New battery delivered - popped into the bike, started on the button!! Am very relieved! Thanks to you all for the advice! Now just need to find time to ride it!
HAPPY DAZE! Bikes kill batteries if they are not used or on an Optimate and they never recharge properly in my experience.
These big twins need a good well charged batteries. Any fault with the cables or connections are quickly exposed as a weakness. @Exige . Also the small relays that control the fuel pump are problematic, so you need to have spares in stock. New fuel! Check the battery voltage during cranking...you need at least 11v.
Comes late, bad translation from german to english!!!! I meant, i have to squeeze quite hard and far before i notice any braking - as never ridden one, just want to understand if that is normal or not
I reckon i can pull the lever in over an inch before i can feel the brake bite at all.... Might be strong after that, no chance yet to check, but found this amount of play very strange on the lever....
An inch or more of free play on a brake lever doesn't sound too abnormal to me. It shouldn't be soft and spongy though. Free play is adjustable on the lever. I recommend fitting aftermarket levers, which tend to have a better shape and much nicer adjustment mechanism than the oem ones. I have cheap Chinese levers on my 999 and they're great.
bled the front brake - appears a little better, just feels different to what I have experienced on other bikes - wont know for sure until I go out for a first proper ride tbh! Thanks for all the advice!
I have aftermarket levers on my 748 and when I checked the "free" play on the lever yesterday it was showing about half an inch on the outside edge of the lever to the handlebar before it took up full resistance. All my other bikes (Ducai's) seem about the same so if you have an inch or so travel then there is something wrong I would say. Have you checked to see if the pivot pin is worn in the brake master cylinder.
The amount of free play is adjustable at the lever. If the adjustment has all been taken up and there is still excess free play, I would suggest that is the time to suspect something is wrong. It may be that the previous owner liked to have lots of free play and set it up that way.
