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Advice for first time owner?

M

Murdo Smith

Joined Mar 2012
7 Posts | 0+
Edinburgh
I have just purchased a millie. Its on a 51 plate and was imported here from America a number of years ago. Not really touched it yet went for short blast on the weekend but thats it. Back brakes are non existent. No horn. Other than that its pretty tidy. And now the questions...


  • -Are there any major/minor differences that I need to look out for when having the bike serviced etc?
    -I'm quite heavy (17+1/2 stone) and was wondering what the best settup was for fast road riding and for going for longer runs. Im in scotland so spin about the borders a bit?
    -Bikes pretty standard apart from the exhaust and braded lines plus a wee gatzo indicator. Are there any must have mods that are a must have for this bike?

Any other advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers

Murdo
 
Murdo.

Welcome.

Don't worry about the back brake too much, there's plenty of front brake and engine braking.

There's lots of stuff you can do but you might find that on a bike of that age a lot has already been done.

Some easy/cheapish items:

Performance:
most people change the sprocket sizes to increase acceleration and lose a little top end

Reliability/Ease of use:
clutch jet mod makes it easier to change to neutral.
side stand mod. stops it falling over off stand.
brown and white connector mods. improve charging system.
uprated battery. improves starting.
uprated solenoid. improves starting.

There are many more mods possible (my bike has about 30!). Search for the above ones on here. There is a Common modifications section too.

Good luck

Rob :)
 
At 17.5 stone it's worth checking the springs as you find they are normally weighted for fairly light guys. The Sachs rear unit is softer than the ohlins as is the showa front forks but generally more supple for fast road although at 14,5 stone probs 15.5 with my kit on my rear Sachs unit is wound right up. I get up to kielder and hawick, Newcastleton pretty regular not sure if you head that far down?
 
all depends what mods you mean

reliability or power

some of the one mentioned above are good to make the bike more reliable

for power the usual route is , modded airbox,quality chip/eprom,modded header

after this its pc3 and custom map

16/43 or 44 is a good mod for the gearing
 
New battery fitted recently. As well as new chain and sprocket. Clutch bled on last service, but it says the back brake was done then too so I am guessing (not guessing had a wee look) that this is a persistent issue. Definatily want to go for the reliabilty and ease of use first plus sort out suspension settings for optimum control. This is my first big bike and really want to "...learn the trade..." to quote one of my mentalist mates (duk 1198). Was out running with the big boys last season and wanna up my game a little but in a sensible way if you catch my drift.
 
:rollI get down to hawick and there abouts quite a bit. Often head down through the week after work when it seems that there is less chance of a license loss....:roll
 
apostrophe said:
Murdo.

Welcome.

Don't worry about the back brake too much, there's plenty of front brake and engine braking.

There's lots of stuff you can do but you might find that on a bike of that age a lot has already been done.

Some easy/cheapish items:

Performance:
most people change the sprocket sizes to increase acceleration and lose a little top end

Reliability/Ease of use:
clutch jet mod makes it easier to change to neutral.
side stand mod. stops it falling over off stand.
brown and white connector mods. improve charging system.
uprated battery. improves starting.
uprated solenoid. improves starting.

There are many more mods possible (my bike has about 30!). Search for the above ones on here. There is a Common modifications section too.

Good luck

Rob :)
Click to expand...

Apostrophe.......are u serious!!! Your back brake is like your best friend on 1 of these machines and could get you out of all sorts of trouble!!!! ......Do not rely on engine braking alone!!! Make sure ur back brake is in good working condition every time you ride!!!!! I guaruntee you will need it when least expected!!!!
 
2TROKE said:
Apostrophe.......are u serious!!! Your back brake is like your best friend on 1 of these machines and could get you out of all sorts of trouble!!!! ......Do not rely on engine braking alone!!! Make sure ur back brake is in good working condition every time you ride!!!!! I guaruntee you will need it when least expected!!!!
Click to expand...

Especially in the wet!!!
 
you get used to no back brake pretty quickly

i have a set of Griffs rearsets on and now have a good back brake but still forget to use it
 
If I bleed mine properly, I get a good spell out of it before it needs doing again. I did mine last July and rode around Europe etc and i'm just thinking of doing it again now because it's getting a bit soft but it's working in essence.

Regards Dave
 
I usually use the back brake when pottering about town, car parks, coming up to lights etc - not something i use very often out of the town but of course I would still like to have it. Have been told there are a number of different ways of sorting back brake in the shortterm and longterm. What is Griffs rearset?
 
I have an 06 R which I bought a week ago. My back brake is non existent so need to get it in to have it bled. Also, can't find neutral most of the time and it's doing my head in!
What is the side stand issue? Sounds worrying??
 
Murdo Smith said:
I usually use the back brake when pottering about town, car parks, coming up to lights etc - not something i use very often out of the town but of course I would still like to have it. Have been told there are a number of different ways of sorting back brake in the shortterm and longterm. What is Griffs rearset?
Click to expand...
The way i bleed the brake that allways works for me is to have a bit of silicon pipe thats a nice tight fit around the bleed nipple on the brake caliper, have that into a old jam jar with enough old brake fluid in it to cover the end of the tube, get access to the fluid top up bottle behind the fairing,to be able to top up as yer go, slacken off the bleed nipple push and hold down the brake pedal tighten nipple release the brake pedal,do this a couple of times top up the fluid as and when you need to on the bike, pump the pedal a few times with the nipple closed, should have a descent pedal, you can even just pump the pedal and top up fluid as yer go without closing the nipple to get stubon air out as where the end of the tube is under the fluid it won't draw air back into the caliper. Griff's rearsets http://apriliaperformance.co.uk/spares-accessories/ap-parts/
 
The only way I've found to bleed all the air out was via a guide on here or af1 I can't remember which.
You need to make the bleed nipple the highest point on the hydraulic system which means taking off the caliper and placing a piece of wood or plastic of similar width as the disc between the pads. It is best to remove your end can to give you best access for this part.

With the caliper off, support it with some stiff wire etc from a higher position with the caliper in such a position that the brake line is straight and in a diaginal line from the master cylinder and the nipple is the highest point in the system. Bleed it in this position (fiddly I know)

Then from this position remove your supporting wire or what ever you've used and reposition the caliper so that it is now almost upside down and basically the brake line is doubling back on itself almost in a 'u' shape. Then bleed it again- this apparently removes air that gets trapped in the galleries inside the caliper.

You will find your pedal is rock hard by this point. Don't worry if at first the pedal isn't stiffening up, it will eventually and sometimes not until you've done the second step.

I do it this way everytime and I get a good years worth out the back brake and I use it all the time so I know it works.
 
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