Everything that can go wrong

That will be be on my grave stone, if they ever find my body, one day.

I've just spent the last three hours fitting my replacement ER-5
clocks that I finally found on ebay and while fitting it to the mount
on the bike the rear of the clocks (the plastic mounting) returned
back to its natural form. I marched into the back garden, moved a few
flower pots and parked the ER-5 facing a shed. I am not pleased and
am pissed off in a number of ways and I don't feel able to put them
into words at the moment.

I've put the clocks in a box far, far away from me and have taken the
now useless mount off of the front of the bike before I do something
horrid with it.


<http://www.busters-accessories.co.uk/proddetail.asp?prod=MMSP>

Is there ANYTHING that could possibly go wrong with sticking the
speedo cable from the front wheel into this speedo (first one I saw on
Buster's) on my bike and bolting the speedo where the old clocks used
to go? Oh, and do you know of any other places that sell a a simple,
uncomplicated, bland speedo apart from Busters as I don't particularly
want a small one.

If it is likely to work then can you clarify if any of the following
is likely to be an MOT or roadworthyness issue:

1) No idiot box (no green flashing signals, neutral light, full beam
light, etc, etc.)
2) No back-lighting (will not be able to see it at night)
3) Anything else that I've likely to forgotten

Thanks for your advice again.

 

BGN said...

Stop flouncing and stick the box in the post to me. I'll weld it back
up. Then you can get someone with a clue to help you fit them on the
bike without destroying them again.

 

I didn't notice from the photo on the auction that the post-disastered
clocks had already been bodged together. It looks like someone with
clues has tried to fix them by melting the brittle plastic on the back
and 'smudging' it over the crack to form a complete unit.

I thought this was a good idea until I put any kind of pressure on to
the three mounting points at which point two of them snapped off while
I was just tightening them with only one melted mounting point left
which can't really hold the weight of its friends.

Do you think re-re-melting brittle and broken plastic will work? If
yes then I'll throw them in the post next week.

 

<note I'm not picking on you>

I personally really wouldn't think having the above would be a good
thing - not from a MOT or roadworthyness POV - but from a simple common
sense POV.

No idiot lights - how will you know if you've left your indicator stuck
on? Your main beam? Know you're in neutral? Sure, you can get round
these, but is it worth it?

Not being able to read your speedo is also asking for issues if you ask
me. I'd take Loz up on his offer.

If it were me, I wouldn't ride it like that. I know others here would
happily use a pedal bike speedo so, I guess flip wibble do.

 

BGN wrote

See lad, learning to live with your motorcycle is a lot like learning to
live with a beautiful woman....

 

I just feel that everything I do to that damn bike goes to shit in
some way. It's not like I've never taken anything apart before (I've
built computers and things like that in my spare time) but anything
that has ever had Kawasaki printed on it might as well have burst into
flames.

I'm feeling very negative today.

I've stuck it in the back garden. It's currently in disgrace and I'm
not going to use it without a speedo.

 

Perhaps not the best day to tackle something that needed care and
attention then?

Are you sure you have this the right way round?



--
Dnc

B1200 - +30bhp ~|~ ZZR1100 - faster when upright
V2300 - flat cap and rug ~|~ A6 2.5TDi V6 Quattro Sport

MIB#26 two#54(soiled) UKRMMA#26 BOTAFOT#153 X-FOT#003

 

BGN said...

I've welded some real nasties so far, and they've held. The clocks on my
Bandit have been welded for a year or so now and about 8K miles.

 

Meantime that little speedo is the same as have on the B12. Works
perfectly. Spot on up to 70. Roughly right at 120 then it goes bonkers.
'Course I also have one of the large version of
www.banditmania.co.uk/digital_clocks.htm
Unfortunately it's the small one I want to fit. Must get the thing sold.

 

Muck said...

Has nobody actually been into a Kawasaki dealership and enquired about
the cost of a new backing/mounting plate. The GPZ500 clocks are fully
rebuildable in parts. You can buy new casings, new backplates, new tacho
and speedo heads and even wiring looms. I am sure the ER-5 ones will be
the same.

 

The idiot lights are easily fixed up with some aluminium plate and a
visit to Maplins. You can get a generic speedo for a bike, I saw one on
a ratty Kwak the other week, it worked and had a back light.

You did the right thing leaving it before the red mist decended.

Hmm..

Ok.

Fair.

Enough.

If you want me to do some creative bodging of clocks / lights you are
welcome to pop round. I think I've got all next week free, but haven't
had any info as to what a semester 2 introduction week is from the
university yet..

 

I suspect the timing is all wrong ;-)

 

You're a gem Loz. I'll post it next week.

I'm annoyed at myself for this: Everything I touch these days turns to
shit and I keep being bailed out by UKRMers.

I'm creating unnecessary Real World work for you lot and am abusing
friendships and relationships of people that hardly know me. This is
something that just doesn't happen anywhere else and I don't like
putting the burden on your shoulders. In short I feel selfish and
that I'm 'using' you and other good people like Muck, TOG and my
Wickedest Uncle by getting work done which would normally cost
hundreds of pounds for nothing - abusing your kind natures. I don't
like doing it and it's a real cause for concern.

 

BGN said...

**** off you soft **** and send the fucking clocks pronto, OK?

 

Nick, you're a good bloke and a friend. That's what friends are for.
Besides, you do make the effort, which is more than can be said for
some[1].

[1] I once spent ages making a illustrated photo guide to checking the
valves on a CG125 for someone on here, but what he really wanted was for
me to do the job coz he was a lazy fucker.[2]
[2] You're not a lazy fucker.

 

Of course, but why buy new when you can bodge.

Actually, I didn't know you could rebuild Kwak clocks like that. Nice
one Loz.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, BGN

Don't be a ****. It's all swings and roundabouts on here. Sooner or
later you'll have a chance to help someone out, and you just do it. No
one keeps score, you just do what you can.

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - There are few things in life more sinister than a
public toilet with the lid closed.

WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL) IbW#41
SBS#39 OMF#6 Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner",
Honda GL1000K2 (On its hols) Kawasaki ZN1300 Voyager "Oh, Oh, It's so big"
Suzuki TS250 "The Africa Single" Yamaha GTS1000

 

My nearest Kwak dealership is in Maidstone somewhere. I'll give them
a call next week. Do you know the name for the big white plastic bit?

<grabs replacement clocks and camera>

*snap*

<http://hayn.gotadsl.co.uk/bike/clocks.jpg>

It looks like there will be a lot of work involved in just removing
the old one and replacing it with a new one because of all the
electrical connections that go through it as it appears to be one
piece of plastic.

The two holes that you can see should have the two pieces of plastic
which are above the clocks in them but when they hit the road with its
previous owner it must have been so hard that it broke all three which
he bodged back on then gave up and decided to flog the whole thing on
ebay. The third mounting point is still attached (to the left of the
bit the wires go in to on the top right) and has been melted back into
position but you can see it's lacking support.

 

Exactly. If people didn't want to help, they wouldn't. I wish I
could've done more for the KRC lot as I got a fair bit of enjoyment
following the saga, but as I knew about cakes they got cakes.

Sure, if I'd known about How To Perfectly Set Up Any Race Bike Ever it
might have helped more, but unfortunately for them I went for cakes.

 

Stop whinging you soft bugger. Anyone on the NG that helps you, does so
'cos they want to.