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As a teenager I was finishing a painstaking re-assembly of a Villiers 2T two-stroke twin and was about to mount the cylinders when I dropped a circlip into the crankcase. Horror! Take it all to bits again! Crikey! (or similar) My dad said “ the crank cheeks in a two stroke have to be a close fit in the crankcase to force the necessary gas flow. Turn the engine by hand until the crank cheek appears in the cylinder hole beside the conrod, and put a glob of stiff grease on the cheek. Then slowly turn the engine 360 deg until the crank cheek reappears, the circlip will be stuck in the grease

Gentlemen i think that i will follow the recommendation of the dealer although i am not convised of the outcome and that the most of you suggest and it seems logical to do. I bought this bike new for not to have any kind of trouble and you understand that this was kind of dissapointment for me. Except this the bike runs great and it suits my needs perfectly for a daily commuter and a Sunday ride at the beach with my wife, you know Greece in summer time has great places to go and get wet !! So today a big YES i would have bought it again if i had to make a choice for a new bike. As said above t

No one can know until it is either taken apart or fails completely. They certainly believe it's worth a look and that they can probably claim it back from Honda or they wouldn't offer. How can it turn out? 1. They fix it. 2. The new one is exactly the same, works but is a bit noisy. Run if for a year then sell it back to the same dealer. They lose all claims that there is any reason to reduce the value. 3. They stuff up the repair, it fails a week later. Their fault, they fix it or replace it. I don't trust dealers mechanics to put air in tyres pro

The ridiculous price for servicing is the main reason I don't change bike. I can do the valves, change the coolant, air filter and oil and filter in less than 3 hours. The oil and filters around £55, halfords silicate free coolant about £15. I don't enjoy spannering but hey-ho if I want to ride I don't have a choice.

I would agree strongly. My skeleton objects to any other position than lying down, standing or sitting. I constructed and installed a bike lift even before returning to biking. The table is completely flush with the garage floor until I want to raise it. The detachable front wheel clamp simply bolts to the table with 4 x M16 screws, so I just drive the bike into the clamp, and get off, no centre or sidestand required. The table rises hydraulically to a maximum of 1.5 m on a telescopic, heavy-wall square 120mm x 120mm tube that prevents rotation or any other movement. In any position the t

Battery changed without any drama's. Happy Gringo

All this talk of Optimate overlooks that they are not necessarily the same thing; there are several models and iterations. Mine is an Optimate 4 (but not the current (ahem) one) and is quite old (bought in 2013 when I bought a BMW F800 with Canbus electrics) but it can charge Canbus and non-Canbus systems but has to be changed between the two by some arcane process that I can't remember now. IIRC not all Optimates maintain the battery as well as charge them and attempt recovery. I have always charged mine over the winter layup about once per month. At least that way I can establish

Same as Rocker I've used a couple of Optimate's for years. It's worth noting that they are not plug in and forget. Depending on result of the charge indicated by the LED's the instructions state to disconnect for 12 hours and start the process over again. Case in point, my 2016 CB500F on original battery got a bit low over winter, after charging on the optimate LED 6 was flashing, normally would be static when fully charged, disconnected for at least 12 hours and started again, this time LED 6 was static and battery all good.

My Optimate 2 started red lighting on me. started doing all the checks and was confused, all OK. Then the connecting plug fell off. May not be your battery.

I guess that main dealers have a fixed price for a service or each job. I bought by NC new a couple of years ago and the first service was at a main dealer. I think the charge was around £200 for what I consider to be a minimalist job. Dealers are not a charity but there is a limit to what we are prepared to pay. I do all of my own servicing. Most of the servicing jobs on an NC are not too difficult although they may take you a little time especially if you have to remove panels, etc. Plenty of information 0n how to do these jobs on the Internet. Try a search on youtube.

Ouch. Mine is fast approaching, I am going to take it to my independent garage and will see what the quote is.

I have a few bikes on optimates, and the cheapo old Oxford equivalents, and have had one of two batteries go dud over the years. The last couple of years I've had the optimates on old fashioned plug in timer sockets (mainly as I had some lying about and the bikes are at my lockup where I'm paying 45p per kW) and have had no issues. Probably coincidental but I now use most of mine with timers. Another +1 for Tanya batteries, I've also used Motobat and found those ok but quite expensive. My older Enfield 500 ran a lithium battery just fine and I'll swap any 'keeper' tomorrow when

From a main dealer, yep that’ll be the ballpark. Even with an independent you’ll be north of £500. 16,000 miles is the valve clearance check.

Valve clearance check due at this mileage. I’d need to check the manual to find out what else is required. Thats a steep price though imho. Valve clearances are screw and lock nut adjustable, rather than shims, so if you’re okay on the tools, a relatively straight forward job to do. Might be worth shopping around for a few other quotes. Good luck.

Bit late now but google just found an article on best fuel to put in yr petrol tank before you lay up yr wheels for the winter: "It’s worth remembering that E10 is not the only option. E5 is likely to remain on UK forecourts for another five years, but even better for owners of historic cars could be investigating ethanol-free fuels. At the time of writing, there is no requirement for ethanol to be included in super unleaded (97/99) grade petrol, so if you’re driving a cherished older vehicle (or putting one into long term car storage), consider a switch to the UK’s only ethanol-free fuel

might have done, the optimate is a trickle charger. The tracker would certainly have impacted the chargers effectiveness. You need a certain voltage and current “pressure” from the charger to effectively maintain the charge. Ma not have been charging effectively, see above. I do the same, and it seems to work well for me, Just my experience and thoughts.

Plus one to that, and to @Andy m 's contribution. It looks to me to be a win/win for you if you take their advice on the fix. If you don't, it might not be so good later.

If it was my bike I would let them get on with it. If they mess it up they will need to re do it at their cost, and deciding not to do it means they may use that against you later (as commented above) I remember both of my NCs were not quiet, but I ride a Himalayan now so it's all relative!

Or as the man said, "the only silly question is the one you didn't ask." Never be afraid to ask a question. Trust me on this......

Just be glad you didn't buy a bike from me . . . I really like wet chains so you will often find a oily black patch under my machines and not just on the frame in front of the front sprocket. One machine I part-exed into a local dealership came back to them after they had sold it with, yes you've guessed it, an oil leak. The mechanic, knowing who had owned the machine previously (me), put the punter right and bollocked me in jest next time I paid them a visit Better safe than sorry

May be worth changing again in 1-2k miles as way of a flush.

Best tool I ever bought Andy. Makes working on the bikes so much easier. Mines a 15 year old ARE hydraulic one. Its been worth its weight in aching joints.

The valve clearance checking and adjustment in itself is straightforward but it's easier to swing the radiator out of the way. I changed the coolant at the same time when I did mine. The only real PITA in terms of access is the air filter. The amount quoted is not out of order, provided they actually do everything they should. A dealer would do the job more quickly than me because they work on these bikes often. I didn't keep mine long enough to do the work automatically like I have done with the bikes I liked and kept. Even so the hourly rate and hours needed by the workshop will cost,

Got my new battery from Tayna. Have used that company before and they're brilliant. New battery cost £36.35 which included DHL next day delivery. Perfect.

My NC has been a bit reluctant to start last couple of times, it was fine after a winter lay up, hooked up to a solar charger. But since I got it motd it's not been hooked up and it's just been sat on the drive so I ordered a new battery from SBS today, best price I could find. I think mine is the original battery, I have had the bike 4 years so I assume it's 7 years old and probably past it's best.

There is always the food colouring and water trick. Add food colouring to water. Mix water with petrol at about 10:1 and shake. Leave overnight. Syphon off the coloured bit that is now water, food colouring and ethanol. Not such a hassle to produce a couple of gallons for storing your Brough Superior over the winter, but I couldn't be bothered for every day use. Andy

never had any issues with mine when I changed the battery. Apart from the getting the old one out from what I remember. Not hard just a bit fiddly. Not helped by my “extra connections “ 😁

Sue and I have been using optimates for years especially when working where our leisure bikes would be left on it for months over the winter. .We have never had a problem when we went to put them back on the road.

When I first bought an Optimate, it was sold to me as a "plug in and forget" item which would magically charge, recover and maintain a battery. I'm not overly confident in the maintain part personally. I cant remember which year it was but one year I plugged in a bike for the winter and didnt touch it at all over hibernation. When it came back out several months later, the battery sounded laboured and sounded like it was struggling to start (it did in the end) even though the Optimate showed a green bar on the maintain setting. Being concerned about the state of the battery, I d

An M6 x 12mm flange headed bolt according to Google. Andy

I love to see him tackle a Tesla battery!

You could always restore it. This fellow shows us how, and he does it without fancy tools. The video is worth a watch, even if it isn’t exactly what you had in mind Mr G. https://youtu.be/kNGg0P7B5fI

When my OEM battery gives out I was going to replace it like-for-like from a reputable supplier so i'll watch responses here with interest. Doubtless others will have better suggestions inc fitting the latest exotic batts (however whilst saving weight are probably more £ and need different charger, they may also present other probs such as cold weather starting). The step change in the Optimate indicator is weird. Trickle charging can mask underlying batt prob ie bike starts on the button when leaving yr garage but 2h and 100mi away bike fails to start at a petrol station. I'd

You can get a “Streetbox” kit, with a remote preload adjuster for an early NC for just over £800 iirc. Obviously it’s less without the remote adjuster. They’re built to order I believe, so you might have a few weeks wait for delivery. There’s a very good review / thread on here from Viator, who fitted the same to his 2021 NC? Well worth a read if you’re thinking about it. On this thread there’s a link to a YouTube review from Chris Moss who recommended the upgrade.

Mine is a manual and sounds exactly the same pulling the clutch in quietens it a little but you don't have that option on the Dct. I very wise and experienced biker/ mechanic ( who very sadly is no longer with us) said the NC sounds like two skeletons making love in a biscuit tin. I find it quite embarrassing when I'm around other bikes and have to start it up because of the rattling engine but Hey! That's the NC.

If you were to postpone and something happened to the bike mechanically it could then get difficult for you perhaps, as you'd refused to have the recommended work carried out. If you have some confidence in the dealers mechanics then it seems sensible to let them do the work, provided it has no cost to you. Be sure to feedback to them immediately if, after the work, the bike is no better.

I've seen a video where the CCT blade/spring housing was cracked. Given the only thing that the dealer has to remove except the valve cover and CCT itself is the radiator, I'd tell them to get on with it if it's free. Andy

I've also replaced by OEM shock with a Hyperpro unit. 99% sure that the 'dots' [casting marks?] on the bottom of the OEM shock were to the left as you look from the back of the bike. Looking in the workshop manual, the picture is small - but looks to confirm this. Hope this helps. I'm very curious about the issues you have with the Hyperpro. I've recently fitted mine and it's 'noisy'. When I bounce the bike there's a slightly gritty/squeaky noise. All the bearings were properly greased on fitting - and I took care to keep everything clean. So my best g

If it the dealer replaces the tensioner under warranty at no cost to you I would just let them do it.

No such thing as a silly question, if we’re not sure, always better to ask👍

Thanks everyone. I feel a bit silly now but I am glad I asked. Love this forum!

Had exactly the same scenario on my Enfield. My old optimate was charging and went green overnight and the bike started in the morning (it had struggled the day before) so I left it on charge and went out. The same afternoon the charger showed red. The bike started, I switched it off and pressed the button again, this time the starter solenoid just rattled and wouldn’t latch. The battery was trouted. One new battery later and it was fine. 5 years is a decent life for a battery, especially if it spends long periods not being used, charger or not.

Err, my experience on five year coolant is mixed. They say UP to five years. I left mine for four years on a wet liner Triumph and rust came out with the coolant ..

Almost immediately the Rebound was not clicking on the shock. Hyperpro's advice was to open the Rebound all the way, ride (carefully) for two miles, then adjust. This worked each time, but only for one adjustment. In the end I was just opening it fully then bouncing the rear up and down to get it to click and only on the increase adjustment. Over about four months the ride began to feel progressively harsh till it was like the suspension had been replaced with a bag of wet sand. The ride has become really harsh. High speed (c.60-70mph)bumps feel like you're losing vertebrae (which

I think mine is quieter than this one !!

What they said. Looks like chain lube.

It's from your chain.

As long as it doesn't look like an alien blob you'll be fine.

NC?- high Revs?😊 ( but I do understand )