[Raven]

Hello there.

Im currently an XL125V rider who wants to move up to a XL650V within the next 2 months, only problem is my 33bhp restriction has a year to run yet. So I was thinking if I was to get a 33bhp restrictor kit fittied to an 'alp, would it still be a good grunty bike to ride?

Also what happens when my restriction ends and I have the kit removed? Will the bike be just as good as if it never had a kit fitted? Will my dealer be able to take it out as easy as it was put in, or would it require rejetting etc?

Sorry if this is alot of questions. Thanks in advance,

James

 

[McVicar]

When Mrs. McVicar had a restrictor kit fitted it was only two washers. Cost about £150 to fit as it can only be done by a dealer and it is the certificates you pay for. One copy for you, one for the dealer who fits it and one to the governing body (can't remember which dept they are ) Anyway as it is only a couple of washers it will do no harm to your bike. As soon as we got her bike home they came straight out as it was only the certificate we needed.

 

[Lord Vader]

As soon as we got her bike home they came straight out as it was only the certificate we needed.

Can not even trust a vicar anymore

 

[Gerryc]

If the bike is new the restricters come fitted free, re Honda, (you have to ask for them and you get to keep the unrestricted ones as well.). The are actually the black rubber linkages from the carbs to the cylinder blocks and the restricted ones are actually marked 25kW, (ie 33bhp). They just have a smaller diameter hole through them. Mine came off two months ago and the only difference seems to be higher rev ability and I chicken out at 95 anyway. Having driven a 125 for years the 33bhp was as much as I could handle for a few months till I got used to it. What you will notice is the change in fuel economy. But good luck with it all anyway.

 

[Raven]

Thanks for the replies everybody.

I do have one final question. I will most likely be buying the bike brand new as is it the last time in my life I think I will be able to. So if I have a restrictor kit fitted from the start, how will it affect running in?

Obviosuly going easy wont be a problem, but after the initial service aren't you supposed to open it up a bit more to higher revs to help loosen the engine slightly? Wont the restrictor kit stop me from doing that?

Again, sorry for so many questions, and thanks in advance

 

[Loic]

Getting the restrictor fitted by the dealer as it is a new bike should cost you nothing it didn't cost me any way.

Run the bike in as normal for the first 600 then use as normal the restrictor will stop you just short of the redline. Once the restrictors are out you will have no problems. Average top speeds on a runway were;

Running in 75 - 80 mph
post run in restricted 95 - 100 mph
Derestricted up to 115 mph (bottled after that but there was more!)

Restrictor kit was supplied by FI international LTD http://www.fiinternational.com and was fitted by Chiswick honda.

It is a good step to take as it gives you a good stepping stone to full power.

Restriction affects power only not the torque available!


Loic

 

[Raven]

Ta very much!

 

[Grendel]

When Mrs. McVicar had a restrictor kit fitted it was only two washers. Cost about £150 to fit as it can only be done by a dealer and it is the certificates you pay for. One copy for you, one for the dealer who fits it and one to the governing body (can't remember which dept they are ) Anyway as it is only a couple of washers it will do no harm to your bike. As soon as we got her bike home they came straight out as it was only the certificate we needed.

Hmm odd you should say that my friend wants to sell me his 1993 600 Transalp which he has restricted certificats for but has since removed restrictors a while back could i still technically ride it on a restricted licence? Since he says the restrictor made the bike suffer badly. Bearing in mind i'm in my 30's so it wont look too odd for me to be rideing a full power bike. The only reason i'm doing 33bhp licence is cant afford the other £100 to do DAS and want to do test on my Hyosung GT125 Comet.

 

[sproggy]

Hmm odd you should say that my friend wants to sell me his 1993 600 Transalp which he has restricted certificats for but has since removed restrictors a while back could i still technically ride it on a restricted licence?

Legally? No. But you knew that already, didn't you? If you want to take the risk it's up to you but you shouldn't ask anyone on here to tell you to break the law. It's your decision to take since you're the one that would have to face the consequences in the fairly unlikely event of being caught.

 

[Grendel]

It's your decision to take since you're the one that would have to face the consequences in the fairly unlikely event of being caught.

Hmm thats what i thought since most people say its unlikely to get checked but I suppose theres always the one time they do check that then screws up your insurance and posibly points on licence looks like i'll be looking to restrict it then.

 

[sproggy]

Well if you got caught doing 90-100mph on the motorway they wouldn't believe your bike is restricted......

Insurance companies like to find ways of avoiding paying out - if you insure the bike as restricted (which you'll have to with a restricted licence) and then have an accident, if the insurance company inspects the bike afterwards (which is far more likely than the police ever doing so) and finds it's not restricted...... What are the chances of that happening? That's your call.

 

[Gadget]

T H I N K !
Should you get caught riding an unrestricted bike on a restricted licence, you would probably face having the bike seized, as you'd be unlicenced and your insurance is unlikely to be valid. (insurance certificates usally state you're insured only if you have a licence to ride/drive that class of vehicle, which you wouldn't have). If you couldn't produce the restriction certificate or prove the bike was retricted to a Police Officer at the road side then the above is highly likely. Were you to be involved in a anything more than a very minor accident, then the Police and/or VOSA will probably examine the bike as a matter of course, whether the accident was your fault or not, (especially when it becomes apparent that your licence is restricted).
Then comes the summons to court, No Licence and No Insurance.
Guilty...
6 points for each offence? and a fine! Thats you banned!!! and skint!!!
I wouldn't risk it. For the sake of waiting a while for a little bit more power.
IS IT WORTH IT ? ? ? :roll:

 

[Grendel]

Its OK i looked into it more and it turns out cheaper in long run just to do my direct access. Since if i do restricted its £60 cheaper than DAS but then £150+ to get a restrictor fitted so its more logical to just do the DAS in the first place.:toothy7:

 

[24ftlb]

Just reading the thread and noted ravens on about buying a NEW TA. Is this going to be the outgoing 650 on carbs or the new 680 (700) fuel injected model ?

Maybe the restriction on the new 700ta will be done on the throttle like the gs 650's or proper washers in the exhaust.

Im sitting on the fence over removing the restrictors.....Personally I think that the 33bhp limit should be around 60bhp.

Paul

 

[Raven]

Just reading the thread and noted ravens on about buying a NEW TA. Is this going to be the outgoing 650 on carbs or the new 680 (700) fuel injected model ?

Its a 650 carb'd model

 

[sproggy]

Personally I think that the 33bhp limit should be around 60bhp.

For what reason?

I passed my test pre-stepped licence system. Got off the school's CG125 (about 10bhp when it was new) and went out and bought a GPZ500 (60bhp). And that was only because I couldn't insure the ZXR750 that I really wanted. It felt like the fastest bike in the world and within 1 month I had 6 points on my licence and knackered knees from an accident that may not have been my fault but would still have been avoidable to a more experienced or disciplined rider. Speed WAS a contributory factor.

IMO if you are going to restrict a newly-passed rider then 33bhp is quite enough for them to get into trouble (not to mention to exceed the speed limit). A restriction to 60bhp is no real restriction at all to performance to someone who's not used to bikes.

I'm not saying I'm necessarily in favour of the stepped licence system - looked at in simple terms it's not fair compared to the car licence system that allows a newly-qualified 17 year old to drive a Veyron - but I can see the logic behind it if it reduces the number of accidents involving newly-qualified riders. Whether that can be proved I don't know. But I've ridden a 33bhp TA and it's not so bad. I'd be interested to hear your views on why you think a 60bhp limit (as opposed to anything lower, higher or nothing at all) would do anything useful.

 

[24ftlb]

The reason id like to see the limit raised to 60bhp is that its a more realistic figure of power, as bikes become more and more powerful.

I agree 33bhp is more than enough to get yourself into trouble though.

Like you say over the Veyron, which has probably got a similar power to weight ratio on a litre super bike, it dont make sense.

In the old days, what power did the 250s make out of interest, when you could learn on those.

Paul

 

[sproggy]

......the Veyron, which has probably got a similar power to weight ratio on a litre super bike

I bet VW wish it had!!!

Veyron - 1000bhp, 1900kg - 0.53bhp/kg
GSXR1000 K7 - 184bhp, 172kg - 1.07bhp/kg

Even allowing for wet weight and the weight of a rider the GSXR is still somewhere over 0.7bhp/kg - 50% higher than the Veyron. That's the trouble with cars - however much power you give them they're always too heavy to make good use of it.......not that the Veyron's exactly slow.....

In the old days, what power did the 250s make out of interest, when you could learn on those.

A 1908 RD250 (fairly typical of the time) put out a claimed 38bhp but that's a 2-stroke - a couple of thousand RPM lower than the 8,500rpm peak it was probably putting out around half that, and torque was nearly non-existent compared to a 33bhp restricted TA.

 

[AIRWOLF]

Hi Raven, whats the latest on the restricter / no restrictor?
Hope you decided to keep it in. We dont want to see you in lumber.
33bhp is plenty while you gain experience in the real world,and i'm sure in the end you will be a better rider for it .

Not long now eh?

 

[Raven]

The bike will be restriced, for starters after 4 years on 15 bhp 125's, moving to something with 3 and a half times that may be too much, so I have had the 33bhp restrictor kit fitted before it leaves the shop. Only about 10 months left til I have to take it out anyway, and in the meantime it will give me a chance to get used to it .