Wrench'n Ride'n

Did my first plug change on the 1200 Bandit today. The plug spanner that comes in the bikes tool kit really works. I have had them in previous bikes where they did not fit the spark plug.  First 2 plugs I took out where finger type. WTF. Whoever did the last service must have had a 2 year old change the plugs. I have the receipt for who did the work for the previous owner. I do not want to look and see who it was.  If they where scared of stripping a plug thread in the head they need to learn what the squash washer on the plug is for. Bastards.

When I took delivery of my Danmoto clips-ons they sent me one clamp that was the wrong size. While the replacement was on its way i played around with this set up.  "DanMoto Clip-ons done different..." Today the replacement clamp arrived. So I fitted them the way they are intended to be done. They feel great. Just a bit lower than the OEM bars. Yet I can adjust them in so many ways to suit.  Took the bike out for a bit of a blat and the mirrors do not blur at all now. Vibes are being soaked up by the forks. Hard revs and I get a tingle through the bars. They are wider than my fake Jota bar setup. I am very surprised with how comfortable they are.  

I had a brain wave. Or brain fart, depends on how you see what I have done. Instead of mounting these clip-ons to the forks I played around with some old Renthal bars by cutting them up and fitting the clip-ons to these. I have made my own set of Jota Bars. Adjustable as anything. I will carry an allen key with me till I get the bars set in just the right position. The way I have them they are way narrower than the OEM bars. Which I really like the feel of so far. The only down side is to have them any higher will need a longer brake line.

I have decided to get clip-ons for the Bandit. As much as I like the Renthal Ultra Low bars I am searching for more comfort. Less vibration through my hands. So after reading some reviews on the DanMoto clip-ons and seeing as they are around $100 I thought I would give them a go. Yes I know they are made in China. Hey come on Kawasaki make some of their 650 Twins in Indonesia and sell them around the world. Yes i know that some of the first batch of these clip-ons had some breaks under heavy braking. That was a few years back now and I have yet to any feedback since then to suggest that they are still crap. So I thought I would give them a go. I ordered them just as Chinese New year was happening. So had to wait for that to finish and then they were sent via EMS. Real quick postage this. I had them within 4 days. Open the packet and find they sent one fork clamp that was way to big for my forks. Quick emails between me and them and they have sent me a replacement c...

You seen how much it is to replace a bosch headlamp? I still need my kidneys so could not pay for one that way. Not that my headlamp has been hit By anything. Yet! our roads are crap. there is so much gravel and stuff that gets flung up at me as I ride along.  So again I went to A.M.H.P  and bought one of their headlamp protectors. Again very simple to install as per their instructions and supplied cleaning wipe. You get the super sticky, super grip together 3m Dual Lock fasteners.  This time I was able to fit the protector so it is straight. I have a crocked eye and everything I mount or cut ends up not straight. This time I had the lens to guide me.   

I have had the Bandit on it's side 3 times since I have owned it. This in no way impresses me. The second time this happened I swore I would get some crash protection. Either crash bars or crash bobbins. Third time on it's side and I still have yet to do something about this. So I bought some crash mushrooms from a brilliant eBay seller " jaybeebikerbits ". He is in the UK. Very professional to do business with. His product is of a very high standard. I just never want to test these mushrooms. WebRep Overall rating This site has no rating (not enough votes)

After a bit of a fight with a very heavy gate that closed on my bike and knocked it to the ground I had to buy some new levers. Yes the bike lost the fight with the gate. I bought these off eBay after reading many forums postings about Chinese levers. Mine came out of Hong Kong. They are very well made. Feel good against my fingers when using them. They feel nice and sturdy. I think they look good. They operate as they should. This is the good. Now the bad. This was the seller, aumotomarts. He sent a set that has the clutch side as cable operated. Wrong wrong wrong for a 2002 1200 Bandit. My clutch is hydraulic. In fact he has photos with a clutch lever that is cable operated. I should have twigged this when I bought them but did not. I contact them as soon I get the levers. Tell them the problem. They reply and want photos of my OEM lever compared to the one they sent. I do this. Then they email me to say they never got the photos. So I upload them to...

The OEM horn on the Bandit makes a feeble fart noise when you stab the horn button. Worse when it gets wet. So I bought a  Stebel Italian made Horn which has 500Hz High Tone 12volt MAGNUM 136dB.  Its loud. Very loud. Now those that drive and are in god's waiting room around here will hear me. In other words the  oldies . 

At last my Kappa 21ltr panniers have arrived. Mail out of Germany is not that fast. They are light. Narrow and I think they are great. I also got a set of Givi top box mounting hardware so Jan now has something to stop her from toppling off the back of the bike. hehehehehehe. She also now has a triboseat grippy seat cover. This is a very simple bit of mesh that attaches to the seat and stops her from sliding forward. It works that well I would be worried about getting a wedgey from it.

After a few weeks of either me being sick or very few days off I have had a chance to go ride. It was perfect weather too. Took myself to Fighter World at RAAF base Williamtown. Also known as Newcastle airport. Heading north some of the billboards have temp gauges in them. One said it was 33 C degrees. Mesh jackets rock in this type of weather. So to not having a fairing.

Anyone got the marshmallows?

The wait has been worth it. I have wanted hard luggage for the Bandit for some time now. I was so spoilt with the hard bags on the BMW. ThatOtherGuy on the  Australian Bandit forums was selling a set of Givi panniers racks. He was asking a really good price. So I bought them. The racks were fitted this morning. Now for the panniers. I am going to be using Givi/Kappa 21 liter ones.  I wanted the smallest ones as I do a lot of commuting and not much touring. So this size should suit nicely.  They are on their way to Australia as I type. Coming from Germany. Brand new. Bought on eBay for $130 less than the cheapest I could find here down under. This is with courier fee as well. Australian retailers wonder why they are struggling.

Back in the day... hehehehe stuffing around with Photoshop...

Bought some 3M cable routers today and fixed up the chain oiler line. It now puts oil a whole lot closer to the front of the sprocket.

I never have liked chain drives. Of the 14 bikes I have owned 4 had shaft drives. I like shaft drives. No messy chains to adjust. No regular oiling to do. Almost maintenance free is a shaft drive. I have only in the last few weeks put a new chain and sprockets on the Bandit. The original ones lasted around 47k kms. I think this is because the original owner had fitted a ScotOiler to the bike. It was not on the bike when I bought it. There is evidence that it was one of those vacuum operated ones. I could not afford a ScotOiler so bought a Tutoro Chain Oiler . I bought the Auto one. Seems to work off the motion of the bike which makes a plunger go up and down allowing the oil to flow. So when the bike is not moving the oil don't flow. See  Auto Oiler...  for more info. Fitting it to the Bandit was not easy. This is no reflection on the Tutoro. Its the fact that the frame on the Bandit does not allow you anywhere ...

It must be nearly 30 years since I did a sprocket and chain change. Helps that I have had a few shaft drive bikes. Or the chain drive bikes I have got rid of before they needed new chain. Example of this is the MuZ I had. The 1200 has a real tight spot in the chain. So I have a new X ring chain and new sprockets to go on. I am using the standard size sprockets. I do not want to play around with gearing. Knowing me I would end up buying different size sprockets. Not like the change to the gearing and go back to standard. I bought a Tsubaki / Supersprox Heavy duty X-ring chain & sprocket kit  from  https://www.slipstreamperformance.com.au/store/index.php  as they were the cheapest I could find in Australia. I know what to do. I have watched a few You Tube videos to refresh my memory. I have bought a 32mm socket to get the drive sprocket nut off. Glad I have an angle grinder. Only way to get the old chain off and cut the new one to ...

Yesterday my 5 degree advancer from Holeshot arrived. Dale, who owns Holeshot, offers such great service. Great communication all through the purchasing and sending process. The kit comes with the advancer and a new gasket. There is a very well written set of installation instructions. I had it all fitted and the bike started up in under 10 minutes I have yet to ride the bike yet I have noticed that the engine is more responsive off idle. Of course out on the road will show how good this mod is.  Thank you Dale. Wish more sellers/suppliers on the Net were like you.  {EDIT}: Just took the bike out for a quick blat. I sure have noticed a better response in low and mid range. I though the 12 was good in standard trim. Its even better now.  I have the OEM exhaust still fitted, no airbox mod and no re-jetting. The idle went up a bit from before the advancer was put in. I have backed the idle off to 1300rpm which is what it was set to when I...

The bar end mirrors I bought off eBay have not lasted long. The right hand mirror ended up flapping around on my hand the other day. I was riding along when the mirror decided that it had enough. So I have ditched them and bought some "N" clamps to hold mirrors on stalks (more on this in a another posting later.) I have also made some frame side covers. On the "S" because of the fairing the covers up near the steering head are not supplied. I could have bought some new or second hand off eBay but decided to make my own. As I call my Bandit 'el-Lobo' ,which in Spanish means 'the Wolf' I have engraved a wolf into the side plates. These plates were cut from 2mm aluminium. Shaped, engraved, painted and then mounted. One on each side. They cover up all that wiring etc that stands out like dogs balls with no cover.