Recent content by Ash

On a couple of my bikes I've swapped all of the fairing fasteners to these bolts with captive washers: https://fortnine.ca/en/bolt-hex-head-flange-nuts-with-fender-washers In some cases I've drilled out M5 threads and re-tapped to M6 so that every fastener is exactly the same. It's really nice...

The Yamaha CP3 platform (FZ-09/MT-09, XSR900, FJ-09/Tracer 900) definitely qualify as fun, light, flickable and reliable. The naked models are up to 150lbs lighter than the R1200RT.

I helped a friend with a similar problem recently. We got lots of air bubbles from the bleeder valve when just pumping the lever to bleed normally from the caliper, but we never gained much pressure that way. We eventually had to crack the banjos and bleed from the ABS unit, which sits at the...

For what it's worth, the tech inspectors at track days around here like to see 40 or 50mm of slack on my bike, which is about double what the factory recommends. It's generally better to be too loose (within reason) than too tight. At the other extreme, my XSR900 owner's manual calls for 5 to...

The slack setter tool is a luxury, for sure. It's nice because you don't need to get your eye down at chain level to get an accurate measurement like with a ruler (parallax). Just zip the slide thingy up and down and the friction of the outer tube keeps the measurement on the graduated tube, and...

FYI, the Slack Setter tool has two scales so you don't have to subtract the two measurements. Loosen the hex screw at the bottom of the graduated tube and spin it so that the "Slack Measurement" scale is facing outwards. The outer tube will then measure your up-and-down motion as the relative...

It's been two weeks since my crash and I'm feeling much better. I put on real pants today instead of sweatpants, but I had to loosen the belt by a whole notch. I'm going to choose to believe that's from the swelling around my hips and not from the 5 pounds I gained from all of the emotional...

Neat idea. You might want to do some math to see how much heated gear a TW200 charging system can handle. Fat-biking is a lot of work that'll keep you warm, but I wouldn't be able to do that trip on a motor bike since my hands get painfully cold even with heated grips and heated gloves. Most...

If a helmet is on sale it's at least 1 year old, and possibly much more. I don't worry too much about the age on street helmets. I have to pay more attention to it on track helmets since track orgs have helmet age requirements, although very few of them check. I've been wearing the same brand &...

Depends on the type of crash for me. If I tip over at a standstill, I just step off and let the bike fall between my legs, especially on a tall dirt bike. Too easy to mess up a shoulder trying to hold it up, and potential for blowing out a knee if it traps your leg. A busted clutch lever or...

I've spent most of the last week and a half lying facedown on the living room floor after high-siding and landing nearly flat on my back. I can sit in a chair now, although not very comfortably. This would have sucked at any age, but the experience has given me a peek into what actual old age...

On a small bike you definitely won't be holding up any big bikes for more than half a lap. If they're reasonably close to your skill level, they just need to wait for the next straightaway and then they're gone. I haven't encountered any serious safety issues when mixing big and small bikes in...

The bulk of their stable is CBR125s and CBR250s. A couple of guys had rental CBR250s (even kitted out with tire warmers) at their Mosport DDT VIP day in Aug. They had one 600cc a handful of years ago when I was doing their endurance races. Not sure if they still have that available or not...

I did the Racer5 school, and then did their endurance races on their rented bikes for a couple of years. They're not doing endurance races anymore, but they have a couple of trackdays per year and will rent bikes for those. It's a good way to dip your toes in. There are a lot of benefits to a...

Dig out a magnifying glass and have a look at the tiny print on the back of your existing charger. It'll probably say something like "Input: 100-240V 50/60Hz", which means you don't need a fancy voltage converter. You just need a plug/prong adapter.