Hi from SW France

[Sam]

Hi to all,
Long time reader - first time poster. Great site

Have had a Mk2 CRM for a couple of years now, but have only just found the time to start to use regularly.

Fortunate to have extensive system of green lanes/bridle tracks/walking routes which are open to all This means I have about 200kms from my front door with lots more only a short drive away. Each commune/county around here maintains there own sets which interlock to create a massive network. Im still working my way round.

Its unfortunate whats happening in the UK. I feel that if used responsibly, everyone can use them. Having said that, I passed no one in the 50 km's I covered in a couple of hours yesterday!

Im also lucky that a mate who was into road bikes has recently bought a Mk1 from nearby. I had persuaded him to go the CRM route and we were resigned to a trip to the UK, and yet there was one only 20 km's away!

Have a few questions to pose but want to exhaust the FAQ's and search facility.

I dont suppose there are any other members nearby (near Nontron in NW Dordogne, 24360). There are a lot of Orange bikes around here but as the CRM is so unusual, I am often asked about it. Unfortunately, my language skills are about as poor as my riding skills

So hello to all and Happy New Year!

Cheers,
Sam

[fallenmikethebike]

Bon jour Sam, welcome to the site. Yes, the trail situation in this country at the moment is deplorable, driven by a vociferous, curmudgeonly minority of easily duped dimwits, who have inveigled their agenda and poison into the the ears of those all to eager to listen.
As you say, it does not have to be this way, but the zealots have the upper hand at the moment.
Fighting the orange fever eh most spare parts are still eminently available, and for you Leisure Trail [ despite the slating from some contributors] would be the best option, as they have have most stuff on the shelf. Consumables can be purchased more economically from other sources.
With the sort of mileage on offer for you an autolube bike makes a lot of sense.
Happy riding.
Mike

[Sam]

Merci,
just back from a quick blast in the woods.

We have a large hunting community in France - indeed it was only the hunt I came across today. They spend most of the time shooting shadows or themselves and rarely the boar or deer they seek. Im not a big fan, but they ensure many of the tracks are maintained as they are certainly not going to walk into the woods (its amazing where they can get their little citroen vans). I guess its harder to argue who should have access to the lanes when the biggest user group are armed to the teeth.
Maybe you guys should consider arming yourselves. Is there a gun mount for the CRM?

Anyway, I have a question. When I bought the bike, the speedo didnt work. The seller had already bought a replacement cable (from LT) which I have fitted to no avail. I then tested the cable and speedo with a drill and all works. So it must be the attachment on the front wheel where the cable connects to. Can someone please let me know what this is called so I can make intelligent queries with suppliers. Or better yet, does anyone have a spare they are happy to sell.
Apols if this should be raised elsewhere - happy to do so if required.

Cheers,
Sam

[knackeredMk1]

The front mechanism is liable to corrosion so often doesn't work. There are a few that come up on ebay from time to time. XR400 and 650 ones work as well.

[Sam]

Thanks,

is this the thing?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Speedo-Od ... 3f2069489c

Might wait till I can find something a bit cheaper....

Cheers

[helisupp]

Had a similar fault.

Just in case I needed them 2 speedo drives were purchased from Ebay USA, but when the bike was stripped I found that the speedo drive washer was missing and now have 2 spare drives.

It will be best to remove, strip, clean and lubricate the speedo drive. 90% of the time that will get it working as its probably just covered with mud.

The drive plastic ring inside the housing requires pulling out to clean it, it will come out after soaking in wd 40 and cleaning in petrol.

If no luck I can sell you one at £30 for the speedo drive unit.

[Sam]

Thanks for that. Ill try cleaning as you suggest and if no luck will probably take you up on your offer.

[twistednuts]

Hi Sam.

Do you really need a speedo? Or are the french police as keen as the english?

Its sometimes cheaper to fit a cheap electronic one

[knackeredMk1]

Take it off, clean it, see if you can get it working. If you want to keep the bike for a while you might consider selling the original parts and buying an electronic one. Simplest - get a bicycle speedo. More detail - get a Vapor from Trail Tech (air & water temps, tacho, time .............) several forum members have these.

[Sam]

Thanks for the replies.
French police non existent around here. Its very rural. I stick to the trails and only tarmac when the trail dictates. Generally no more than 5% of time. To be honest, the bike is not registered here as per the majority of trail bikes and quads! The emissions regs are quite strict and grey imports are a nightmare over here to get passed. Nowhere near as relaxed as UK .
The only reason I wanted it sorted was to have an idea of distance travelled for my own interest. So the alternatives suggested are of interest if the clean doesn't sort it. It looked rusty when I removed the cable last time. A squirt of WD 40 didnt solve it then so a strip down is in order.
Thanks again for your thoughts. Have a great new year.

[fallenmikethebike]

Thanks for the replies.
French police non existent around here. Its very rural. I stick to the trails and only tarmac when the trail dictates. Generally no more than 5% of time. To be honest, the bike is not registered here as per the majority of trail bikes and quads! The emissions regs are quite strict and grey imports are a nightmare over here to get passed. Nowhere near as relaxed as UK .
The only reason I wanted it sorted was to have an idea of distance travelled for my own interest. So the alternatives suggested are of interest if the clean doesn't sort it. It looked rusty when I removed the cable last time. A squirt of WD 40 didnt solve it then so a strip down is in order.
Thanks again for your thoughts. Have a great new year.

Have you explored the digital mountain bike speedo's? They come in wired, or wireless. If using wireless just check the distance between the sender, and receiver is at least 700mm to account for the longer forks.
There are also some very cheap GPS tracker units that have downloadable track options,but will also give you distance and speed.
Mike

[Sam]

Hmmmm. lots of options. GPS is something Ive been thinking about as I would like to plot/chart some of the routes for myself and perhaps others to use at some point. In addition to the many (sometimes marked) routes there are boot loads of tracks that disappear into the woods. Some lead somewhere and others are dead ends. To be able to capture where I have been and then mark it on a map would be useful for filling the long winter nights here!!! If anyone has done this/has thoughts on this, Id like to hear them. Ill look at the mountain bike stuff also.
Cheers for the thoughts.....

[fallenmikethebike]

Hmmmm. lots of options. GPS is something Ive been thinking about as I would like to plot/chart some of the routes for myself and perhaps others to use at some point. In addition to the many (sometimes marked) routes there are boot loads of tracks that disappear into the woods. Some lead somewhere and others are dead ends. To be able to capture where I have been and then mark it on a map would be useful for filling the long winter nights here!!! If anyone has done this/has thoughts on this, Id like to hear them. Ill look at the mountain bike stuff also.
Cheers for the thoughts.....

If you're leaning towards the GPS solution, you also need to consider the lack of easily usable 12v supply on the CRM, so something with swappable batteries would be useful, Etrex, ect. There will shed loads on this subject on the TBM, forum, and links to Open Source Mapping [OSM].
I've heard the French economy is in a more lamentable state than England's, and ours is bad enough, is that how you're finding the situation?
Mike

[jompy]

Welcome Sam

[Sam]

Hi jompy!

Fallenmikethebike: Its funny, but in France, the UK economy is held up as being the reason Europe are in the doodoo and is portrayed as being the poor man of europe. My experience here is that things are just as bad but with a government led by a loon. He has just proposed a 75% tax rate on anyone earning over a million. I dont want to get into a debate about the rights/wrongs of tax rates but that strikes me a too much and will drive more people out (probably to the UK!).

I run a few gites and my wife teaches english over the internet. Things have slowed a little but we have maintained our prices at 2007 levels so we have enough trade to pay for petrol and tyres! Just can no longer afford food! Oh well, the pigs are due to be slaughtered in a few weeks so bacon all round!

Plenty of suggestions for the GPS so when I have a few minutes I will investigate further.

Hoping for a bit of sunshine this weekend. Would be nice to get out again........

Laters