Occam's Razor

Ah yes. Reminds me of an evening years ago riding through rural Wales on the 99. Spotted a T100 Triumph at the side of the road. Asked if I could help in any way. "No" came the curt reply. From where I was standing, I could see that the points spring had broken. They were just starting to take the head off. Light was fading. They may well still be there now...

The funny thing is that they had taken the points cover off but not seen the problem. And then dived into what kiwis call 'fiddler Bill' syndrome - don't mess with things unnecessarily, you will probably cause more problems than you can fix. Well, if you had been on a Triumph they may have accepted assistance. Their loss.....

I was out on the IOM ,a beautifull sunny day with my lads ,up on the mountain ,one of the bikes had stopped charging and I was swapping batteries ,lads relaxing on the grass bank when a pretty woman on a bike pulled up to ask if she could help, typical male ,I said no all ok. Should have seen the looks I got from my lads!!, Silly old fool.

I feel your pain.

Last week I was finishing off the service ofmy other toy, a 79 reg BMW R100RT.

When it came to settingthe new points and timing the ignition Ijust couldn't get it right no matter what I did.I was getting to the point of smacking my head against the wall when I realised what I was doing wrong and ,as I was too hot andtired by this timeI packed it in for the day.

Went back the following morning, no problem. Points and timing set up no problem.Hookedup thestrobe, started up and bingo, initial timing bang on advance/retard working perfectly,full advance mark popped up at the proper rev's. Perfection. Even the carb balance wasa simple task.

It just goes to show everyone is guilty of over-thinking a problem

You could do a "Jimmi Hendrix" and weld/solder the throttle wide open - on No.11.

G

There is a number of different things I've tried on fixing grips. Some works bad, some works too well. Makes 'em PITA to remove. Nowadays use lockwire.

I use lockwire or evostick, the trouble with lock wire is the twisted off bit can stick uo and hole your gloves/hand! And if you over tighten it can snap.

Evostick helps slide them on and they will still come off, but it doesnât last for ever and might need to be reapplied every now and then, you can buy grip glue but I think itâs just evostick in a different tube!

Might a cable tie work?

If grips are a bit loose I put insulation tape over the bar. Run it along the bar to the end, over it, and down the other side. Do that twice so that the end looks like a + with the tape, and see if the grip is tight enough. If not, add more....

Paul

Previously David Cooper wrote:

It happened again today. Been in the hot sun at Brooklands all day. Left and rode up the hill to the exit. Totally gutless and only just made it. Bleak thoughts... Hadn't I just put that supposedly rotten fuel back in this morning?

Turns out the plastic handlebar grips were so hot they softened so much that they no longer stuck to the bars. Lucky I had pliers and lock wire.

What's the best way to fix them please?

Years back I was told by a mate of mine who was a bit of an off roadscrambler to use hair spray . Tried it once and I'venever used anything else since.

First check that your new grips are a good tight fit then give the area a really good wipe over with some meths or other solventtomake sure the bars are squeaky clean, no oil, grease or other stuff, (even the oils from your skin), leave the meths to evaporate. Then when the area is dry don't touch it and apply a generous coating of hair spray, also spray a fair amount in to each of the grips and quickly twist/push on the grips before it starts to dry. the pushing/twisting helps to distribute around all of the surface. When dry remove the excess with a decent liquid polish.

I've used this on several bikes and up to date it's never failed yet.

Previously David Cooper wrote:

It happened again today. Been in the hot sun at Brooklands all day. Left and rode up the hill to the exit. Totally gutless and only just made it. Bleak thoughts... Hadn't I just put that supposedly rotten fuel back in this morning?

Turns out the plastic handlebar grips were so hot they softened so much that they no longer stuck to the bars. Lucky I had pliers and lock wire.

What's the best way to fix them please?

A tip I had... Hairspray as stated... but use an airlinetoexpand the(Warm)grip over thehandlebar tube so it dosentpushtheexcess off. The small holeusuallyfoundin the end ofthegrip moulding seals around a standard nozzle;block theotherend of thebars. Theescaping airwillliftyourgrip over the bar andslide on likea hovercraftacross thechannel...

ThanksGeorgeCohen...

Jon

George Cohn advised me on the hair spray trick, and so far it has never failed

Re the hair spray trick - as I don't use the stuff (having enough hair to even consider it would be a trip down memory lane) I find that any old can of aerosol paint lying about the man cave achieves the same end.