My First cat

First topic message reminder :

Figured i'd throw up a thread for my new baby, so here she is:





Picked her up This time last week for the princely sum of £1500.

40k miles, FSH + Extra servicing and brakes overhaul etc.

First thing i did was to bin the crappy headlight bulb, and (temporarily) chuck in a H4 HID that i had lying around from an old VW Golf. Difference is amazing, i can actually see enough to be able to ride comfortably at night!



On Sunday i went out for a proper ride with one of my usual riding buddies Chris, on his CBR600RR. As we started pushing on i could feel the bike wasnt quite right. she was twitchy at times, yet slow to react at others, and was hard work getting her "right" in the corners. Thinking it was probably just me on a new bike i carried on, until i had a rather brown pants moment involving a hairpin, pushing out wide, and an oncoming 4x4....

So i made it home, and today me and Chris had a look over the suspension and set up, which was set waaaay too soft for a lump like me! Matey before me was about 5'8" and probably 10stone soaked through, whereas im 6'1" and about 15stone.

We managed to get the Preload and rebound damping set all round, but the front left Compression dampening adjuster is seized solid, so we left that as it was, and the rear shock compression damper is also bust, It just clicks endlessely and makes no odds to the shock at all.

just adjusting the rebound and preload though has made a massive difference. The bike no longer feels nose heavy, and is a lot easier to set up into the corners, so hopefully that will keep me out of trouble until i get chance to replace the rear shock and sort the front left out. Will probably go for a full rebuild and revalve on the fronts, and keep my eyes peeled for a Maxton etc rear.

Quick pic of the 'Cat with the RR, just because i can:



Also today we sorted a few other niggles out, Chain was too tight so that was adjusted, rear brake was semi seized so that was free'd up, lubed and put back together, Brake lever was adjusted as it was too high for my Pasty feet, Throttle free play was adjusted to stop it sticking slightly, and clutch lever was adjusted also.

And whilst we were at it, i pulled the chipped and faded yellow rimtape off ( was a bit garish against the blue for my tastes if im honest), and replaced with some nice reflective blue stuff just to see how it looked. Ill need to redo a couple of bits as its a tad wonky in places, but im chuffed with how it looks so it will be staying.

Yellow can be seen in pics above.

Blue:



And what drivers will see at night when lights on it:



Pretty much all thats happened at the mo, will update this as and when bits get done/Broken/fixed!

Ref above

Dean-J wrote:If he pulls off a finish like the three bikes he was doing today ( and he's guaranteed me he will) then i will be a happy happy man indeed, especially next month when i get the rest of the bike re done!

You put this on the other thread mate, surely this gives you some grounds for reproach with the bodyshop/painter in question?? Don't take the sh*t off em, threaten both with trading standards and watchdog, whoever, mainly stamp your feet and leave with the result you want and deserve

Not really fella... what he said and what hes done are 2 completely different things. i may well just ask for the cost of the work in cash and have my own painter do a full gp rep... see how things go!

Just been on phone to another painter.... this may work out alright after all....

Something along lines of this could well be on cards:

red block love it when funds get a bit better that is what I want.

Well i have decided i might take a bit of a gamble with this....

it may well be cheaper and easier for all involved to just order a pre painted set of fairings from china in the above colour scheme, that way leaving me with the standard fairings to keep safe/sell. A friend has one of the china kits on his bike, and apart from a couple small bits that dont quite line up right, its pretty good quality tbh. And in fairness he made no effort to trim down the bits that didnt quite fit right, he just chucked em on and left it at that, so with a bit of time filing and shaping tabs etc it *should* be ok. Going to talk to the painter first on monday, see how much its gonna cost to get it done properly, and if its megabucks, i may take the cheap and easy route for now and get the original placcys repainted for when/if i come to sell the bike...

well i hope it all works out for you, and make sure you get what you should from the shop

Some pics of the crappy job/colour match:









Pedantic? Yes, quite probably. But she was perfect when she went in there, so i dont see why i should accept anything else now!

That's shoddy work. I'd be gutted too Dean, Stand your ground and don't settle for second best. Even I can spot what a rubbish job that is. Good luck with getting the job done right.

As a painter with 25yrs experience (yes I am old lol) that's awful & will now require completely stripping back to primer & new decals & they are not cheap.
He will know he has ballsed it up & the buck stops with him & not the guy who damaged it imo.
Like you say get a quote for rectification & see if you can get the cash out of him.
Good luck

Painter is simply shirking responsibility, says go talk to the guy whos paying for it. Guy that damaged it says go talk to the painter. Getting pissed off with this right about now!

Although i had a look on RS paints website, and the paint is a 2 stage paint needing a specific basecoat to get the deep blue pearl that y paint is missing.... guess what... yep, you guessed right, he just whacked a single colour coat on top of grey primer. that'll be why its wrong then will it!

Been on phone to Fowlers, Genuine decals for tank are gonna cost £155.06. Paint is a further £68 not including lacquer, or labour. So we're already at £218.06.... no way its gonna be prepped and painted for less than what £100?

so im gonna push for him giving me £280 and ill put the other £50 in for a full fairing set from china.

The point is though that none of this is your fault and in good faith you left your bike with a reputable garage, is it time to get your half an hour free advice from a solicitor?


Or threaten the painter with the small claims court.

That's right Dean, its a three stage pearl which requires the ground coat & then with the second coat you keep applying layers until the correct shade is satisfactory, this is done by either test cards or holding another piece of bodywork against the tank for a colour match reference.
My guess looking at the poor masking around the decals is that he has attempted to paint it more than once due to his inability to match the colour hence the large edge around the decals.
One hundred percent the buck stops with the painter & his poor workmanship.

I have emailed Andrew Campbell of BikeLawyer.co.uk, he is MCN's forum Legal adviser, so will see what he thinks the chances are of getting a satisfactory outcome through legal action.

I'm a little puzzled at how the painter can say its the mechys problem, the painter was presented with a damaged panel & took the job on saying he could make it good again, he has single handedly failed to do that.
Good luck with the advice, is the painter a member of any motor industry groups such as the RMI? He may have some signs up or info on his website.
If you still get no joy the devil in me says stand outside his business ( but not on his land ) & 'educate' his customers as they arrive by showing them his brilliant handywork.
If you were not so far away I'd offer to take a proper look at it to see if I could help you out.

Naming & shaming him won't do his business any favours

I agree with the naming and shaming. A few years ago I bought a car from
A very reputable dealer. At the time of the test drive I suggested to brakes weren't up to scratch and they said they'd look at them. On collecting the car was told the pads had been replaced. To maintain the warranty I took it back to be serviced 6 months later and imagine my surprise when I got a call asking for authorisation to replace the brake pads. Despite my obvious concerns etc they refused to replace them gratis claiming they never said they had replaced them In the first place. Even the manager wasn't playing ball.

So I kept calm drove away and returned the following day with brake pads and a sign stating my thoughts of the attitude of the service department and after sales service. Parked RIGHT in the middle of the forecourt, jacked the car up and started replacing my own brake pads for all to see. Only to happy to stop and talk to customers arriving and leaving about why I'd think twice about buying a car from there.

It wasn't long before the franchise manager appeared offered to do the pads as a good will gesture and quickly ushered me away.

Result!!

Stick to your guns and you'll get your result. Best of luck

Yep i see your points guys, however until i have had a satisfactory outcome to this situation, i will not be naming and shaming.

Dont get me wrong, if they piss me about any more and i have to take legal action, the very second i have a cheque in my hand i will do everything in my power to make said parties lives hell. But im not going to cut my nose off to spite my face so to speak, i want a good outcome and my urges to get even come 2nd to my urge to have my bike looking pretty again!

Took the chance yesterday to get some pictures of the shoddy workmanship, but i cba to put them all up, you get the genereal idea from the ones iv already posted...

But, here's my DIY tailtidy fitted with smaller plate, and reflectors....

Is the reflector on you indicator steam ? , and gotta say I love the tag on the bottom of the plate

Sure is matey reflective fishing rod tip stickers

Right, been to see the garage today, and he has offered to have the painter redo the tank and cowl. He would not listen to any other ideas, nor was he willing to have the tank painted by someone of my choosing.

He did however agree to have the proper decals ordered direct from Yamaha, and also to have the right paint ordered in so no chances of a mismatch on colour.

I have since been to see the painter, helped him to find the correct paint, and made expressly clear what i want from him in terms of the finished product.

Both have been told that this is their last chance to rectify the problems, and that if i am not satisfied with the outcome this time i will not hesitate in taking them to court.

Will be a week or two before the decals arrive from yamaha, so wont be any updates for a while, but fingers crossed its done properly this time!

Yeah best of luck mate, hope it all works out for you

fingers crossed for you! hopefully this time everything turns out all fine and dandy

Best of luck , hope it all goes well

well they know whats gonna happen if it doesn't!!!!

had a proper arse end slide earlier, glad the cat took it in her stride or id have a whole bike to repair an not just a tank! how the hell i didnt come off i dont know

Good job cats have 9 lives and always land on their feet.
We'll let rider skill take some of the credit too.
Every day's a school day.

Thanks Rosco, but im really not sure i can take any credit on this one, Just held the throttle where she was and prayed

Rosco could you do me a favour fella and chuck up a picture of your bike/mirrors? Spotted you mentioned in a thread about thunderace mirrors, could be just what im looking for to solve the elbows only rear view scenario!

cheers