ktm jeff

Im guessing its a KLX.  Place your bets.

Nothing wrong with loving your bike.  A Wave is a very simple bike to service , and if you dont want to do it yourself , id sugest asking around for recomendations for an independant mechanic ( im in Chiang Mai )  , not a Honda "service center".  Assuming the waranty is now of no concern. Make sure the mechanic CLEARLY understands what you want doing , such as fork oil , new chain / sprockets , injection cleaner additive in fuel ( DIY )  , brake fluid , plug , air filter etc.  Good luck.

The crankshaft is the main component within the engine. Theres no way id want my engine ripped apart by the typical "fitters" at Honda , who cant even adjust valve clearances correctly.  The "sale of goods act" denotes that if a produce is not "fit for pourpose" ,the product can be rejected in its entirety.  Or you can opt for an ENTIRE NEW ENGINE , with new engine numbers , to be fitted. And kiss goodby to any re-sale values .

Duckhams  Multigrade / QXR.  One of the first multigrades to be widley marketed.  Poured like "Fairy" washing-up-liquid . As used in my old Mini Coopers.   PS  can i also opt out of the prize draw. 

35 minutes ago, papa al said:

cover the clutch

Or cover your ass  ,  and get rid of the bike .

What your forgetting guys , and some other people may find uncomfy , is this bike wasnt made by Honda - Japan ( very few" Hondas"  are today ) . It was assembled in a factory in India / Thailand / Indonesia etc , using Chinese / local parts. As i believe this engine fails to meet the up-coming Euro emmision standards  , it wont be a problem for long. Lets hope there are no bad accidents when this engine siezes.

brambs , im not saying the Honda is a bad bike , just not MY type of bike. As you , and some others , have mentioned , it OK for running around town , although pretty heavy.  Yes , i have raced GP bikes ( 500cc two strokes ) , and still have a few of them , but we all buy bikes we feel we afford and ride. I was never good enougth to go professional . I hope we are all "living the dream" , in our own ways. Happy Grumpy , the Yamaha R3 is a good case in point. Its marketed as a 300 , yet its a 321.  Now why dont Honda do that.  denkiblue555 , the EXC range is superb , but expensive at - 250 = 458,000 , 350 = 485,000 , 450 = 505,000 and 500 = 560,000. These prices may come down in line with the Dukes price reductions.  Heres hoping. The 390 makes a superb town bike , but may be too much for some , cost and maintainence wise.

The little Honda "300" might be closer to a 275 , but the Honda CB "500" is even worse , as it is closer to a 450. The KTM "390" ( 373 )  has similar power than the CB "500 / 450 but weighs about 110 LBS less. That old Honda must be the weight of an old barge . Its said to handle like one too. Point of intrest , the KTM EXC range of 500,s isnt 500cc either , they are over 510cc.

The Yamaha is a great bike , but as you say , the Benelli is much more so , with its Italian style and flair. At such a good price , you could soon sell it next year without loosing out , if you dont like it.  You will like it .

taichiplanet , My Aprilia RSV has nitrogen filled tires. Would that have any effect on the 9.8 M per second/2 gravitational pull , or would i have to add lightweight susspension oil to the shock.

denkiblue555 , iv had no problems with the clearances on my Kawasaki H2 rotor injectors. I use them to spray water onto my rotors , helping to cool them , as i blast around BKK , delivering pizzas. Had them modified when the nitros was being fitted. My driving instructor says im ready for my test soon. My doctors however , diss-agree.

Happy Grumpy , i very nearly posted something similar yesterday. Same tenacity. LL2 posted some informative posts. RE , Duke overheating. It was caused by both a poor quality , under- powered electric fan , whose fan blades could detatch from the motor , and a very reistrictive shroud / deflector that encased the rear of the fan. This was an attempt to re-direct the hot , expeled radiator air , away from the rider , due to some riders complaining about hot legs , when in both trousers and shorts.The shroud design / outlet hole was too reistrictive , not allowing enough hot air out. So it ran hot. The cure is too ditch the shroud , and fit a better quality , higher powered electric fan. The process , and the fan details are on various KTM forums. In Thailand , if these mods are done , there wont be any problems. Some have gone the extra mile / kilometer , and added "Engine Ice" coolent , or similar.

Have you considered the Yamaha Grand Filano. Superb underseat storage , build quality and fuel injection. May mean you loose "Honda Girl" though. Yamaha gives 60 KM/L. Honda only 42.

The steering dampers do help dampen out the shakes ( side to side ) at the bars. They wont help a wheel going down , in a pot hole , but do calm down the sharpness .Necessary ? . Well , thats for you to decide. But if it saves you from just one crash !. I have an Ohlins on my factory Aprilia and its a nice addition , but it was much needed on a 2004 Kawasaki ZXR 1000. Evil bike.

Honda have thrown a huge amount of money at this engine , trying to sort out the reliability problems , so i cant see them releasing another model using the same engine.It has been changed so much , it became a "300". Point of intrest , the real capacity of this engine is closer to a 275 cc . Performance upgrades could be made , or simply buy a Kawasaki KLX , and go for a real 300 cc big bore kit.

I dont think there are any "new-old-stock" 250,s about. There may still be some 150,s hiding at the back of store rooms in obscure shops. Malasia seems to have had the last of the production. Sorry Happy Grumpy , i meant FZR.

thaiguzzi , ive seen some Honda NSR 250,s circa late eighties / early nineties , for sale , claiming to have real green books. Rare though. Never seen the Yamaha TZ 250. As for 350,s (liquid cooled) there may well be some Brazilian built RD,s about , but i doubht very much they will have green books.Air cooled 350,s , Kawasaki KH ?. Good luck with that search.

Two main reasons to use nitrogen . Nitrogen has larger gas molecules , so less seepage , and it is a more thermally stable gas , so pressure is more consistant regaurdless of tire temperatures. Everyday use - not really needed.

Stevemercer , you are correct in saying the Ron and , to an extent , the Cetane rating can be raised by the addition of Ethanol / Methanol , however as Ethanol only provides about 70% of the energy that Gasoline provides , this shortcoming has to be propped up by blending it with the higher quality 95 Gasoline. It isnt totally sucsessfull though , as the lower specific energy released by E20 means you can use 10% more of it to go the same distance as Gasoline . This is why E20 91 is not recommended. And why many countries dont sell E20 , in either 91 or 95 grades. Ethanol causes many more problems than just perished seals and hotter running - as if we need the engines to run any hotter for christ sake. Wait a few years and the oil companies , and governments that forced this on them , will end up looking as foolish as they have over the diesel fuel fiasco.

Well done BQuik. Best way to get more customers , and repeat business , is by providing such a good service in the first place. In complete contrast to the thieves at Quick Fit , England.

"Whats that all about" , you ask. Well , its marketing bull. As your page 93 clearly shows , E20 is of a standard so low as to require the 80% of petrol / gasoline to be the higher quality 95 octane fuel , where as E10 has enougth petrol/gasoline in it ( 90%) that you can "get away" with using it in some low powered /l ow compression engines in both 91 and 95 octane form. On any bike other than performance bikes , i would recommend Shell E10 91. Shell 95 " Nitro " is best for the higher compresion engines , and the expensive full fat " Benzine l" for the 2-strokes.

Ive always had good results with Castrol "Power 1" Racing. Was called Castrol TTS. Fully synthetic. Even at 25:1 , very little to no smoke. If this isnt easily available , then fully synthetic Shell.

The answer to this strange pricing system may be that 10 years ago there was very little choice in the bike ( and car ) market. Prices were high and choices were very limited , so you bought a Honda and keep it untill it died. The few people selling a second-hand bike asked a high price for it in order to recoup some of the money. Today thats not the case. Bikes are cheaper , in real terms , and choices are far better , with many bikes overtaking Honda on both quality and value , and many "new" makes such as Benelli , Stallion and Keeway coming to the market , offering great value alternative choices. With more dissposable income , people now decide they "want" another bike , rather than "need" another. So they sell their 1 or 2 year old model and purchase an upgrade. The resale price is no longer such an issue to many. Others , as you say , fall victim to reposession. Kf6vci , the Spark sounds great value. Did you buy it from Chiang Mai. If so , i saw the advert.

I dont know who is designing all these generic bikes that are coming to the market recently ( such as the Stallions , the smaller Benellis and the Keeways ) , but they are doing a dam good job of making some very attractive , purposefull looking bikes , at amazing prices. Seems a very good alternative to a scooter , for a runaround bike. Stand by for some highly modified versions of these bikes hitting the streets soon.

RIP for the consul. Ive used the Birmingham Thai embassy for over 25 years. Great service. Do i now use the "Thai embassy" , and if so , where is it. Has anyone had better service posting the paperwork down to London.