Allegedly - see www.haynes.co.uk, although no-one has seen one yet. People have successfully used the NTV manual, which definitely is available, for most jobs. ISBN 1 85960 243 6.

John Russell reports less front end dive under braking with 20WT oil in the forks. Here is how to do it:

Last year I changed the fork oil to 20 wt and was very pleased with the results. As it's nearly a year since I last changed it I did it again today. If anyone is thinking about doing it. It takes about half an hour to take the wheel off, withdraw the forks and drain them out. Another ten minutes to refill and clean them up and half an hour to put it back together. You will need a litre of fork oil (I used 15 wt this time) which cost UKP 6.26.

Slacken the top fork bolts first, then undo the brake calliper mounting bolts remove them from the disc and tie a bit of string through them and then onto the handlebar (to stop them swinging on the rubber hoses). Jack the front of the bike up so that it rests on the back wheel. Next undo the axle bolt and withdraw the axle, remove the wheel. Undo two tiny bolts (one each side of the mudguard )and take the brake pipes off the mudguard. Undo bolts and remove the mudguard.

Undo the bolts on the bottom fork yolks then the top and remove the forks.

Undo top bolts and remove the washer, long tube and spring. Invert the forks and pump out the old oil. Leave them upside down to drain and have a cup of tea.

With the forks compressed and the spring out you refill with fresh oil, measure 106mm from the oil to the top of the fork tube - then you know you have the right amount in them. They take almost 1/2 a litre each. Replace the spring (tighter curls to the bottom) the metal tube, washer and top. (Do one fork at a time so you don't muddle the parts up) Refit the rest of the stuff in reverse order then torque them as follows:

Top bolt on forks 23 Nm
Top fork yolks 23 Nm
Bottom fork yolks 50 Nm
Axle bolt 60 Nm
Brake caliper mounting bolts 27 Nm

Don't forget to clean and grease the fork yokes before refitting and also the axle. (I used copper grease or lithium will do the trick).

While I was at it I took the brake shoes out and squirted brake cleaner into the callipers. Then after drying with a rag I squirted WD 40 and using a the front brake carefully to edge the pistons out I gave them a good clean. It is possible to push them in by hand. I tend to do this every couple of thousand miles, it keeps the brakes in A1 condition.

A couple of people have reported good results, including better turn in and less susceptibility to side winds, after dropping the frame through the forks a little.

It takes about ten minutes. All you need to do is slacken the two bolts that grip the forks at the top yoke and the two nuts that grip the forks at the bottom yoke. Then raise the forks up through the yokes. Measure 9mm from the top shoulder of the fork nut to the top of the top fork yoke and tighten everything up.

Patrick Cray swears by the fairing lowers and hand deflectors, he says they give good protection from bad weather. NOTE: If you drop the bike with the lower fairing (leg guards) fitted, they hit the ground before the crash bar, and will cause middle fairing to break.

I've got a tall Honda screen which is quite effective, but causes some turbulence. Others have tried Powerbronze and Givi flip screens to less good effect. It really depends on how tall you are.

I've also got the Honda heated grips, which although expensive, are very effective.

The Honda topbox also seems popular, although it does noteiceably affect the handling. You can get 2 full face lids in it.

This is what you need to do for the 4K service:

1. Check lights, horn, indicators, instrument warning lights, brake lights and instruments
2. Inspect throttle choke clutch cables for damage, fraying and correct level of free play
3. Inspect brake pads for wear
4. Check and top up both brake master cylinders
5. Inspect wheels for cracks, kerb damage
6. Inspect tyres for damage, tread wear, bulges, cuts and splits. Check tyre inflation pressures
7. Inspect for oil leaks from all areas
8. Check engine idle speed 1100-1200 rpm
9. Visually inspect all fittings for security. Tighten to the correct torque as necessary
10. Clean spark plugs (4) and adjust the gaps
11. Honda also recommend changing the oil and filter every 6 months or 8000 miles which ever comes first.

For a more detailed service schedule from John Russell, look at this MS Word 97 Document. Or this one, which could provide a permanent record for when you sell the bike.

What did Ride magazine's 2000 Rider Power survey say about the Deauville ?

• The DV came 19th out of the top 40 rated new bikes.
• The average age of the owners was the oldest for any bike in the survey (48 !).
• Average annual mileage was 5279 miles.
• 14% have had faults of one sort or another, two of which were engine problems.
• 52% of owners would buy another DV.
• Owners liked Comfort and Build Quality.
• They disliked Performance and Gearbox.

So at 37 years old and with 6K miles in 8 months, it seems like I'm not quite a typical DV owner.

From the survey, it seemed like Hondas were overall the most reliable make: 10-15% bikes with problems seemed typical. Amazingly, BMW was one of the worst with 30-50% of bikes having faults. Triumph were just as bad, but both makes had very good dealer back-up which seemed to make it acceptable to their owners, as both makes had a lot of loyalty on most of their listed models.

There are three major options when considering heated grips:

1. Honda originals at 160 pounds. These have metal inside the rubber grips and the temperature is adjustable.
2. After market grips 60 pounds. These have the normal wires to heat the hands and are also temperature adjustable.
3. After market grips 30 pounds. Heated by wires and non adjustable temperature. They are either on or off.

They didn't - your bike has a busted or mis-wired clutch interlock switch. If you can't start your bike in gear with the clutch pulled in, get your dealer to fix it under warranty.

Opinions vary:

Pat Cray at 5 foot 10 is happy with the standard screen, although he does admit to having ridden naked bikes for a long time.

John Warner has "a Givi D201S screen (see photos), taller than the original Honda, with a reflex curve at the top. I'm six feet tall, with a long body too, and my head is half in, half out of the slipstream. It's not uncomfortable though". Others have also reported success with the Givi screen.

I am 6 foot 4, and I have the tall Honda screen (see photos). This does produce a fair amount of turbulence, but keeps almost all of the windblast off. I suspect that if you're less than 6 foot 2, this screen would be ideal, if still unattractive.

They were quite complimentary, acknowledging that owners like the bike, but noting the relative lack of power, which means more cog-swapping than on bigger bikes. They liked the handling, ground clearance and brakes that were more than adequate.

"The Deauville makes a great commuter or middle-distance tourer, more suited to enjoying the view than crossing continents in a day".

First time I tried it, I dropped one of the bottom fittings down the fairing and spent an hour searching, what a pain! Now what I do is

a) remove the 2 bolts either side of the instrument panel to loosen up the plastic inner panels.

b) remove the top 2 bolts from the screen (take care not to drop the nuts underneath)

c) remove the bottom 2 screen bolts

d) the screen should now slide out - the rubber compression fittings normally stay compressed and come out fairly easily, but take care not to lose one. Slide one side of the screen out at a time, and take out the fitting as soon as it's free

To refit -

e) insert one of the compression fittings in the bottom slot, and work the screen back in under the loosened inner panel

f) fit the bolt - just a couple of threads, to retain the fitting

g) insert the other compression fitting into the screen, and carefully manouevre it into position, then insert the other bolt

h) Now tighten bottom bolts, then fit top ones.

I've got this procedure down to about 10 minutes now.

Replace the original headlamp bulb with a Halfords 12v 55-65w Xenon bulb, which are claimed to be 30% brighter. They are certainly noticeably more effective than the original Honda fitted bulbs. Fitting is a bit fiddly, especially if you have big hands, but you just need to persevere... The instructions are in the owners manual.

I am now using BT020s, which are much grippier and very good in the wet, we'll see how long they last. They seem to make the steering more sensitive than the M90s, which is a mixed blessing.

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