Old News 2007

23rd November 07     V-Star Calendar Cover Shot

Just had an e-mail from one of our Yorkies (Centre 5) members, Alan Deanes (DINO), who has his bike on the cover shot (and in August picture) of this groups calendar, its for the V star 1100 group in America 

Take a look at http://www.cafepress.com/cp/tf.aspx?tf=427318

5th November 07     Windowed Clutch Covers For Viragos

Dear VSOC members, I have been doing windowed clutch cover conversions on various bikes for about 7 years mainly V-max's but also Bandits, Busas & XJR so no doubt you would have seen one of my covers somewhere along the way. As far as I am aware there is only one Virago that has had this eyecatching modification done and it's one I did about 18 months ago. Since then I have been approached by a couple of Virago owners about the conversion so now I would like to offer this modification service to anyone with a 750 or 1100 Virago.  If you like what you see in the pics and require further details please don't hesitate to email me at [email protected] Regards, Dave.

30th September 07     We Need Help for Bike Specs

Hi my name is John and we at Weuk .net/ Bike_specs need your help, what we are trying to achieve is one of the most comprehensive databases of motorcycle specs and knowledge on the internet for everyone to use. Yes there are a few already up and running but we want to do more than just wheelbase, dry weight and bore and stroke, we want more useful info i.e.: fork oil how much what type, idle speed, type of spark plugs and chassis info so people will be able to tell exactly what year a bike is it matters a lot on some models, you can also add your own fields for any information you would consider useful.

I am contacting owners clubs because they are a great source of specific model data, you can also add a link at the bottom of the page to your club if you could return a link and maybe one to our sponsors wemoto.com (which is entirely optional) we would most grateful .

Weuk bikespecs is a very young website which is being sponsored by one Europe's largest internet motorcycle spares suppliers so very soon we should have a large amount of traffic passing through and we want you to be a part of it, so find your bike add what you know and a link to your homepage.

http://www.weuk.net/bike_specs/index.dyn

Sponsored by

http://www.wemoto.com

Regards,
John Younge
Weuk Bikespecs
London
United Kingdom
+44 (0) 20 7385 8000

7th August 07     Bike Games at Rallies (Thanks to Martin Yates for sending this in...

For additional fun, sell/issue $1 water pistols (or 2$ bicycle pumps with bucket of water to re-fill) to all to fire at the entrants on these games (great if the gals go bra-less under their t-shirts!) 

Tire Toss:- It's like a hoop-la but with passengers tossing bicycle tires from moving motorcycles with the object of scoring as many "ringers" as possible on the orange traffic safety cones serving as the targets. One girl concentrated so much on ringing the last cone that she ended up on her fanny in the grass. Fortunately, it was a soft landing. 

Balls on Cones:- The next game involved each passenger picking up tennis balls from the cones while riding by and replacing them on the return trip. Several couples managed perfect runs, requiring additional passes to determine the winners. Once again, "that girl" tried a little too hard and parted company with her ride in a less-than-graceful manner. 

Donut/pretzel bite:- This is more challenging than the water filled balloon toss over the bar. It's an event for the gals due to unusually high-hanging Donuts/pretzels. Some managed to bite off a bit by standing on the seat or the saddlebags. I would recommend a longer string for next year. 

Barrel Race:- Define a course around three barrels (or tables) with 5 large plastic glasses of beer on each. The objective of the game is to run a race with three bikers, each with a time handicap start of 10 seconds. They have to stop at each barrel for 5 seconds only (you'll need a referee at each barrel to count the 5 seconds out) and biker has to drink as much as they can in the 5 seconds AND before the next biker arrives. As soon as the next biker arrives, he has to try and finish off what's left in the glasses in 5 seconds before the third arrives. The winner is who drinks the most without spilling the least yet completes the course. (or you can define another way of who the winner will be) 

Beer keg roll:- the audience had to be alert. Sometimes a rolling keg seems to have a mind of its own, especially if it's a downhill roll. An uneven surface makes it quite a challenge to keep the kegs between the lines while riding the bike (the rider can only push the keg with his front tire or a foot) 

Tire drags:- You would think no one in his right mind would agree to ride on a tire being dragged by a rope behind a careering motorcycle. However, several bikers gave it a try. At least one must have missed the part of the pre-event briefing where they talked about sitting ON the tire, since he slid on his belly BESIDE the tire the entire length of the run. Speaking of running, the tire riders were required to bail off the tire as it crossed a line and run back to the starting line that did double-duty as the finish line. Amazingly, all of the competitors emerged unscathed, although a few of the tire-riders were probably spitting out grass and dirt for a while afterward. 

17th July 07     Triwing Trike Kits

See our website at: www.triwing.com These are do it yourself trike kits that we ship worldwide.

Kindest Regards,
Darlene Allan
4679 Lochwood Crescent
Victoria, B.C. V8Y1A9
Canada

9th July 07     Extreme Cam

Saw this today, great for bikers who want to make a video while riding as it clips to helmet or handlebars and it's, water, dirt, rally, snow, beer, shock and idiot proof :-

The Extreme Cam is a very lightweight digital video camera that enables the user to capture video clips of their sports activities. After capturing footage, the user can replay the video clips on a television or edit the movie on computer and share the video clips with friends through Internet connection or write back the footage creation to the console for carrying around. No need to wire-in to 12v supply, uses 2 x AA batteries.

Price: £99.95

Capture video clips with sound.
Three selectable resolutions (640x480, 320x240, 160x120)
Video clip file format: AVI - 640x480, 320x240, 160x120
Two frame rates (15fps and 30 fps) for all three resolutions.
PAL A/V out for showing the video in the TV
With built-in 32Mb memory and SD card slot for upto 2Gb memory expansion
Low battery detection
Power-saving management
Firmware upgradeable

Features:

Multiple mounting design (bike, helmet, etc)
Splash proof
Professional Helmet Cam looking Design
640x480 VGA CMOS sensor
32MB internal memory (NAND flash)
SD memory card support up to 2GB 
USB interface A/V out interface

Keys: (3 buttons)

Shutter (Movie only) (one or two beeping sounds)
Menu (one beeping sound)
On/Off/Enter (two beeping sounds)
Buzzer for key tones and other alert sounds
Internal real time clock
Operated by 2 x AA batteries 
Compatible with Windows XP/2000/Me

14th June 07     Satnav & Smiler's Engagement in Sweden

We would just like to say a big THANK YOU to new friends and old ones who helped to celebrate our engagement at the Sweden rally. If anyone has any pics of the Saturday night that they would like to share with us please email to [email protected] Many thanks, Smiler and Satnav [C10]

12th May 07     Exact Rep's New Oil Filter Bowl

We have Designed and Manufactured a new CNC Machined Oil Filter Bowl that fits the Yamaha V max and the Virago.

Exactrep Specialists in Vmax motorcycle parts, cast metal, moulded plastic spares & accessories.
Worldwide mail order from Coventry, England. 0247-6442054 Mon-Fri 9am-5pm
www.exactrep.com

3rd May 07     A Huge Thank You From Al & Annya Stephens

We would like to take this opportunity thank all of those VSOC members who came to our wedding on Saturday 28th April 2007. A total of 46 bikes accompanied us from the house to the Registry Office and even more made it for the ride back to the reception party at Warmans Sports Club. 

We had members from the local centres and some even made the effort to come from as far away as Devon and Cornwall and Leeds (double 'ard). We were truly overwhelmed by the generosity of the gifts and cards we received and we would like to thank each and every one of you for your kindness, support, and good wishes for our future together ~ we are lucky to have so many good friends in the Club. 

We hope you all enjoyed the buffet, provided by the Road Kill Grill & Bar (aka the Al & Annya's Stressed Out Catering Company!!) and also the excellent entertainment provided by our band OCD and Lisa's disco.

We would like to especially thank all those people who helped out on the day with the catering, setting out tables, marshalling, setting up the tents and clearing up afterwards ~ you all know who you are ~ without you the day could not have run so smoothly.

Thank you all once again for making it a truly memorable day.

Al and Annya Stephens
Centre 14 ~ (proud to be) Cockney Rejects

More photographs are now online just click here

25th April 07     Jumpstart Party - Thanks from the Venue!

Hi Bob, Nick, Janet

I wonder if you could put a message/note on your websites and in the next Clatter magazine from the Management Board and Staff of Golborne Parkside Sports & Community Club, to thank everyone who attended your North Stars Jumpstart Party at our club this weekend. It was extremely well organised (thanks Phil, Gary and everybody else who was involved), and our club and grounds were left in excellent condition. And for those members of VSOC who partied at the weekend, well .............. I don't know about you guys but we all had a ball and have a lot of great memories of your weekend with us :-) 

When we were first approached by Phil only a few weeks ago we were initially a little hesitant about the whole idea, not only with the thought of having 170 bikers camping on our rugby pitch with our club situated in the middle of a housing estate (!), but also as we are a mainly voluntary run organisation, the sheer enormity of being able to cater for you all foodwise all weekend was rather daunting. However, we decided to go ahead, do our best and try to make you all feel welcome. We started to really look forward to the weekend and I have to say that our expectations of a good weekend were greatly exceeded. From the moment the first few people arrived on the Friday morning until the last person left on Sunday lunchtime, we encountered nothing but friendliness, politeness, and just so many people who were willing to go out of their way to help us in whatever way they could.

There are too many individual VSOC members to name them all who we would particularly like to thank, but special thanks must go to the 2 fantastic guys who took so many of us out for a ride on the trikes (absolutely fantastic, some of us could very easily be converted!), to the wonderful people who showed so many of us around all the bikes and spent time satisfying our curiosity and answering our questions, to the lovely men who bought us drinks, to the ones who spent time tidying up our club especially on the Friday night so that no-one would ever have know that there had been anything on in there (they all know who they are!). And also thanks to all those who made us feel so welcome at your evening parties. You made us feel a part of your weekend.

GPSCC had never accommodated anything like this before, so it was certainly "a first" for us ............... but we do hope it won't be "a last" (Phil, I never got that ride on the bike in the end, so you have to come back for that at least!). As a group, the North Stars would be very welcome to return to us at any time in the future, as indeed would any members of the VSOC. We hope some of you who are local enough will pop in to see us if you're passing, and I'll just leave you with a few comments from our bar staff, club members, neighbours, etc., that I heard over the weekend:-
"just fantastic people", "so friendly", "very well organised", "they've made me feel like part of their group", "they can come back any time they like", "wish they were here every weekend" (from the bar staff), "had concerns on seeing them arrive, but have to tell you that we didn't hear a thing all night" (from a neighbouring house), "we've had a brilliant weekend".

Once again, thank you to everyone who attended and we hope that you enjoyed your weekend as much as we did. You would be welcome back at any time :-)

Kath
for & on behalf of GPSCC

25th April 07     Clutch problems on XVS1100 - both Classic and Custom models

A number of us in Centre 13 are having clutch problems on the XVS1100 and we were wondering whether anyone else was having the same thing.

All four of the bikes are experiencing clutch slip when pulling from a low gear and also clutch drag when using the clutch a lot in traffic and when the engine is really hot. 

Last summer I had my clutch changed and all was well with the clutch slippage. The clutch drag though became evident when driving through London one day. Eventually the bike stalled as when I stopped and pulled in the clutch it didn't do anything. I adjusted the handlebar screw and all was well for the rest of the outward journey but later when the bike was cool, I put it in gear, released the clutch and went nowhere. I re-adjusted back to the original position and it got me home. It always does it when riding in traffic. Fred’s bike is the same and so is Andrews.

2 Months later my new clutch started slipping. I still haven’t changed it as its rideable.

Andrew had his changed by Locks of Edmonton and he also had all new plates and springs, but alas, his is also slipping now. Fred's bike is only 9 months old and he is experiencing exactly the same problems.

If anyone out there is having the same issues then would they kindly get in touch with me and let me know if they have solved it or even just know what it is that's wrong. Our initial thoughts were the oil but this proved not to be the case we have tried everything.

There is just one hope for us that came to light this weekend. I visited Alchemy Bikes in Potters Bar. He told me about a company in the States that does heavy duty clutch springs. I checked this out and they don't specify many models, but guess what; - the XVS1100 is on the list. The name of the Company is Barnett Springs. I'll let you know if it is the solution but I would still appreciate a call or an email if you have been having the same problems as us. 

Yamaha state that the clutch is man enough for the job!!

Thanks Guys

Gary Bigg
[email protected]

14th January 07     Recall Misery for Imports?

Hi, Just to add misery to the recall issues, I have been told that Yamaha will not pay for any expense in getting an XV1600 to a dealer for the recall work. I was also told by Yamaha UK that I should get the work completed by the dealer who sold me the bike, DK Motorcycles – some 200 mile from my home. I have emailed Yamaha USA as I haven't even been told my bike is subject to the recall, I had to phone Yamaha and ask them! DK haven't been advised that my bike should be recalled either. So much for the safety of the rider! I have yet to get a date for my bikes work... long may it rain...

I agree with Trevor (C18), be careful when purchasing an import, although I have heard of some dealers getting the work done on imports (Phoenix Motorcycles at Trowbridge). If some can get it sorted, why can’t others?

Paul C17.

Post Script 15th Jan:

DK have said that they will collect my bike free of charge on the 23rd of Jan (when they are in the area) but will not give a date for the repair or return of the bike but at least it a step closer to being done.

Paul..