Khaos
Cafe Racer in Cardiff, Wales
So...
my bike was built a couple of years ago. The builder took time to think about what he was doing, made many custom parts, reasonable paint job at the time, and the bike went on a run over to the Isle of Man TT - it was reliable long-distance, didn't have starting issues, and was a practical bike.
So the bike went on to another owner... then another. This owner had an enthusiastic brother and father, and they "improved" the bike for her. First off, they took out the airbox and battery box, fitting cone filters, which they messed up totally. Who the hell puts loose bits of foam inside a cone to try and richen things up? The concept of jetting to suit obviously never crossed their minds. Neither did the concept of "that bit of foam is going to get sucked into the carbs mid-ride and screw things up".
The original builder made a nice little tool tray under the seat hump. Team Bodger - Father and Son united in a tradition of stupidity - decided to maintain their quality of work, and use that tray to fit a battery that is totally unable to cope with the day-to-day demands of the bike. 100 cca starting capacity might just work on a 125 4 stroke, it's not going to work too well on a 306cc twin. Oh - and battery straps? Waste of time, man. Use one component to do two jobs. I mean, think about it. Doesn't it make sense to have the starter relay hanging loose so you can wedge it in next to the battery to hold it still? Yeah. Yeah, that'll fly. Trick, custom engineering.
I'm wondering what the "sell" trigger was. I'm thinking that it was when the totally overworked, underpowered batttery started dying so it won't hold a charge properly any more. Or maybe when the bike won't start in cold weather - even with the dying battery charged to its' max - due to that and the messed up carb setup.
Thank christ I knock the price down a fair bit. It nearly paid for getting the bike rolling roaded and setup to ride properly. It gave me an excuse to buy a new multi-tool for working on the battery box as well - always a silver lining. I've bought a new battery - gone for an Enduroline, they're not light, but they do work - the battery I've gone for packs a 215 cca punch, which should take care of the starting issues. and at £30 - about £37us - good value, and the company has a history of happy customers. I've found a battery box that will cost about the same that I can modify to fit where I need it, job done.
Who knows? I may even mount the starter relay properly. And tidy up the totally bodged wiring where the bike was "enhanced" with miniature indicators. And fit a new registration plate properly, as the current one is mounted so it fouls the rear wheel on heavy bumps. Did I mention these improvements?
But eh. I had a hell of a wallow in self-pity, and I'll get me and the bike through this. But - surely - I can't be alone, can I? What "improvements" have been made by previous owners of your bikes?
my bike was built a couple of years ago. The builder took time to think about what he was doing, made many custom parts, reasonable paint job at the time, and the bike went on a run over to the Isle of Man TT - it was reliable long-distance, didn't have starting issues, and was a practical bike.
So the bike went on to another owner... then another. This owner had an enthusiastic brother and father, and they "improved" the bike for her. First off, they took out the airbox and battery box, fitting cone filters, which they messed up totally. Who the hell puts loose bits of foam inside a cone to try and richen things up? The concept of jetting to suit obviously never crossed their minds. Neither did the concept of "that bit of foam is going to get sucked into the carbs mid-ride and screw things up".
The original builder made a nice little tool tray under the seat hump. Team Bodger - Father and Son united in a tradition of stupidity - decided to maintain their quality of work, and use that tray to fit a battery that is totally unable to cope with the day-to-day demands of the bike. 100 cca starting capacity might just work on a 125 4 stroke, it's not going to work too well on a 306cc twin. Oh - and battery straps? Waste of time, man. Use one component to do two jobs. I mean, think about it. Doesn't it make sense to have the starter relay hanging loose so you can wedge it in next to the battery to hold it still? Yeah. Yeah, that'll fly. Trick, custom engineering.
I'm wondering what the "sell" trigger was. I'm thinking that it was when the totally overworked, underpowered batttery started dying so it won't hold a charge properly any more. Or maybe when the bike won't start in cold weather - even with the dying battery charged to its' max - due to that and the messed up carb setup.
Thank christ I knock the price down a fair bit. It nearly paid for getting the bike rolling roaded and setup to ride properly. It gave me an excuse to buy a new multi-tool for working on the battery box as well - always a silver lining. I've bought a new battery - gone for an Enduroline, they're not light, but they do work - the battery I've gone for packs a 215 cca punch, which should take care of the starting issues. and at £30 - about £37us - good value, and the company has a history of happy customers. I've found a battery box that will cost about the same that I can modify to fit where I need it, job done.
Who knows? I may even mount the starter relay properly. And tidy up the totally bodged wiring where the bike was "enhanced" with miniature indicators. And fit a new registration plate properly, as the current one is mounted so it fouls the rear wheel on heavy bumps. Did I mention these improvements?
But eh. I had a hell of a wallow in self-pity, and I'll get me and the bike through this. But - surely - I can't be alone, can I? What "improvements" have been made by previous owners of your bikes?
