First long ride since rebuild and it couldn't of gone worse.

[adds]

This is my tale of woe.
Yesterday I took my bike a 1999 sv650 for its first long ride since I bought it and rebuilt it.
Bearing in mind it's a proper white elephant, with everything breaking and going wrong.
Starting with, head bearings, fork seals, backfiring, electrics everything. Would of been cheaper to go out and buy a new r1!
So I get a lot pass, and am ready for action. I get on the m4 from London heading to Devon. It's wet and cold and I'm quickly ****ed off.
I get to Bristol and stop for a coffee, smoke coming from My engine. And guess what. I have a oil leak. Oh the joy. Do they sell bike oil at services.... NO!
Just a loose bolt from when I change the water pump. I tighten it up and off I go again. Still leaking just less. Then in the pitch dark my lights cut out! Yes those **** eBay indicators have blown all my fuses. Smiling oh I'm not! Riding in the dark with no lights. Brown pants. Get to the nearest services. New fuses. Get home and feel so ****ed off.

[Jayneflakes]

A somewhat shorter shakedown route could have shown up those faults, oh well, at least you know now.

If you are heading past Weston Super Mare and need a place to stop for a cuppa and fix your bike in the future, look us up. :D

[rictus01]

Hmmmmm.....poor preperation might I suggest, whilst it's not uncommon to get the odd fault now and again those sound like work quality errors to me, if you're not sure of the work you've done, perhaps getting someone to check the bike over before undertaking a trip might be wise :smt102.


Cheers Mark.

[adds]

Cheers for the lovely advise but it's not about poor quality work more like just a **** bike. I bought the bike for next to nothing and it's had issue after issue. Just passed it's mot after having most of the work done by a professional. It turns out it wasn't the gasket on the clutch cover it was the pipe that runs from the engine to the air of had popped off. So now that's been fixed and new decent indicators has been purchased.
I've been riding it about a fair bit these last few days and it was running fine, but then again it wasn't raining and yesterday it was heaving down and the indicators where just cheap ones from eBay.
Thanks for the offer of a cuppa, I'll be sure to take you up on it one day. Just spent the morning sorting out my issues with the bike. Apart from that it runs quite well. It pulls well for a bike of its size. Not sure I like the consistent self attempts of trying to pull wheelies too much, think I need to change the gearing a bit.

[Doinitmyway]

You shouldn't let it get you down, it just happens. Next time you will know better and maybe do things a different way. At least you are having a go. Alot of people run a mile from head bearings and fork seals and the like so kudos for having a pop. I am rebuilding a 1990 FZR400 from scratch and sticking an R1 front end on it. I have no illusions it might not go smoothly :-({|= but its my project.......

Better luck with finishing it off, and a pic would be good ;)

Chris

[adds]

Thank fella, yeah I'm not scared to try anything if it's not a massive griefy job. Like valve clearences. I haven't tried that as I know it will be a massive ball ache.
Head bearings and fork seals are easy to do, and with a Haynes manual and all the tools and parts ready it's hard to go wrong, my issue is no sooner do I fix something, something else breaks. I knew it was a doer upper when I got it but it's starting to get beyond a joke.
When I bought it , it hadn't started for 2 years.
It's had so far,
A full paint job, full service, new front brakes, pads and lines Also, a new battery, new r/r, new levers, new rear tyre, new front tyre, refurbed carbs, new choke cable, new fork seals, new head bearings, new water pump ( which I must say please becareful if you ever come to do one, don't tighten too much as the housing is paper thin and cracks!) new indicators and relay. So now it's looking relatively nice, and runs well, just this last ride completely drained my love for the damn thing.
My issue is I love a project, and end up wasting so much time and money into one it becomes too late to stop as its normally got too much invested.
Good look with the fzr. I had a lovely bike on the go last year. It was a 1986 gpz 600 r ninja with a rsv Mille front end and a Vfr 400 s/s swing arm. Changing job and having to move to London forced me to sell it just before. Completion. Heart breaking

[flymo]

You shouldn't let it get you down, it just happens. Next time you will know better and maybe do things a different way. At least you are having a go. Alot of people run a mile from head bearings and fork seals and the like so kudos for having a pop. I am rebuilding a 1990 FZR400 from scratch and sticking an R1 front end on it. I have no illusions it might not go smoothly :-({|= but its my project.......

Better luck with finishing it off, and a pic would be good ;)

Chris

Cool, I had my FZR400 race bike fitted with R1 bodywork, looked good.

[Doinitmyway]

http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/3216/26052012631.jpg

Coming along, engine is in, subrfame re powdercoated and fitted. Picking up wheels from powdercoaters tommorow. Saving for tyres :rolleyes:

Oh and I had a lovely project going at the end of last year till some biddy knocked me off it. It was a mint FZR600 genesis and I recommisioned it as it had been store since '06. New tyres fluids caliper rebuilds throttle cables battery clutch tyres headers - had to wave goodbye to the lot. I didn't know what condition the bike was in as I was taken to hospital. It came back to me on a pallet.. :(

[Bluefish]

Thank fella, yeah I'm not scared to try anything if it's not a massive griefy job. Like valve clearences. I haven't tried that as I know it will be a massive ball ache.
Head bearings and fork seals are easy to do, and with a Haynes manual and all the tools and parts ready it's hard to go wrong, my issue is no sooner do I fix something, something else breaks. I knew it was a doer upper when I got it but it's starting to get beyond a joke.
When I bought it , it hadn't started for 2 years.
It's had so far,
A full paint job, full service, new front brakes, pads and lines Also, a new battery, new r/r, new levers, new rear tyre, new front tyre, refurbed carbs, new choke cable, new fork seals, new head bearings, new water pump ( which I must say please becareful if you ever come to do one, don't tighten too much as the housing is paper thin and cracks!) new indicators and relay. So now it's looking relatively nice, and runs well, just this last ride completely drained my love for the damn thing.
My issue is I love a project, and end up wasting so much time and money into one it becomes too late to stop as its normally got too much invested.
Good look with the fzr. I had a lovely bike on the go last year. It was a 1986 gpz 600 r ninja with a rsv Mille front end and a Vfr 400 s/s swing arm. Changing job and having to move to London forced me to sell it just before. Completion. Heart breaking
Bloody hell, cheaper to buy a new one, still hopefully only a couple more bits to fix :rolleyes:

[adds]

Like I said white elephant. Now I'm having issues with the new relay as its after market one for led Indis and I have been out and bought bulb ones so the indis now dot flash but stay on. Give me strength!

[missyburd]

I think perhaps it could have gone worse, least you got home in one piece with no sleepwalking deer or badgers to get in your way ;) And buying cheap stuff off Ebay, well you get what you pay for I guess. The bike certainly picked its moments!

[adds]

Yeah the bike hates me.
Thought it would a cracking idea to change the dash bulbs today. Talk about grief and effort. Tried to get a indi relay today, none at the breakers, wanted 70 quid at Suzuki. Lucky I kept my old one, unlucky it's still in London and I'm in Plymouth.