Damn man definitely great pics and enjoyed reading this thread. Love that scenery, wish I had somewhere cool to ride.

I feel like a pussy tho, I didn't ride to work this morning because it's 53f degrees lol

Your English is better then a lot of folks that were born in America, lol.

Thanks man, and heh, this morning when I rode to work it was 0c! (32f) No wind and completely dry so it wasn`t bad at all, just gotta have enough clothes on you. It was 52f on my way home, which I considered to be warm! Although there was a pretty gusty wind that throwed me around a couple of times...

The main key to get a good picture IMO is to a) stuumble on the right place at the right time b) actually stop to get the dang pic! My father-in-law has taught me there`s not really an easy or a fast way to get good pics, it like most things, you learn as you do, and "the eye" for good photo ops developes gradually...

Having a google translator open in another tab really helps writing here, but english and crafts were actually the only two subjects I was good at in school...

I tested pushing the center stand down while riding home, and it DOES have a little effect to the sound, but as I feared, it does NOT have the key role in this play. The sound is getting progressively louder and I fear the whole transmission is shot... I hear a distinctive bearing roll on idle, and a tapping rattle when I accelerate, like two loose cogs tapping each others teeth... The lord only knows when the oils have last been changed before me, but judging from the overall condition, it is starting to seem like the only thing that tranny needs is a pit and a few kind words...:icon_violin:

I`ll change the oil to mineral and see if it does anything, propably just drive it till the fat lady sings, and swap the whole engine, it`s looking like a mere bearing change is not gonna cut it... I could try to take some video on sunday and try to record the sound it`s making, tomorrow the only thing I`m planning to get done is a big bag of empty cans...
:icon_couch:

EDIT: seems like I got some cold under my jacket on the way home, my lower back is pretty sore and getting a bit stiff...

looks so cold there....

I don`t know what to think...

The starting point here was, that I`m having this loud rattle coming from my transmission, sounding like it`s about to go. I have Castrol Power 1 4t full syntethic oils in the engine, that has been driven less than 1tkm. I heard from several people that having full synths in an old f2 is not a good idea especially with nearly a 100tkm on the clock, because when the oil gets hot, it gets way too lean, and the engine actually is drinking it quite a lot, so I did a little googlin, and bought the stiffest mineral oil I could find: Castrol act>evo 4t 20w-50. Had to dig pretty deep, found 2 bottles from one dealer and the other two from another, went to the truck depot to change the oils, discovered that even though the old oils were not that old, they were pretty black, almost as if they would have washed some crap out of the engine. I drained the oils, poured three litres of the new stuff in, some full synth still in the filter and other parts, but decided to not worry about that. Fired the old gal up, and found a list of some pretty weird things listed below starting from less weird:

-More stable idle.
-Less sound from the engine/ tranny when idling.
-Better throttle response.
-Way better, more throatier sound, really roars when given revs.
-The gears engage better.
-The rattle from the tranny got quieter.
-SIGNIFICANTLY MORE POWER! I mean, we`re talking about several HP:s here! I almost spooked when I turned the throttle fully open trying to get in front of a big rig from a motorway junction and all of the sudden I realised I`m doing 170km/h!

The things I was the most astonished were the fact that the bike actually sounds soo much better now, can`t figure out what these two things have to do with each other, and that it really got a remarkable amout more grunt now! The transmission rattle got a little quieter when I left the depot, but after I got the engine fully warm, it faded more every time I went through all the gears, actually getting so silent I can`t make out anymore is the sound coming from the tranny or the chain!!!

Don`t dare to call this fully on the oil at least just yet, but so far it`s looking pretty good, and the bike is now actually sounding and acting as I would figure it should! Guess the old gal still has some miles to give :icon_wub:

So, long story short: USE STIFF MINERAL OIL IN YOUR F2:S!!!

yea i used to have a f3, it was picky on the oil. I always used mobile synthetic made specifically for motorcycles, it has all the mineral stuff in it you are talking about.

For your future reference, if your up to it, when diagnosing drivability issues on your bike, what i usually did was put my bike on rear stands and then start her up. Have a friend hold on to the rear stand so it does not move and you hold the front brake. THen put her in gear and slowly let off the clutch, it should automatically go into a rolling idle, you can then increase throttle to hear engine/chain rattles, etc. Helped me a lot diagnosing! Just be careful! you do not want to go over 40 mph and make sure you hold the brake! I still use this method....

Your country is beautiful...I live in atlanta and I ride all the time to work and school in 15F wind chill weather all the time...gear is everything....cant say too much if there is snow or ice though....i think i'd play it safe on those days and start my car which i barely even drive anymore...

good luck ride safe