Following our very relaxing holiday in the New Forest, we are back in the workshop to another busy busy week.

Let’s take a look at some of the bikes we have welcomed into the workshop this week.

Suzuki DR650.

On Monday we welcomed a Suzuki DR650 to the mono motorcycles workshop for a Full Service. Whilst the bike was with us, we discovered that one of the indicators wasn’t working, the brake pads were very low and the rear disc was in need of replacement.

We repaired the indicator whilst the bike was with us and rebooked the DR for overhauling the brakes and completing a valve check.

Vespa 125.

Second up we welcomed a Vespa to the workshop for an Annual Service. However, as we did not have the mileage before the bike arrived, we were not aware that the Vespa should have had a Major Service at 24,000 Km. The bike arrived with 25,000 Km on the clock.

We have now advised the customer that the Major Service is due and we are looking to re-book the bike for a few weeks’ time.

Some of you may wonder why we couldn’t just get on and complete the Major Service then and there and the reasons are time and parts.

When a bike is booked in based on what a customer has advised, we allocate hours in the diary and we source parts accordingly. If the bike arrives with more issues and or more work needed and we have not been notified in advance, we do not always have the additional time available to complete the work and sometimes the parts may not be readily available. When we are booking 4-6 weeks ahead, we have to time things as accurately as is possible.

There are always going to be times when a bike ends up staying with us longer due to unforeseen issues. This can in turn create a bottleneck of backed up work. We then need to squeeze that bike back in the diary when parts arrive or to find additional time. Therefore, the more information our customers can give us at the time of booking, the more aware we are of a bike’s potential needs and requirements, the better we can plan and the better level of customer service and satisfaction we can provide.

Piaggio MP3.

For most of Monday and Tuesday Oaklie was working on a Piaggio MP 350 and it cumulatively took 8 hours to strip the panels off the bike, make the minor repairs to the return clip which pops up the fuel cap cover, replace a suspension bush and replace all of the panels. The entire bodywork is interlocking so to get to the damaged assembly meant removing every single panel. Sometimes what appears to be a simple job can become very complicated.

Ducati Diavel.

The Ducati joined us this week for a full service and cambelts.

Whilst Daniel was removing the HT leads, one of them was found to be stuck on the spark plug. It is a common fault that due to the location of the spark plugs, water seeps into the HT leads causing the spark plug body to fur up and expand. This can cause the HT lead to stick and become very difficult to remove. In this case the HT lead actually broke inside as it was being removed and you can see from the pictures that the plugs were all showing signs of water damage and in particular the one which caused the HT lead to break. Having spoken with Ducati this is a common fault.

Once the service, cambelts and HT lead were replaced, the Ducati was given a road test and is now waiting to head home.

Kawasaki Z1000SX.

On Tuesday we welcomed an immaculate Kawasaki Z1000SX for Annual Servicing and arranging an MOT.

Yamaha YBR250.

The very clean YBR250 joined us after the customer had noticed that the bike had started to misfire a few months ago. The customer diagnosed at home with a Yamaha OBD and it read Fault code for TPS and Air Intake.

The YBR had already been to another motorcycle technician who could not diagnose the fault but said it looked like an ECU fault.

When the bike arrived, Daniel examined the wiring diagram and found that the sensor with the issue all had two common wires – one 5v and one ground.

Having removed the panels Daniel found one of the sensors and tested with a multimeter. The wiring diagram showed grounds run through the ECU. In this case no ground earth was present.

Daniel then tested grounds back to the battery which were OK and then tested the ground wire from ECU. He then tested the plug at ECU which again was OK, however what did seem odd was that if the ECU was moved the fuel pump would prime.

Daniel started the bike and ran the engine for about 2 minutes until he moved the ECU then the bike backfired and cut out.

Daniel then gently tapped the ECU and by doing so he could get the headlight to go on and off and the fuel pump to prime. Based on this series of tests and the behaviour of the ECU in certain scenarios, Daniel concluded that a component inside the ECU had broken loosing earths to sensor and coil hence the cut out.

Yamaha MT09 and Suzuki Haybusa.

One of our regular customers who has been using his Yamaha MT09 as a commuter bike over the summer, booked in for an Interim Service to freshen up before the winter months.

We also welcomed a Suzuki Hayabusa for some security upgrades.

The three T’s. Triumph, Tracer and tyres.

On Friday we had a T- day. First up we welcomed a Triumph Tiger 1050 for pre-sales servicing and changing an exhaust. Another great sale for DJK Motorcycles.

We then welcomed a Yamaha Tracer and a beautiful BMW RNineT Urban for tyre fitting.

Our latest acquisition to the mono motorcycles workshop is a brand-new digital tyre balancer. The tyre balancer automatically checks the balance of the wheel and new tyre and advises the technician if and where the wheel may need weighting.

Events

Breakfast Club

This coming Sunday sees our penultimate Breakfast Club of 2023. Joins us for a hearty breakfast or catch up with friends from 9.00am-11.00am at the mono motorcycles workshop.

Charity Christmas Quiz

Tickets are now on sale for our 2023 Charity Christmas Quiz in aid of SERV Wessex Blood Runners. The quiz takes place at The Pallant Centre, Havant on Friday 15^th December 7.00pm-10.00pm.

Tickets are £5.00 each and can be purchased at the mono motorcycles workshop or over the telephone 01243 576212 / 07899 654446. Gather your teams and join us for a great night!

Service and repair

We are already taking bookings for winter projects and winter service packages. We are encouraging bike owners to consider either having their bikes serviced throughout the winter months ready for any signs of warmer weather or, booking in for their scheduled servicing well in advance for 2024.

The weather this year has been unpredictable to say the least, so why not make sure your bike is road ready all year round to take advantage of the good weather as and when it appears!

For all your motorcycling needs contact Daniel or Katy on 01243 576212 / 07899 654446 or email us at monomotorcycles@gmail.com