Operation: Commute

[squirrel_hunter]

Originally Posted by tigersaw

That indicator thing is right, for USA the front indicators illuminate for 'position' but not the rear ones. Same on my USA imported Serow

That's interesting to know. So would that imply I have an import bike? I think it was originally from a main dealer, odd, but not had a chance so far to check.

And my god that top box looks bigger than the bike!

On the plus side I have a replacement exhaust. Will be fitting that shortly as I want to get out on it...

[STRAMASHER]

Slowing down for roundabouts!?



Thats just not the 125 way!



Get a grip man! Where is your inner idiot!?



Nice choice bytheway.

[_Stretchie_]

**AHEM**

http://msxsport.com/index.html

**AHEM**

Giz a go Mr

[tigersaw]

Twin exhaust full system mmmmm

These little groms are everywhere at the moment. Great work from the marketing dept. look like great fun never the less, I fear at 6' and 17 stone I may look a little odd on one though!

[_Stretchie_]

Well between us me and Squirrel can test this for you, him on the height basis and me on the weight basis

See Squirrel, it's a matter of customer service, now gimme the keys

[squirrel_hunter]

The twin system does look good, but it is a single cylinder engine... Other things are on the wish list.

On the size subject I think I'm just under 6' and it fits ok. Might look a little big on it, but then most people would. Down force is Stretchies department.

[squirrel_hunter]

So I got on to the to do list tonight and the first order was the exhaust.



The can of the full system that is on there now is to loud to the point of offence and not my style so that needed to be replaced. A quick call to Jap 4 Performance the UK importer for Tyga Performance and a small box arrived a few days later. I have a feeling this might happen more than once.

Within the box was a stainless steel oval exhaust. I chose this one as it has a removable baffle. They do a carbon version as well, but knowing that carbon exhausts cant cope with VTwin pulses I fear a single might go the same way. Besides carbon isn't really my thing. Interestingly I weighed the new and old exhaust on my notoriously accurate cheapo scales, the new stainless steel is 1350g and the old maggot is 690g. To make up for this difference I need to loose weight elsewhere on the bike.



Replacing the exhaust was fairly simple. Removed the springs unbolted the pipe from the hanger and then wriggled it off. Installing the new one was a reversal of the process with the addition of a little persuasion to lines the pipe up with the hanger.



I had to take the carbon tip off to install the baffle. Surprisingly there was no bolt supplied for this. I didn't really have the right length so added a nut in between to space it out and provide something to grip against. If you are installing an exhaust like this I strongly recommend a spring puller tool. These can be had for less the £10 and make the job very easy. I bought mine when I did the 2MA its one of those things that pay for themselves, yes you can use a pair of pliers and I have in the past but this was so much easier and I didn't scratch anything.



The final thing I did was to remove the stickers that the previous owner put on it. I warmed them up using a heat gun for a few seconds then pilled them off. Any remains of glue was then removed with a little WD40 on a rag.



After that it was to take the bike out for a bit and see what the new exhaust sounds like. And I must say I'm relived and happy. The new exhaust note is deeper and not piercing with a nice little rasp. The Grom is on.

That looks so much better mate. Really like the new exhaust, it goes with the bikes looks much more than the previous one. And if it sounds better to then its a win/win!

From the pics the finish looks to be fairly matt for stainless, almost like a titanium finish? Maybe it's just the lighting, not sure but I like it.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[squirrel_hunter]

So about 3 weeks ago, this happened:



I hit the first service mark. I wasn't overly bothered about being spot on, but as chance would have it I got home to find I was bang on 600 miles. The first service is relitivly straight forward, some simple checks, change the oil and then check the valves.

But reading online I decided that I wanted to do a little more. So I ordered some gaskets in readiness and waited. And waited. And then waited some more. For a current model bike I was less then impressed with nearly a 3 week wait for parts. And simple parts at that, the clutch cover gasket was what took the longest time.



But with all the bits I wanted I set about my work. First off I drained the oil over my exhaust.

My Tyga system runs directly under the drain bolt. Which has the added problem of preventing a ratchet from getting in there. Luckily I had some crows feet sockets that I bought while doing the 2MA, and the 17mm fitted in there nicely. Saved me from taking the header pipe off.



The next thing I wanted to do, was to clean the internal oil strainer and the spinner. The engine doesn't have an internal or external filter but uses a strainer and spinner to deal with the oil and I read that contaminants from the original engine build can be found here after the first service.



Getting the clutch cover off was a bit of a faf, had to remove the right footpeg to get clearance for the cover. I had read that some had been able to reuse the cover gasket. But not me, it split as I took the cover off. However it is also the toughest gasket I've ever faced. An absolute pain to remove from the old faces but eventually I cleaned both faces off.



More cleaning then followed, the strainer had some bits in it but nothing to worry about and the spinner was relatively clean. So that all went back together nicely and the engine refilled with oil. However it would have been easier to have had a sight glass to work from as opposed to a dip stick.



The valves were both within tolerance. And not to bad to do, access to the intake valve is a little restricted thanks to the air box, but isn't difficult. While I was down there I stuck a new air filter and a new spark plug in.

Then it was a final check of everything else on the bike. So I took the opportunity to try and locate some buzzing on the left of the bike and removed the panel.



Turns out the lug had broken and the panel was flapping about a little. I tried some Plastex to glue it back on but I don't think its held. Might look at getting a replacement.



Service over and I'm back out on it. I think I put 30 miles on it the other night going for a little fun ride. Strangely though I did all that without leaving the confides of Swindon...