Hello all.

Been a long time here and looking at it, there are some hot discussions going on here.

Here is my experience with my Fazer which is one year and 40000 kms old.

The engine performed well considering the fact that I got it into a lousy run in, on long trips.
The only parts replaced within the 40000kms were clutch cable, throttle cable, fork cone assembly, fork oil,handle bar only once.

After crossing 38000km the bike showed some signs of old age, so I decided it was time to change the following parts

Clutch plates, rear suspension bearings, fork cone assembly, fork oil and oil seals, tyres, chain and sprocket kit, all the cables including choke. And after all the changes the bike again feels new.

I also converted it to an fz because of he cost reasons when I had a mishap two weeks ago when the panels, clamps and headlight stay were broken due to the hard impact.

Overall the bike has performed well in some of the worst Indian roads.

I have also got a new bike the pulsar 200ns which is also a nice bike, but not as comfy as the fazer.

+1, Thanks

Opinions is one thing, Muztariq, advising is another one.
I have gone against you a couple of times for that. Does not mean I have bad personal feeling against you and would certainly be glad to meet you and talk all sorts of things, exchange information and opinion, this for the best of our common knowledge.

Well: I am afraid you may be right, there, Muztariq! This is why I would suggest discussions on modded bikes to be held on the thread opened by Mik in the "pit stop" section. This way, the "Ownership thread" would keep clean of these discussions while those who are interested in modifications would have a dedicated discussion space, free of the repeated puncture, oil, mileage, etc.... recurring questions while those who want an advice concerning their stock bike would more easily find it here as it would no more be encumbered by a subject of little or no interest to them.
Let's do that!

Not too sure about what you mean there...??? If I comment heavily on some assertions, that is because I somehow care for those 1/4th. of my age kids who can be mislead and misinformed. That seems to be one of the things that come with age: a desire to share (before it's too late perhaps???) while knowing that there will be no reward, fame or whatever of that kind: that is all well above my head!

Mad Mik is right, it will take us about 4 to 5 hours to do one build. Each step will have to be deliberated and moved forward.

Weird Problem with Front Disk Brakes

My front brakes has been acting weirdly for quite some time, when I start the bike in the morning its good as new and the bite is there when I need it. In few mins I feel like am on drum brakes rather than a disc all the power of the disc is gone and free play increases. If I give it a rest of an hour or 2 the brakes are good once again. This has caused a minor accident last week. Can you guys please throw some light on this.

What comes immediately to my mind is low fluid level in the reservoir!
You start: it's OK, then brake a few times and start pumping air into the master cylinder and brakes loose power and increase free-play, then you let it rest and the bubbles slowly come out of the cylinder making brakes good again....for a short while....

If this happens, it is usually due to a slow leakage you might not have even noticed, from the master cylinder, hoses, caliper....
What yo should do is:
- first: top-up the fluid level to avoid any immediate new "mishap"!
- go (slowly!) to a mechanic and let him check the whole hydraulic system
- have him change whatever is needed, including pads if they have got fluid on them, this no matter what is their wear
- Refill the system with new fluid, and bleed properly.

Was your bike " serviced " in the past month or so ?...I had seen the ASC mechs., fill the brake master cylinder fluid with just enough, which becomes less with usage and causes Air suction...Check your brake fluid level, and as Lucky Luke said drain and refill the system with DOT 4 fluid ASAP to avoid further " adventure", and risk to your's and other road user's life..

Well,
there you go Mik, the king has spoken!! .. My Head of the Departments agrees with you so i have nothing else to add to it. Like i said Abhimanyu31 believes in ensuring everything is measured and scaled to the T so that way no stone will be left unturned to ensure that the build is perfect!!

I shall post a report about the condition of the stock bike since, the last two months of no major activity before i go ahead with the build.

Cheers,

The bike was serviced 1 month back , will get the fluid and break pads checked by this week. I told them to check the oil level they said its fine, may be I ll take the bike to a neighbourhoud mechanic and get it fixed.

How old is your bike? Has the break fluid been replaced? Personally, as a general yardstick I believe the break fluid should be replaced every year and your break lines should be replaced every 2 years (unless you are using aftermarket steel braided lines like HEL). You problem sounds like the boiling point of the break fluid is now lower than what it should normally be. This happens due to contamination of the fluid through aging, absorption of moisture, etc. Therefore, in the morning while the break oil is at or around ambient temperature it works just fine. But after a couple of hard breaking points, the temperature of the break oil will raise rapidly. With a lower boiling point the fluid is losing its stability and thus is not able to provide stable hydraulic pressure require for efficient breaking.

My Bike is 1.5 yrs old and crossed 15k on the odo. The break fluid was never replaced and the same for the break lines.

Replace the break fluid completely with fresh fluid from a sealed bottle. Best thing to do is to drain all the fluid, dismantle the master cylinder and caliper, clean all the components, check all the rubber seals (replace if necessary), assemble the whole thing, fill in the fresh fluid, bleed the system properly. Also check the break lines for very small hairline cracks and check if the rubber line has become hard. If yes, then replace the break line. You should be ok after this.

Can I do this with any mechanic or it has to be done at SVC?

Pics of you can, If you have time photograph the build up. It will be an invaluable resource for the future

Best get it done with the SVC. Insist that they do it in front of you. Breaks are not something that I would trust anyone to work on without being present in person.