Welcome to 2010!
Well welcome one and all, for it’s two-thousand-and-ten A L R E A D Y.
The weather here is atrocious at best, so because of this my bike has been constrained to the work garage, as I couldn’t get it home. Because of this, my bike has sat for a week and now that I have returned to see it, the ignition is seized stopping the key from turning (you can still get the key in though…) and thus I can’t start it, thus I can’t unseize the rear brake that’s now jammed on.
Ace.
It’s going to be a few weeks I would imagine, before this snow and ice clears up. This isn’t good because my bike needs to be in active service asap. I think what I might do is get Stuart to come and get it and do a service. Then I can just wait until the weather is a bit kinder to 2 wheels.
Anyway. I hope Santa was good to y’all and you had a great and happy new year’s celebration. We had a great time, with a new Fraser in the family (Lily, both mother and daughter are well!) and some nice relaxing fatty-eating-chocolate-and-other-leftovers joy.
2010 has to be a good year, because 2009 wasn’t. And for this reason, I have made a promise to update YamYam at least twice a week. Let’s see how I do.
Oh and the 25th of January will celebrate my 3rd year of YamYam and 2 wheeled joy. Insurance AHOY!
Cheerio for now!
Gordon
YamYam’s Top 10 Posts Ever.
So whilst I await the melting of the Fife Ice Caps, I shall collate some data…Geek Style.
I am always amazed at how sparse reviews are for products, or how biased a lot of reviews seem to be. Motostrano Blog said it excellently:
“I rarely read product reviews these days. They are all advertisements and we know it- pure fantasy. On the other hand, there’s the ‘discussion forums’ where you can read countless essays written by lonely males holed up in their mancaves about the products they’ve purchased, sharing with others the ins and outs of why the product they invested in is so great. Of course it’s great, you bought it and you’re actually wasting life hours writing about it. We beat our chests about the little gizmos and gadgets we’ve been able to scrounge up on our hunting and gathering missions out in the shopping wilderness. Heading back to camp with our gear speared on a stick- which is really a lonely little desk away from the kids or wife – we review the goods, inspect it, try it on, pose in action shots in front of the mirror, perhaps in our underwear, perhaps dressed up in our leathers in the garage. Then, as if to map out a terrain that no other fellow savage has explored, we set up to transpose our inner most thoughts on digital paper about whatever it is we just bought, signaling to other tribe members where to go and what to see along the adventure.”
So it’s with great satisfaction and indeed pride, that I have been complimented on my reviewing technique and detail. This is probably why (and you will see soon enough) my reviews are the most popular out of my posts. Naebody cares about me seeing a plane almost hitting the Forth Road Bridge. They want to know why I think the Puma Desmo’s were the best boot ever made.
Anyway, lets move along. I give you the top 10 favourite posts on YamYam ever (in descending order):
#10: Review: Respro “Foggy” Anti-fog Mask
#9: Review: Puma Brutale Gore-Tex Boots
#8: Update: AGV GP-Tech Helmet
#6: Review: Shark RSI “Eden” Helmet
#5: Yamaha MT-03
#4: Review: Puma Desmo 800 Boots
#3: Tutorial #1: How to change grips and handlebars
#2: Kawasaki ER6n
The most popular post on YamYam ever is, surprise surprise:
#1: Review: AGV GP-Tech Helmet
So there you have it. I think the reason is I got the GP-Tech really early, as in first batch. This allowed me to get a head-start and offer the viewing public a chance to see what this new helmet was like before going out to purchase it themselves.
It’s a good indication of what people are after when looking around the interweb for motorcycle type stuff.
I hope you enjoyed reading the top 10 posts, but also have a wee look around the archives at the non-review stuff. You might be pleasantly surprised…or endlessly bored.
All the best
Gordon
Winter Hack
What what what.
My last post to have the blue banner of information said that I was in a so-so mood, had done 24486.3 miles on my GSR and…go to yamyambiker.com.
Since then, as you can see with my new blue banner of information, I have increased in mood by 3 bars, I have covered 2619 more miles on my GSR and you’ve still to go to yamyambiker.com.
So what’s the chat? What have I been doing that’s so damn interesting to keep me from my YamYam duties. Well as you know, I sometimes go for ages and then end up writing a long assed post, so perhaps this might be one of those moments. I’ll start from where I left it…that is I had just reviewed my current jacket (Wolf Titanium if you ask), I had been told I would be better suited to a scooter because I couldn’t handle my Kwak ER-6n and I was off to Tenerife. Not before emailing West Coast Harley about their current Buell stock, a small yamyam probe to see what the deal was (deal…get it?)
Well I got back from a spectacular 2 weeks of sunshine, sleeping, eating (a lot) and bobbing in an extremely cold pool. Like a true Scotsman, I sucked it up and I was in there pretty much every day, floating like a fleshy coloured iceberg, whilst others sat shivering on their sunbeds. I didn’t care. I wasn’t thinking about work, I wasn’t thinking about the thousands of troubled thoughts that plagued my mind on a daily basis. For 2 weeks (well, 1.3 really) I was awol from my mind, from my life back in Scotland and all that was really to do was decide what to eat (crisps or bread), what to wear (usually just shorts…easy ladies, and a t-shirt) and what to do; float or read…or watch a film…or go for a walk.
We arrived back in Scotland to an extremely cold, windy, wet Saturday morning, having had our plane delayed a wee bit. I sat on my couch at 6am deliberating whether or not to go to bed or just ride it out and see how far I made it. I went to bed.
It was great being back really. I love Scotland and no matter how many Hunters Chicken I ate (a delicious meal prepared by someone other than me in a restaurant filled with alcohol and sunshine), it’s still no match for the stiff, crisp Scottish air. Refreshing some might say.
Before heading away on holiday I had realigned my broadband duties from Virgin to O2, because I found Virgin’s internet to be slow in the evenings, slow enough that I had to buffer some films from Sky Player a few times.
What a mistake that was. From the get-go O2 were dismal, utterly dismal. Think along the lines of trying to open a YouTube video, only to have someone actually come out of your screen and scream “Who do you think you are!?” at you for even trying. I couldn’t load any videos, surfing was a task and I was totally fed up. However I had a 30 day “Happiness Guaranteed” period where I could opt out and nothing would be said of it. I gave it a little while as I was promised that the service would start to pick up shortly because of some maintenance they were doing to the lines or something.
Well guess who got their math wrong? ME. I got back from Tenerife thinking I had a good week left of my 30 days, only to find that I was actually, from Saturday of my arrival onward, 1 day in to my contract. The service was no better by the way, still as crap as always. I should have been getting 8mg. I was getting 0.3mg.
So with no time to lose, I called them up and got my MAC code, then requested my account be cancelled to be told that I am now “within contract period and it’ll cost £160 to get out of it.” After much argumenting and deliberating from O2 I got out of my shockingly bad contract and luckily I was able to go to a more safe bet, BT. Now that I have, my internet is ace, I can watch films, watch YouTube and I’ve even updated www.gordon-fraser.com to celebrate.
But all this has taken it’s toll on my time available to post here, that and just getting on with riding my bike every day with pretty much no incident.
Since getting back the weather has steadily decreased to the point of no-feely-handies. So I decided that it was time to forget looking swish, and buy some hand guards for my Gisser. I did buy them (£38) and fitted them with Dad with a little trademark Fraser persuasion.
What a difference, my hands are now wind free and really a lot warmer. Then the weather got to the point that in the morning my bars would be iced up, so really even though my hand guards were preventing wind and rain from chilling my fingers, I was still holding on to a frozen piece of metal, so my hands still got numb. The ride home however is a different story and I am ever so thankful I took the plunge and fitted them. I also re-fitted my screen unit and it’s keeping a lot of the rain and draught off me so that’s ace. The only problem is the increase in ease of speeding. I am always so used to having the drag on my body that the position I sit at naturally on the throttle is causing me to cruise faster with the aerodynamic advantage of the fairing. It has been a few times I have glanced down to see that I am not sticking to the speed limit without knowing it. ANYWAY.
Hand guards were from a V-Strom 650, for all you like minded GSR riders, and can be picked up from your local Suzuki dealership.
I mentioned the email to Buell Glasgow.
Well I sent a wee informal “Now that Buell is going south, what deals you got?” email to them and I’m not exaggerating here, 8-9 calls later they are still trying to get me in to have a chat. I’ve decided to forget going for a new Buell because I spoke to Stuart @ Jacksons Bikes about it and he said that because of the miles I do, I could quickly find myself in a position that I need a part and they can’t supply it. Say if the engine management computer packed in, and I couldn’t get a replacement, that’s my bike written off, even if the rest is in mint condition. So aye, even though I LOVE LOVE LOVE Buells, I just can’t justify it really. I’ll stick with the pain in the arse and rusty boy until it packs in (it’s been a while so touch wood nothing will happen…)
So that’s really where we are at. It’s a week until christmas, Blair is soon to be a Daddy (it could hit off anytime now) and work is busy as feck.
In a week there could be a small, brand new Fraser in this world. After a year of utter SHITE, I am desperately holding on to the hope that it’ll end well. I am hoping.
2010 is a new year. It’s a fresh start. One things for sure, it really couldn’t get any worse than what 2009 was. If it does, there’ll be bigger problems than my hands getting cold, or BT internet. 2010 could be the greatest year of everyones lives, purely for the fact that we had one of the worst years just before it. I hope for all our sakes it will be.
AHHHHHHHHH
It’s definitely time to draw a line under this post. Word count is 1308 as of this word HERE.
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Go check out my home website WWW.GORDON-FRASER.COM and feedback me.
All the best for the remaining 2009. I will speak before the bells.
Thanks for visiting all,
GORDON!
Suzuki GSR600 – The List
Complete list of work done to my GSR from start to finish.
MILEAGE 0
Purchased Bike – 26-01-2008:
- Pre Delivery Inspection
- Fitted R&G Crash Mushrooms
First Service – 09-02-2008:
- Oil Change
Problem No.1 – 24-04-2008
- Bike not starting, electrics all power up but no starter motor or turnover
- Tried fitting parts from the demonstrator GSR with no success
- Ordered a complete wiring loom from Suzuki Warranty
- Replaced wiring loom, started first time.
- Stator, Signal Generator – Warranty
- Starter Clutch Cover x2 – Warranty
- Starter Idle Gear Cap Gasket x2 – Warranty
Rear Tyre Fitted – 30-04-2008
- Bridgestone BT-014
4k Service – 17-05-2008
- Headlight bolt sheared, replaced with non-standard bolt
- Oil changed
- 4k checks
Problem No.2 – 08-07-2008
- Same problem as No.1 – bike not starting
- Cleaned pickup and rotor, fixed – Warranty
7k Service & Problem No.3 – 24-07-2008
- Knocking in 6th gear
- Indicators broke – flashing too fast. Not fixed
- Run out of time to do complete service – air filter not fitted
- No vibrations or knocking found from tester
- Rear tyre fitted – Bridgestone BT-014
Problem No.3 continued – 23-08-2008
- Knocking even louder and more obvious now
- Indicators flashing too fast.
- Bulb replaced for indicator problem
- Advised front sprocket wear may be knocking issue.
11k service & Front Tyre – 04-10-2008
- 11k oil change and service
- New front tyre – Bridgestone BT-014
- Rod for holding tank up not returned to bike
Rear Tyre Fitted -10-10-2008
- Told Bridgestone BT-014 have been superceded by the BT-016
- Bridgestone BT-016 fitted, £30 more expensive
New chain and sprocket fitted – 15-12-2008
- New Renthal front and rear sprockets replaced
- New Tsubaki chain fitted
- Old rear sprocket missing 4-6 teeth
- Old chain totally feckered
- Front sprocket in perfect condition
Throttle Jamming – 10-01-2009
- Throttle sticks open when introduced, rev’s like mad
- Brake switch on front brake lever broke, replaced – Warranty
- Throttle body linkage seized making throttle stick open
- Fixed under Warranty
16k Service 15-02-2009
- Small 5mph spill in office car park.
- Rear brake peg broke, RHS Engine cover scuffed. Initially thought was just cosmetic.
- Turns out the RHS cover was corroded beyond reasonable operation. Bolt wouldn’t have failed had it not been corroded.
- Brake pads replaced
- Bill for repair £550, not Warranty.
Corroded engine covers – 16-03-2009
- Right hand cover replaced by me
- Left hand cover showing corrosion at the seal between engine and casing
- Magneto cover & gasket replaced under warranty
Throttle Jamming – 16-03-2009
- Throttle sticking again
- Mirror finish flaking off
- Oil leaking from engine on to my right boot
- LHS pillion peg cast cracked – not a warranty issue, replaced my dollar £160
- Throttle shaft lubricated
- Cam chain tensioner bolt tightened
New mirrors fitted – 04-04-2009
- New mirrors (K8) replaced under Warranty
- LHS footrest cast fitted
Rear Tyre Fitted – 18-05-2009
- Advised by independant garage BT-014 hasn’t been superceded, but doesn’t matter anyway because the BT-016 is the wrong tyre for me
- BT-021 Sports Touring tyre fitted
- Mileage for tyre should increase
- Independant Mechanic noticed that the engine is corroded now, will only get worse. Go to Suzuki garage.
Engine corrosion – 18-05-2009
- Check for the corrosion of the engine block
- Photos sent to Suzuki for Warranty check – Sunday
- Suzuki approve – Monday
- Bike booked for 21-05-09
Engine Case Replacement & Kill Switch Fault – 21-05-2009
- Kill switch, even in on position, engages at random during ride
- Bike handed in for complete engine case replacement under Warranty
- Indicators flashing fast- replaced under Warranty
- Parts for this job: Crankcase Set, O-Ring x 5, Engine Oil Plug Washer, Oil Seal, Gasket Set, Bolt(?), Clamp Muffler Connect, Bolt (8×35)x2, Screw x2, Plug, Ring set Piston, Pin, Bearing, Roller Bearing, Bolt, Bearing Crankshaft x 3, Connector Muffler x2, Filter Assembly Engine Oil, Exhaust Pipe Gasket, Exhaust Clamp Stainless, Oil, Coolant.
- Kill switch checked, cleaned.
Engine overheating – 02-06-2009
- Engine overheating – Normal Temp 80°C, Temp now 121°C. Radiator Fan doesn’t seem to be coming on.
- Indicators flashing Fast, Cleaned checked and working ok
- Fan re-connected as mechanics found it difficult to establish a clean connection the first time. Working fine with diagnostics programme and when brought up to temp in the courtyard.
Indicators Broke, Bike Cutting Out – 16-06-2009
- Not resolved as of yet.
MILEAGE 20257
The Summer Luvvies are BACK…
…and I’m annoyed.
Well hello folks, it has been a very frustrating 2 weeks in YY’s life. But hey, whatever.
The summer luvvies are back, resplendant in full race leather, knee sliders ‘n all and it’s havoc! This morning I finally got my bike back and I was up in good time to get going (instead of waking up and getting out the door in 10 minutes.)
It was still quite cold today, a temperature that made me swither on wearing my summer gloves, but I opted for my winters, which was a good choice. As I was cruising along the motorway a guy on an old Kawasaki (i think) went shooting past me wearing a leather jacket, cream jeans and some Timberland boots.
Reaching the city another guy with pillion went weaving through the traffic at high speed, not even flinching as he flew past a bike cop.
It’s been so quiet for the past 3 months and I miss it. I miss seeing the regulars and us both enjoying the fact that we were among relatively few (out of the whole biking frat) that were out in winter weather. Anyway, it’s all good.
The spring is arriving and it’s feeling milder, considering it was only 2 weeks ago I dropped my bike in snow and ice. The sun is out most days and I am loving it.
Bike has been fixed after the small spill.
So the 16k service was done, complete with a new set of brake pads front and back.
A new air filter was fitted and the spill damage was repaired; a new engine case/seal/bolts, new rear brake pedal. Then I got a call last minute to say my valves need shimmed, which would take a wee bit longer.
The bike was ready last night, having been road tested and cleaned (which was great as it looked ace) and the bill came to circa £580. I have gotten used to this figure so don’t flinch when I see it, but when I first was told I almost ate my phone. This biking lark is expensive! haha.
The bike feels great, really solid again. It’s amazing how quickly you can adapt to failing mechanics. It’s like the short story “The Machine Stops” where the machine starts to fail, but they find ways to adapt to it’s failings and make do. That is until it gets ridiculous and the machine fails.
I think it’s safe to say that riding with brakes on the steel is a wee bit harder than riding with new brake pads.
Anyway, biking is ace, and I would never change it for anything. 16,000 miles and counting. I promised you a review of the GSR and that will be the next outing.
Thanks for reading guys, (and girls)
Gordon
Back in full swing.
Hello all.
Well this last 2 weeks have flown by. My bike was in for it’s 7500 mile service last Thursday and although they didn’t fix the really annoying knocking sound, they did fit another back tyre. £340 it cost for the service and back tyre, which is a big chunk of moolah, but I guess that’s what happens if you use your bike a lot.
So the knocking is still there, but I have booked my bike in at the end of August for a “longer test ride” by the mechanics, who also noted on the service sheet that I need a new air filter…but they couldn’t fit it because they ran out of time…
Great. I am starting to doubt the authenticity of the garage. In a few posts back I wrote about how B needed a new bar end weight after his fell off. Well he went in to the garage at the weekend there and I went with him on my bike so he could get his bar end weight fitted under warranty. He decided to get a new back tyre as well because it was bald! So we waited around for a bit and then the guy signalled B in to pay for his back tyre fitting. When he got in the guy said, “That’ll be £140 please” and B went, wait a minute. He knew exactly how much it should have cost because I got my tyre fitted 2 days ago and it should have been £118 fitted. So he queiried it.
“Well there’s the tyre, and that costs £x, and there’s the valve and that costs £x, and then you have the fitting and balancing and that costs £x….and then you have the bar end weight..so anyway.”
“Hold on a minute, the bar end weight is to be done under warranty!”
“Hmmmm. Hold on.”
He then got the only guy in the whole of the garage that is allowed to deal with warranty issues (supposedly) and he came out and went, yeah it’s to be done under warranty.
If B was any other punter, he would have just paid the £140 and that would be it, no second thoughts, but it just shows how sneaky some people can be.
Rant over.
The weather was tremendous at the weekend, starting foggy and burning off to reveal a gorgeous day. I then went with Em on Sunday to buy a sofa, which was stressful and then had a BBQ at night, which was awesome.
The week started pretty bad with lots of fog. Then today it was foggy again but brightened up a lot during the day, only to lead to an insane mega down pour at home time, but luckily I only caught the outskirts of it and managed to ride across the front of it, which was nice!
The bike is going well, and the back tyre sure does remind me how good the GSR handles. You start to lose that “flickability” when your tyre looks like a car tyre. Oh well.
I was going to get some BT016′s on for their “triple compound” goodness but can’t afford it this month (or the next 56) because of the house. Oh well. 
We move in in 2 weeks and Em is beside herself. I can’t wait and I am looking forward to 19 days of pure and simple holiday.
I am finishing my photography website off where I have got all my landscape photographs and other images available for sale. I’ll post details closer to launch, but as a wee taster, here’s one of my images. If you fancy owning a fantastic limited edition print, including ones that are distinctly motorcycle based then check it out.
Thanks for looking all,
Gordon
One serviced GSR
Evening all,
Saturday saw my baby go for it’s first service. 9 a.m sharp at the Garage.
My brother’s GSR was also due for a service and we were both booked in at garage, however I was 9, brother was 12.30. Blair was told that if he came early with me his bike could possibly get sneaked in as well. So I was up 8am and ready to go by 20 past.
Blair arrived and announced that he had forgot his service history booklet…so had to go for that first. I said I coulnd’t as I needed to be there 9 sharp, so I would just meet him there.
9:35 he turned up, but I didn’t care because I was sat outside staring at the garages B-King, with a new set of 2 bros exhausts. Beefcake.
This is Blair arriving for a 9am service at 9:35…
After we booked the 2 GSR’s in, we were both given courtesy bikes, which went something like this:
2 pretty old SV650′s, which is funny because Blair was set on getting on of those as his first bike. I really didn’t like them but B was insistent that it was a good deal because it looked cool and was cheap.
He changed his mind when he had the hire bike. Hate isn’t strong enough a word. But I was enjoying the twin again, even after a short time away from the ER-6. However I also thought for the first time since October last year, I can’t wait to get back on my bike.
The sound was good, the power was nice but the whole experience reminded me of the ER6, and I think I have got to the stem of the problem I had with the Kawasaki.
The SV had a 160 rear section, with the same brand and model of tyres I had on the ER, and I felt totally unstable. B felt the exact same way, affraid to lean it over because it felt so vague. Perhaps had I attempted another brand or even model of tyre, I would have had some confidence in the ER6. But then I remember the wierd steering and thin-ness of the Er6 and I am still totally solid in my decision to get rid of it. I am much happier now.
So there you go, another weekend away! It has felt a long weekend, I have been up early both days, today I was up early again to clean my bike tip to toe. It was quite dirty but I got it back to spankers again. The paddock stand forks I got for the stand last week are great, but they marked my swingarm…so I’ve taped the stand forks up with insulating tape which will hopefully stop them ripping the paint off the swingarm.
I’m off,
Thanks for reading folks!
Gordon
