Continuing - So what did you do to your bike today...?

[Hooli]

As you lot pretend to be interested in inferior bikes, have a progress report of today's work on the Varadero. It's still not complete as the new genuine fuel sensor was faulty out the box & the spare scottoiler I had turns out to have a vacuum leak which stopped the bike idling when I'd put it back together. Replacements for both are currently in the post.

First off the instructions* for the Motea engine bars are a joke, it's just an exploded diagram that doesn't even show the bike. Apparently there's video online, but sod that videos are just annoying to watch. Print proper instructions bellends!



After finding out the bolts supplied (not even shown on the diagram) to fit the cross plate to the front of the engine are too long I spaced them with a few washers as it's easier than cutting them down. Handy to find out the bolts I took out were correct to replace the incorrect random ones holding the LH side panel to the upper cowl.




Then with the bars loosely attached at the cross plate & the bolts that go into the rear cylinder head via the frame I could would out how front bracket fits. Turns out you've got to take everything plastic off to get to a bolt on the front of the headstock. Then work out that the strange way they choose to made the bracket means you replace the existing bolt with a longer one, screwed into the captive nut, put the bracket on the end of the bolt & add the locknut. There's no reason for this, if they'd bent it differently it'd go under the head of the longer bolt perfectly well. Also at this point a little plastic splash guard on the lower yoke needs junking as it'll no longer fit.

The bolt is the half undone one in the centre of this pic.



With the bracket on, I'd had to tighten up the crash bars to line it up & then slacken them again to have room to put the plastics back.



Then all the plastics went back on, which is a bugger to get the inner panels on with the bars in place but I couldn't be bothered to remove them again. At that point I finished the wiring to the aux lights, hung them on the bars & connected them up. They've got three modes & unlike the advert which shows you can link them to the headlights, you can't as the advert lies on the wiring. There isn't a dipped, main or flash wire, there's just power & earth & they change modes each time you turn them on. Amusingly one is slower than the other to change if you turn them off & back on too quick, so they can get out of sync. I'll leave the power connections available in case they do that when out. It seems all these cheap lights are the same so no point sending them back to try others.



Just for completeness, you can see where the Scottoiler goes under the front of the rear cowl here. Well hidden from road dirt & near the exhaust which should keep the oil flowing a bit better mid winter. There's enough room with the seat off to adjust or fill it. The extra electrical gubbins I've added are where the tool roll would go, but that wasn't there when I got the bike anyway. The relay is triggered by the ignition feed from the main fuse box, it turns on a 30amp feed to the aux fusebox that powers my heated jacket, USB socket/voltmeter that's up near the clocks, heated grips & the aux lights. As I'd been buggering about with electrics with the lights on to roughly align them I put it on charge for an hour or so at the end of the day.

[Eric GSX1400K3]

Well done Hooli, yes slight yellow film on the inside of the cam cover that wiped off. Bit of soot around the PAIRS little stub pieces (careful they don't fall in when removing or replacing the cover) but everything else 100%.

Re the aux lights for the daily runner (sorry, needs a better name than "Varadero" - sounds like a drunken vagabond on steroids) can't you just hard wire from the battery and include a switch so that they're on when you want them on and not dependant on main or high beam? Those crash bars look like a pain to fit.

[grog]

Good work Eric&Hooli, both great pics and text. Nothing so special for me today, just serviced both my Hondas😂Total of 600ml oil to do both. Mower & whipper snipper both now ready for long hot Summer, bloody grass grows like crazy starting very soon😡

[Hooli]

Re the aux lights for the daily runner (sorry, needs a better name than "Varadero" - sounds like a drunken vagabond on steroids) can't you just hard wire from the battery and include a switch so that they're on when you want them on and not dependant on main or high beam? Those crash bars look like a pain to fit.

Yeah that is how they're wired up, well fed from an ignition switched feed on that extra fusebox I added. It's just annoying the advert says you can do them with the headlights & that's an utter lie.

Tbh with instructions the crash bars wouldn't have been too bad, took as long to work out where that bracket at the front went as to fit it. it was a case of lining things up & poking about till I saw the bolt it needed to go to. Surprisingly every bolt came undone fine on a 2004 bike, because Honda. One good thing is they use actual metals for bolts etc, not like some companies who specialise in compressed cheese.

As for a name, it seems to be getting called snotter or shitbox mostly  because, as you say Varadero is a bloody stupid name & probably partly why you don't see many, I think it means desert wind.

[Eric GSX1400K3]

OK, so SandFart it is

[KiwiCol]

I'll second SandFart.    All those in favour say aye. . .     

[Hooli]

I've just googled to check, sorry chaps it's actually a town in Cuba. I must have been remembering something about another bike name.

Snotter or shitbox seems to suit it anyway.

[Pommeroy]

I like Snotter!

[Eric GSX1400K3]

I think Sirocco means hot dusty wind from what Google tells me

[grog]

Those Hondas get great reviews, bit thirsty is all. Id never heard of them, you kicked a goal Hooli, cheap but good.Think the name put sales on halt.

[Hooli]

I think they were too early too Grog, sold from about 1998 to 2012. If they were about now they'd sell in droves as I don't remember ADV bikes being popular 20 years ago.

[Hooli]

Any how an almost the end of the saga, Snotter update from today -

The fuel sensor didn't arrive today & checking the tracking info it basically says 'we picked it up from the shop & lost it before we got to the van' so no idea if it ever will. I've put it back together with a duff sensor so I can use it & will run on the trip meter after working out the sort of MPG it's doing so I can guess the range. With a 25ltr tank I'd expect 180 miles should be safe enough.

100mile test run done including a bike night. I'm really surprised, these are actually damn nice to ride now all the controls work & are smooth etc. From reviews and stuff I was expecting it to be a bit crap as people claim they're top heavy and fall into bends. That's nonsense, it's lovely and easy to ride. Makes a great noise like an angry sports V-twin when wound on which is quite funny as it looks more like a tractor.

The biggest issue is the cheap mirrors fitted don't adjust up enough so are a bit of a pain to use and the left hand heated grip doesn't work. I'll poke the wiring for the grip over the weekend, they were fitted when I got it and it's the first time I've tried them. As it's almost exactly 100 miles done, I'll tank up again next time out and see what sort of MPG I'm getting so I can guesstimate a range until I finally get a working fuel sensor.

Have a pic at squires earlier, they are stupidly tall aren't they? Makes it easy to find though.



And before I left home on it, I think it looks a lot more complete with the engine bars & aux lights.



Pictures really do flatter it, the paint is ruined, scratched & chipped everywhere. Loads of the carrier doesn't even have any paint left but the plastic underneath isn't that different in colour so cameras don't show it. So it's ideal for winter neglect.

[Hooli]

And also a random thing I saw today, sounded like an angry hedgetrimmer but that front brake is run by two cables & is bigger than the engine!

[Dwain Dibley]

All jokes aside, I think you have done a real good job on that bike Hooli. 

D.D. 

[grog]

Reckon youre right Hooli, before their time.