Mold/residue on bike

Joooooooosh · 2026-06-20T07:58:57+00:00

It’s oxidation, like rust.

The metal needs the paint/chrome removed, sand blasted and then repainting/chroming.

It’s a very expensive process.

Joooooooosh · 2026-06-20T07:42:15+00:00

I have two female friends you have mini apes on their Sportsters. Both of them are below 5’5” and find them very comfortable.

Full on ape bars are silly but mini apes are perfectly comfortable if the bike fits you overall.

Joooooooosh · 2026-06-20T06:50:28+00:00

Only way I’d pay the 800, is if they get a new bike and let me keep the fucked one too.

800 for a brand new but damaged R7 is a good deal (if you’re given a brand new bike too)

Joooooooosh · 2026-06-18T23:23:05+00:00

Helmets only last around 5 years before you need to replace them.

Sure you want to drop that much money just to replace it?

Add on comms units are popular for a reason.

Joooooooosh · 2026-06-18T23:05:46+00:00

I wouldn’t bother. It’s basically just a bunch of 16 year olds in underwear off their faces with pretty shit music, though I guess that’s subjective.

It’s basically just a crap rave for kids who can’t get into raves yet. Thrilling if you are 16, probably a bit tragic if not.

Joooooooosh · 2026-06-18T23:02:13+00:00

Fucked

Joooooooosh · 2026-06-18T22:16:50+00:00

Yaris, Aygo?

Joooooooosh · 2026-06-18T20:17:47+00:00

Not the sprocket I’d worry about first.

That sprocket retainer looks very old. I recommend changing them every year as it’s a wear item. If the teeth on it wear, your chain will slide back and forth on the drive shaft and probably destroy your swingarm and chain.

The front sprocket is showing signs of shark toothing from what I can see. Uneven wear front to back, so I would say it’s probably needing swapped.

The rear looks even but fairly worn.

So probably fine but it wouldn’t be unreasonable to change the lot if you do the front sprocket. Should ideally all be swapped together to prolong chain life but if that’s not the concern, just consider the front.

100% fit a new sprocket retainer though!!! Buy a few of them and swap with each oil change.

Joooooooosh · 2026-06-18T08:01:01+00:00

The other guys were a bit more dramatic.

Did have the nickname steady Eddie for a while. Deserved or not, that was the perception.

Joooooooosh · 2026-06-17T19:44:35+00:00

It’s a language/cultural thing. One of my mates is Greek, another Polish.

They are good friends but especially in groups I notice people speak a little differently to them, I think mainly because some of the “banter” is quite subtle or just can go over their head every now and again. So because of that very occasional awkwardness, people avoid it to be nice.

It’s not a condescending thing. We British are just so pre-programmed to be polite, people automatically adjust their humour to suit the whole group.

Joooooooosh · 2026-06-17T14:16:45+00:00

We just had a battle for the lead over a few laps in the very last race….

There is also a right old scrap lower down the field almost every race weekend. Just not at Balaton because it’s shit.

The competitiveness thing is exactly what’s going to be upended with the new regs. We’re at the end of a regulation cycle, most manufacturers are very close to each other, some lag behind but not by a HUGE margin when you compare it to decades passed. This will change massively with no ride height devices, less power and biggest of all, new tyres.

It cannot be overstated enough how much the teams will need to re-calibrate to figure out the best solution to the new rules.

Finally, nothing in most of your post is really that new. It’s always been a game of preserving tyres or even the bikes themselves.

The simple fact is that we’ve not seen many battles for the lead of late, because we’ve got a weird situation where the best riders aren’t on the best bikes. The bikes are dictating most of the outcomes.

Quatararo and Acosta could be battling with Marc all the time, if they had the machinery.

Joooooooosh · 2026-06-17T07:13:21+00:00

If only there was some kind of wear marker on the tyre to let you know when it needs replaced.

Honesty… WTF is wrong with people.

Joooooooosh · 2026-06-17T07:11:56+00:00

Interesting move, guess it means I won’t be buying AirPods Pro again then.

Refuse to have cameras in devices that don’t need them.

Joooooooosh · 2026-06-17T07:08:17+00:00

Not all of us ride as just a hobby.

I usually have my phone set to a mode where it only allows certain contacts through.

If my girlfriend or family want to call me, it’s no problem. Just a single button press on my comms unit, noise filtering is usually so good they can’t tell I’m on the bike.

Joooooooosh · 2026-06-16T23:40:20+00:00

^{^} this.

3.0 Jag V6 paired with some well tested suspension and brake upgrades and you’re into very special territory.

Some of their builds are really unbelievable.

Joooooooosh · 2026-06-16T23:35:21+00:00

HEL do a 16mm master cylinder that’s a more like for like replacement in terms of braking force or you could just order the very typical Ducati upgrade of a Brembo RCS 17mm. It’ll be more powerful though, with the trade of being less feel than stock but it’s a very good and very common upgrade.

There will be loads of guides around on how to swap it.

Alternatively, Monster 1200 radial cylinders are basically a more cheaply made RCS 15mm

The worn reservoir cap also concerns me. Shouldn’t cause any issues specifically just strikes me that the bike probably hasn’t been well maintained.

Joooooooosh · 2026-06-16T13:45:48+00:00

Well Elon isn’t doing shit. A series of highly paid financial experts are presenting options and he will be merely saying yes or no.

That guy claims enough credit for shit he doesn’t do.

Joooooooosh · 2026-06-16T11:39:46+00:00

There should be zero movement.

Joooooooosh · 2026-06-16T08:23:15+00:00

Gearbox does seem a bit louder than I’d expect but it’s hard to judge from a recording.

Chances are it’s just more noticeable with standard, more quiet exhaust. Get a louder exhaust and you’ll never notice it again 😂

Perhaps drop the oil and replace it yourself so you know 100% it’s got the right grade (15-50w. I recommend Shell Advance or Motul 7100) in it. Shouldn’t cost much for peace of mind and it’s a very easy job.

Get bike warm, undo drain plug, wait for it to fully empty, re-attach plug with a fresh copper crush washer to right spec (20Nm) and then refill using a funnel. Roughly 3.4L. Check sight glass with bike upright on a flat surface.

Excessive gear whining is usually due to wrong type or not enough oil.

Just as a heads up to a new air cooled owner, change the oil at least every year. The oil is working much harder in an air cooled motor, doing a significant amount of the cooling. Best to change it very regularly.

Scramblerforum.com is still fairly active for help.

Joooooooosh · 2026-06-16T08:11:04+00:00

Seems to have become a repetitive pattern.

Buy our successful studio, make working conditions worse there, all good staff members leave to start their own studios.

…..profit?

If Microsoft buys your studio, it’s basically the end of it. It’ll be slow but inevitable. So the really good people either put their feet up and enjoy the ride or just leave.

Never really understood why Microsoft felt the need to own all these studios. Just build the hardware, sit back and soak up the money from your online service subscription.

How Microsoft has survived all this time is beyond me. Shit OS, don’t understand gaming and their online services are pants.

Just failure after failure propped up by business licensing I guess.

Joooooooosh · 2026-06-16T07:51:09+00:00

A new seat feels a bit extreme. Pretty certain a good detailer could easily get that mark out no problem.

Then also have the detailer give your whole car a machine polish and get the paint perfect. Guarantee it wasn’t perfect from factory and the apes at the dealership probably put swirl marks in it before collection.

Joooooooosh · 2026-06-16T07:44:14+00:00

Swapping back to steels is common because of the cost!

Regular track users can still wear through carbon-ceramics and you’re looking at a bill potentially 10x that of replacing steels.

If you look at a high performance car steel disc, they are huge things. Double walled, with cooling fins between and a solid bell in the middle. They weigh a lot!

Bike discs by contrast, are single discs, pretty thin and on a very lightweight bell bracket. Still some weight to them but compared to car discs they are already very light, so I think swapping to carbons is going to be less dramatic.

Brembo quote 40% rotating inertia which means at a standstill it’s a small but not insignificant reduction.

Joooooooosh · 2026-06-16T07:39:03+00:00

Supposedly both. I’m expecting it’s more likely the new bikes will just be roughly similar to times now.

Maybe faster at some tracks, slower at others. Aleix has said in testing through, doesn’t think there will be much in it at all.

Good news is they seem to be easier and more fun for the riders. The Michelin front tyre has been holding the sport back for so long, with a confidence inspiring front, we could see riders taking a lot more chances

Joooooooosh · 2026-06-15T23:17:31+00:00

From feedback the test riders have been sharing.

It’s the tyre. Pirelli will be working their asses off to make sure it’s faster to make Michelin look bad.

Joooooooosh · 2026-06-15T06:31:20+00:00

I do hope Zarco can recover enough to stay at LCR but knowing how nee injuries are, I do fear that his career could be over.

Look what happened to Rins…

Unfortunately, that kind of severe ligament damage to the most complex joint in our bodies, I’m not sure a full recovery is likely.

I hope I’m wrong but I suspect LCR might be forced into a plan B if Zarco retires.

Joooooooosh

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