The weather has been glorious. Our diary is full to bursting (booking from mid July) and the bikes keep rolling in.

Monday

Triumph Thruxton – straight bar conversion

Our Thruxton customer had been recommended to us by Haslemere Motorcycles. Knowing that Daniel had completed the straight bar conversion on his Thruxton, it was easy for them to pass the work our way.

Tuesday

Herald Classic – extend side stand.

The Herald came to us a short while ago to set the rear shock absorbers up. The customer was finding the set up too stiff. However, since the shocks were set up, the already oddly leaning side stand had got worse.

Therefore, to ensure the bike was safe and so that our customer was able to get on the bike and get the bike upright safely, the side stand was extended by 30 mm.

Honda CBR900RR – Carb overhaul

On Tuesday we welcomed a Honda CBR900RR to the workshop for a carb overhaul. We had been advised by the customer that the bike was still new to him. He had been made aware by the previous owner that it had undergone a full carb overhaul not long ago.

However, when our customer tried to ride the bike, it was clearly not running correctly.

When the bike arrived, Daniel took it for a road test. The bike was rideable but very flat at low revs. Therefore, the decision was made to remove the carbs.

Upon removal of the carbs, all of the air screws were found to have been wound in tightly. This was the first indicator that not all was as it seemed. Further investigation found that the jets were clean and the float heights were OK.

However, once fitted back to the bike and the air screws wound out 2.5 turns when the bike was run up on the bench, black smoke billowed from the exhaust. Even when the screws were turned to 1.5 turns, it was still the same.

The bike was over fuelling considerably. Our guess is that as the bike has an after-market exhaust fitted, it may have had a Dynojet kit fitted at some point. However, based on the performance of the bike and the unknown work completed elsewhere, we have in this instance recommended a rolling road set up.

The beauty of a rolling road set up is that professional set-up companies have access to instant data from the rolling road and can swap jets in and out until they find the correct mixture for that specific bike.

With older bikes, particularly ones which have had any new parts added on, it is sometimes the case that their fuelling systems need properly setting up.

Wednesday

Kawasaki Z900RS – 16 tooth front sprocket

On Wednesday we welcomed a lovely Kawasaki Z900RS. The RS joined us for a new 16 tooth sprocket to be fitted.

However, when we wheeled the bike into the workshop, we noted an engine management light was on and ‘KTRC OFF’ was flashing. At this point we had literally only moved it 10 feet inside our workshop.

When we contacted the customer he advised that he had not seen it before.

Therefore, we replaced the sprocket and then plugged the bike into TEXA. No fault codes found. Puzzling.

Then we had to rely on a little Googling and found one of the Kawasaki technician vlogs we have seen before. They explained in the vlog that on the Z900RS if you turn the traction control off, it throws up an engine management light.

Daniel reset the traction control to Mode 1 and the engine management light went off.

Every make and model of motorcycle is different and behaves differently and we learn alongside their anomalies and differences.

Thursday

Ducati Dharma – Wiring up dash, indicators and headlight

The Ducati Dharma joined us on Thursday to wire up the new Daytona dash and motogadget 360° bar end indicators. When the Ducati arrived the headlight also needed wiring up. The majority of the wiring had been unplugged and was a mix of original wiring loom and someone else’s additional wiring. Although the wiring looked professional, with no wiring diagram provided or available, it was not as simple as had been hoped.

First Daniel set about separating the wiring and removing the old dash and wiring up the new one.

He then set about wiring up the headlight. However, when he set about wiring up the indicators, he struck a problem. Although there was a flasher relay tucked in amongst the wiring, there were no indicator circuits in the loom. Again, we hadn’t known this at receipt. Furthermore, a new rear light had been fitted, but it was discovered that there was no power to the rear of the bike. One final issue was that the switchgear on one side of the bike (fitted elsewhere) had failed.

Having already used up the estimated hours, we contacted the customer with our findings. We will now have to wait for more parts and somehow fit the the additional work in around the other work we already have in and have booked in.

Honda CB750 Carb overhaul

The CB came to us only running on three cylinders. Oaklie having stripped the carbs down, found several jets blocked. He also found telltale water marks inside the carb bodies.

Once stripped and cleaned, the carbs were rebuilt and refitted to the bike.

Carbs

Although we are happy to work on carbs occasionally, we are finding it increasingly challenging to bring old carbs back to life, especially when it is unknown what work has been completed previously. Furthermore, ageing carb bodies can start to become porous especially with new and aggressive fuels flowing through them, not to mention the damage E10 can do.

We do occasionally get asked if buying another set of carbs might be a better option. However, if they are just as old as the ones already on the bike, it is most likely not going to make much of a difference as the same issues arise.

If you have an ageing bike and you are looking for a full carb set up, it is probably more beneficial to seek out an establishment who are able to run a rolling road set up. Having the data instantly available can let a professional understand what the bike is doing and devise the best solution going forward.

Friday

Honda CBF1000 – Interim service and pre-sales checks

The Honda came to us for an Interim Service ahead of being sold. However, upon receipt the customer asked us to arrange an MOT. It was noted at receipt that the front tyre was illegal and would need replacing prior to an MOT.

At the time of writing we are waiting on authorisation from our customer to purchase a new front tyre.

Triumph Street Triple – Won’t start when hot

The Triumph has joined us with an intermittent starting issue which only manifest when really hot.

The customer has already changed the battery and the reg/rec. Upon initial investigation the stator was charging and so was the battery. However, it was noted that the battery terminals were loose. Daniel carried out a volt drop and the bike was well within tolerance.

Daniel took the bike out for a test ride at varying speeds. When he returned he switched the bike on and off and it started every time. He then left the bike running and again switched it on and off and it started every time.

Thus far we cannot get the bike to mimic the fault the customer has brought the bike to us for. Our only thoughts are that as the bike has over 37,000 miles on the clock, it could be starting to show signs of wear at the starter motor.

We have recommended to our customer that he ride the bike now the battery terminals have been tightened and if the condition persists we may have to consider replacing the starter motor.

Other work

In amongst the work above, we have also been trying to catch up with jobs which have overrun for one reason or another.

The Triumph Thruxton motogadget is running behind due to it taking over a calendar month to receive the motogadget Chronoclassic black dash. These items are usually on a 7-14 day turnaround.

The Triumph Thunderbird which joined us a couple of weeks ago for a safety check and carb balance, is still with us. Having not known about any of the bikes underlying faults until it had arrived, we had not allocated any additional time to investigate what has turned out to be a considerable list of issues.

In the first instance the crank sensor had failed. It was evident another person had already been assessing this as the wiring had only been tucked under the tank and not routed correctly.

Despite having corrected this issue, the cutting out fault was still there. A pre-loved ECU did not cure the fault and therefore it was into the loom.

Upon investigation, several wires were found to have been broken inside the ignition wiring and again evidence was there that we weren’t the first to have ‘taken a look’

Daniel and Oaklie repaired the wires and taped up the loom. Now we have to wait for a series of road tests to be completed to ensure we have isolated and repaired all of the faults on the Thunderbird.

The Suzuki GSXR 750 Slingshot restoration is now into a roller, but we are still waiting on certain parts to get the bike to a place it can run.

Reality check

When motorcycles overrun or there are additional unforeseen issues, this obviously has an impact on the rest of the work booked in. If we have been advised of one issue and there are then three, four or five, it then becomes a juggling act to finish everything on time and to the absolute standards we have become renowned for.

We are therefore now booking from the third week in July. If you know your service interval is up or you have been putting off repairs; contact us as soon as you can and we will secure you a space as soon as we can.

We are also starting to take names for Autumn/Winter project work. Therefore, if you are considering a full motogadget rewire, a restoration, major modifications or an entire bike build, then please do email us at info@monomotorcycles.co.uk with as much detail about your project as you can and we can open a  dialogue from there.

Events

We are now focussing exclusively on our monthly Summer Breakfast Clubs and welcome you all to join us for our next event on Sunday 18^th June.

As always for all your motorcycle service, repair and custom bike wiring needs please contact Daniel or Katy on 01243 576212 / 07899 654446 or contact us through our contact page.

Note: At time of writing we are currently booking from mid July!