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I'll come at this from another angle, I work in the industry just on heavy vehicles. The aim on the OE side is to reduce costs. Software is fantastic. Instead of three valves with three settings each, made by setting up a production line each time you switch variants, make one valve continuously and put a different programme in. Keep one as a spare and programme it when you change it. If you have the right kit the diagnostic stuff is childs play. Put the laptop on and it tells you which valve or cable it has a problem with. No more using your brain, blowing smoke down p

The panel that fits below the radiator, drain the coolant by the drain plug under the crankcase front and centre and either unfasten the rad and pivot it down or remove the coolant hoses and remove it completely (safer option).

Me too, at the original factory and the new one, and it's still proving expensive. I feel like I am currently building a new Daytona from spares.......👨🏼‍🔧🛠

This is true Dave. Kelly and I have had six bikes in three years trying to find the "right one". I'm not proud of this. What I am proud of though, is how I've well I've run them in - for the next owner to enjoy...

That is a very reasonable approach for a competition engine when, as you say, you don't have the luxury of facilities. Providing you can get through the phase of taking the highest asperities off and achieving a decent BAR without scuffing anything it'll be fine. Absolute cleanliness of the bore surface to remove any grit from the honing is crucial, avoiding any "wiping" type action which can push loose grit particles into the grooves is advisable. Washing/flushing with suitable coolant/solvent is preferable. I'd always recommend doing DIY type workshop honing using a suitable cutting fluid, n

Agreed. Thanks. Our team doesn't have the luxury of a private test track and new race engines are 'run in' in the shop. From first start up we run them at varying speeds for a few minutes then stop and allow them to fully cool (overnight if time permits) this is repeated three or four times before an oil change and off to the dyno. Might not be ideal, but it's the best we have. We're getting a (reliable) 165-167 bhp from old FJ1200s so it must 'work' to a degree.

Honda do listen to customers. Make sure they are aware of your issues. Dealers have lost franchises after persistant poor service.

Just for interest, in the car industry we had a highly technical measure for reliability in service, it was known as "TGW". The benchmark for good cars at the time was low single figure numbers per hundred vehicles, the likes of Honda and Lexus were in the 5-8 bracket, other more troublesome makes could be in three figure territory (i.e. every car had at least one TGW). What did TGW stand for? "Things gone wrong" Seems a very crude description but in the real world it's what the customer experiences, something has gone wrong. It doesn't matter much to them w

Some years back I was given the chance to tour Triumph's latest factory at Hinckley (bloody expensive day out, actually - I fell in love with a new model on the production line and it cost me over £8k to satisfy my lust!) and was seriously impressed by it all (as you would hope). The best bit was watching the new machines being 'tested' on a rolling road. Every single bike bike off the line was fitted with a 'slave' tank and seat and then wheeled into a dyno room and started. Then, after a brief period of idling while the tester performed some routine checks, it was taken to the r

I was already thinking on going DIY when the dealers mechanic was taken suddenly and unexpectedly on paternity leave (don't ask, its Wakefield). On the plus side I know what I'm doing and actually give a flying telegraph pole. On the minus side, while every single dealer will try and get out of any warranty claim and you might need a lawyer anyway, I've decreased my chances of making a hassle free claim. Having found they'd overfilled the oil and missed an incorrectly fitted air filter cover I'm happy with my decision. I may have an advantage in that I can show I've worked on vehicles for 20-