I think your bike fell off the muffler…
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Miss November XS2 tribute
- Thread starter Raymond
- Start date
Yep, an' took me with it . . .
The 500 Bullet has been having so much attention lately. Been a few days since Missy's last outing.
So today did what I don't do near often enough - went for a run just for fun.
Didn't manage to stop for a photo though, so here she is back home. Exhaust quietly pinging as it cools.
The forty-sommat miles of Borders roads gave me a chance to compare the Orange Peril with the Bullet. Interesting, but difficult to put into words. Faster, more powerful, more purposeful. Had to re-calibrate the brain to deal with corners arriving faster.
Could also say noisier, ruder, brasher, less genteel than the Enfield?
Great fun though.
So today did what I don't do near often enough - went for a run just for fun.
Didn't manage to stop for a photo though, so here she is back home. Exhaust quietly pinging as it cools.
The forty-sommat miles of Borders roads gave me a chance to compare the Orange Peril with the Bullet. Interesting, but difficult to put into words. Faster, more powerful, more purposeful. Had to re-calibrate the brain to deal with corners arriving faster.
Could also say noisier, ruder, brasher, less genteel than the Enfield?
Great fun though.
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Oh, I don't forget the Kawasaki. Still the best bike in the garage but sees less use than its stablemates just now. Oh, and there's the RE Interceptor - maybe you will see why I need to shift that on although it's a great bike?Fun to have such different bikes in the shed eh? And don’t forget your Kawasaki!
Two days ago, even rode my fixie - that could do with whole lot more exercise too.
My fixie:
Doesn't get a thread of its own. Muddyfox, nicely made, dead light, about 10kg, fixed wheel - you're in the same gear but feels more like riding down hills in bottom gear and tackling gradients in top. And you can't stop pedalling.
At all. Don't even think about stopping pedalling on a fixie.
I said gradients earlier coz you wouldn't get up a proper hill unless you have legs like Sir Chris Hoy. A ride up through the village and back along the by-pass is about the longest run we do, might be 1½ miles? Up past the Church is the steepest part. Great workout . . . should do it more often.
That's our front garden wall.
Doesn't get a thread of its own. Muddyfox, nicely made, dead light, about 10kg, fixed wheel - you're in the same gear but feels more like riding down hills in bottom gear and tackling gradients in top. And you can't stop pedalling.
At all. Don't even think about stopping pedalling on a fixie.
I said gradients earlier coz you wouldn't get up a proper hill unless you have legs like Sir Chris Hoy. A ride up through the village and back along the by-pass is about the longest run we do, might be 1½ miles? Up past the Church is the steepest part. Great workout . . . should do it more often.
That's our front garden wall.
Today, just a couple quick trips to the shops, Gala and Kelso. While the weather stays reasonable. Miss November still manages out more days that not.
But been thinking about all the stories of alternators going bad, the age thing. Maybe I've been a bit too sanguine about going out and about on a forty-six year old mechanical contrivance?
We don't have Dent services to re-wind our alternators in Britain and I wonder if anybody knows of and can recommend a good auto-electrician who will do this job this side of the Atlantic?
But been thinking about all the stories of alternators going bad, the age thing. Maybe I've been a bit too sanguine about going out and about on a forty-six year old mechanical contrivance?
We don't have Dent services to re-wind our alternators in Britain and I wonder if anybody knows of and can recommend a good auto-electrician who will do this job this side of the Atlantic?
West Country Rewinds. The "go to" people for rewinds on bike alternators and the like
(As far I'm aware anyway.)
FWIW, I’m running a couple of rewinds over 20 years old. I believe both are from Custom Rewind in Alabama. Point being, just because you can’t get Jim Dent to do it doesn’t mean you can’t get a good job done.
Any comment on whether it's worth having it re-wound as a precaution? The blurb written by firms advertising on-line goes on about sending your faulty part which they will then fault check, diagnose and repair. Don't sound like they're dealing with folks who sent an alternator for a rewind unless it's already busted.
It’s just a matter of how much inconvenience you can bear when it fails. When that rotor fully shorts the battery goes flat in a New York minute. So, you quickly become a pedestrian. I tend to believe that if you took that rotor to a shop that does such work they should be happy to comply with your wish.
Failures used to be a regular thing at XS650 rallies. I had a failure 3 miles from the house over 20 years ago. We may see less failures now as most original rotors on bikes that saw a lot of use failed many years ago.
If your bike has a rewound rotor already in it, then I would just drive on. I have no anecdotal evidence of a rewind failure, even 20 years on.
@Raymond - Rex's Speed Shop rewind rotors here in the UK. No doubt a whole lot cheaper than replacing the whole shooting match with a Vape integrated alternator + ignition like I just did!
It'll be worth dropping them a line. Good luck!
PS. If you get desperate for a spare rotor I have two, both of which need rewinding. PM me if I can help.
It'll be worth dropping them a line. Good luck!
PS. If you get desperate for a spare rotor I have two, both of which need rewinding. PM me if I can help.
I think that's because you're thinking in terms of preventive maintenance. A concept completely alien to most people
Seeing as you have a few bikes, in my opinion, you're OK waiting till the alternator on the XS650 fails.
But the other side of that coin is the sleep at night surety that you're eliminating a failure that's going to happen one day. The only thing you don't know is when.
If you decide on a preventive maintenance rewind - Then I'm sure a phone call to your chosen rewind shop would straighten out why you'd be sending a unit in for a rewind that hadn't actually failed.
FWIW - the approach I've taken on my 77 650D is - 1 Check that the rotor and stator measure fine electrically. 2 Look OK mechanically*. 3 Fitted new brushes, new rectifier, new regulator. 4 Made new subharnesses for the latter two items. 5 Fitted a voltmeter to monitor system voltage, which may or may not be a permanent fitment.
For the miles I'm likely to do on the bike, I'm not going to worry about when winding(s) fail.
* I have no way of knowing, but the rotor looks relatively recent.
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Watch eBay for a cheap used replacement, so you have a spare. I've picked up a couple over the last few years for about $20 to $30 each. So far I've been lucky and all have tested good, so still have some life left in them. But, when they do go bad, I'll send them out for rewinds.
Have emailed Westcountry Rewinds just to see how much the service costs.
But meanwhile, there's a bike that needs riding.
Bit cooler today, and it's blowing a hoolie!
But enjoyed our little outing.
But meanwhile, there's a bike that needs riding.
Bit cooler today, and it's blowing a hoolie!
But enjoyed our little outing.
Westcountry Rewinds have quoted rotor rewind £141 delivered.
Almost a reasonable price considering the shrinking value of money these days.
I suppose you’re right. We all want to eat.
It is when you think ~£25 of that £141 goes straight through the rewind company to the government as tax. Looks a fair price to me.
Ridiculously expensive to run a workshop these days and actually turn a profit.
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