at electric/wiring please let me know.. i need the bike on the road until such time as the CB is legit.:skip

[Danjaman6669]

I've not meddled with the bikes main electrics so if anyone local is a dab hand at electric/wiring please let me know.. i need the bike on the road until such time as the CB is legit.:skip[/quote]


it should be a simple enough swap over really for the horns!!! just make sure you dont mix the wires up

[2E]

i've not meddled with the bikes main electrics so if anyone local is a dab hand at electric/wiring please let me know.. i need the bike on the road until such time as the CB is legit.:skip


it should be a simple enough swap over really for the horns!!! just make sure you dont mix the wires up

yeh i connected the new horn up to test and its alot louder.. and plus the GT has twin horns.. so its going to be alot of fun...:shooter

Think ill go to maplins tommorow and grab some connectors and wire from them.. then have a go at sorting it all out...:reading

[SradChris46]

lol serves you right for taking it to swifties!

Should have taken it to Wickford Motorcycles, they seem to pass alot easier than what swifts does

[DoGbOt]

lol serves you right for taking it to swifties!

Should have taken it to Wickford Motorcycles, they seem to pass alot easier than what swifts does

Respect for your elders M8, An you shall recieve some back! You Cant go wrong with our friends Mr Swift & Bones those 2 guys ave been doing wat they are best at since a long time b4 you were a twincle in ya dads eye!(mee too by the way)! If you want a Proper M.o.t done on a bike the way it should be done (albeit some out of the ark methods but still) if you have cut down race cans that are stupidly loud then yes he wont pass you on an mot! but i never had any problems wen i used them an my srad had a full micron systems & race can, i just used to put a DB killer in that he fashioned up for me out the back workshop.. & treat them with the respect they deserved & as such was treated with a wink an a leave that in till you get home, so having heard your bike in billericay the other day, it does take the michael somewat:grin1 an i'm not suprised you wont go there i wouldnt either lol ( it did sound gr8 to hear a srad again tho)

Lol sorry bit long winded an i hope i dont offend any1 but i an quite a few people i know that havent ridden since the 80's still speak very highly of Swift's!........... an i do too! an as such 2E's bike is the sort of bike that i would suggest going to swifty's with! (altho wickford is good too i've used em both!!)

Lol sorry bit long winded an i hope i dont offend any1:grin2

[SteadyEddie]

Swiftys brake tester is superb, a real relic, hand cranking your bike on a winch !!!
Swiftys are to the bike world what Parkinsons was to the car world, that little bolt you need, they have it somwhere !

[SradChris46]

Respect for your elders M8, An you shall recieve some back! You Cant go wrong with our friends Mr Swift & Bones those 2 guys ave been doing wat they are best at since a long time b4 you were a twincle in ya dads eye!(mee too by the way)! If you want a Proper M.o.t done on a bike the way it should be done (albeit some out of the ark methods but still) if you have cut down race cans that are stupidly loud then yes he wont pass you on an mot! but i never had any problems wen i used them an my srad had a full micron systems & race can, i just used to put a DB killer in that he fashioned up for me out the back workshop.. & treat them with the respect they deserved & as such was treated with a wink an a leave that in till you get home, so having heard your bike in billericay the other day, it does take the michael somewat:grin1 an i'm not suprised you wont go there i wouldnt either lol ( it did sound gr8 to hear a srad again tho)

Lol sorry bit long winded an i hope i dont offend any1 but i an quite a few people i know that havent ridden since the 80's still speak very highly of Swift's!........... an i do too! an as such 2E's bike is the sort of bike that i would suggest going to swifty's with! (altho wickford is good too i've used em both!!)

Lol sorry bit long winded an i hope i dont offend any1:grin2
Oh believe me, i have the up-most respect for them, any thing i need, swifties will have it, the most obscure thing, swifties will almost garantee to have it. I just wouldnt take my bike to be MOT'd there as they are over it with a fine tooth comb, which is fine, but i know when my bikes safe for me to ride on the road and when it isnt, wickford tend to turn a little bit of a blind eye to louder cans.

Im glad you liked the sound of it :grin2 where abouts was i wizzing about?

[2E]

UPDATE: Woohoo.. i finally fitted the new horns via extended wiring.. i now have 130db horns that sound like a trucks about to run someone over.. that side of things is working and that.. a few terminal block connections to restrip and sort out (accessories not working)..:grin3

However...

I've been having starting issues for about a week or two now, i thought it was just top up level but i noticed when i pulled the battery out theres dusty white powder everywhere.. short of the conclusion that im illegally carrying cocaine,
what is this stuff and is it a problem? or has the battery just overflowed or something??:reading

Ive checked the levels and they are below the max so they are fine, so stuck the battery on charge, put it back in and the bike started.. will get my dad to run it for the mot tommorow (thank goodness) so will ask him how it run/started...:reading

[UKSkidMark]

The white stuff is a result of a chemical reaction.
If it's a lead acid battery, it could be the acid reacting with the lead terminals.
Nothing to worry about - check the voltage when everything's off, and with all the lights on, make sure the charging system is doing it's job.

[harriebird]

i saw the title of this post, and how do you think i managed to work out who it would be written by without even looking!

[Liokaiser]

i saw the title of this post, and how do you think i managed to work out who it would be written by without even looking!

Psychic powers? :grin2

[2E]

Update: Both bikes went through the mot today , GT a few rubbish advisories...

Apparently my number plates illegal...:grin1 God darn it those vandal kids!!:grin3

Also: Headlight loosely fitted (its a mod, deal with it... no need to nit pick)

Upper fairings loose but doesent hinder steering (well duh;)):grin3

& erm... brake compensator seized or something (err...yeh...?;)):grin1


But ignoring the silly nitpicking.. bikes fine.. no advisories on the CB750, i got both fork seals done on it although only one was leaking (better safe than sorry) so the GT's back on the road.... :grin3

[Dal]

2E the nitpicking as you call is for yours and others safety. Get it sorted! :shooter

[2E]

2E the nitpicking as you call is for yours and others safety. Get it sorted! :shooter

trying to sort majority of it atm.. major thing is the thing thats seized.. i have no idea whats seized lol.. will consult manual when i get a chance.:skip

[superstacker]

A couple of advisorys?


I thought swiftys had a new telephone book or something ;)

[MICKTLS]

2e just for your info the advisories you mention are logged onto the main pc at vosa , so next time a traffic copper checks your data he will see the items listed so therefore it gives him something to check to see if it has been sorted or if the problem has got worse , i might be wrong but that is what i was told by a vosa inspector { the guy thats checks the mot stations } so get them its in your own interest thats all

[MICKTLS]

2e what does it -actually say on the orange sheet ?????

[superstacker]

i saw the sheet today mick

Something like

Headlight loosly fitted

Steering slightly notchy

Fairing fitted loosly but not likely to impede steering

Illegal number plate

Limited reserve rear brake pedal travel?

n/s brake compensator siezed?

Front tyre wall starting to perish

Hope this helps

[STEALTH52]

front tyre wall perishing, i'd get that sorted straight away, before i rode it away....only 2 things keeping you on the road....

[2E]

Thats exactly right bro cheers!

So i got that stuff to sort....:grin2

[superstacker]

.... only 2 things keeping you on the road....

Bodge tape and the RAC?

(aimed at 2E)

[2E]

i saw the sheet today mick

Something like

Headlight loosly fitted

Steering slightly notchy

Fairing fitted loosly but not likely to impede steering

Illegal number plate

Limited reserve rear brake pedal travel?

n/s brake compensator siezed?

Front tyre wall starting to perish

Hope this helps


You mean its going to tell them my number plates illegal by mot standards???:grin1


FFS!:laugh1



Front tyre and the seized thing would be the first thing to do.:grin2

[Danjaman6669]

2E the nitpicking as you call is for yours and others safety. Get it sorted! :shooter

i can second that!!! especially if the "loosely fitted headlight " comes out at night you would be screwed.

The whole advisory thing is there to pick up on things that people may not be aware of and most bikers that are respectful would thank them for it not the opposite

[2E]

i can second that!!! especially if the "loosely fitted headlight " comes out at night you would be screwed.

The whole advisory thing is there to pick up on things that people may not be aware of and most bikers that are respectful would thank them for it not the opposite

its not that loose.. its loose when you take the chrome trim off.. its exactly the same as when i got it, they took the trim off to 're-angle' the light for me.. and then noted it was loose..

The problem is that the GT550 is supposed to look like this:

http://cwdegier.googlepages.com/gt550-3.jpg/gt550-3-full.jpg


Mine has been highly modified:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v285/essexbikers/Tooeys%20Bikes/DSCF0426.jpg


GT's werent supposed to have round headlights.. which is why i say nit-picking.. if it was going to 'fly out' at night it would of done so by now.

:grin2

[Danjaman6669]

its not that loose.. its loose when you take the chrome trim off.. its exactly the same as when i got it, they took the trim off to 're-angle' the light for me.. and then noted it was loose..

The problem is that the GT550 is supposed to look like this:

http://cwdegier.googlepages.com/gt550-3.jpg/gt550-3-full.jpg


Mine has been highly modified:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v285/essexbikers/Tooeys%20Bikes/DSCF0426.jpg


GT's werent supposed to have round headlights.. which is why i say nit-picking.. if it was going to 'fly out' at night it would of done so by now.

:grin2

ok, never said it would "fly out"

did they leave the trim off? did you question it when they wrote the advisory for the headlamp because there are two situations here....

1. they left it off and wrote it --- you should have spoken to them
2. they put it back on ( securing it again) and wrote it --- you should have spoken to them!

see what im getting at here? :grin1

[superstacker]

In honesty though mate, if its loose, its loose. The last thing you want is traffic slapping you with a prohibition notice or something.

Remember small problems quickly can become big ones




(unless, touch wood, its the small oil leak on my mazda)

[2E]

the bloke took the trim off and showed me how it was fitted etc, its not an issue, should be a simple fix really.

As for the others... the 'excessive rear brake travel'.. thats just how i like it as otherwise the back wheel locks as ive found.. i remember putting it in there before and the helpfully tightened it up for me again, then 2 minutes down the road my rear joint my front and left me sitting sideways..

I fitted a Marshall Deeptone Exhaust too it as the motad was popping, and its higher up then the Motad which means you have to loosen the pedal off to compensate for it.. :(

Like i said anyway.. all should be simple fixes for me or whoever takes it off my hands.. my main concern is sorting the CB out whilst i have the time/money as having rode that im gagging to go out on it again and again... playtimes over now and its about time i passed the GT on to another 'P plater'.:grin2

[rembrandt]

the chrome ring does hold them style of headlights in 2E there should be some other form of fixing , 2 adjusters and a fixed point and some have a spring as well

[MICKTLS]

the fixing behind the rim might have started to become oversize in the fibre glass so not allowing the screws to hold properly , your not going to get pulled up for advisories but it just gives them something else to look at thats all , theres a limit to which the manufactuer sets the amount of travel ie rear brake lever travel for satisfactory working effectiveness ie so your brakes work in the way they were designed , what swifts were saying is they should be adjusted to the correct amount of travel you might need to remove the rear wheel and gently angle the leading and trailing edges of the rear brake shoes so that they are not too grabby when you put the brake on ok

[kasandrich]

I take what people are saying about advisories, but MOT stations are targetted with issuing advisories now and SOME of them are all about nothing.

eg, anyone who is in the know on the fazer 1000 knows they like a bit of slack in the chain or they clunk when you change gear. Manufacturers recoomended slack 25mm, most owners in the know work with 40mm. Mine was set at 40mm and all was well, my local MOT station that I have a lot of respect for put an advisory "chain excessively loose", I questioned this and pointed out that at 25mm they clunk on gear changes and those in the know use 40mm slack..........the reply? "yes I know, but I have to put something down"!

This makes a mockery of the whole system.

[MICKTLS]

on a TL you have to have more slack than what suzuki say otherwise the rotary damper locks solid and drastically upsets the handling of the bike

[kasandrich]

I need to come and see you some time Mick, one of my adjuster locknuts is locked up solid, can't shift it, and starting to round off, I'm hoping that your superior quality spanners will shift it.

[MICKTLS]

ok m8 no prob if not a little bit of release agent might help aswell lol

[UKSkidMark]

How much is a set of replacement locknuts? Couple of quid?

Does make me laugh when they charge a few pounds for a washer etc.