SA Dealers News and opinions about topics in general

I will be discussing motorcycle repair. The tools you need to always carry at night and what to do when the bike just is not going anywhere. These things can save your bike from being vandalized or stolen if you get stuck leaving it. 40% of thefts or vandalism to bikes is derived from roadside stalls.

First lets discuss the tools or things you should carry with you when traveling at night on any road. Of course each different type of bike will require different things but I will cover the basics. Always carry a few screw drivers at least one slotted and one Phillips. A flash light is essential, you must have a working flashlight or you are dead in the water. Now you will also need a rag and a pair of small vise grips and a crescent wrench.

Ok now we are stuck on the side of the road. There are two key elements to any combustion engine and those are fire and fuel. Make sure you have fuel and it is getting to the carbs or intake. Next time to check if you have spark. Pull a plug wire and put it up against the block in the dark so you can see it spark. Crank the bike over with the button and watch the plug wire and see if it is generating spark. If you dont have either of these fuel or fire you are not going to get the engine to fire at all. Troubleshooting is simple and keep it that way. Spark and fire equals start so you must ensure you have both. If you cannot get both time to go to plan B.
Plan B you got to move the bike by pushing it or having someone come pick it up. If someone can come help you and pick it up no problem you are ready to get it home and off you go to fix it the next day. But if you cannot get someone to come get it or dont have the money for a tow what are you going to do??? Well there is only a couple of options in this situation if you must leave it. Get it to a 24 hour store if possible that has cameras outside in their parking lot. This can help deter would be thieves. Now if you cannot get it to a 24 hour store believe it or not it is time to hide it. I have heard of people literally hiding their bikes behind some trees on the side of the road until they can come the next day and pick it up.

I know this sounds strange but a bike left alone for any extended period of time will be gone. The parts are just too valuable and easy to get rid of. Bikes are stolen everyday like this and would be thieves are literally driving the roads in trucks just looking for bikes left on the side of the road. Take every precaution and do whatever you can to get that valuable baby home!

Lead Writer Carol Heath for
Good Info and writing an article this time for R6 Frame Clean Title

Posted under Motorcycle news

The task and process of buying used motorcycles is not very different to that of purchasing used cars. So, some of the aspects that need consideration are:

a) The kind of bike that would suit your purpose

b) Finding used ones at the right place,

c) Inspecting them and taking a test drive, as well as the right title – along with documents.

The above aspects are common to both used cars and used motorcycles. Let us look at them in greater detail.

The type of bike depends on where you plan to take the bike for a ride. If it is a long one, then a touring type of bike is the best option. If you plan to zoom down the highway, then a superbike would be the best choice. However, if you only plan to use it for normal day to day use, then the standard type of motor cycle with its flexibility should fit the bill.

Coming to the aspect of finding the best used motorcycles, the internet (along with local papers or circulars like Auto Trader) is ideal. The internet by far has emerged as the preferred medium of advertisement for both buyers and sellers of products and given its fantastic reach;, you should definitely make the maximum use of it. Craigslist is one site where you can source what you want, and so is eBay.

The advantage of purchasing something from within your city is that you can avoid heavy transportation costs. So go about your search with that point in mind and having identified the bikes you are interested in, you can establish contact through phone or email in order to proceed further.

The process of inspection is an elaborate one. Ensure that you carry along a good flashlight so that you can check out the exterior of the bike to your satisfaction. Observe how the bike behaves when you actually sit on it. Check if the bike has been involved in any accidents and you can make that out by the external condition of the bike. Do check for any punctures near the bolts as well as the condition of the cables, nozzles and the engine. You will be able to check for any rusting of the parts only with the flashlight. The condition of the seat covers and exhaust pressure are other things you must not forget to inspect.

Now for tbud how it squeezed, any leaks when the bike is in running, any sounds that are not normal and so on.
Finally, the title to the bike along with relevant documents needs to be scrutinised. You should also verify the service records to understand when was the last occasion the bike was serviced.

Roger Thurston is an expert writer for the automobile industry. If you are looking for used motorcycles then find out more information at his preferred site Charles Hurst Car Dealership .

Posted under Motorcycle news

I wrote about something similar (SAM to purchase Gomoto) a while back.

Now Vuka in SA has signed a buy out deal with Loncin, a chinese manufacturer.

Seems like these partnerships will go some way to ensuring that people warrantees are upheld and that the products they purchased will not lose value.Whenever a manufacturer pulls out of a country, anything attached to their name invariably becomes a whole lot less valuable.

Here’s wondering if we will see any more of the same, it’s odd to note that there seems to have been none of this in the car world.

Read more info on IOL motoring

Posted under Motorcycle news

I just read on an obscure post on the Business report that SAM (South African Merchants) are set to buy over Gomoto in South Africa.

SAM are importers for the Jonway, Bajaj, Shineray, and Regal Raptor brands and Gomoto import and distribute the Gomoto range (naturally).

While the consolidation will be good (hopefully for distributors, dealers and clients alike) I wonder what this means for the overlapping product lines? Bashan and Gomoto both have trailies, as well as motards, then Gomoto has the Buzz which is near identical to the Jonway Spirit.

Do you think they will cull some of the product range?

Gomoto : http://www.gomoto.co.za/
SAM: http://www.jonway.co.za/site/
Business Report: http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=563&fArticleId=5049484

Posted under Motorcycle news

Don’t know what the TTXGP is? It’s the world first ‘Zero carbon race’ (Read electric) for motorcycles.
Basically it is a race series for electric bikes with the first race held at the Ilse of Man. Get this, there was a team from India that came 3rd in the Open class. INDIA! Surely we have more engineering talent in the good old RSA!?! What makes it worse is it was put together by a couple of university students.

I find it hard to believe that South African universities do not have some form of final year projects with a tangible end product (Do you know of any? If you do let me know, post a comment, something!). I know from trying my own projects that it takes a long time to achieve anything, if you even finish it, but surely someone somewhere has done something without getting the exposure they deserve. Remember the Joule? Thought not!

Any way back to the races http://www.ttxgp.com/ gives you the results and has a breakdown of the teams, with images from the race itself. Interesting to see that biggish budget teams like MotoCzysz (DNF) and Mission Motors (4th) for who I had high expectations did n
ot fare so well. Hopefully they keep at it and I think they are pssibly using the first few races as testing so we will see them improve as the season progresses, this was the first race outing for these machines.

Posted under Electric Vehicles, Motorcycle news, Motorsport news

Honda’s entry-level naked star
In a segment marred by disappointing delivery-type bikes, budding riders now have a brand new naked model to look forward to.

Read original post at Wheels24.co.za

Posted under Motorcycle news

Many motorcyclists want to take their bikes onto the track and trackdays are the ideal environment. If you have never been on a track before the experience can feel daunting so here are a number of tips to help make your trackday enjoyable. Use a van or a trailer to get your bike to the track

This has a number of advantages. If the worst happens and the bike gets damaged you can get it home without waiting for a recovery service. You can prepare the bike the night before by removing anything that can be damaged in a spill. Removal is far better than taping something up. If cost is an issue hire a van with a friend or two. One advantage that is often overlooked is what happens after a trackday. You’ve been out on the track for 8 sessions, you’re tired (trust me, you will be!!), your leathers are soaked with sweat, your tyres are way past their best, you have to ride home and your perception of speed is screwed up. It’s a recipe for disaster. With a van or trailer you can get changed into fresh clothes load the bike up and unwind with some good sounds. If it’s a hot track day you can change out of your leathers between sessions.

Food

Don’t eat junk food and drink Coke or other fizzy drinks: the sugar levels dull your concentration. If you don’t believe me have a look at the first session after lunch at your next trackday. Drink bottled water and eat fruit or pasta.

The 3 Sessions to be aware of!!

There are 3 sessions you have to take extra care in. I would advise you to run at 75% in these sessions for various reasons:

1. The first session of the day

You are new to the track. Even if you have been around it before and it’s dry, the grip levels will be different from last time and heavy rain might have washed some of the rubber deposits away. The track will be colder than before and other riders may not have ridden the track before. If you have done any work on your bike you will surely discover that you failed to tighten a caliper bolt in the first few laps.

2. The first session after lunch

Tyres have cooled, concentration levels are lower. Use this session to get back into the groove and gradually build your speed up again.

3. The last session of the day

Simple bit of advice here, don’t go out in the last session: confidence is up and will invariably exceed ability, tiredness will start to play a part and tyres wil be nearing the end of their life. It’s just not worth it. Pack up when you are ahead.

Find someone slightly faster than you

Once you have settled into a rhythm, know the track and are confident with your bike’s handling and braking, find someone who is about 5-10 % quicker than you. Follow their lines, use their braking points and soon you will find that extra bit of speed.

Pick your group wisely

Fast Group: lots of fast road riders and racers, this is probably the safest group of the lot as fast riders know what they are doing. If you aren’t sure whether you should go intermediate or fast, pick the fast group: you can always ask to go down a group later.

Intermediate Group: Try to avoid this group like the plague, its got fast guys who don’t like to finish mid pack, slow guys who don’t want to go in the slow group. The broad spread of riders is a recipe for disaster.

Slow Group: this is the ideal group for Novices and people who want to build their confidence. You won’t be the slowest rider here, you are not expected to ride like a GP god and apart form a few intermediate riders who like to lap people and so choose this group you will be given lots of room. Once you have lapped 3/4 of the field and are confident of your ability then its time to move up. Take some lap time of riders in the other groups from the front, middle and back of the group, compare them with your lap times and if you can make it in the fast group, do it!

Mark Thompson has spent the past 20 years racing motorcycles and managing race teams and riders. He now runs the Trackbikes website.

Posted under Motorcycle news

Trouble Shooting Suspension Problems.

Adjustment locations: Forks

Rebound adjustment (if applicable) is located near the top of the fork. Compression adjustment (if applicable) is located near the bottom of the fork. Spring preload adjustment (if applicable) is generally hex style and located at the top of the fork.

Lack of Rebound

Symptoms:

• Forks are plush, but increasing speed causes loss of control and traction

• The motorcycle wallows and tends to run wide exiting the turn causing fading traction and loss of control.

• When taking a corner a speed, you experience front-end chatter, loss of traction and control.

• Aggressive input at speed lessons control and chassis attitude suffers.

• Front end fails to recover after aggressive input over bumpy surfaces.

Solution: Insufficient rebound. Increase rebound “gradually” until control and traction are optimized and chatter is gone.

Too Much Rebound

Symptoms:

• Front end feels locked up resulting in harsh ride.

• Suspension tucks in and fails to return, giving a harsh ride. Typically after the first bump, the bike will skip over subsequent bumps and want to tuck the front.

• With acceleration, the front end will tank slap or shake violently due to lack of front wheel tire contact.

Solution: Too much rebound. Decrease rebound “gradually” until control and traction are optimized.

Lack of Compression

Symptoms:

• Front-end dives severely, sometimes bottoming out over heavy bumps or during aggressive breaking.

• Front feels soft or vague similar to lack of rebound.

• When bottoming, a clunk is heard. This is due to reaching the bottom of fork travel.

Solution: Insufficient compression. Increase “gradually” until control and traction are optimized.

Too Much Compression

Symptom:

• Front end rides high through the corners, causing the bike to steer wide. It should maintain the pre-determined sag, which will allow the steering geometry to remain constant.

Solution: Decrease compression “gradually” until bike neither bottoms nor rides high.

Symptom:

• Front end chatters or shakes entering turns. This is due to incorrect oil height and/or too much low speed compression damping.

Solution: First, verify that oil height is correct. If correct, then decrease compression “gradually” until chattering and shaking ceases.

Symptom:

• Bumps and ripples are felt directly in the triple clamps and through the chassis. This causes the front wheel to bounce over bumps.

Solution: Decrease compression “gradually” until control is regained.

Symptom:

• Ride is generally hard, and gets even harder when braking or entering turns.

Solution: Decrease compression “gradually” until control is regained.

Adjustment Locations: Rear Shock

Rebound adjustment (if applicable) is located at the bottom of the shock. Compression adjustment (if applicable) is located on the reservoir. Spring prelude is located at the top of the shock.

Shock: Lack of Rebound

Symptoms:

• The ride will feel soft or vague and as speed increases, the rear end will want to wallow and/or weave over bumpy surfaces and traction suffers.

• Loss of traction will cause rear end to pogo or chatter due to shock returning too fast on exiting a corner.

Solution: Insufficient rebound – Increase rebound until wallowing and weaving disappears and control and traction are optimized.

Shock: Too Much Rebound

Symptoms:

• Ride is harsh, suspension control is limited and traction is lost.

• Rear end will pack in, forcing the bike wide in corners, due to rear squat. It will slow steering because front end is riding high.

• When rear end packs in, tires generally will overheat and will skip over bumps.

• When chopping throttle, rear end will tend to skip or hop on entries.

Solution: Too much rebound. Decrease rebound “gradually” until harsh ride is gone and traction is regained. Decrease rebound to keep rear end from packing.

Shock: Lack of Compression

Symptoms:

• The bike will not turn in entering a turn.

• With bottoming, control and traction are lost.

• With excessive rear end squat, when accelerating out of corners, the bike will tend to steer wide.

Solution: Insufficient compression. Increase compression “gradually until traction and control is optimized and/or excessive rear end squat is gone.

Shock: Too Much Compression

Symptoms:

• Ride is harsh, but not as bad as too much rebound. As speed increases, so does harshness.

• There is very little rear end squat. This will cause loss of traction/sliding. Tire will overheat.

• Rear end will want to kick when going over medium to large bumps.

Solution: Decrease compression until harshness is gone. Decrease compression until sliding stops and traction is regained.

Mark Thompson has spent the past 20 years racing motorcycles and managing Race teams and riders. He now runs the Trackbikes Website along with a number on Internet Ventures

Posted under Motorcycle news

Whether interest rates are high or low or it’s the end of a model year with lots of incentives, motorcycle buyers tend to make the same mistakes when shopping for a motorcycle loan. Here are four common mistakes motorcycle buyers make with motorcycle loans.

Shopping for a motorcycle before shopping for a motorcycle loan. Many motorcycle buyers enter the showroom looking for a motorcycle before they determine how much money a motorcycle lender is willing to loan to them for the purchase of a motorcycle. There is no need to shop for a $20,000 Harley Davidson motorcycle, if a lender is only willing to provide a loan amount of $10,000.

Additionally, once motorcycle buyers enter the showroom slick salespeople often pressure them into motorcycle loans with much higher internet rates than they could have gotten had they shopped for a motorcycle loan at a bank, credit union or online. Salespeople do not like motorcycle buyers to leave the dealership to get a motorcycle loan. In the salespersons mind this only increases the chance of loosing a sale and commission. Therefore, salespeople frequently try for a quick sale which normally results in pushing motorcycle buyers to get motorcycle financing at the dealership.

The bottom-line is that it is always best to shop for a motorcycle loan before entering the showroom.

Diving into the unknown motorcycle loan. Motorcycle buyers often jump into motorcycle loans that they do not completely understand or may not be the best alternative for them. For instance, in today’s age manufacturers frequently run credit card motorcycle loan promotions on their private-label credit cards. But these promotions typically offer a low interest rate for a short term like 12 or 24 months and have a much higher interest rate after the short promotional term. On a credit card promotion if motorcycle buyers can not afford to pay off the loan during the short promotion period, then they are typically better taking a slightly higher interest rate on an installment motorcycle loan for a longer term.

Borrowing too much.

The most common mistake the first time motorcycle buyer makes in not having a clear sense of how much motorcycle they can afford. This is especially true for young motorcycle buyers who look to buy the top sport bikes that cost up to $10,000 – $15,000. What they fail to realize is that financing a $10,000 – $15,000 motorcycle can stretch them to thin, resulting in them having little cash to enjoy themselves and the motorcycling lifestyle. They may also have too little cash to pay for insurance, maintenance, registration or new accessories for their motorcycle.

Not asking the right questions.

The first warning sign that motorcycle buyers should see is that if they do not understand the type of motorcycle loan, then they should be sure to ask a lot of questions.

Here are some good questions to ask:

• Is the interest rate fixed or variable? If fixed how long will it be fixed for?

• Are there circumstances that can make the interest rate on the motorcycle loan change in the future?

• What happens if a payment is 30 days late? Does the interest rate increase?

• What happens if a payment is 60 days late? Does the interest rate increase?

• How long is the term on the motorcycle loan?

• If the loan is an installment loan, does it use rule of 78 or simple interest? (Simple interest is always better because it does not penalize the motorcycle buyer if the loan is paid off early.)

• What is the down payment requirement to get the motorcycle loan?

• Is full coverage insurance required?

• How much is registration and are these fees included in the motorcycle loan?

• Are there any administrative fees to get the motorcycle loan and if so how much are the fees?

Overall, motorcycle buyers can avoid these common mistakes by spending a little extra time focusing on shopping for a motorcycle loan and asking lots of questions.

Copyright (c) 2004, by Jay Fran This article may be freely distributed as long as the copyright, author’s information and an active live link to http://www.motorcycle-financing-guide.com is published with the article.

A complimentary copy of any newsletter or a link to the site where the article is posted is greatly appreciated.

Jay Fran is a successful author and publisher at http://www.motorcycle-financing-guide.com. A comprehensive resource on how to have the best experience and get the best deal on motorcycle financing, bad credit motorcycle loans, high risk motorcycle loans and motorcycle buying.

Posted under Motorcycle news