I do tend to delve into things .... but also I know from other things that stamina and fluency need regular practice if they're to build up. Come the long days, I would like to be physically and mentally capable of going for proper full day long trips. So I'm doing my best, whilst being sensible.Originally Posted by Thewatchbloke
^^^Always good to see a bike being ridden regularly!
Service booked in for 30th. Now have 9 days of hoping this forecast sticks.....
There a few places in Helmsley, the best got taken over a few years ago and got turned into Thomas the bakers. The roads from Masham to Hawes is fun but gets busy the summer with nutters so take the back road through Redmire and Askrigg. Then go over Buttertubbs and come down Swaledale to Reeth.
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this weekend is looking
... on another note ive seen that suzuki is releasing an upright version of the 1000gt (1000gx) so i'll taking one for a test ride asap
Fair play to that person. Always nice to be reminded there are still nice people about these days.Rode 30 miles each way yesterday to enjoy a double sausage baguette at the Original Tea Hut in Epping Forest, to find to my horror that they only take cash. A kind soul in the queue stood me a cup of coffee, but by the time I’d ridden back into Epping town I thought “f*ck it” and had a toasted sandwich in Starbucks instead
Down side is you now have me craving a bloody sausage baguette and it’s 7am and I’m on a diet.
I do love reading this thread, although I dont ride any longer I do enjoy the stories, tips, general buying advice etc, etc.
In a previous thread a newly passed chap mentioned his 73 mile day which was his longest so far and got me thinking of my longest day in the saddle.
I will keep it short-ish. A small group of us to a trip to the Dutch GP in Assen, this is going back about 30 years now. But do remember it well.
Left early on Saturday morning from Taunton for Harwich to get the ferry over to the Hook and rode into Amsterdam where we had a hotel booked for 1 night.
So Sunday morning we head off to Assen for the race, the amount of bikes on the rode heading in that direction was truly incredible and quite an experience in its own right. Watched the racing ( my first time at a GP event) and a brilliant time was had. NO time to hang around as we had a ferry booked earlier that evening as I had work on Monday morning.
So the fun and games begin, having not anticipated the time it took to get out of Assen we arrived at the Hook only to see our ferry disappearing into the distance. Thinking we royally screwed some others in the same boat as said the only way we were getting home that night was to ride down to Calais as ferries ran about every hour from there, so off we went.
Arrived at Calais managed to blag our way onto a ferry to Dover and a not very exciting ride home back to Taunton.
So that Sunday, Amsterdam > Assen > Hook > Calais > Dover > Taunton was over 800 miles.
The only saving grace, for me anyway was that I was riding a K100LT whereas all the others were on sports bikes, Blades, ZX9s, GSXRs and the like.
Happy days.
Cheers,
Ben
..... for I have become the Jedi of flippers
" an extravagance is anything you buy that is of no earthly use to your wife "
In 1990, me and a couple of pals rode from Calais to Le Castelet for the Bol D’Or. We tried to do it without using the autoroute but that only lasted to lunchtime and just south of Paris. All in all, we did over 700 miles on just run in ZZR600s.
Whilst at the circuit (must have been 92 this time) we met a guy who’d ridden down on a new fireblade.
It must have been 94 when, waiting for the ferry at Le Havre, a brand new 916 pulled up behind us without front brake calipers; they’d been stolen over the course of the weekend.
In 1998 I bought a new ZX9R which was a great bike for touring on, the only modification being a double bubble screen.
Just had the Speedmaster treated with ACF 50… Ducati next on the list and then the T max..👍
That's a huge day of riding (I normally equate 100 miles as 2 hours of riding time, albeit you were on the ferry for part of that). You must have been truly knackered.
PS So glad you enjoy dipping into the thread. When I started it I didn't ever anticipate 3.65m views and counting!
My GS is now just over 3 years old and has covered over 16,000 miles. During that time it has been 'parked' on its right side a couple of times...always from a standstill but, despite having OEM engine bars, it suffered some minor scrapes on the cylinder head cover and, predictably, the engine bar.
Initially I thought I could touch up the paintwork on the cylinder head cover myself so ordered the correct colour paint and lacquer (from RS Bike Paint) which immediately got put on a shelf and forgotten about...my thought process at the time being that I should leave it until some later date because it might only suffer the same damage again.
I recently decided I should do something about the touch up and so for a few days I buggered about tidying up the scrapes on the head cover using Quiksteel Aluminium Reinforced Epoxy Putty and the paint and lacquer ordered over a year earlier.
Unfortunately, while the repair wasn't bad, it wasn't great. The putty did its job and the paint colour match was good, but the lacquer went off unevenly. I cleaned it off and tried a couple more times, each time with a poor finish.
I had a chat with RS Bike Paints and they reckon that the lacquer had exceeded its shelf life, resulting in its poor performance (my fault for leaving it on the shelf).
Not being satisfied with the quality of my efforts I decided to do what I should have done in the first place which was to buy a new cylinder head cover and right engine bar.
Yes, I know I could have taken it to a paint shop and got it done for less money, but it would have been more hassle, probably not that much cheaper and with no guarantee of a 100% correct finish.
Anyway, I fitted the new parts yesterday and am pleased that I did - apart from now looking like new I know I can easily repeat the process should I need to in the future.
You'll probably find it after you've replaced the carAdopted the same approach with regard to my car, and now can't remember where I put the touch-up kit for love nor money
Looks dry tomorrow so thinking I’m going to try to get an hour out on the T7
I’m building a Harris XR69 that came with a modified GSXR swingarm. That set up wasn’t up to much so I had the brilliant idea of buying a TIG welder so I could modify the swingarm myself. The alternative being get Harris to make me a proper one which is a very expensive ordeal. While my welding is adequate it turns out it is never going to be good enough to be on show so I ended up going to Harris to make me a proper one anyway. As the saying goes, experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want. In my case I also got a TIG.
Last edited by Groundrush; 22nd November 2023 at 21:08.
Two years ago I also 'parked' my RT1200LC on its right side whilst stationary. My wife was riding pillion and I lost my footing and, whilst Mrs Eddiex is tiny, couldn't hold the bike up right and and over we went. The right side cylinder cover has a gouge in it. I had the same cunning plan that you did but have not bothered to pursue it as I'm too lazy/pre occupied with other stuff!
After your experience, like you, I think I'll just buy a new cover. At the risk of sounding crass - how much did the cover cost?
You could always get a set of protective covers for the casings instead - far cheaper and more of a consumable item going forward. I'd hate to replace something and then find I had to replace it again (potentially more than once) in the future.
Depending on the model and whether other ancillary parts are needed (gaskets, bolts, etc.) they should be around £80 each (used) according to this site. I guess you will need to speak to them to check on stock and condition.
https://www.motorworks.co.uk/parts/e...--08-2018--205
Or you could try these guys for new parts:
https://www.bike-parts-bmw.co.uk/bmw...9/11/520250430
p.s. in case you hadn't already gathered it, I don't know what model/year your bike is so these have been a guess ;)
Mine (new from BMW) cost about £170 (just checked and it was actually a bit more than that!)
I was tempted by MachineArt X-Heads which could cover up superficial damage but also prevent more.
Last edited by Stanford; 23rd November 2023 at 18:52.
@Stanford - many thanks for the reply and links!
I have considered fitting the protective covers but I have promised myself that it won't happen again...................!
Had a fun day at Motorcycle Live today.
Not looking to buy, just to browse (though there was one of the team on the BMW stand that I'd happily have brought home).
My thoughts...
Electric bikes still aren't ready for the mainstream.
Enfield have got their pricing right for the new Himalayan, as have Triumph for their new 400s.
The Honda E-clutch looks very complicated and is arguably a solution in need of a problem.
The Kawasaki Hybrid is an interesting bike but I can't quite see the need for it just yet.
The Ducati Hypermono is very nice.
Err, there were a lot of men seemed to spend their day in the NEC Wetherspoons rather than looking at bikes.
The handlebars on the new R12 are higher than the bars on the outgoing R nineT!
In general, motorcycles seats have become less comfortable.
I was quite impressed until I got home. Let me explain...
The styling has been subject to an evolution rather than a revolution so unmistakably has R nineT DNA (so to speak). The only things I'd say are a conspicuous change are that the side panels are more bulbous (soft 1950's styling?) because of the move of the airbox, and the seating is more generous.
Jumping on the R 12 nineT is almost indistinguishable from jumping on the outgoing R nineT. Slight tweaks to the styling here and there but broadly the same. Near identical clocks, handlebar, tank, controls etc. It may ride a little differently with the revised chassis and suspension but the motor's basically unchanged so it's likely to be very familiar.
The R12, what I'd suggest is the evolution of the R nineT Pure is a little more radical. Where the outgoing models were similar in terms of ergonomics, but more different in terms of running gear, that's where the new pairings differ (I hope this makes sense).
At first glance, the R 12 is the reduced-price version of the R 12 nine T in the same way that the R nineT Pure was the reduced-price version of the R nineT (good grief, these model designations are a pain in the arse), but there's more to it that that.
Yes it has the single speedo rather than the speedo and rev counter, but the most obvious changes are that they've lowered the seating position, and raised and pulled back the handlebars. Gone now are the RWU forks, replaced with non-adjustable USDs, and the brakes on the cheaper model are now the same as the range topper rather than a cheaper option.
Sitting on the R 12 I felt that they'd addressed most of the shortcomings of the earlier model (the one I've got - the R nineT Pure) and was most impressed, and the mere £250 price increase over the outgoing model seemed to me to make it pretty good value considering the changes.
I liked it. I liked it a lot.
Can you feel the "but" coming? It's the stuff I learnt when I got home and started looking at specs. Here we go...
One of the major criticisms of the outgoing model was the harshness of the suspension, leading to a somewhat uncomfortable ride. The lower seat height on the R 12 has been achieved by reducing the suspension travel by 30mm and fitting a smaller rear wheel (17" down to 16" - the front has grown from 17" to 19"). It'd be nice to ride one and discover I'm wrong, but I can't see the reduction in suspension travel doing anything to improve the ride of the old model.
The real kicker for the R 12 is the engine. It's basically the same but "tuned" differently to peak at 94bhp rather than 109bhp. Now, if this is done by changing camshafts etc to boost the low to mid range with more accessible torque then I'm all for it; more relaxed, easier ride - great! But they haven't. They've left it the same and simply strangled the top end to limit the maximum output to 70kW (94bhp) so that it can be further reduced to 35kW (47bhp) for A2 licencing. This is typically achieved by nothing more than software-limiting the maximum opening of the throttle butterfly, but leads to a somewhat flat feel to the higher revs. Likely this could be mapped out for a full "A" rider, but it's a pain.
Anyway, that's my thoughts - the R 12 NineT is a gentle evolution of the R nineT, and the R 12 is a a more significant revision of the R nineT Pure but it remains to be seen if the compromises outweigh the improvements. I'm in no hurry to change mine.
The show bikes were, as always, littered with accessories, so the £11,990 starting price of the R 12 went up to £15,920 by the time the 719 pack, comfort pack and spoked wheels were added.
Regards the 719 stuff, I find some of it lovely and some of it atrocious. The machined cylinder head covers on the R1250R made me want to weep :-( Each to their own, I guess.
My thoughts exactly.
I looked at that cutaway model for about 20 minutes trying to make sense of it.
Pointless....it just made my head hurt.
It reminded me very much of the Citroen C-Matic system from the late '70's which was great until it wasn't. I'm sure modern electronics will be better, probably.
The main plusses that the Honda chap was keen to point out was that changes would always be smooth and hence make life easier for a pillion passenger if you have one.
I asked why there was also a clutch lever and full manual operating mechanism and was told that that was because you could turn the auto off if you wanted to... In a strange way I could see it being useful on something like the Africa Twin which is currently manual or DCT; the DCT is fine on the road but I didn't feel happy off-road without a clutch for fine control at low speed.
What perhaps needs another look is the Kawasaki Hybrid - not that I want one - but that had no clutch or gear lever, just + and - buttons, but no sticky-out things apparent for managing the clutch or gear changes. So not sure how they are doing it.
Lad I know ( who also has a NC 750 dct) sold his Africa twin , because in his words slow speed manoeuvrability eg u turns where a nightmare with the AT’s DCT
Apparently (or so I’ve been told) the DCT on the later AT is much better than that on the earlier model. It stands to reason though, that they are only going to get better.
I see that the E-clutch adds 3kg to the CB650R, whereas the DCT adds 10kg to the NC750X
I'm in a chain coffee shop in Northallerton, having failed to spot a place where I ought to be as I trundled through town. Have I mjsed somewhere?
Had a nice chilly ride out to Gloucestershire yesterday to visit the Classic Motor Hub .
The Rapide was gleaming when I left and thanks to 3 sets of traffic light controlled burst water main roadworks on winding rural b roads it looked like this when I arrived.
And this when I got home.
There's a nice cafe there and some fantastic machinery for sale, the prices will blow your socks off though, extremely toppy!
There’s nothing in Northallerton apart from Costa or one of the pubs.
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My plan, had not last night and today been so cold, would have been to slowly circle my way around to Masham - Thirsk, Northallerton, Bedale, Leyburn, Middleham, Masham, then home via Ripon and Boroughbridge. But I had to delay leaving for a couple of hours, waiting for the temperature to seem safe, it was too cold for anything more than what I did, and after a frosty night, I didn't trust that road through East Witton and Jervaulx. Another time.
I won't have a chance to ride again before going back to Hull on Thursday, but I'll only be 30–35 miles short of the prescribed 600.
I'm not entirely convinced that the 125 enjoys whirring away at 7000+ rpm nonstop. Going south on the A19, both it and I were delighted to find ourselves nicely stuck behind a very cautious hatchback that had no intention of doing more than what my overexaggerating speedo calls 55mph
EDIT — just seen that the forecast for this Thursday has changed from 7 degrees and sunny skies to 1 degree and sleet. This is where I cancel the appt, right?
Last edited by Der Amf; 26th November 2023 at 18:10.
Plus a visit to Screwfix for what looks more like a hairdryer than the Black and Decker tools of yore, and.....
We've nothing but freezing nights ahead, and I would have to be on the road by 9am, so I decided that, much as I hate cancelling, I would write to the dealers and say sorry etc
Just got a phone call from them: the place their van stays each night is about 5 miles from me, so they're going to pick up my bike first thing on Thursday and drop it off at the end of the day. What a lovely bunch they are. I know they've solid incentives to go the extra 10 miles for me — for starters, one day they might have this bike to sell, and being able to say "all servicing has been done by us" looks good — but still. Making an effort is making an effort. I'm so pleased.
And I'm relieved that I took the trouble on Sunday to get the mileage 66 miles closer to 600. Well worth getting chilly.
A lot of dealers will be quite helpful in picking up your bike and returning, at this time of year - to keep their workshop utilised.
Absolutely. Bigger, at least. On the little lanes I'm enjoying so much, the limiting factor is me, not the 125. But these lovely areas need getting to, and spending significant periods of time at 7500rpm seems like cruelty to the poor thing. So, something bigger, sooner or later, and I seem to be incapable of imagining owning anything other than a Honda.
The DCT is absolute pants if you intend to use your AT for anything other than the gentlest of off-roading; we had one bloke out with us who took an hour to get up a 1 mile green lane. It's a horrible chalky ascent, to be fair, but the inability to use the clutch effectively meant that he'd go 15 metres, crash out, get picked up by the rest of us, rinse and repeat. The bike's obviously heavy and it only had 50:50 tyres, albeit just fitted, but even so I'd have expected it to do much better.
For road use, fair enough.
Agreed Tony , from tourers , head down arse up racers to cruisers Honda has a bike. But…………..dont forget Triumph which has the Speed 400 due in Feb March , a great step up from a 125 at only £4995.
It would certainly be a shame if, having got yourself into two wheels, you choose to restrict yourself to only Honda; there are plenty of fantastic bikes from other manufacturers.
Indeed, each manufacturer makes bikes with a different feel to it and part of the fun is experiencing the differences between apparently similar bikes from different producers as well as different bikes from the same manufacturer.
I find myself at a bit of a crossroads concerning my "second bike". Over the past few years I've pretty much always owned two, and I will continue to do so.
My main bike is, and will remain, my GS. It's a great, practical all-rounder that works for everything, so I'm looking for something sufficiently different to fill the second slot.
I'm going to sell my V85TT as it does not quite hit the spot. So, what to replace it with?
Direction 1 is to go for something a bit more sporty than the GS, although I'm not one for tear-arsing about scraping bits of myself on the ground, so probably more sports-tourer...
Direction 2 is to go for something a bit more classic-looking, so Bonneville territory...
Direction 3 is a more modern naked...
I'm a big bloke so I need something reasonably sized and I do like being able to overtake without too much drama (this can be a small issue on the V85TT), so plenty of power/torque.
I enjoy the characteristics of big twins, rather than higher revving engines and it has to be said I also like shaft drive, keyless, cruise and other modern conveniences.
________________________________________
So my shortlist is diverse - and it includes the R1250RS, R1250R and Triumph Speed Twin 1200 or Ducati Scrambler 1100 - about as diverse as you could get.
I've been offered a great deal on a barely used R1250RS and I reckon my local Triumph guy is quite keen to sell, so they are the most obvious short, shortlist.
Should I be looking at something else?
My only advice would be don’t get another boxer. I had a GS and an R9T and they were too similar in engine characteristics to make an interesting difference.
The CB500F which they've just renamed the CB500 Hornet has been my central, obvious choice pretty much from the start of my daydreaming.
I'm now also taking a serious look the NC750X. I do seem to be more interested in the idea of getting serious mileage done than I am in the qualities that the cb500 has over the nc750.
I do prefer a naked bike though. If they hadn't ditched the nc750s when they made the latest improvements (in 2021, I think) that would be an easy choice, I suspect. In Hull they've a latest model NC750X which I was keen to spend a few minutes sitting astride on Thursday.
When I first visited them 3 months ago I also had a sit on a CB500X, but didn't like the much higher centre of gravity at all. And now they've turned it into the NX500, I like it even less.
I am reconciled to the fact that whatever I move on to will require a severe recalibration of what I want from a bike as a physical object. I find my 125 very comfy, very natural, all the angles seem to fit me perfectly. Its seat is surprisingly high, relative to the other naked CBs.
NC750 would be more stately, the CB500 slightly more sporty - 30mm lower, and handlebars a couple of inches further away.
Anyway, very early days, obviously.
I think that's good advice, thanks - although I am tempted to do exactly what you advise against.
Hi Chap, you didn't say what GS you have, but like most GS's they tour,carry a pillion, handle and hustle well so most bases covered. So maybe a Faux Classic would be a good way to go, the Triumph Speed twin or even the Thruxton, loads of grunt and one always looks back at them as they are such a good looking machine. So a "do it all" bike and a "Sunday" special. (for full disclosure I should say I had a 1150GS, replaced with an X Country,and a Bonneville and found they complimented each other well!) Good luck with looking, Cheers, John B4
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