Whats the most useless thing?

[guest24]

What's the most useless thing on your bike?

On my YBR125 its the fuel gauge. Pointless. Takes 30 miles for the needle to come onto the scale. Another 100 to drop to half and then 60 to red. Keep on going, and it goes out the bottom of the red zone. Eek, you may think. Nay, pop it onto the side stand and it goes upto quarter full!

How many miles will it do on a tank? Rumour is 300. When I am feeling brave I will put a can on the back (with juice) and ride it till it gasps and stops. Not sure if that will break the fuel injection system if it runs dry? I assume not.

What's useless on your bike and why?

[pigafetta]

I'm the most useless thing on my bike.

[guest18]

The engine killswitch, I've done an awful lot of miles over the years and despite every roadbike I know having one I've never had to use one in anger.
I can see the point of a killcord of the type used in powerboats and some off roaders but the manually operated killswitch?  I have an ignition key.....

Another favourite was the labelling on old jap bikes, z900 for example with "kickstart" embossed on the lever, if you don't know what it is perhaps you shouldn't be trying to use it? 

[Andy M]

I was going to say the kill switch too. Had a fair bit of trouble with them, but never used one in anger. Even when you drop the bike on yourself off road you tend to get up then find the key.

As that's already taken, I'll mention front mudguards. The clue is in the name MUD GUARD as it guards against mud. Every bike I ever owned with the possible exception of the bullet had useless cut down things that did nothing to stop rubbish getting into places a lot harder to clean than the inside of the mud guard. Should I add some swearing and get this moved to rants ? 

Andy

[robG]

The allen key under the side panel on the Bonnie . Its to undo the allen bolts holding the seat on . Unfortunately the allen bolts are recessed and the allen key is too short to reach them . Add to that you need a screwdriver to remove the sidepanel in the first place and you have a complete fubar courtesy of Triumph .

Bargin .

Rob .

[beeman]

The warning device commonly called the horn, I could f**t louder than most of them fitted to bikes.
I don't believe(i before e except after c) that the "Noise" they produce can ever be heard in any car I have ever driven.
Followed closely by the headlamp flasher switch its much easier just to flash the headlight by the dip/main switch.
beeman

[Richard]

On the Beemer is it often the front brake. 

Come to think of it it would be the front brake on the XT as well which is currently soaking in fork oil.

Every fuel gauge on any bike thats had one.  Inaccurate useless weight.

Richard

[KirriePete]

Front brake on Guinevere the GN - better off dragging your boots, and that's in the dry!

Gear position indicator - I can count up to 5 (or 6), thank you very much!

The wee map of the gears they always emboss down by the gear lever, why bother?  Is that why Rossi crouches down and hangs onto his footpeg before every race, he's checking the gear pattern?

Safety stickers - "Preserve life - wear a condom" or whatever.

Don't get me started, or this will head directly to Rants, do not pass Go, do not collect £200.....

[guest40]

Att Andy, try a mudflap on both ends of the guard... works a treat keeping s&*t off thats stickier than Maribyrnong black mud.
  I also agree with fuel guage tho its not the guage at fault its the crap sender units. The early Suzuki' t20 and t500 had a simple visual guage at the front of the tank. AND like Smudge  I have never used the kill switch in anger, tho I was on a Suzi TS250 some years back heading off up the road with the thottle jammed wide open and it didn't have one.  OOOOH!!! see my next post!!!

[Richard]

Surely the Ducati 750SS had the best idea.  Fibreglass tank with a translucent strip so you could see the fuel.  Apparently the forces diesel KLR based bikes use a similar trick, but with plastic.

Some bikes use a similar trick with engine oil, when you can't see it dripping out you haven't got any left.

[SRXer]

I'm the most useless thing on my bike.

HEEHEHEH aint we all.

The SRX's that have the red light to tell you your doing 55mph....

Though quite handy when I ran the bike with out a speedo cable past speed cameras.

Nathan

[guest18]

pmsl, sometimes this club is like one of the better episodes of Grumpy Old Men 
Perhaps we need a GOM t-shirt 

All true though and good stuff 

[niblue]

On my CBF it's probably also the fuel gauge. It's not total useless, as it is consistent, but the markings bear little resemblence to how much fuel is actually in the tank. Give me a reserve tap any day (not that it stopped me running out of fuel on the Deauville once).

[Andy M]

Att Andy, try a mudflap on both ends of the guard... works a treat keeping s&*t off thats stickier than Maribyrnong black mud.
 

I've done that before. The mudflap would bolt on, through holes I'd drilled thouigh. The mudguard would then rot unless I resprayed it after I drilled the holes. It's an option, but yet another example of half thought out add-on's to cure design mistakes by the manufacturers. Back to the style thing I guess and I really don't see why I should cure Triumphs cock ups

The Triumph seat is a joke. For those who don't know it, it's held by bolts under the back that are about ten feet long and go into threads somewhere near the headstock from holes near the tail light. Getting the seat on or off involves more screwing than most of us would want in a month. I've fitted longer bolts still but with a nyloc down the thread so the head stays further out. You still need a cut down allen key to turn it as they get near the light  

This thread has to make it to rants in the end  

Andy

[robG]

Don't mention the air filter ,Andy .Aargh !! I've done it myself .

NURSE ! , my tablets , the usual !!!!!!!!!!!

Rob .