Two Honda SH300i's in two days. Servicing a scooter from the top end of the scooter spectrum is very different to working on some of the cheaper end of town stuff. And servicing two of these in two days has been a pleasure. There is a quality in a Honda that you just don't get in a non-Japanese brand scooter. The only thing I can fault the Honda SH300i on service wise is the clips that hold on the front handle bar cover. On the two I've serviced I've been forced to go on a fishing trip down the back of the radiator for the clips that hold this panel on. The panel needs to come of to lube up the brake levers and check the fluid levels and when this panel is removed the retaining clips fall of it, go down past the handle bars and head for the back of the radiator. Most annoying! I also had a closer look at the opening mechanism of the top box and yes it does require you to use the key as a lever to pull the lid open. The SH300i I did the day before ended up with a snapped key because of this and Honda did supply a new key under warranty, but I think it's a floor in the design and I can see lots of Honda SH300i owners having issues with broken keys. Apart from that the SH300i is a superb scooter and I really look forward to the test ride on these after they are serviced. With a price tag of around $9000 there not cheap. But on saying that you really do get $9000 worth of scooter.

This is a service I'd been looking forward to doing for a good few weeks and today was the day that it finally turned up at the shop. Nic's Honda SH300i had gotten to its first 1000k's and needed a service. I got the scooter up on the bench and went to work on doing the usual oil and filter change plus a check over of all the scooters moving parts and checked the fluid levels. The way the SH300i comes apart is fantastic and typical of the quality of build you find in a Honda. To gain access to the service items as required by the Honda service schedule required very little removel of bodywork. The only issue Nic's had so far with his scooter is the ignition key breaking in the lock of the top box. To open the top box lid you have to use the key as a lever in the lock and this had lead to the head of the key snapping off. But in true Honda MPE fashion this issue was covered under warranty and a new key was supplied free of charge. The only thing I had to do was code the key to the scooters ECU with the use of my Honda key coding device. This is a pretty simple process and I did it as part of the service. Once done it was time for a test ride. The SH300i has to be one of the best scooters on the market. The handling is great, the power delivery is fantastic and the quality of the build of the scooter is second to none. These really are one nice scooter.      

I so, so, so wanted to like this bike but it just didn't do it for me. When the Kawasaki ER6-F was launched a few years ago I thought ‘what a superb looking bike' and had half a dreamy idea about going down to the local Kawasaki dealer for a test ride with a view to buying one. Visually these bikes look great and I still think that even after riding the one that was in the shop for a service this week. But I was so disappointed after taking this one for a test ride. Don't get me wrong, the handling was great but the vibration from the 650cc twin cylinder engine and the chug along feeling of the motor in the lower rev range just didn't do it for me at all. I also found the fairing panels of the bike tended to buzz a bit too much for my liking and again I think this was down to the vibration from the 650cc twin engine. I think if I was in the market for a bike around the 650cc mark and I really wanted a Kawasaki I'd stretch to saving a few dollars more and go the Z750. The 750 is a much, much, much nicer bike. Sorry Peter!    

Once again we've come to the rescue of a commercial user of TGB Transcoots. City Scooter Couriers were another company that were left high and dry with the collapse of not only Stoney Creek Power Sports but also the dealership that was servicing their fleet went bankrupt too. Over the past week we commenced servicing their fleet and it wasn't a day too soon. All three scooters were given the full once over to bring them up to spec and restore them to tip top condition. We also supplied some invaluable information on how the companies riders could perform some basic daily checks of the scooters to help keep them running in peak condition between services. I was surprised to receive an email from Katie the company's owner thanking me for the prompt and professional service she'd received from us after servicing the scooters. Don't all scooter workshops offer the same level of service? May be not. I think this will be the start of another great relationship a commercial user of TGB Transcoots and Everything Two Wheels.

Check out City Scooter Couriers website at: http://www.cityscootercouriers.com.au/

Rachael's Yamaha R6 is a bike that's featured on the blog once before. This was the one that had the faulty ignition coils which gave a low RPM misfire. Today her Yamaha was here to replace a blown fork seal. We started off by removing the forks from the bike. Although only one seal had blown Rachael wanted both forks serviced just for piece of mind. Once the forks were removed it was a simple case of pull the legs down to their individual components and clean them up in the de-greaser bath. A final cleaning off with Solvex and the parts were already for reassembly. I always prefer to use genuine spare parts when repairing bikes and this one was no exception. A set of Yamaha seals were used plus Motul synthetic fork oil in 5 weight. The fork oil level was set to standard which on the Yamaha R6 is 106mm from the top of the leg. Once the bike was back together I took it on a quick road test just to make sure all was right. The bike seemed to steer a bit slow and once back at the shop I had a quick look over the front end. Unfortunately the front tyre was the wrong size and a 120/70/17 had been fitted instead of a 120/60/17. When Rachael came to collect her bike I told her what I'd found. She informed me that she'd been loosing confidence in the bike and it's handling and this was one of the reasons she'd wanted both fork legs serviced instead of just the leaking one. Although when you look at the two sizes of tyre next to each other they don't look that much different replacing the 70 profile tyre with the 60 will make all the difference and I'm sure this will restore her confidence in the bikes handling once again.

Everything Two Wheels are now stocking Givi motorcycle luggage. These top boxes are of the highest quality being totally water and dust proof. Givi are ideal for the daily commuter who carries a laptop, camera equipment or other items that may be damaged by rain or dust. Givi luggage comes with high quality locking mechanism to keep items from being stolen while your motorcycle or scooter is parked up. Everything Two Wheels stock all sizes in the range from the Micro 26lt designed for smaller motorcycles and scooters to the massive 47lt touring boxes. They also come in a range of colours including black red silver and blue and can be customised by adding additional tail and brake lights. To check out the full range call into Everything Two Wheels or log onto the Givi website at: http://www.giviusa.com/

Yvette is a customer who first came to Everything Two Wheels during the summer to have a Pirelli tyre fitted to her Vespa LX125. A couple of months later and she was back. This time she was here for a 6000k service. We gave this scooter the usual care and attention that we give all motorcycles and scooters that come through our doors. Everything was done from oil and filter change to valve clearances and lube all the moving parts. We even managed to repair an oil leak to the engine caused by a faulty rocker cover gasket and replace a very temperamental headlight bulb.

I've been getting some great feedback from first time users of Continental Sport Attack tyres. Click on the photos for a closer look at how they performed.

The first rider had these fitted to his Honda VTR1000F when it was here about a month ago. During this time the bike has been used for the daily commute to work and also taken in a track day at Sandown. The rider is very experienced and also an ex-club racer who managed to post some respectable times while lapping the track. Some of the comments made where that the tyre felt ‘very stable' and also ‘I could really hang off the bike in corners'

The second set were fitted to a Triumph 675 that was here for a service a couple of weeks back. The Triumph is her first bike after getting off her restricted license. These tyres also have had a good share of commuting plus did a guided track day at Broadford. The rider said she was amazed as to how fast she was going at the track day and also how grippy the tyres felt.

If your thinking of giving Continental Motorcycle tyres a try ring Everything Two Wheels on 03 90777312. Most sizes are on the shelf and ready to be fitted.  

"What do you do when you get a flat tyre?" was the question I was asked by the rider of this scooter as she walked in the shop door. Jan is one of the bread of new scooter riders that are ditching the car and taking to the roads due to congestion in inner city Melbourne. Unfortunately these first time inexperienced riders don't know what to do when it all goes wrong.  After getting a puncture not too far from the shop she managed to leap frog from petrol station to petrol station blowing the tyre up as she went but not really knowing how to fix the problem. Luckily enough she spotted the shop on the way past and did a u-turn to see if we could help. The best option in this case was to fit a new Continental Twist scooter tyre. It wasn't long before her Sachs City was up on the bench and a new rear tyre was fitted. Not long after she was back to carving up the peak hour traffic safe in the knowledge that next time she has a problem with her scooter all she has to do is pick up the phone and ring Everything Two Wheels for some free advice.   

Matt is a regular customer of Everything Two Wheels who's Yamaha R1 has featured on the blog before. He rang me during the week I told me he wanted a new set of tyres but felt like trying something new and asked what I'd recommend? Now, I'm always cautious of telling people what tyres they should buy because I feel tyres are like shoes and just because one pair fits me it doesn't mean they'll fit you. I told him his best bet was to do some research on the net and see what other riders were saying. A couple of days later I got the call. ‘Pirelli Diablo Rosso' seem to be what most Yamaha R1 riders were raving about. A quick phone call and the tyres were here and ready to be fitted. These are the first set of Rosso's I've fitted so I'll keep an eye on them and give you some feedback as to how they go. Matt is an avid track day rider and also uses the bike to commute into the city every day. It will be interesting to see how these tyres perform.

My most favorite bike of all time was in the shop on Saturday. The Honda CBR600RR. As I've said in another part of the blog if I could only own one bike the CBR600RR would be it. This one was here for a 6000k service. We did the standard oil and filter change plus a full check over and adjust of the bikes mechanical parts and topped the low fluid levels on the bike too. Once it was done we made up an invoice for the rider and stamped his service log book too. All in a days work at Everything Two Wheels.  

The Triumph 675. What a bike! This is the first one I've ever ridden and I have to say I was very impressed with how these things go. Most of the six hundreds on the market are peaky in the rev range and take a bit of riding technique to get the best out of them on the road. With the Triumph the power is on right from the bottom of the rev range and pulling away from the shop this bike just got up and went. Its fare to say that running only 3 cylinders instead of the usual 4 gives this bike a heap of grunt. The slim engine also makes for a slim chassis and riding this bike felt more like an oversize 250 rather than a bike that was 675cc's. What a bike. I think its another one to go on my Lotto winners garage list.  

I think this is about as close to owning Valentino Rossi's Yamaha M1 MotoGP bike as you can get. The Yamaha R6. When you look at pictures of the M1 standing next to the R6 it's uncanny how similar the silhouette of the bikes are. This one was in for a set of Michelin Pilot Powers. The Yamaha and Michelins are the perfect combination especially if you like dragging your knee on the floor around corners.

What a monster of a bike. Jap cruisers have never really been my cup of tea but after I had a Suzuki M90 Boulevard come through the shop yesterday I think my opinion just changed. The owner of this one is the same guy who owns the Gilera Nexus 500i featured earlier in the blog. The scooter is his daily run around but he felt he needed something for the weekend cruse down Kew Boulevard and what better a bike to go cruising on than the Suzuki M90. He has an uncanny knack of being able to ‘bling' his bikes without over doing it and crossing the line between tasteful and tacky. So far he's fitted some pretty cool LED taillights and a fender eliminator. What it was in the shop for today was to have a suspension lowering kit fitted. The new linkages dropped the bike 3 inches closer to the ground and although it's going to be pretty hard to get this thing to go around a corner it really added something to the bikes ‘blinged up' appearance.

When other dealers start sending letters threatening legal action against you it means one of two things. Either you've done something to them that you shouldn't have or they don't like something you do and want you to stop it. In my case I think it's the latter of the two. I was surprised to receive a letter from one of the local dealers in the area telling me that I was to remove information from my blog and also I was not an authorised dealer in this brand. And photo copies were enclosed of extracts from the owner's handbook with reference to the scooters limited warranty and its conditions. To put the record straight any motorcycle dealer can service any brand of motorcycle or scooter regardless if they are the local authorised agent or not and this is law as stated under the ‘Trade Practices act of 1974'. It's the same reason companies like Ultratune and Lubemobile can service your car from new and the statutory and limited warranty of the vehicle are unaffected. I was about to forward the letters to my solicitor for her to review but seeing her fees are $300 per hour I decided to do the next best thing. Around lunch time this afternoon I had that funny feeling in my stomach that I usually get every day at this very same time. I picked up the latest copy of Australian Motorcycle News and headed off for the toilet out the back of the shop. After a good 15 minute read I was ready to get back to work. Armed with the four pages of the letters and faxes which I've received over the past few days I proceeded to wipe my................well as they say, a picture paints a thousand words. I guess this gives you a pretty good idea about how I feel regarding this matter!