My bike had its first service yesterday (27/7/2010). I rang Doble (the place I bought the bike) last week and they quoted £120 inc VAT for the first service. Given that they are a fair way from where I stay and that this wasn't a brilliant deal, I decided to give my local dealer, Grafton Motorcycles, Milton Keynes, a call. The lady on the line quoted me a price of £90 inc VAT, and I made sure to ask her that this included everything. I was therefore a bit miffed when I had to pay £107.69 for the service, apparently it was £91.64 ex VAT! Now this might not be a big difference but it is the principal that counts - this was pretty sneaky of them and left a bad aftertaste. She also claimed that they had used fully synthetic oil wheras I checked that the oil specified below is part synthetic. To add insult to injury, she then tried to sell me an extended warranty (a la Comet) for the bike! All I can say that next time I will ask for a written fully specified quote. Anyway for those that might be interested, here is the breakdown of the invoice:
Labor (1 hr): £45
Oil filter cartridge: £10.43
Castrol GPS Power 1 10W30 (part synthetic) 3.5L: £33.46
Sundries: £2.75
Sub total: £91.64
VAT: £16.05
Total: £107.69
With regards to the performance of the bike since the service, I have only ridden about 10 miles, and it seems fine, but its too early to say whether they is an improvement or not. I will report back!
Wednesday 28 July 2010
Thursday 22 July 2010
Insurance for the bike
I thought I'd a few lines on this as it was an interesting experience. On my CG125 I had a good insurance deal with Carol Nash (~£120 third party with 1 years no claims bonus). My first thought when buying the new bike was to try and get them to transfer the insurance for a little extra top up. Just to be on the safe side when negotiating with them, I went to Bennetts and got a quote for £166 (comprehensive insurance including commuting to and from work) for the CBF600 based on my 1 years NCB, and 41 years of age. When I phoned Carol Nash I was stunned when the best deal they could offer me was for £450!!! I had a good opinion of Carol Nash before but after this I just realised that they were like any other insurance broker, only interested in hoiking in new customers and completely disinterested in maintaining loyalty. I find it difficult to understand why this is the case and wonder if it has something to do with how these salesmen are awarded their bonuses. Nevertheless, I went and tried another web comparison site. One of the cheaper companies coming up was CIA, a company with which I had insurance previously, but which I abandoned after yet another outrageous quote. Strangely enough just seconds after being on the website, I got a phone call from a salesman from CIA. I think it was the same guy who sold me the previous policy! He offered to beat the best quote that I had and did a deal for £160 including legal cover and lower excess (£200 + £200). I guess the moral of this story is that one has to really shop around every year for the best deal and be ruthless!
Monday 12 July 2010
Fuel Consumption
I have now had the bike for a little over two weeks and driven 365 miles. In this time I have filled up three times and I have made a note of the mileage and petrol filled each time. I try and fill up the tank each time, but these figures should be taken with a pinch of salt as my consistency may vary. With regards to traffic situation, most of the riding has been done on 60 and 70 mph roads and I have tried to stick to the speed limits as far as possible. The average mileage up to now is 52 mpg. I had 90 mpg on the CG125, and while there is no way this bike will come near that, I am hoping that it improves with time...
19/7/2010
The bike has now done 511 miles and the average for the past 503 miles is 55 mpg. So things are looking up! I also noticed that the tyre pressures were low (front 31psi and rear 36 psi). The reading should be front: 36psi and rear 42psi. I have now topped it up so lets see if I notice a difference to the next fill. Incidently, and I guess as expected, the ride is a bit harsher now.
12/8/2010
Since the first service there has been a definite improvement in the fuel consumption. I am now at 1037 miles and have filled up three times since the first service and the fuel consumption has on all three ocassions been better than 59 mpg. The long term average now stands at 58mpg. I checked tyres pressures today for the first time since the first service. The rear pressure was OK at 39.5 psi but the front was worringly at only 31.5 psi. I filled both up to the correct pressures and a notice a change in handling for the better, and will just have to be more diligent in checking and keeping the pressures up. I have also updated the graph.
19/7/2010
The bike has now done 511 miles and the average for the past 503 miles is 55 mpg. So things are looking up! I also noticed that the tyre pressures were low (front 31psi and rear 36 psi). The reading should be front: 36psi and rear 42psi. I have now topped it up so lets see if I notice a difference to the next fill. Incidently, and I guess as expected, the ride is a bit harsher now.
12/8/2010
Since the first service there has been a definite improvement in the fuel consumption. I am now at 1037 miles and have filled up three times since the first service and the fuel consumption has on all three ocassions been better than 59 mpg. The long term average now stands at 58mpg. I checked tyres pressures today for the first time since the first service. The rear pressure was OK at 39.5 psi but the front was worringly at only 31.5 psi. I filled both up to the correct pressures and a notice a change in handling for the better, and will just have to be more diligent in checking and keeping the pressures up. I have also updated the graph.
Saturday 3 July 2010
Fixing the tax disc to the bike
This bike did not come with a tax disc holder and my first option was to buy a GPMoto black aluminium tax disc holder which is sold at Halfords for £14.99. However to fix this to the bike one has to find a suitable bolt to attach it to. Furthermore, the holder itself uses through bolts with thick nuts and will therefore not sit nicely if there is something behind it. I therefore looked for other options and found: secur-i-disc from http://www.secur-i-disc.co.uk/ for £2.95 including postage:
The pack contains two transparent discs with adhesive backing:
The larger disc has text around the perimeter. Take the protective paper off the adhesive side and place it on a desk with the adhesive side facing up:
Place the tax disc with face down on the adhesive disc. Make sure you do this carefully so that the tax disc is reasonably well centred:
Remove the protective paper from the adhesive side of the smaller disc. This disc is slightly larger than the tax disc, and the idea is to stick it onto the back side of the tax disc so all the edges of the tax disc are sandwiched between the two plastic sheets. Otherwise there is the risk that the disc will be destroyed when it rains:
Note the periferi of the adhesive side of the large disk has not been covered and this is what is used to attach it to the left side of the bike. I afixed it to a plastic panel:
So all-in-all a simply and elegant solution! It is supposed to be tamper-proof as attempts to remove it will destroy the tax disc. The only question is whether it will surivive for one year when used daily and in pouring rain. I will report back!
The pack contains two transparent discs with adhesive backing:
The larger disc has text around the perimeter. Take the protective paper off the adhesive side and place it on a desk with the adhesive side facing up:
Place the tax disc with face down on the adhesive disc. Make sure you do this carefully so that the tax disc is reasonably well centred:
Remove the protective paper from the adhesive side of the smaller disc. This disc is slightly larger than the tax disc, and the idea is to stick it onto the back side of the tax disc so all the edges of the tax disc are sandwiched between the two plastic sheets. Otherwise there is the risk that the disc will be destroyed when it rains:
Note the periferi of the adhesive side of the large disk has not been covered and this is what is used to attach it to the left side of the bike. I afixed it to a plastic panel:
So all-in-all a simply and elegant solution! It is supposed to be tamper-proof as attempts to remove it will destroy the tax disc. The only question is whether it will surivive for one year when used daily and in pouring rain. I will report back!
Sunday 27 June 2010
Changing the seat height
The seat height on this bike can be at three settings: 770cm, 785cm (default) and 800cm. While my feet reach the ground comfortably at the 785cm setting, I still feel that the 770cm that I used during the test ride gave me a more comfortable ride so I decided to change the seat height today and this is how I did it. The instructions are pretty clearly laid out in the manual.
Step 1: Remove the rear seat.
To do this you need to put your key into the rear lock and lift the seat while turning the key. Once the rear end has been lifted, gently slide the rear seat out.
Step 2: Unscrew bolts retaining front seat.
There are two of them and you need an allen key or a hex bit driver to unscrew them. The rear end of the front seat can then be lifted and the front seat dislodged by sliding it back.
Step 3: Locate the two brackets that need to be lowered.
There is a front bracket and a rear bracket, both of which are held in place by two bolts. Both brackets have three positions, and the top holes with give the lowest seat position. Try unscrewing all four bolts to start with. Then unscrew the bolts completely, move the brackets to the desired position and put the bolts back. The manual specifies torques, but if you are using standard length allen keys, turn them till they feel tight.
This picture shows the rear bracket held in the middle position by two bolts.
This picture shows the right side of the front bracket held in middle position by a screw and a rear guide.
The rear bracket set for the lowest seat position.
The front bracket set for the lowest seat position.
Reattach the front seat with two bolts, snap the rear seat into place and you are all done!
Step 1: Remove the rear seat.
To do this you need to put your key into the rear lock and lift the seat while turning the key. Once the rear end has been lifted, gently slide the rear seat out.
Step 2: Unscrew bolts retaining front seat.
There are two of them and you need an allen key or a hex bit driver to unscrew them. The rear end of the front seat can then be lifted and the front seat dislodged by sliding it back.
Step 3: Locate the two brackets that need to be lowered.
There is a front bracket and a rear bracket, both of which are held in place by two bolts. Both brackets have three positions, and the top holes with give the lowest seat position. Try unscrewing all four bolts to start with. Then unscrew the bolts completely, move the brackets to the desired position and put the bolts back. The manual specifies torques, but if you are using standard length allen keys, turn them till they feel tight.
This picture shows the rear bracket held in the middle position by two bolts.
This picture shows the right side of the front bracket held in middle position by a screw and a rear guide.
The rear bracket set for the lowest seat position.
The front bracket set for the lowest seat position.
Reattach the front seat with two bolts, snap the rear seat into place and you are all done!
Wednesday 23 June 2010
Buying the bike
Having just passed my big bike test a few weeks ago, I have been looking to part exchange my Honda CG125 for a 600cc bike. Having dropped a GS500 a couple of times in training (off road) after locking the front brake and experiencing how painful this can be, I decided to look for bikes which had ABS. As I commute daily using a bike (except when it snows that is!), I was particularly interested in bikes that had half or full fairings. I am ~165cm tall and weigh about 54kg and while 60mph is OK on an unfaired bike, riding any faster was not particularly enjoyable for an extended period of time. I narrowed my choices down to Honda CBF600SA, Kawasaki ER-6F ABS, and BMW F650GS ABS. The BMW costs more so for a new bike the choices were really the Honda or the Kwak. At a local bike exhibition I got the opportunity to try the Kwak and while the seating was reasonable, the dealer was pretty arrogant and would not allow test rides for those who had not held a motorbike license for at least two years. The local Honda dealer was much more friendly and invited me to take a test ride on the CBF, which I subsequently did. Despite being a heavier bike than the GS500 that I had ridden earlier, I found the bikes handling extremely reassuring and felt confident with it both at crawling speeds as well at the speed limit. What was particularly striking was that even when cruising at 70mph, one felt as if in a bubble created by the fairing. I guess its a bit like a cabriolet! I felt really one with the bike and decided to go ahead and buy one. I got a relatively good deal with Doble - £4399 for a brand new one fitted with heated grips and delivery included, after part exchanging my silver 2007 CG125 which has ~ 9400 miles on the clock. I am sure that you can find even better deals out there especially if you don't have any part exchange. I am awaiting delivery tommorow and will let you know how things go.
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