another new Baghira owner with questions
Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 9:25 am
Last week I added another bike to my stable - a 2003 Baghira. Not sure which sub model it is; the bike is black, it has fully adjustable suspension and 17"wheels. Doesn't appear that it's ever been down. It has 2,000 miles on it, an M4 muffler and, for those of you who keep track of the market, I paid $1,900 for it.
That would seem to be a great deal, but it appears to have been tortured by home mechanics for most of it's life for no apparent reason:
- the instrument wiring harness has been removed, cut up, and all the bulbs/sockets lost and replaced with Radio shack lights that don't fit/don't work. I have to assume someone put a different speedo on this, then did a real bad job replacing it when they passed the bike on. It also leads me to believe the mileage is not 2,000, as indicated. But the bike has almost no mechanical wear, and the engine has that good tight feeling a near new engine has; it's certainly low mileage. I've built up a couple of circuit boards with high intensity LEDs that bolt on the back of the speedo and fitted that into the remains of the harness, so problem solved. For reference, the OEM wiring on the bike does not exactly match the diagrams on the web, in particular there are left/right indicators on my bike and only a single indicator light on the web schematics.
- in the process of changing the handlebars the previous owner lost most of the original socket head screws and replaced them with crap hex bolts, and put everything together wrong. Its all sorted out now, but there are scratches, etc where the hack bolts were installed.
- clutch perch and lever has been replaced by come crap aftermarket shorty thing that has too little leverage. Anyone recommend a particular aftermarket clutch perch/lever combo?
- clutch cable has been routed against the exhaust pipe and has melted. Anyone have any tips on how to route the clutch cable so this doesn't happen in the future?
- exhaust pipe has melted into the airbox. I'm not so worried about the airbox hole, but it appears that the only things holding the exhaust are the head studs and the muffler hanger. Is this really the case on Baghiras in general, or am I missing a bracket somewhere?
- The air cleaner has had a hole burned through it from the inside. I'm guessing it hasn't always been easy to start.
- all those %##%^&*seat bolts are missing. I'm on a mission to find an industrial source for these - I'm nearly certain I've identified them as Dzus/Southco D3 fasteners, but no part number yet. If anyone has done this already, let me know; if I find it I'll be sure to post here.
- I know this gets asked regularly, but does anyone have an owners manual for this?
Anyone have a line on dirt wheels for this bike? when the current tires wear out I *may* just lace a pair of 18/21" wheels on these rims, but I'd be interested in a trade, or buying a spare set. I'm sorely tempted to put these spokers on the Skorpion.
It looks great next to my black Skorpion. wonder which I'll end up riding more often this spring?
Sam
That would seem to be a great deal, but it appears to have been tortured by home mechanics for most of it's life for no apparent reason:
- the instrument wiring harness has been removed, cut up, and all the bulbs/sockets lost and replaced with Radio shack lights that don't fit/don't work. I have to assume someone put a different speedo on this, then did a real bad job replacing it when they passed the bike on. It also leads me to believe the mileage is not 2,000, as indicated. But the bike has almost no mechanical wear, and the engine has that good tight feeling a near new engine has; it's certainly low mileage. I've built up a couple of circuit boards with high intensity LEDs that bolt on the back of the speedo and fitted that into the remains of the harness, so problem solved. For reference, the OEM wiring on the bike does not exactly match the diagrams on the web, in particular there are left/right indicators on my bike and only a single indicator light on the web schematics.
- in the process of changing the handlebars the previous owner lost most of the original socket head screws and replaced them with crap hex bolts, and put everything together wrong. Its all sorted out now, but there are scratches, etc where the hack bolts were installed.
- clutch perch and lever has been replaced by come crap aftermarket shorty thing that has too little leverage. Anyone recommend a particular aftermarket clutch perch/lever combo?
- clutch cable has been routed against the exhaust pipe and has melted. Anyone have any tips on how to route the clutch cable so this doesn't happen in the future?
- exhaust pipe has melted into the airbox. I'm not so worried about the airbox hole, but it appears that the only things holding the exhaust are the head studs and the muffler hanger. Is this really the case on Baghiras in general, or am I missing a bracket somewhere?
- The air cleaner has had a hole burned through it from the inside. I'm guessing it hasn't always been easy to start.
- all those %##%^&*seat bolts are missing. I'm on a mission to find an industrial source for these - I'm nearly certain I've identified them as Dzus/Southco D3 fasteners, but no part number yet. If anyone has done this already, let me know; if I find it I'll be sure to post here.
- I know this gets asked regularly, but does anyone have an owners manual for this?
Anyone have a line on dirt wheels for this bike? when the current tires wear out I *may* just lace a pair of 18/21" wheels on these rims, but I'd be interested in a trade, or buying a spare set. I'm sorely tempted to put these spokers on the Skorpion.
It looks great next to my black Skorpion. wonder which I'll end up riding more often this spring?
Sam