Just in case anyone on here has not spotted it already Gumtree and eBay motors let's you tell potential buyers your location via a show map feature. Sadly this feature gives thieves a directory of addresses as it pinpoints your exact location. Which therefore gives any scumbag directions to your house and invites them to come round and steal your bike and anything else they like.

It's a feature which is automatically set to 'ON' by default and can be turned 'OFF'. Ebay motors does the very same now and both of them pinpoint your exact location for the scumbags. Many bikes get stolen because of this, (as I've seen many people stating this after they have placed an ad), as it makes finding you super easy for the pond life sadly!!!

Always advertise smart and protect yourself!!! :winking_face:

Thanks guys;

Here's my latest handy work, I'll take some better pics of the rear end tomorrow hopefully, so long as the darn rain holds off!!!

I fitted some Barkbusters hand guards, headlight graphics, tank decals, carbon wrapped the chain guard and resprayed the yucky front chain guide too. I fitted the tail tidy, rear reflectors and resprayed the front pipe and heat shield as well. She's starting to look more like how i imagined her too now!!! :O)

Boy Oh Boy - Where does the time go. Well finally after having to save up for some parts and then wait for them to finally arrive, progress has now been made.

New parts fitted;
Hel Braided Carbon brake lines.
New Galfer & Goldfern Sintered brake pads.
Stock Calipers back on.
Lithium Ion battery.
Scalvini front pipe.
FP mid pipe.
Tyga Carbon rear silencer.

I had to readjust the Magura slave cylinder, as it's a tight fit on the Scalvini front pipe, but it all fits good now. I think the front pipe needs protecting so I'll look into that. More parts are on the way so hopefully there is some light at the end of the tunnel now!!! :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes: :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes: :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

@r11ys-d The police will not be able to tell that at all, their database will not have that information. It will only state year, CC , model, colour, owner etc. If you ride like a nutter you will get stopped more. If you are breaking speed limits you will get stopped more. If you are being a nuisance you will get stopped! If you ride safe you are less of an attraction.

Adding a DEP pipe will not give you more than 1-2 Bhp and maybe a couple of extra MPH too at best, it will aid the expulsion of exhaust gases, sound better and give you slightly better acceleration. Plus it looks blingey. - THAT'S IT! The gains are marginal as it is not a turbo dude.

@Calum He's up to £13.7 million now!!!

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-veteran-99-raises-12m-for-nhs-as-he-completes-garden-challenge-11973950

Hi All -

I have copied Nev's post from the old forum, as it has a lot of great info come MOT time;

M.O.T CHECKS

Usually at this time of year bikes are being made ready to get on the road, in preparation for the better weather, and generally a fair few bikes have their MOT's due around about now.

Here are some checks to make on your bike before you take to the MOT tester, listed below are the things testers look for.

M.O.T TESTING

FORKS
Testers are looking for blown seals and pogo-ing. Fork seals can be changed, but if the stanchions are pitted it will just damage the new ones. They can be re chromed, or replacements are about £80 each (not genuine). If the forks are pogo-ing then check the level and quality of the oil.

BRAKES
Testers are looking for fluid leaks, hose wear and pad / disc condition. Check them by pulling hard on the lever. If it comes back to the bar then it will fail. If the discs are excessively scored or worn below the recommended thickness you will fail. Before the test, give the calipers a strip and clean, if the pads are below the minimum wear indicator (the groove in the middle) then change them. Make sure you chamfer the edges of the new pads to stop them squeaking. Brakes must not be binding, this can be tested by lifting the wheels off the floor and checking you can rotate them freely with your hand.

HEADBEARINGS
The testers will be looking for over tight or loose bearings. Check them by lifting the front wheel clear of the floor and trying to move the front wheel forwards and back. Also, turn the steering to check for tight spots and notchy-ness. If they are loose then tighten them a bit with a C spanner on the notchy collar under the top yoke. If they are too tight then do the opposite. If they are still dodgy then they will need to be replaced, which is a fairly difficult job. I would advise that this job is best left to the professionals.

WHEEL BEARINGS
Got any side to side play in either of your wheels? Well if you have then no certificate, because that is what the testers are looking for. Lift the wheels clear of the floor and give them a wiggle.

WHEELS
Testers are looking for less than 3mm of run out and any cracks. As a rule cast wheels have to be replaced, though some cracks can be repaired. No loose spokes will be accepted either, you can check this by running a spanner around the wheel lightly tapping them all as you go, you should hear a different sound if there are any loose.

TYRES
With tyres, testers are looking for some tread (at least 1mm in the centre) and no bulges or cracks. If they touch part of the bike then that's a fail too. Also for anybody running enduro / mx tyres, they must have an E-mark on them to avoid a failure. The mark itself is either an upper or lower case "E" followed by a number in a circle or rectangle, followed by a further number.

REAR SHOCK
If you have got a case of shock rot (corrosion, leaks, no damping) then don't even bother going to the testers. You will probably need to replace or refurbish the shock.

HORN
You need a good strong horn. The sound needs to steady and loud. If it is buggered check the switch, wiring and horn itself. Replacements cost about £10.

EXHAUST
Posh race system? Race can? You will have to put the boring crap old one back on I'm afraid. The rules say that a can must be marked with the manufacturers stamp, or be BS certified. If it says 'Not For Road Use' then it will fail.

SWINGARM
Side to side play and wheel alignment are what are being looked at here. Bearings are easy enough to replace, just like wheel ones. Align in the usual way.

BARS
Must not crush thumbs when turned to full lock and must be done up nice and tight. If the lock stops are damaged then you can get them welded or file a bit off the back of the handle bar. All electronic switches that are present must work, and brake / clutch levers must not have sharp edges if they are broken.

LIGHTS
Although this is heavily dependant on the M.O.T test centre you go to, some places won't require you to have ANY lights on the bike whatsoever. However if you have any light switches in place, they must all be working and will be checked so you can't get away with that cheap European one that you bought when you crashed. Most testers will sort out any little problems like the beam being out of alignment. Indicators must flash an orange colour and the flash rate must be between 60 and 120 flashes per minute so if you've switched to LEDs, check the flash rate. You must have at least 1 working brake light switch. If something isn't working then check the bulb first, then the switch.

CHAINS & SPROCKETS
Make sure that your chain is correctly tensioned and well lubed. Replace if the chain is badly stretched or the sprockets are hooked, bent out of shape, or missing altogether.

ENGINE
A quick check around and underneath the engine for any oil leaks near mating surfaces / gaskets is always good practise too.

NUMBER PLATE
A lot of testers are very lenient on this one, but your best off having an M.O.T friendly one lying around as a spare just in case. It should be yellow with white writing, and should be made from a reflective material. There is no mention of size on the .gov website, just the spacing in between each letter, but you can't go wrong with an 8x6 plate.

More useful checks can be found on here;

http://www.motuk.co.uk/mcmanual_110.htm
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mot-inspection-manual-for-class-1-and-2-vehicles

Nope!!!

I picked up this bad boy for a decent price, she needs some TLC as she's been sat in a garage for a year collecting dust sadly. Had some serious cash spent on the engine with a new piston and gearbox but the fairings and wheels need some refurbing. Plus that exhaust is crying out for some paint, shame really as it's a Giannelli pipe. And sadly the MOT has just run out, I know - I know, but she was too good an opportunity too miss, so I snapped her up!!!

Exhausting work all this bike building.........

A few more parts have arrived;

Yep that about sums it up right there, the wheel is all resprayed and lacquered now, a quick tyre clean and she'll be ready for fitting;

@calum One can is enough for 38 liters of fuel, so that would be good for 3 tank full's pretty much. So not to bad if you are only filling up once every 3-4 weeks.

@calum I found this review of octane boosters;

https://www.pedallovers.com/best-gas-for-dirt-bikes/

The VP Racing Octanium / Madditive Boosters say that they add 7-8 points to V-Power.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174028374333?epid=23030919866&hash=item2884e6413d:g:oXsAAOSwsIpdPut~

Found this comment on another forum, which is an interesting read;

"We've had E10 in north america for a long time. No it won't blow up your bike. It has a very very marginal effect on jetting, unless you are already running on the razors edge of lean seizure you won't have an issue. However, the ethanol makes it attract water, and that makes it go bad in the tank and carb way quicker than ethanol free fuel. Carb jets and passages get plugged up if you leave that shit sitting in there for more than 2 months or so. Fuel lines and such also age faster."

@calum DAMN! That's a bummer, I bet the prices will not change even though it's lower octane fuel!!! What's the current unleaded E rating?

NVM I just found this super usefuel (Get it?) webby;

https://www.canstarblue.com.au/vehicles/which-petrol-should-you-use/

@kevb1967 Sweet looking bikes there bud.

@calum OK Good-to-know, I'll use imgur in future.

@kevb1967 I had the same problem, @Calum may know why?

@perky The later RE models have a different set of yokes to the earlier R models, so they may not be compatible. Someone one here should know for-sure tho.

@calum You would think that having the nipple at the bottom would aid bleeding and reduce the air bubbles, but I guess that gravity plays its part and adds disturbance to the fluid? I suppose that bubbles rise to the top and having the caliper upside down may affect the flow as well? I'm no expert but I'm sure that there's been some study somewhere. If you look at most vehicles running disc brakes, the majority have their location's at the 2-4 o'clock position. I guess that's for maximum performance, it would be interesting to see if you swapped it for a left hand unit, with the bleed nipple at the top, would you get better braking performance and easier bleeding? There's always plenty of Ducati monster calipers on ebay and making a new bracket wouldn't take too long - well worth a shot.

@calum @Declan The RS front disc is on the right hand (OS) side of the bike, so as the DTR/RE has the front caliper mounted on the near side (NS), which means that Calum's caliper is upside down. There may not be much wrong with that, but it may cause some issues with bleeding/air bubbles as the bleed nipple should be on the top. I had this issue on my ST185 Celica GT4, as I upgraded the rear brakes from the later ST205 model, which were bigger discs and 2 pot calipers. I mistakenly put the calipers on the wrong sides, so the bleed nipples were at the bottom and I could not get all of the air bubbles out, which meant spongey brakes. The issue was fixed as soon as I swapped the calipers over. Motorbike brakes are less sophisticated than cars, plus they have no servo, so it may not be an issue?

There's nothing wrong with Calum's set-up and I'm sure it works very well, but the mounting looks a bit weird, just because the caliper is upside down. If you get a front caliper from a Ducati monster, which uses the same Brembo unit's with a twin front brake set-up, just buy the left hand caliper, which will give you the correct left hand unit. You can then make up a mounting bracket to fit accordingly and the bleed nipple will be at the top.