Hi All,



got back yesterday from my main way round SA 2012, was very awsome, had very good weather, some very cold ones ( a -7c and a few -3c) in the mornings but warming up to around 22c during the days.

bike did well- got approx 14 to 15km/l at an average speed as per the GPS of around 135km/h, some high speed runs where it emptied the tank VERY QUICKLY ( within 130km- but we did give it carrorts of over 200km/h for good long sections). I did experience brake fade on the one pass - so pulled over let the brakes cool down. and my new BT45 rear tyre just did not last, it only did 2000 odd km- despite tyre pressures and all being carefully monitured ( I am a big bloke, had luggage and we were hauling fast at some stages- so i wasnt too surpised. Managed to get a S11 in capetown fitted, but a 90 profile- seemed to be better but it touches the wheel arch a bit. all in all rode approx 4100km mostly tar and a few good dirt roads- met a lot of interesting people, ate good food, drank good beer and enjoyed getting a knee down on those mountain passes.

no problems re cold starting I must say and thanks to you blokes on the forum for that- the bike did sound like a tractor at those really cold start ones!

2 problems with the bike that I expereiced from day one-

The speedo and rev counter start to "bounce around" and the needle on the speedo drops very low, sometimes to zero and then bouces back up for a while and then drops again- the rev counter seems like it gets lazy almost like it under reads the engine rpm. There was no adverse affect on the running of the bike- and what I figured out to "cure" it for a while was to give the cut out switch a flick to off and on while riding and the speedo and rev counter work fine for a good 1/2 hour or so and then may start doing it again. strange thing is on a few of the days riding it did not do it at all- so the change in tyre profile does not have anything to do with it. I gave the speedo pick up a good clean- did not help? it has to be something with the entire cluster as the speedo and the rev counter are playing up?

also there is a rather annoying buzz sound coming from the front at the top of the yokes at engine speed from about 2000- 4200 rpm when under load- any body had experiece with this?

thanks all

cool a nice trip indeed ... any pics ?

re: the cluster electronics ....this might be a smaller but dificult to pinpoint issue ....my first thoughts are ignition swtch s becomming ,,,,erm for want of a better word ...lossy , intermittent ,,,etc .....but dont stop there, if you can pull the load shed relay and open it up ....check out the contacts they could be slightly pitted ? same for the kill switch ,,,,,also check the under tank earths and clean them up .

we also have done few high speed tours ...and i would say at the onset i think we managed as a whole to get a good 16- 18 k per litre as an average ...but im not surprised at your consumption but i am surprised at the tyre wear ....crikey !

frame buzzes are commonly fairing mounting issues and can be quite deceiving to get the exact location from where the buzz is comming from as the fairing kinda concentrates the noise towards the front of the bike , in the "still air" portion of the fairing behind the headlamp ....i found a few over time and it turned out to be (for me at least on an rt ) pockets vibration against the inner part of the fairing down close to my kneees ....glue backed rubber - foam in appropriate places solved most of those

a member here recently found that the down tube through the steering head (for the front brake lines ) was vibrating ...aparently unsolveable ... beforehand

good to see you made it back home ....cheers

Recently I send the post about buzzing in head frame from iner brake tube. I solved it with plastic isolation around the brake tube. Buzzing almost dissapeared, but than discovered new source of buzz from right pocket, like Charlie said.

yes a good solve nino , sorry i didnt remember who to credit with the fix ....it is a good find

cheers !

I think lower underside part of brake tube has a lot free metal to metal play. There is a rubber ring down there but its obviously not enough. Believe its main buzz source

yes saw that one re the brake pipe- will have a sqwizz at that.



as far as cleaned contacts ect - all done?

not going to get all too fussed about it-



just bit surprised you guys getting 16-18km/l? how? how fast are you guys riding and how long- what sort of roads?

we were doing 135km/h on open stretches of nothing through the karoo mostly.

2 or 3 occassions we did a real blast and I maintained my bike in the redline in 5th gear for a good 20 min at a time- really ducking behind the fairing. speedo showing an indicated between 200 and 220.

maybe shite fuel, maybe altitude played a part.

the one eveing after a run- i pulled the plugs- they were all a NICE tan colour- so bike is running fine.

and did not use oil!



re pics - how do i post them?

In Oz fairly good roads but at about 105k if we go any faster we probably wont last the end of a week with our licence.
At that speed I get 22k/l just sitting on the cruise control.
In Queensland once out west we can get up to about 125 before any notice is taken but every now and then a rookie cop gets enthuastic.
If I was caught doing more than 140 I lose my licence immediately and have to appear in court.
The government just uses the excuse of speeding for free reigh revenue raising.
If I take a speeding fine from a radar to court and lose it will cost between $40,000 and $70,000 in costs. The police here are every bit as bad as the Stazi ever knew how to be if not worse.
The more power they get to deal with a given situation the more they want and usually get.
The legal system is badly corupted the courts and police are corrupt and do what ever the pollitians want.
Rant over

RSMITH wrote:yes saw that one re the brake pipe- will have a sqwizz at that.



as far as cleaned contacts ect - all done?

not going to get all too fussed about it-



just bit surprised you guys getting 16-18km/l? how? how fast are you guys riding and how long- what sort of roads?

we were doing 135km/h on open stretches of nothing through the karoo mostly.

2 or 3 occassions we did a real blast and I maintained my bike in the redline in 5th gear for a good 20 min at a time- really ducking behind the fairing. speedo showing an indicated between 200 and 220.

maybe shite fuel, maybe altitude played a part.

the one eveing after a run- i pulled the plugs- they were all a NICE tan colour- so bike is running fine.

and did not use oil!



re pics - how do i post them?

About buzzing from head frame try loose a big plastic nut which holds the brake tube inside steering head. Give it a more free play. I believe buzz would not be so sharp.

My average consumption is 6 liters - 100 km

about posting pictures

we use https://servimg.com/images.php as the hosting service

start a free account .....when you upload the picture it will then give you a link to the image ....copy that link and then post it in the body of your yext in here

heres how you do that in here http://k100rt.aforumfree.com/t998-posting-pictures-and-movies

Rick G wrote:In Oz fairly good roads but at about 105k if we go any faster we probably wont last the end of a week with our licence.
At that speed I get 22k/l just sitting on the cruise control.
In Queensland once out west we can get up to about 125 before any notice is taken but every now and then a rookie cop gets enthuastic.
If I was caught doing more than 140 I lose my licence immediately and have to appear in court.
The government just uses the excuse of speeding for free reigh revenue raising.
If I take a speeding fine from a radar to court and lose it will cost between $40,000 and $70,000 in costs. The police here are every bit as bad as the Stazi ever knew how to be if not worse.
The more power they get to deal with a given situation the more they want and usually get.
The legal system is badly corupted the courts and police are corrupt and do what ever the pollitians want.
Rant over

105km/h in such a huge country? is that in the dry or wet? that is frustratingly slow no wonder your consumptions are good.

although was in germany too and my german biker work collegues thrash thier bikes as well and also get good consumptions.

ja pity about that to some extent- us bikers here do have a lot more freedom in that regard than other countries, but we have far more other issues to deal with- that I really wish we didnt have.example our postage system amoungst others has stopped and as a result of what is tantamount to "rape" of the country by the elitewe cant get anything from out of the country unless one goes through an expensive courier and then the tax hits us hard- ( those that pay tax of course) , and getting any official paper work doen is near impossible without some sort of greasing ect- I dont envisage been here in a few years to come. we have a beautiful country and I have just seen it now- dessert, mountains, forests,open roads for miles and miles, wildlife ect- but I am afriad it is going down rather quickly.



ok will try out the system to post pics and you guys can see cheers

I posted a parcel to a mate living in Edenvale, after 4 weeks he had not received as yet, your comments explain the reason.

I lived in Durban for 51 years now in the UK for the past 9 years, do miss the open spaces though.

The UK is very much a big brother scenario, with cameras and well trained police to keep us in check, you won't get away with too much for long, once caught the knock on effect costs you as the insurers pump up their prices, you as a bad boy are a risk and pay for it.



ja pity about that to some extent- us bikers here do have a lot more freedom in that regard than other countries, but we have far more other issues to deal with- that I really wish we didnt have.example our postage system amoungst others has stopped and as a result of what is tantamount to "rape" of the country by the elitewe cant get anything from out of the country unless one goes through an expensive courier and then the tax hits us hard- ( those that pay tax of course) , and getting any official paper work doen is near impossible without some sort of greasing ect- I dont envisage been here in a few years to come. we have a beautiful country and I have just seen it now- dessert, mountains, forests,open roads for miles and miles, wildlife ect- but I am afriad it is going down rather quickly.



ok will try out the system to post pics and you guys can see cheers[/quote]