Motorcycle and Scooter appreciation

hopefully basic question for the mechanics here- having some issues with my CG125 stalling at tickover. checked the spark plug and it’s pretty badly fouled with soot, but if I adjust the tickover airfuel screw any leaner it just dies. after cleaning the spark plug it runs pretty happily for a while but starts pinging before too long as the plug gets fouled.
was sat idle for a while and the battery went flat, could this be a factor?
tia

See if you are getting a strong consistent spark and also look at the valve clearances.

Deposit paid on this over the weekend!

Good bits:
1991 Yamaha XTZ750 Super Ténéré
Engine swap from a 1996 TRX850
Arrow Dakar exhaust

The 850 engine swap basically makes this a fairly true-ish replica of an actual Dakar spec factory XTZ and it sounds absolutely incredible through the Arrow Dakar exhaust!
Aesthetically it's far less clean than it appears in the photo so I'll have a fairly lengthy to-do list of small jobs on it but none of it is so heinous that it will stop me from riding it as is until I've accumulated parts etc.

Bad bits:
-Full new set of fairings, the ones that are on it are all very badly cracked and damaged beyond repair.
-New tank or repair the one that's on it, someone at some stage overtightened too long a bolt into one of the fairing mounts and punctured the tank and had the bright idea of welding a bolt into it as a repair so that'll need rectifying.
-Engine was painted when the swap was done but it's a very scruffy finish so I'll eventually get around to redoing that, same goes for a lot of small nuts, bolts and parts on the bike that are suffering from age-related surface rust and tattiness.
-I'll rebuild the wheels with some Excel rims eventually too, the existing ones have been painted or powder-coated but it's a bit flaky.

The price was right though and most of the to-do list is small jobs that can be easily spread over time so I'm very excited to collect it (XTZ seller is going on a Nordkapp trip in the next few weeks and gone for a month so might not get to collect it until July)

I've also just discovered that the local motorcycle mechanic near my folks is a French chap who was a factory mechanic for Yamaha Dakar team in the 90s which may well prove to be a handy fellow to know!

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Awesome!!

That's fucking cool.

Was watching Harry's Garage recent videos on Sandraiders and dreaming of a new bike / trip next year.

Rad

I haven't gotten around to finishing watching this years Sand Raiders vid he's done but I really really want to do Sand Raiders next year or the year after!

I'd probably want to do it on an XTZ600 or XL600 (or even something smaller) rather than the XTZ750... after my brief taste of Moroccan fesh fesh I'm truly in awe of how Peterhansel and the like were bombing dunes on XTZ850s and Africa Twins! Especially after seeing all of the 450 rally bikes at Rally Du Maroc... big bikes must have been murder in the desert!

Big bikes in the desert aren’t so bad as long as you don’t have to slow down or fall off and pick them up.

Good find mate - the TRX motor is a fab update for sure.

Well, I passed my motorbike theory test today, albeit somewhat shamefully at the second attempt. I just failed the hazard perception test the first time round, but passed with flying colours today. CBT next.

Well done. Congrats

Congrats, you are in good company. Took me two cracks too.

Glorious spin home from work yesterday (and in again this morning) on my Old Man's Scrambler.
Also my first solo spin on a proper bike!
He's got an SC Project full exhaust and a box of jazzy Rizoma bits (handlebar, risers, mirrors etc.) to go on it he's had gathering dust for a few months now so I'm motivated to roll my sleeves up and get those fitted asap as the current setup isn't the most comfortable...
Also my Bell MX9 Adventure is noisy as fuck... need earplugs and a decent balaclava!

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Nice bike and view, the scrambler is, for me, one of the nicest looking Ducati in a while.

Boring old gipper bit;
I don’t even ride my little c90 without earplugs, anything above 15mph (iirc) and it’s something like 100db of wind noise and you risk damaging your hearing. My dad ended up deaf from years working on building sites and it’s shit (and may increase chances of dementia). Cheap foam earplugs are fine - my bike jacket pockets and bags are stuffed with them!

Met one of you this morning from what I could understand through my noise cancelling headset.

Riding an F800R with a natty yellow screen.

Sorry I couldn't hear you!

Yeah I felt a bit stupid to be honest because I have lots of decent earplugs for drumming and playing music in general so won't be out without them again!

People can (could) go to the audiology department of the nhs hospital and get moulds for perfect fit ear plugs. There was a fee involved, but no idea if the hospitals still do that.

Agree on hearing loss is bad.

EDIT - try and insert the same plug for the same ear, try and insert with clean hands. You can get ear infections from dirty plugs. Then the infection goes from one ear to the other.

Yeah I wouldn't rule out getting some proper moulded ones in the near future to be honest...
I've got these Loop ones that have been all over social media the last year or so and they're actually very good so I'll give them a go on the bike next spin. They work well for drumming so I'm sure they'll do well.

Wasn't replying to you directly just to people in general.

Helmets with more vents have more wind noise.

I think I’ve bought an old BMW. Airhead , R60/6
I say think , it was eBay and I’m paying cash on arrival .Vendor seems super trustworthy tbh ,and boy does he buy a lot of bikes .Most sourced in USA , this one was .So I need to register it and as it’s a ‘barn find’ a bit of light resto ( it runs and stops).
I can’t believe you can register it and then ride with no MOT or tax .. but apparently that’s the case .
It should turn up on Sunday but I’m doing Ride London , so there’s levels of trust both ways .
I mentioned I had a mate with a trailer but delivery seemed easier , but he has a mate with a trailer too

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Congrats, you are in good company. Took me two cracks too.

Good to know! I was surprised how hard it hit me, reading 'YOU HAVE FAILED' first time round. Spent an entire session with my therapist talking it over...

I always find that the cheap foam ones press against the inside of my helmet and vibrate (?) which is very distracting (feels/sounds a bit like pressing the flap in front of your ear 2-3 times per second).

Are these any better?

How’s cones you’re on the 800??

Sorry - they were on the 800…

I was on my sexy old man GS

damn thruxton rs didn't crank this morning. really weird. 2K miles on it.

dash lit up normally, but after a few minutes of frustration the fuel gauge vanished from the LCD display. Seemed weird, but might only be because the bike wasn't starting and not a part of the actual problem. I could hear the fuel pump making an effort.

didn't check for error codes as i was in a hurry. obviously had a check engine light because it wasn't running. It has, however had a service wrench for a about 1K, but that's because i didn't reset it for the oil change. no check engine lights at all. just a service wrench.

gonna check kick stand switch, fuses (i.e starter fuse). any other ideas?

Battery? Get the volt meter on it.

Idk what the new ones are like, but the air cooled ones require a decent amount of cranking amps, so they struggle unless the battery is in good condition.