Stray

PM received and responded - thank you! Your work on this is nothing short of amazing, SF. You boys pulled off the impossible and others have tried for decades - respect! I wanted an 8th gen system so bad I could taste it but personal circumstances changed right as I was about to get one. Luckily things have improved somewhat but JUST too late to get on the last production run. Turns out quite a few people who bought these didn’t fit them and have had changes in circumstances of their own. I’ll pick up one of these and save waiting for the next run.

Hello All, I’m looking to upgrade my 5th gen with a performance header. Already have a catless 5th gen system but looking for that little bit more. If you’ve got a TBR, Erion or other performance header please get in touch via PM. All headers from 5th, 6th and 8th gen considered (8th gen prefered). Not really looking for OEM replacement systems like Motad or Delkevic...needs to be a performance system please. I’m based in England and happy to import if price allows. Best, Stray

Anyone got one of these headers they want to shift? Ideally the 8th gen version for front-facing rad but I’ll consider any. Based in England and happy to import if it’s not extortionate. Please PM! Best, Stray

Slightly off topic, but I saw this interesting VFR750 header on eBay and thought I’d share: Note how it merges front and rear whilst giving the rear pipes a bit more length. I wonder if those loops interfere with the rider’s feet. Clever, me thinks!

Docnut, does that setup cook your rear brake fluid?

Sounds like there’s still air. With the SC off, try turning it so any areas near the bleed nipple or hose union where bubbles can get trapped are facing upwards. Then push the piston in with your thumbs. Might need to do this a couple times. Watch out not to spill fluid out the master at the top as it could damage paint. Best to keep the fluid level below max and put some towels round to catch any spray when you push in the piston. Wash any spills off ASAP with water. Rotate the SC to get at all the air-trap spots. Refill with more fluid and pump lever as necessary. DO NOT PUMP THE PISTON RIGHT OUT!!! When you’ve done all you can, fit everything back together and leave the master reservoir lid open just a crack. Pump the lever 20 times to build up as much pressure as you can (watch for spills again) and on the last pump tie the lever to the handlebar. Leave overnight and you should have a rock solid clutch in the morning. This also works with brakes, by the way. Don’t do this on a humid/rainy night as don’t want your brake fluid absorbing moisture. Happy riding! Stray

This is why I love this forum. Guys like RC1237V helping a fellow rider. Good on you mate - really proud to be on the same forum as you! Oh my - that sounds like a mechanic’s worst nightmare. Bet you regretted opening the shop that day! So please for you, Styran. Looks like you have a pretty good handle on mechanics and also the maturity to know when to ask for help. Even the world’s best get it wrong sometimes and it takes guts to ask for help. Well done getting this over the line!

Don’t panic mate - it’s fixable. This is what I’d do if it were mine: 1. buy a new shifter cage thing (not sure what it’s called?) off eBay. Looks like this one from a 6th gen and very cheap... 2. Remove clutch slave, speedo and sprocket cover. Get everything off and out the way 3. Remove all bolts so only the broken bolt is left holding your “shifter cage thing” on 4. take a Dremel or angle grinder and CAREFULLY cut around the bolt hole where the broken bolt resides. The rest of the cage should just pull off as it’s only held with dowels. DON’T CUT INTO YOUR ENGINE! 5. if you’ve done it right the only thing left should be the broken bolt and the piece of cage it’s stuck in. Now just grab it with a pair of pliers and unscrew it off. It’s very easy this way. Plus, you’ll have access to rethread the stripped hole properly with everything out the way. If you don’t have a Dremel/grinder you could probably snap off pieces of the “shifter cage thingy” with a pair of stout pliers. These cast aluminium pieces are very brittle. You may also want to buy a new bearing for the shifter shaft whilst you’re in there. Also very cheap. Have fun! Stray

Really cool bike! I noticed the famous Harris rearsets and awesome paint. What other non-standard parts does it come with? Is the high-mount exhaust standard for these?

Hello All, Is there a list of engine bolts anywhere? I’m looking to replace all mine with Ti/SS/Al and would rather not pull them all out one-at-a-time for measuring. Will probably do the rest of the bike too (suspension, chassis and bodywork etc). Have seen a few “kits” for sale but they’re often marked up 400% compared to buying loose. On my other bikes I ended up having to compile (and publish) a comprehensive bolt list. Just hoping someone has already done it for the 5th Gen! Any advice welcome. Stray

Did valve clearances on my 10,500 mile 5th gen engine and one of them was on the very edge of spec. If I’d waited for 16,000 miles it would have been out of spec for sure. Of course it would still run OK but wouldn’t be ideal. Maybe I’m too anal to leave internal maintenance for long but this sort of thing keeps me up at night!

Thanks for getting back, Duc2V4. Shame to miss out but not the end of the world. Always wanted an 8th gen version but my financial position recovered just too late.

Why not epoxy the hole with the bolt in? The bolt should be lubed first and the epoxy won’t stick. When epoxy cures then bolt gets backed out and voila - new threads. Lots of YouTube tutorials. If it was mine I’d build the hole up with alumiweld rods and drill/tap. You can also do this with the bolt in place as above (alumiwekd won’t stick to steel so the threads will be perfect). These are low temp solder-like rods that can be melted with a torch. Repaired a few things with them in the past. Best, Stray

So I’ve done some reading on solid state relay (first stop - what the heck is one of those?). Turns out most of these work from 3v-upwards. They require around 1.6v to saturate/actuate the switch. This means a motor with current draw of, say 6v, only has about 4.4v to operate. Loads of forums say how motors drawing around 3-5v don’t work properly with solid state relays. They only seem to run at half power. Electric motors are best at fully on or fully off. Partly on creates resistance/heat and burns out the motor faster. That’s why Davies Craig use Pulse Width Modulation, which powers the motor fully on for intervals (pulses) rather than graduated power. I’m starting to understand why their controller isn’t suitable to the brushless low-draw pumps. Every day is a school day. But not sure where to go from here. Stray

Post up a sound clip (with and without) when you get it!