[Xaos636]

Originally Posted by no_fear

Xaos, finally, the review we had waited for. I am late for the party as I had a lot of things going on and did not check the forum for weeks.

You and Krishna should run a Youtube channel on bike repairs and servicing. The work you guys do are really epic and speak a lot about your passion and dedication.

Thank you. I was wondering where did you vanish We actually make excuses for working on the bike to be honest. We have a ton of work remaining to be done both on the R1 and 650. Even without it, the bike runs fine, but what's the fun in that. Lets get the hands dirty.

Originally Posted by no_fear

For the chain sprocket kit, I can't believe the dealer used farmer's protest as an excuse. If you need help with parts, give me a shout next time. Usually my contacts here have stuff lying around and can send out.

So true. Later after contacting Honda themselves, I understood that a few parts order was itself not placed. And Honda has a policy to deliver parts in 40 days maximum, for all their motorcycles as per my conversation with a Honda head. Seems like the dealer did not know this.

Originally Posted by no_fear

Anyways, having had my recent experience with a dealership + a brand, and the way they changed stories and conducted a full blown media spin, I have to say, most corporates + dealers in India have 0 ethics and do not care at all for customers.

In the end, the biking community in India has to DIY everything and seeing threads like yours and Krishna's provides hope.

I agree to that. Even when buying an automobile, we usually see that the SA runs behind us for payment to be done and once its done, we customers are usually kept in the dark(not all dealers though). You know how long have @Krishnaprasadgg have been waiting for R1 spares. Some are nearly an year old orders and Yamaha always have excuses up their sleeves to not deliver the spares of their ultimate supersports. Not to mention, the only service center in Kerala for Yamaha superbikes has been shut years ago and not a single percent of effort has been put in Yamaha to appoint another dealer. Forget appointing a dealer, Yamaha-India is yet to respond to emails from an R1 owner about difficulty in finding spares. It would have been easier for the Yamaha superbike owners in Kerala to get spares at the least if there was a dealer in place.

One good part of it, we got into buying a bunch of tools and setting up everything ourselves. Yes, its a big learning curve and I will soon post some pics of how I destroyed my caliper mount bolt overtightening them. So yeah, learn and re-learn.

[Xaos636]

The next Cochin run. Plan was to get the accelerator cable, clutch cable and spark plugs replaced. Also the plan was to replace the battery as a proactive measure as it was nearing the 5 year mark and was showing a bit of its age at times. Honda India(or rather their dealer) was generous enough to provide me the 2 cables after 6 months of waiting, but they still couldn't source me the plugs. I had to get it from the US of A through a friends cousin and this was the NGK ones. A bit costlier than what it costs here, but at least I got them.

As usual, me waiting for @krishnaprasadgg very early in the morning. He decided to take out his bro's Tiger rather than the R1.


Sun came out, so did rain.




Destination reached.




The new battery. This was a time when Amaron's were no where to be found. This one had decent reviews and was available easily.




We discovered another thing on the bike which none of us knew! The bike had undergone pair valve delete by the previous owner when he switched to Akrapovic full system. This was fine with me, but there was no blockoff plates installed. I tried to get it, but was unlucky as there were very less people shipping to India. Call it desi jugaad or something else, this is what the bike runs now. One of the pair valve's longer hose was made straight a bit and connected to each other, eliminating the use of blockoff plates. Well I understand the blockoff plates are the way to go, but I do not know if there are any negatives for this mod, as I believe this serves the same purpose of blockoff plates. If anyone can source me blockoff plates for 650F, I would be happy


The cables. Clutch cable was easy as expected, but the accelerator cable replacement was one hell of a task. We need to get the throttle body off the bike(lift it) and this was not easy as it was factory fitted and stuck to its place. We had a tuff time getting it off to remove the accelerator cable, but finally it was done. The cables showed no wear and tear to eyes, but 5 years is right time in my books to replace these as a proactive measure.

See how the throttle cables run into the center of the throttle body.




The lifted body. Right time to get it more cleaner. We discovered that removing it and cleaning gets it cleaned much better than cleaning with the throttle body sitting on the bike. But this can be time consuming though.


There we are


The plugs. Sourced from Revzilla and these are stock replacement parts.


The recommended ones.


New vs old. The old one is a 5 year old 25k kms run plug. We also had got the specific tool to get the plugs off.


Everything done and dusted. The bike was running much smoother after this.


We got one of the heaviest rains on the return run. Had to take all of my time to clean the bike and the chain.


After applying the maxima chain wax.


Clean


Cheers. More to come.

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by Xaos636

The cables. Clutch cable was easy as expected, but the accelerator cable replacement was one hell of a task. We need to get the throttle body off the bike(lift it) and this was not easy as it was factory fitted and stuck to its place. We had a tuff time getting it off to remove the accelerator cable, but finally it was done. The cables showed no wear and tear to eyes, but 5 years is right time in my books to replace these as a proactive measure.

Incidentally, I planned to change the cables on my Triumph Street Triple this year and had tried to source them. I spoke to one of my contacts at a reputed Triumph dealership (guess that eliminates a few choices ) and he asked me if it was really necessary. He suggested that I wait for maybe another year before changing it, but even that he wasnt too convinced about. I finally made peace with his advice and moved my plans to 2022. And then I read your post!

On my Royal Enfield Continental GT 535, I like to change the cables once in every 10,000 kilometers. The fact that the accelerator cable had once given up on me, is enough for me to continue this practice.

Originally Posted by Xaos636

There we are

Mr V looks like he is posing for a south Indian movie scene !

[Xaos636]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Incidentally, I planned to change the cables on my Triumph Street Triple this year and had tried to source them. I spoke to one of my contacts at a reputed Triumph dealership (guess that eliminates a few choices ) and he asked me if it was really necessary. He suggested that I wait for maybe another year before changing it, but even that he wasnt too convinced about. And then I read your post!

I did that because in the event of a cable snap(agree its very rare on these motorcycles as the cables itself look way too strong), then there is no way any roadside mechanic or me myself changing it on the roadside because everything including the throttle body has to come off for the change of a cable. I am not quite sure about how it works on the Striple, but its a pain on the 650F. I just wanted to be safe than sorry. You know what I mean

[Eraser]

@Xaos636: How much did the replacement fairing cost you? I have a similar broken fairing around one of the lower clip and need to get it replaced.

[Xaos636]

Originally Posted by Eraser

@Xaos636: How much did the replacement fairing cost you? I have a similar broken fairing around one of the lower clip and need to get it replaced.

Left side would be 4k and right side would be 3.7k.

[Xaos636]

I rode down to Bangalore to get the fork oil changed along with engine oil and oil filter. That was about it and no other works were to be done. Ofcourse since I was in Bangalore, headed straight to Madhus for wheel balancing before heading out to my trusted Highlander in HSR for the rest of the works.

Sneak peak at a Shell bunk in Mysore.


At Madhus.








Now straight to Highlander HSR.






The old oil and clean chain


Fork oil replacement. The setup to hang the machine.




The tool to remove the fork cap.


10W LM fork oil used. I think I would like it a bit more stiffer. So definitely 15W next time.




Bad luck here which I noticed on the way. Stone hit! I have a front fender extender too. No leaks were there here. Radiator guard ordered right away.


The final look after a couple of new fluids. The swingarm cover is missing here as it was removed to put in new adhesive and to clean the swingarm.

[abhi_tjet]

Originally Posted by Xaos636

Bad luck here which I noticed on the way. Stone hit! I have a front fender extender too. No leaks were there here. Radiator guard ordered right away.

Ouch! Hope no damage Xaos636. Any reason you avoided the radiator guard till now?

[Xaos636]

Originally Posted by abhi_tjet

Ouch! Hope no damage Xaos636. Any reason you avoided the radiator guard till now?

So far, its good. Just that area is bend. The fact that I have a fender extender and for the fact that the branded radiator guards are as costly as the radiator itself, I thought I would give them a miss. Lesson learned.

[Xaos636]

Learning things the hard way.

My rear brake pad was shot and I decided to replace it myself. I have done it before on my R15, CBR250R and my R3 too, so that confidence was all over me, or lets say over confidence here. Its a simple job for those who knows it, but simple jobs too can be messed up.

The old stock pads. A thin layer remains.


The DP brake pads.


Dot 4 TVS brake fluid.


Bought the tool to push the pistons back.


Everything looks good. Put in new fluid and the pad.




And then it happens. I overtightened one of the bolts and it snapped. Exactly the meme I remembered here. When righty tighty became righty loosey. It was that moment I knew that I messed it up.






No point in panic here. Called up a couple of friends and I understood I need to drill it out or go to a lathe, hoping that I did not mess up the thread of that bolt. If so, it needed rethreading, or replacement of that bracket. Nearest Honda is 200kms away and the Bangalore dealer was 400kms away at this point. Nevertheless I contacted both and confirmed that neither of them has the bolt in stock. Well, it was my mistake to waste time asking them.

Did my own research and found that CBR250R uses the same bolt, with the exact same part number. And more so, I understood that a local nut and bolts shop has everything we need, provided we are able to show them what we want. I went to 2 local Hondas to get the bolt, but neither of them stocks it. They said hardly a 250R comes for service. Well, headed straight to the 'bolt' shop and procured a TVS branded one. Confirmed with some local mechs that the bolt is of high quality. Cost - Rs.10.



I went to a local workshop to try to drill it out. As usual as it may sound, they told they are busy and certain other stuff, like to leave the bike overnight. But after a lot of talking, they agreed to try it. A mechanic was able to drill out the snapped bolt piece and I was happy to learn that the thread was not damaged.

Finally everything back to into place.


Lesson learned : Get a torque wrench when you are working alone !

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by Xaos636

So far, its good. Just that area is bend. The fact that I have a fender extender and for the fact that the branded radiator guards are as costly as the radiator itself, I thought I would give them a miss. Lesson learned.

Ouch! That picture of the radiator made me wince. Just a couple of days ago, a fellow Street Triple owner also shared a picture of a damaged radiator. Given our unfortunate road conditions, I feel a radiator guard is the first accessory that one should buy. When I picked up my pre-owned Street Triple from Trivandrum, it had every accessory on it except the radiator guard. I was so worried about a stone hit that I bought the radiator guard in Cochin, took it with me to Trivandrum, installed the radiator guard and then rode the bike back home for the first time.

That said, Im really surprised that the stone got past your fender extender. The amount of slush and much that gets thrown up after I installed the fender extender on my Triumph is negligible compared to before. That is really bad luck and a lesson learnt, as you said!

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

That said, Im really surprised that the stone got past your fender extender.

It need not necessarily be the stone from the front wheel of your bike, but there are higher chances of radiators to be damaged by stones flung off from the fat tyres of vehicles in front of you (trucks, cars or even bikes). I grade the radiator guard as the #1 accessory to be fitted to a new bike. Even frame sliders can wait. One small stone hit and you are looking at minimum 5 digit repair bill and not to mention being stranded!

[Xaos636]

Originally Posted by man_of_steel

It need not necessarily be the stone from the front wheel of your bike, but there are higher chances of radiators to be damaged by stones flung off from the fat tyres of vehicles in front of you (trucks, cars or even bikes). I grade the radiator guard as the #1 accessory to be fitted to a new bike. Even frame sliders can wait. One small stone hit and you are looking at minimum 5 digit repair bill and not to mention being stranded!

This is exactly what happened. A truck threw few stones at me and I immediately had fears of it hitting the radiator. Stopped aside and found that my worst fears became true, lucky enough to not get a leak.

[Xaos636]

A few updates. Replaced a few parts as they were faded(new ones were cheaper than painting them), got the OE number plate holder and fitted the R&G radiator guard.

First the radiator guard. As explained in the previous detailed post, I was lucky enough not to learn this the hard way. Immediately ordered an R&G radiator guard from Redline Racing Store as no other seller had it in stock. They took their advantage too, quoting a slightly higher price.


The quality seems to have taken a slight hit now as I remember my Ninja 300's R&G guard being a bit more sturdy(I could be wrong though).


The two below parts were old and faded. Checked the OE prices and were very affordable. Hence ordered and replaced them.




The fairings were clear coated as the stickers look to be coming out after an improper use of pressure washer, by yours truly


The bar end weights were repainted at home.




New number plate holder. I was using Activas number plate holder till date and it works. But when I saw another bike, I understood that my plates are mounted way high up than stock. Not that it did not do its intended work, it looked odd when compared with a stock mounted bike. So got the OE holder as well as new bolts.

The high mounted Activa number plate holder. It does the job though.


Its attached to the bolt of the MRA windscreen.


The new stock number plate holder vs the activa holder


The new bolts to fit.


The cost of the longer bolt.


Final fit. Mounts right into the lower bolt of mirror, hence a longer bolt is used here. I guess this is India and Thailand specific as most other countries does not use a front plate. One good thing is that the CBR650R too uses the same plate holder and hence its easy to get hold off one.

[rt363]

Hi Xaos636

I've been reading and re-reading your thread for the past few weeks 😁
Amazing bike and a great thread about the bike and the journey.
I'm also from Calicut and would like to discuss a few things. Could you share your contact details or mail me at rithin.3@gmail.com ?