Indicators stopped working temp

[wardylondon]

Hi All,

 

I have posted here previously but I don't think I have properly intro'd myself.  I bought Alek's T700SM Sept 2021 with 8,911 on odometer, now 12,800+ (used to do 12k per annum but I have two bikes for commuting and WFH a lot these days).  Don't do many fun rides out. 2nd bike is a 2016 XSR900. A also have a ZRX1200R that is Sorn'd (ie off road no longer legal re emissions regs in London).

 

So it was minus 3 degrees in Kent (UK) this morning.  During morning commute (to central London), indicators refused to work.  The left indicator fired into life after 4 or 5 miles and the right one at 20 miles (just in time for my 1st RH turn... handy).  Never had this on a bike before - not even my KTM.  Bike is covered with a cover and some rugs but suspect the contacts were frozen up on LHS for some reason and took a while to thaw.  My padlocks (security chains and side door to house) also needed warm water to unfreeze them.  Will pour over LHS controls too in future when sub zero.

 

Conscious our American and Northern European friends ride in much more extreme conditions than we experience in UK.  Anyone else had this happen?

 

Cheers 

[Lewie]

No but it’s definitely cold in Kent - hi from Folkestone 

[Dougie]

Hi @wardylondon,  it probably was just frozen weather in the contacts. A bit of electrolube (wd40 if not available) prevention is good but I don’t think we expected this quick cold snap. I’m a Landrover muppet so used to water ingress , and on the other subject, it would cost me £125 a day if I took my own wagon into London for emission charges. I love zxrs, have you tried taking it to be checked? A lot of bikes do still pass, you just need the proof. 

[Ray Ride4life]

Covers are bad, they trap moist causing more harm then they do good.
Does the bike by any chance have a STS (Smart Turn System) fitted? I have it and have sometimes a bit of a fight with them in cold wet conditions caused by the way the lock of the switch is cancelled and i'm planning to try changing that somehow.
If not the best you can do is open de switch, clean it and use some acid free petroleum jelly.

[wardylondon]

Thanks Dougie, I have contact spray and WD40 of course…. Ray don’t have STS… not sure how that works….  Cheers

[wardylondon]

14 hours ago, Dougie said:

Hi @wardylondon,  it probably was just frozen weather in the contacts. A bit of electrolube (wd40 if not available) prevention is good but I don’t think we expected this quick cold snap. I’m a Landrover muppet so used to water ingress , and on the other subject, it would cost me £125 a day if I took my own wagon into London for emission charges. I love zxrs, have you tried taking it to be checked? A lot of bikes do still pass, you just need the proof. 

Bought the ZRX1200R new in 2003.  If has 66k (miles) on it now.  I think its £275 to have it emissions checked and as I have Akra and K&N and PDQ tune on it, Id be surprised if it would pass.  Ive laid it up after it failed to start - think it needs a new battery.  I'll probably get it going again at some point.  Its a bit of a dinosaur handling wise, though the torque laden engine is impressive (braking less so).  After I bought and rode the KTM for a few weeks I hopped back on the ZRX and jumped off and checked the tyres after a few hundred yards.  I thought it had a flat, the handling was so turgid.  It didn't.  The KTM, XSR and even T7 are so nimble in comparison.  For a big 260KG (wet weight) bike its riding position is quite cramped (although wheel base is only 1460 mm I think, just 20mm more than XSR900, Kawasaki pack a lot into that bike - has dimensions of a 750 from the 80's).   The KTM950 SM spoilt me that way with its comfortable riding position and don't think I can go back to higher pegs and relatively long reach to bars again.  I have ridden sports bikes (not saying the ZRX is that genre - far from it) and they are tortuous on anything other than high speed stretches of road.  The higher foot pegs put me off the GSXS1000 I test rode and intended to buy before I bought the Tenere 700. Not a bike I had on my radar at all, the T7. I dont off road - no skills and never tried apart from on a friends farm - was great fun but more MX than Adv rising that was. I see the T700SM as a KTM950 SM lite - 75% of the performance, handling, and looks 200% of the reliability and mpg (not kidding on mpg, that KTM did 26 mpg, I can get 50mpg from tuned T7).