Dumbass newbie questions

[Renevator]

Ok, day 3 of Falco riding and I've got a few daft questions if I may:

1. Is this a std sidestand? The previous owner reckoned it was, but in all the paperwork he gave me there were stand installation instructions?? Also, it seems pretty stable to me as I was expecting it to be pretty dodgy and leave the bike much more upright.

2. Should I wait until the "cold" has gone from the dash before riding off, or as I've done with all my bikes, just get it going, wait a few seconds and ride gently until fully warm. I'd prefer to ride off asap, especially as sometimes I have to leave the house at 4.30am!!

3. What's the best technique for filling up. I've heard horror stories of splashback and so I'm very wary of sticking the nozzle in and relying on the auto stop mech of the pump, but letting it trickle in is a bit of a chore.

4. And finally, the most important question - can I use Wynn's Dry Fuel. I filled up this morning and on opening the cap watched a nice splash of water disappear down into the tank. I've read that this has happened to lots of folk without probs, but should I drain everything or will the Wynns stuff help to counteract this spoonful of water in the system until I can get the drain hole & tube cleared.

5. Oh yeah - why do Italians make such gorgeous vehicles with such infuriating silly faults

Thanks

[Renevator]

Sorry, forgot to add the pics

[dyzio]

Ok, day 3 of Falco riding and I've got a few daft questions if I may:

1. Is this a std sidestand? The previous owner reckoned it was, but in all the paperwork he gave me there were stand installation instructions?? Also, it seems pretty stable to me as I was expecting it to be pretty dodgy and leave the bike much more upright.

Yes that's standard. Watch out on windy days
2. Should I wait until the "cold" has gone from the dash before riding off, or as I've done with all my bikes, just get it going, wait a few seconds and ride gently until fully warm. I'd prefer to ride off asap, especially as sometimes I have to leave the house at 4.30am!!
I always wait, don't like how the bike behaves when cold

3. What's the best technique for filling up. I've heard horror stories of splashback and so I'm very wary of sticking the nozzle in and relying on the auto stop mech of the pump, but letting it trickle in is a bit of a chore.
Never had a problem
4. And finally, the most important question - can I use Wynn's Dry Fuel. I filled up this morning and on opening the cap watched a nice splash of water disappear down into the tank. I've read that this has happened to lots of folk without probs, but should I drain everything or will the Wynns stuff help to counteract this spoonful of water in the system until I can get the drain hole & tube cleared.
Can't help here

5. Oh yeah - why do Italians make such gorgeous vehicles with such infuriating silly faults
It's called character :D
Thanks

Here you go, US and std side stand comparison:

[FlyingKiwi]

Hey, here's my 2p.

The standard sidestand is too short, you've got one, and underneath the bike so there is a greater possility of the bike falling OVER the sidestand. Not away from it.

Don't wait for the COLD to go. Treat as you have in the past.

I don't stick the nozzle in the tank but just outside the filler hole and filling as quickly as possible so I can get in the queue before the old dear next to me who wants to pay for the fuel, a copy of the mirror, 3 bars of chocolate and uses all the copper in her purse to pay for it

Sry, can't help with 4 or 5

[D-Rider]

Yep - standard sidestand - it lands too close to the bike so the "footprint" is too narrow and is an accident waiting to happen. Length is a secondary factor but the better ones are a bit longer - but then they need to be as they stick out further. The standard one is made of cheese or something.

Who on earth has time for the bike to warm up? Turn it on and ride it.

If you're getting water building up around the filler, the drain pipe is probably blocked .... your mission is to unblock it - you don't want a lot of water sitting at the bottom of your tank.
I have it on good authority that Meths will allow the water to mix with the fuel and the bike will just "consume" it (provided it's not a stupid amount).

How I fill up:
Stick the hose in all the way fill up till it stops. Lift the hose to the filler neck aperture and fill a bit more cautiously. Now you are half way there ..... there's quite a lot of tank above the filler neck hole so I position the hose very carefully (you'll have to work this out for yourself) and squeeze the trigger very gently until I judge I have a full tank ... some way above the filler neck hole thingy.

[Falcopops]

That does look like a std stand, judging by the angle, but the foot has been turned round, so it may be a custom jobbie or a lash up.

Either way, change it, it's crap.

I've had the water into the tank issue too, without any problems. I did take the ally fitting off the bottom of the tank and clear the fuzz out of it, but it happened again. I took to drilling through the ally fitting with pregressively bigger bits until I was too scared to go any bigger (possibly 8mm, but don't quote me) seems to have worked so far.

I'm with D-Rider on the filling thing, Some have trimmed out the plastic filler cap to get a bit more space round the nozzle. If a bit of fuel gets sloshed into the filler area the air escaping can splash it about a bit. Be careful not to get it on the screen, the O/E can react and develop milky spots.

[D-Rider]

That does look like a std stand, judging by the angle, but the foot has been turned round,

Oooh - good spot that man!

Though as Dale says - still crap !

[Renevator]

Many thanks fellas. Will be ordering a bubsywoo one asap. Seems odd that for a country renowned for excellent food it decides to use its cheese for motorcycle components


I don't know - I've only had the bike a few days and already I'm taking it apart. Managed to get the drain nipple thing off the tank before I left work yesterday and sure enough it was as blocked as a blocked thing. No shifting it with compressed air, so I got a welding rod to clear the debris and might in due course do as Falcopops did and improve the hole a little. Interestingly I wonder if using the bike in all weathers is a good thing in this respect, as it gets a constant supply of water through it - especially today I'm looking out the window at torrential rain.............my lovely Falco . Guess I'll be cleaning it again soon.
Well, nothing quite like taking your bike apart for getting to know it eh? Not that I fancy doing too much of that just yet.
Thanks again fella's.

[Nooj]

That's not quite a standard stand as FP says, the foots been turned around, which will help a bit, but not much.

Other options are the US stand (best one IMO)
VTR Firestorm stand (not VTR SP1/SP2)
GSXR stand (requires fettling)