Lovely stuff Andy. All different but all rideable and useable in different situations, conditions and moods.
Stuart
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Cold but dry day so good excuse for a long ride . Love this thing so far, bar the heated grips. Which aren’t.
Had a little potter down the Brighton today via Devils Dyke.
Mostly dry roads and not too cold.
Pretty sedate pace most of the time as a was riding with my Uncle, his mate and my brother who all ride slower than me, but it was just nice to get out for a few hours.
Going to the London bike show next Saturday.
Last edited by andy tims; 11th February 2023 at 19:27.
Andy
Wanted - Damasko DC57
sadly it seems I fall into the Under-developed boys category. Never mind, but at least I managed to go for a trundle at the weekend
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Last edited by toezapper; 20th February 2023 at 15:54.
^^ I was out there yesterday, over the moors from Denbigh to Llyn Brenig. It was great but my Guzzi is now almost as mucky as your Triumph.
Today was a little more boring, Stoke, Stafford, Birmingham on the blood bike…
The local bike wash!
Not up to Enoch’s standards , but pretty dirty on the roads today. 2 hours riding 1/2 hour cleaning
Last edited by higham5; 18th February 2023 at 14:07.
The bike below is the latest addition to my stable, a 1950 Series C Vincent Rapide. I've been looking for one for some time, but the money being asked for genuine matching number examples is getting ridiculous. This popped up as an auction lot in one of my regular internet searches, so I drove over to Ledbury and viewed it on Wednesday. It's a genuine matching numbers machine which means the upper frame member, the rear frame member and the engine number are all correct, the crankcase half numbers match and it retains its original registration number. When these were just old Vincents back in the sixties and seventies, frames, engines and crancases were swapped out a lot due to accident damage and blown up engines, and twisted frames from sidecar outfits was also a common occurrence. To know that this one is still has all the major components it left the factory with is fantastic, I couldn't be happier.
The bike was bought by the previous owner as a barn find in 2016 and was totally restored to its current condition, it comes with a raft of receipts and invoices for the work carried out and it also still retains its original buff cardboard logbooks which is great. Because it stood as an exhibit in a private collection after the rebuild it means that since then it's done a grand total of 10 miles, however, once I've recommissioned it it's going to be used regularly along with my Vincent Comet. It was originally supplied by Conway Motors, one of the oldest Vincent dealers there is, who are still in the Vincent restoration and service business today. Along with the recommissioning it requires a couple of small parts which are currently missing, namely the battery and battery clamp which fortunately are still available from the owners club.
So I have a bit to do before it's ready for riding but I can't wait until it's completed and I can get out on it!
Last edited by Thewatchbloke; 18th February 2023 at 18:46.
Wow!
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
What a fabulous Vincent!
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Having a Comet is a real achievement, aquiring a 1950’s Rapide is perfection:). These bikes truly were the Rolls Royce of their era. I remember my dad ( BSA D1 Bantam) saying in 1954 when he had his house built that a Rapide or Black Shadow cost more than a house in 54.
Chris Spaett at Venture Classics often has a Vinnie in stock and I notice he uses West Norfolk Motorcycles for specialist work on them.
Roll on the balmy summer days ready to release the 73 year old pedigree and let it roar :)
Steve
Ps regarding engine and frame swaps frustrating the purists. I remember talking to a BSA bantam enthusiast. The early posti bantams were 125 or 150cc. If a postie reported an issue with a bikes engine it was swapped out with a new engine within hours and returned to service. So anyone trying to get a matching series postie bike is on a hiding to nothing.
Last edited by higham5; 18th February 2023 at 20:52.
Went to the London Bike Show today. Not a bad day out with my Uncle, Brother and Son.
Quite a few nice bikes and some decent deals on kit, not the I needed any clothing.
I did pick up a Sena 50S comms unit so will be fitting / setting that up tomorrow time permitting.
No Honda stand was a surprise / shame.
The black M1000R does look really tasty apart from the mirrors. I’m in no hurry to upgrade my S1000R at the moment. Hoping that black will be available at some point without all the carbon bits to push the price up.
Andy
Wanted - Damasko DC57
Has anyone here changed from a Schuberth C3 Pro to the new C5? My current C3 Pro is getting on a bit and I’m trying to decide wether to just get another one, or spend the extra £200 and get the new C5?
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Cheers, I saw the C5 review they did last year, is that the one you mean? I’m struggling to find anything more recent.
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Thanks, It’s a good review and does make a few c3 pro/c5 comparisons. Just wondered if anyone here had any experience. I’ve not had any issues with my C3 pro and am tempted to just get another but part of me thinks why by an old model when there is a newer (presumably better) version out there now. I shall be staying away from the C4!
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Good news: Have booked a Norton Commando 961 test ride next Saturday.
Bad news: I did my back in a few days ago and it's not getting back to normal like it did when I was in my 20's.
I may need to be winched on and off the bike.
Thanks Tony, I shall take a look.
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I had a good look at the M1000R with all the goodies and have been reading the reviews, it seems that on the road it isn’t that much different to the S1000R but on the track it’s in a different league. Once you get to £25k the purchasing decision becomes very difficult, you could call it a crowded market.
I just Put the HJR bar end mirror kit on my S1000R that Dave Austin does, it’s Night and day.
I also bought some sealey wheel about front and rear paddock stands, very handy in the garage
Last edited by adrianw; 19th February 2023 at 15:01.
At a lose end today and thought suns out let’s get out on my new bike.
15 miles in and noticed white smoke in the mirrors, and looked down to see oil all over the exhausts.
Pulled out and oil is everywhere, all over the exhaust, rear tyre and dripping all on the floor.
The bikes only done 150 miles, so not impressed. However good news I pulled over and into a pub car park, so while I wait for the AA, here something to make me feel better
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It was the streetfighter Stanford and you are right Enoch, if I had been in the twisties I hate to think. Any way of to Ducati and 5 pints in
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Ouch - glad your ok don’t want to think about it
On a brand new bike - not good
If it was me after 5 pints of Peroni I wouldn’t be thinking of anything.
Trust it’s something simple like a blocked breather and you can get back out soon.
On a serious note if there is any chance of the rear tyre having been contaminated with oil, get the dealer to swap it out at their cost. My pal rode across to the TT on his Z1400 , new tyres. As he drove off the ferry ramp, a piece of the ramp sheared his sump plug off. Only got about 100 yds before squirrelly fun ensued from the rear.
His rear tyre was ruined so a new one popped on and off to the mountain for a 180 mph blast.
100% Higman, I want a new rear tyre as it was covered in oil.
I get some idea in the next few days what happened and an eta.
It's intensely frustrating when a new machine develops a fault, I feel for you. At least you managed to stop at a pub!
If the headers were burning off oil and creating all the smoke then check they are properly cleaned when it comes back, some burned on oil stains can be virtually impossible to remove.
I'm going to ride today.
I've not ridden this year.
My back is killing but won't give in.
Hope it goes ok Gyp! Take it easy, I had horrendous back problems until I succumbed and had a discectomy.
Be interested to hear what the problem with the Duke was, I think I’ve mentioned before, but same happened to a friend and turned out they hadn’t tightened the sump plug at the dealer.
Glad to hear Gyp you made it out and enjoyed.
On my bike, a rear bolt in the engine casing sheared off. Not something they have seen before so part ordered and the check if that solves the issue. Looks like it was just a one off, but once that is done they are then seeing if the exhaust needs replacing due to all the oil staining.
Hopefully back by the weekend.
Rich
I did, though the choice of summer gloves was a little poorly thought through. Forgot that I had heated grips until about half way home.
Glad they've (hopefully) found the problem and a solution.
In a slightly frustrating way, I've dragged the R80 out to ride tomorrow as I've insured it for the lad to ride at the weekend and it has decided to piss petrol out.
Not sure the lad is totally enamoured with the idea that I've put him on the insurance for the BMW rather than the Triumph, but he's only going to ride with me occasionally, and it was £75 to add him to the Beemer insurance and about £200 for the Street Scram for the year.
- - - Updated - - -
For me it would be drowning with style, but it sounds like a good idea
Old fuel is a right pain. I have an unregistered bike sitting in my hallway just waiting for DVLA to process the paperwork - the previous owner never bothered registering it but did ride it and left a few litres of fuel in the tank. I reckon I could have cranked the bike over from now until the end of time and it wouldn't have started.
Popped the tank off, drained it - it looked and smelled like varnish - put in 5 litres of super unleaded and it started immediately.
It's worth draining the tank then running the engine until it just conks out if you're planning on storing a bike for more than, say, 3 months.
Alternatively, use Aspen fuel...
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
It's expensive but as you say it's just to store during the months you don't use it. And it saves getting a jerrycan to the station in another vehicle to buy fresh fuel before recommissioning your bike. A £10 would be plenty and added after you emptied tank and carbs, and run a couple of minutes it will keep the whole system perfectly functional.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Thinking about it, so long as you ran the tank really low, then put in (say) 2-3 litres and ran it for a bit, you wouldn't even need to drain the tank. Not a problem with my bike (KTM EXC-F 500) as it's a use-all-year-round bike and in any case it takes under 2 minutes to remove the tank, but it's a right pain to do the same on a lot of bikes.
Absolutely. But sometimes it’s difficult to choose in advance on what day you’ll stop for winter, unless you SORN it. A bad weather forecast for the week late October and you may just hang your leathers up, regardless of what the fuel level is, whereas a decent Indian summer and you’ll ride into November.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
can anyone recommend a 1 piece waterproof that can be slipped over existing gear and is small enough to be stored in a tail bag ? ( basically just for getting caught in showers - not full touring)