Chris79

I had a chat with the blood bike guys at the NEC bike show last year. I was told they like you to commit to two days a month but are flexible as to what days etc. It is on call so sometimes you do not do anything, but need to be available if you are needed. I was told it was mainly out of hours (ie evenings, weekends etc) when the other usual transport options are less able to do it. This is what the guy told me, it may vary perhaps a little group to group. I too was interested, I love riding and to help someone while doing so is even better. But for me with work and personal life, at present at least, I could not give them the commitment they need/deserve. Those that can achieve it around a day job etc have my respect.

Thanks for the advice guys, it is much appreciated. Chris

Hi all Have noticed brake performance has reduced a little, doubtless because I have not cleaned them over the winter.... (lesson learned). So I have removed the caliper to give things a very thorough clean and also bought some new seals as I may as well do the job properly. The Thundercat has the infamous Yamaha Blue Spot calipers. Three of the pistons can now be turned and removed by hand, one however is not having it at all. It is fully cleaned externally as far as I can so some crud is between piston and caliper that I can not yet get at. So how to get the little fecker out. The various piston removal pliers have mixed reviews and the only way I could use one of the better quality tools (ie the Lazer one) would be to remove the blue spots so I can get that tool in as the blue spots caliper can not be split. Can anyone recommend one of the plier type tools that does ok with stubborn pistons or are they a waste of time for that? I ought to buy some anyway for turning/cleaning the pistons in the future. Is there something I could soak the caliper/piston in to try and break down the crud? Even though I am replacing the seals I am bit concerned about exposing the caliper internals to all sorts of chemicals and stuff. Any suggestions very gratefully received. Chris

Many thanks for taking the time to respond Tim and for your very kind offer to try and help me out, I really do appreciate it. I do still have the 2000 Thundercat. Having thought about it further I think perhaps I should just bite the bullet and buy some new downpipes. The existing ones are quite grotty and this may be just the first problem with them failing. I did intend to replace them at some point anyway as part of a wider strip down exercise but was hoping to have a second bike by then so I could tinker at my leisure and make a mini project of it. Inconvenient timing as always ! Thanks again for your help. Chris

So at end of last week i noticed a new noise coming from engine when closing throttle when revs were in mid range and above. Gave the bike a look over today and one of the clamps (think that is what they are called) that are used to bolt the down pipes to the engine has snapped. I guess that since that down pipe is now no longer held tight to the engine that is the cause of the new noise? Should be an easy fix but despite trawling internet I can not find any to buy, only a complete new down pipes set. Am I being blind or can you only get them with full down pipes set? Cheers

You can adjust the front and rear pretty easy yourself. It is set out in the Haynes if you have one together with the standard positions. When I first started riding mine I thought the back end was overly bouncy (though not as bad as you describe). If you look through the gap in the fairing below the pillion part of the seat (from the chain side of the bike) you will see an adjuster there. Basically a flathead screw with numbers from 1 or 0 (can not remember now) up to 6. Lowest gives softest ride and higher number gives a firmer ride. 4 is the standard and mine was set at position 2 (no idea why anyone would do that). I adjusted it to 4 (simple turn with a screw driver) and the effect was noticeable. There is a national speed limit road at the back of my village where the large trees lining it have played havoc with the road (you can see the bumps from the roots). Before I had a similar experience of bouncing about over them (left the seat more than once) now the bike skims over them. The rear suspension is notoriously rubbish on the 'cat I hear but it may the previous owner has just fiddled with it. Perhaps check that it is all set to the standard positions and see what difference that makes? If you do not have the Haynes give me a shout as I do and can let you know the standard specs.

Thanks everyone Looks like I am buying a set of Pilots this weekend then given the unanimous praise for them on this thread and the other one in general chat. (you're not all on commission with Michelin are you? ) Chris

Yep there the ones Stu. So no issue save for crap tyres then? Looks like some new tyres at the weekend. Any recommendations of good tyres to look for? Thanks for the help everyone.

Second pic

This should work (asked the wife to fix it) will post other one in a second

Here is a few pictures of front and rear. Front actually looks worse on the pictures.

Hi Hoggs Did not know tyres had the date on them, will check that tonight thanks. Did your front go at same time or was it just the rear? Struck me as a little odd that they both squared off at pretty much the same time, would have thought the rear being subject to greater forces through acceleration would have been affected first. May be given it is larger it just balances itself out Chris

Thanks Stu for the quick response. At work at present (left bike at home today) but will take some pics tonight when I get home and post them up. Cheers Chris

Hi everyone Noticed something strange last night that gave me a bit of a scare hope someone can shed some light on it please. I have a 2000 Yamaha Thundercat fitted with Briedgestone Battlax sport tourer tyres. Think they were more or less new when I bought the bike last year. I have done about 6k miles on them mainly commuting to Leeds so mainly A1 and M62 and until last few months taking it pretty steady (given riding over winter and only started riding recently so still finding my way on two wheels). More recently have started to get the bike over on bends and enjoyed the throttle a little more but nothing too silly. Checked the tyres at weekend and had plenty of tread depth across the tyre and only needed a small inflation, rear was 35psi instead of 36psi as per Haynes. No squaring off that I could see. Last night coming home stopped at services for petrol and noticed rear looked odd. Closer inspection showed a band running around the middle of the tyre about 2 inch wide darker than rest of tyre and it was a bit sticky to the touch also tyre quite hot. It was also if anything slightly sunk in like a very shallow trench if that make's sense. Checked front and that was the same although not as bad. Got it home carefully and have checked them periodically last night and this morning. Both tyres now have a clear flat band running in the middle of them and the tread depth on that band has gone from loads of life to quite close to the low wear markers. Looks like someone took a sander to both tyres to make them nice and flat for me. Did a google search and it seems they have squared off. Does it happen that quick ie within say 50 miles of riding they go from fine to knackered? Or is there something else here that has caused it or accelerated it? Don't want to stick some new tyres on if they are just going to go the same way in days. Thanks for reading Chris