David Forster

Had some trouble with the running of the bike. When the engine got hot, it would drop down onto 2 cylinders and plumes of smoke from unburnt fuel would start coming out the back! In order to make sure I had transportation I disconnected my new Power Commander and took the bike for a blast up the motorway in case it was some dodgy fuel that had got into the tank. Everything seems OK now, but I have yet to reconnect everything. I’ll put the Power Commander back on and see if it does it again – if so then it’s going straight back to the shop! I’m still not 100% convinced that was the problem though, as it had been on the bike for a couple of weeks without trouble.

Also, my Meta alarm has stopped beeping. If you listen closely to the alarm module you can hear static hiss from the loudspeaker. I put it down to dodgy electronics and need to test if the actual siren still goes off. Either way – It’s definitely going back for replacement. Take my advice anyone who’s getting a new bike alarm… Get a Datatool system, I’ve never had any trouble with the three that I’ve had.

Oops… Ran out of fuel again on Saturday morning

Previously, while I was running the R1 in, I got 25 miles on reserve before the engine stopped (I did it once to figure out what the limit was), But it looks like the Akrapovics I put on have made a big difference. I ran out of fuel with 21.8 miles on the F-TRIP meter. Luckily, I was about 50 yards away from a Shell station, so it was only a short push, but it was a bit embarrassing!

Ordinarily I wouldn’t publish this information but I’m willing to make an exception in this case.

If you ride around North-West London (A40, Hanger Lane, A406, Ace Cafe etc.) be on the lookout for an orange and yellow Toyota Supra, registration JCZ9901 (possibly a trade plate?). This vehicle was involved in a severe road rage incident with myself and two other bikers on Sunday.

Click for larger image
Whilst traveling westbound on the A40 from the Old Oak Road junction, I and Serena filtered up behind the car and, as there was no room to continue filtering, moved into the queue and waited. The driver was behaving very aggressively in the queue, leaving a large space and then accelerating and braking hard up to the next car. When the road became wider again we filtered past, along with another rider and pillion on a ZX9 who had joined us. The car then came alongside me and proceeded to try and squeeze us into the left hand barrier. I wouldn’t give any ground as Serena was on my left hand side and the car then moved back and dropped into the left hand lane, behind us at the next set of lights. When the lights turned green the rider on the ZX9 accelerated away and the car chased, overtook, pulled back in and then braked hard in front of him. The rider sensibly turned into the retail estate to his left. I though that was it…

However, Serena and I came onto the Hanger Lane roundabout and filtered to the front of the queue, where I saw the car was also at the same set of lights. I looked at the driver through his left window and, to my horror, he jumped out of the car and started to come towards me! I looked up and the lights were turning green, so I sped off and Serena followed. The car then came up right behind Serena, leaving only inches of space.

As we came around Hanger Lane, I saw a traffic police car at the next set of lights, and so pulled right up next to the drivers window and caught their attention. I expected the car driver to make a quick exit, but no, he stopped alongside also. I explained to the officer that the car was driving aggressively toward us and he told us all to move into a nearby bus stop to have a chat. I explained to the officer all of the above and he checked the car out. It turns out that the driver had no tax or insurance, and had only had a (British) licence for less than a year! The police moved the car into a side street and took his keys away, but I’d bet money that he was back later with a spare set.

I’m worried that this driver may now have a very aggressive attitude towards other bikers, so please look out for the car in this area and if you see it, I advise you to stay well away from it!

Bought an Arai RX-7 helmet yesterday. It’s the most expensive accessory I’ve bought to date, but I figure that bikes can be replaced but my head can’t!My first impressions are that it fits extremely well (I got the XS, 53-54cms) and is very comfortable. The cheek pads are a little tight, but they will soften up after a couple of weeks use. It’s a bit noisy, but I was used to that with my old HJC helmet and it’s partly because of the great venting system on the Arai.My only grumble is that the visor doesn’t seem to stay up very well. I like to ride with my visor up most of the time so I’ll have to see what I can do about that. I also got a Fog City anti-fog visor insert, which I used before in the old helmet – These work brilliantly for preventing fogging of the visor on cold days and this new one also changes it’s tint according to the light level – so no need to wear uncomfortable sunglasses anymore!

Went to the BMF show on Sunday. It seemed to be quite a bit smaller than in previous years, although all the usual big stands were there. The entrance price was ?Ǭ£14 (?Ǭ£12 for BMF members) which seems a bit too much.

I bought a ‘double bubble’ screen for the R1 from Skidmarx, and fitted it when I got back to the Ace. I’m not quite sure about it yet – the build quality is comparable to the Fabbri screen I used to have on an R6 (which isn’t saying much) and I’m still not convinced about the look. My friend Peter has a Pyramid screen on his bike which seems better so maybe I’ll swap it for one of those later on, or perhaps I’ll get an ‘Airblade’ screen, which is what Virgin Mobile Racing use on their BSB R1s.

I was also looking out for a good deal on an Arai RX7 helmet, but the stands that actually had some were all selling for ?Ǭ£400-?Ǭ£450, which is the retail price so I didn’t bother. Still, despite the lack of goodies purchased it was a good, mostly sunny, day out.

I picked up some Akrapovic race exhaust cans (with the ‘y’ connecting tube) from a friend of a friend who sold his R1 last year. They sound absolutely fantastic! You do get a small horsepower gain thanks to improved air flow but the main reasons for these are sound and looks. I was in two minds about fitting the ‘y’ connecting tube, which replaces the stock pipe which has the catalytic converter in it. According to Akrapovic, without it you get slightly higher peak power, but fitting it improves the general power curve so I opted to put it on. Pictures are here.

Fitted my numberplate bracket & smaller plate – click here for the photos. I actually fitted this new numberplate bracket before the R&G lowers (see previous post), but as I only got some show plates made up at recently (at the Stafford bike show) I figured I’d class it all as mod number 4. The bracket comes from a guy who makes them himself and sells them on ebay and, to my mind, it’s the best looking aftermarket bracket for the new R1, and it fits perfectly too!

Fitted my R&G crash protectors (uppers and lowers) & an official Yamaha tankpad – click here for the gallery. I though that the tankpad was grey originally, but it’s actually clear fading up into black, so it transforms to match the colour of the fuel tank. As I said in my previous post, I’ve seen the protection capability of the R&G protectors first hand and, after a bad experience with the similar Motrax “Top Blocks”, I’d definitely recommend these. I bought the whole set second hand and the bolt which holds the left hand lower protector was missing, but a quick trip to B&Q to get a pack of 10mm wall bolts soon sorted that out. Although the one’s which come as standard are 12mm, the sleeves are much thinner, so B&Q’s off the shelf items fit perfectly and grip the inside of the swinging arm pivot just fine.

Fitted the Yamaha paddock stand bobbins from my R6. These items are a bit flashy, with the Yamaha tuning fork logo on the side. The swinging arm on this bike is upside down – for a lower centre of gravity apparently – so I don’t want to use a cup type paddock stand for fear of scratching the paintwork or worse, the bike slipping off due to the curvature of the arm. They also make it look nicer!

As promised, here are some photo’s of the new bike (from the day I picked it up).Still chuffed to bits with it! It’s so surprisingly easy to ride, easier than the R6 I think and yet still so fast. The handling is awesome too, it’s as if you just have to think where you want to go and the bike responds.