Reply With QuoteThere's this review from a youtuberOriginally Posted by Gyp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14AxpPmZQJA
In one way, that's a relief.
In another, they perhaps don't see the UK as a large enough market to bother with or don't have any budget left for shows etc.
There's this review from a youtuber
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14AxpPmZQJA
That looks like a good and thorough review. I'll have to set aside an hour to watch it :-)
Heated Gloves
As some of you will know, I try and ride all year round if I can. Obviously if it’s icy or very windy I give these days a miss. But just cold weather doesn’t bother me as long as I’m riding with the correct gear.
Last year I invested quite a bit of money in top of the line Rukka gear with duck down base layers, and I have to say the difference to my old Dainese gear is night n day.
Anywho, despite heated grips on the Triumph and Yamaha, and wearing decent winter gloves, on really cold days I’ve been suffering a bit from cold hands.
Time to try some heated gear. I discounted wired gear as I couldn’t be bothered hard wiring into 2 or 3 different bikes. So battery powered it is.
First off I bought a pair of RST Paragon battery powered gloves. These worked well, but even though I bought small they were a tad on the large side, and with the battery fitted they wouldn’t fit under a cuff. Heat wise they’re good, but on full power you’ve only got around 2 hours of heat. I found the middle setting to be just about right, and the lower setting worked well in combination with the heated grips. You’d get about 4 hours riding time on the low setting.
Although the RST are good, they didn’t quite fit the bill mostly due to being a bit big. So a mate tried them, and as they fitted him much better than me he decided to buy them from me and I could try again.
This time I tried the Bering Breva B-Warm. I bought a ladies version in extra large, and the fit is perfect.
Rather than leather, these are a soft shell construction and seem much more flexible, they come with 2 slim batteries per glove rather than the bulky single one of the RST’s. This means that they’ll easily fit under a cuff which is how I prefer to wear my gloves.
The Bering’s have 4 heat settings and on the hottest you’ll get about 2.5 hours. Level 2 works well for me, giving 4 hours riding time. Level 1 is ok in combination with heated grips and gives 8 hours riding time.
The charging time on the Bering’s is also much shorter than the RST’s.
In conclusion I think that the RST’s are probably the better glove in the event of an accident, they just seem more robust.
But for comfort, ease of use and warmth for a longer period of riding I think the Bering just edge out the RST.
If anyone is interested in heated gloves, I got mine from infinity as I had a voucher, but if you put in NEWORDER10 you’ll get 10% off.
Last edited by Enoch; 13th December 2022 at 13:43.
fair play anyone thats still riding right now - i came out the gym this morning at 7am (still dark) and was on the way home in the car when i noticed a biker behind me , it was -4 outside according to the car and the road looked like glass- theres a fine line between large gonads and being an idiot.
For 4 years I only had a bike so used to have to ride in all weathers including settled snow on one memorable occasion. Wasnt an idiot (well I was, but not for that reason!), but could not afford a car.
If its below 5 degrees C I wont ride.
My blood bike group has an informal 'rule' that it needs to be above +3 to be reasonably safe. I reckon that's about right, which means my shift tomorrow morning is very unlikely to happen.
For years I commuted year round, 40 to 50 miles each way. I was on sports bikes, so had fairings but no heated grips, electric gloves or clothing.
I wore Rukka suits at first and then the Hein Gericke Master V suit I still have after 15 years with the thermal liners and a few layers. The first really good winter gloves I got were Racer Pluvios. Waterproof and very warm, but slightly bulky. I then got some Hein Gericke lobster claw style gloves which although slightly weird at first to wear, were a revelation in terms of warmth without being too bulky.
Thankfully I only very rarely have to ride when it’s cold now, but I’m pretty sure the lobster claw gloves I still have plus the heated grips on the BMW would do the trick down to a few degrees below zero. The last time I rode it was about 4 deg C and although I used the heated grips (setting 1 of 3) I had some “Autumn” weight gloves on and was fine.
Ice on the roads is obviously a real danger and riding in freezing fog is horrendous.
Last edited by andy tims; 13th December 2022 at 22:03.
Andy
Wanted - Damasko DC57
I take none of you will be going to the Elephant Rally, or the Dragon then!
No snow here, but plenty of frost. The trouble with frost is, it finds your battery out.... new battery on order for the X Country and the R80GS one has been in the house on the charger, thankfully it only takes 2 minutes to put back in under the seat. ACF50 has been lavishly applied, as usual, and the road grime just washes off with a bucket and sponge and a bit of a hose off. The gravel soaks the water away before it freezes. Should be better tomorrow.
Thanks youve just reminded me to avoid N Wales on Feb 11th.👍
Just been to the garage -2 deg C F700 on a trickle charger to keep the battery warm. Should be fine to get the bikes back out mid next week.
Anyone living in Plymouth should be ok next, bloody 14+deg c predicated. Summer jacket weather
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Mine lives outside- going to uncover her today and start up for a quick , careful ride - got some new crash bars to fit but way too cold to fit them outside
Last edited by lewie; 15th December 2022 at 10:44.
Not my picture but have this arriving next week.
Havent told the Mrs yet that its living in the house!
Thing of beauty !Not my picture but have this arriving next week.
Havent told the Mrs yet that its living in the house!
(have you been told that you are not living in the house? )
I'm waiting until she's out on the Xmas do then sneak the bike in and decorate it in tinsel and baubles.
She'll never know.
Well its sort of the right colours
When you're outside in the shed and your 'baubles' have dropped off with the cold......................
You will come back and let us know how that worked out for ya?
(Reckon that bike will look ace with light-strings and tinsel on it mind!)
Ducati V4 Speciale, a thing of beauty, enjoy living in the garage with the bike for company.
Steve
Well if she doesn't appreciate such a thing of beauty then it's the bike or her. Easy choice ;)
13 today here so the bikes out - hope others have the opportunity
Yup just been out on the lil KTM. Roads are still very dirty though, a thorough clean needed on return :)
Wow! That belongs in the front room. Simply stunning in every way.Not my picture but have this arriving next week.
Havent told the Mrs yet that its living in the house!
For all you "Fizzy Boys" out there.
Dont look back, youre not heading that way.
That Ducati is a work of art
Merry Christmas to me..
Ok, its not a new bike. Following selling the Bonnie I havent really managed to come to any decision on a new bike. So Ive decided to freshen up the old Speedmaster a little and hang on to that for a wee while longer.
Sold the custom lowrider seat and pillion pad (which the wife hated sitting on), picked up a good condition original seat and took it to a local custom car upholstery shop here in Scotland. Think theyve done a good job. They had only ever done single Bugatti stitch before so were just as keen as I was to see how the Bugatti pattern turned out with a double stitch.
Andy.
That seat looks brilliant. Plus Im betting it will be comfortable as the stitch pattern will A reduce pressure points , B provide ventilation.
I just thought it may look nice with the Bugatti stitch. Id seen that when you use double stitch on a diamond pattern it tends to emphasise the quilting so asked them to give it a try.
Good point on the potential benefits though Ill take them as an added bonus !!
After dieselgate... flushed the fuel filter through because I don't have a spare in the box, flushed the fueltank out and turned her over with the plugs out to flush the injector. New plugs and she fired up on the third press of the button, to an accompanying cloud of white smoke for a few minutes! Took her out and put 2 tanks through her, 238 miles worth and she ran like a train.
Be vigilant when fuelling at Shell garages... after an 18 hour day and first thing the next morning in a hurry....
Have a good Christmas everyone.
Not sure if anyones interested in this but thought I’d post it up anyway浪
Friends daughter, crashed her 675 street triple on a track day at Anglesey, and the engine ran whilst the bike was on its side. Unfortunately she’d put a hole in a side casing so oil was being pumped out of the engine rather than around the engine.
Her dad replaced the casing filled the engine with fresh oil, and started it. And all seemed well.
So she went out for a ride and the after 20 miles the engine developed a knock.
We pulled the motor on Thursday and I set about trying to see what’s gone wrong.
I removed the sump to find some swarf in the pan and the oil pick up, I then removed the heat exchanger to find a penny sized lump of aluminium. I suspect this is a piece of the casing that was holed.
I continued to strip the bottom end and split the cases, to find that the shell bearing on No2 cylinder had spun. This is really bad news as a spun bearing usually damages the crank and the con rod
Damaged bearing
Damaged crank
With this much carnage I thought I may as well have a look at the top end. Good job I did, the lack of oil has also wrecked the exhaust cam on No2 cylinder, which in turn has damaged the cylinder head.
Damaged Camshaft
So what now? The bike only has 4000 miles on the clock and she absolutely loves it. The price of parts from Triumph make this a non economical repair.
So really she has 2 choices, second hand engine around 800 or second hand crank and head and a new con rod for Number 2, again the cost will be around 800 by the time I’ve bought gaskets etc
In the meantime I have a big box of bits that need cleaning and inspecting.. great fun. Merry Xmas everyone
Last edited by Enoch; 24th December 2022 at 13:56.
Fascinating, thanks for sharing. I have a few bikes and as soon as I get to retire a workshop sized garage is on the list to try tasks like this.Not sure if anyones interested in this but thought I’d post it up anyway浪
Friends daughter, crashed her 675 street triple on a track day at Anglesey, and the engine ran whilst the bike was on its side. Unfortunately she’d put a hole in a side casing so oil was being pumped out of the engine rather than around the engine.
Her dad replaced the casing filled the engine with fresh oil, and started it. And all seemed well.
So she went out for a ride and the after 20 miles the engine developed a knock.
We pulled the motor on Thursday and I set about trying to see what’s gone wrong.
I removed the sump to find some swarf in the pan and the oil pick up, I then removed the heat exchanger to find a penny sized lump of aluminium. I suspect this is a piece of the casing that was holed.
I continued to strip the bottom end and split the cases, to find that the shell bearing on No2 cylinder had spun. This is really bad news as a spun bearing usually damages the crank and the con rod
Damaged bearing
Damaged crank
With this much carnage I thought I may as well have a look at the top end. Good job I did, the lack of oil has also wrecked the exhaust cam on No2 cylinder, which in turn has damaged the cylinder head.
Damaged Camshaft
So what now? The bike only has 4000 miles on the clock and she absolutely loves it. The price of parts from Triumph make this a non economical repair.
So really she has 2 choices, second hand engine around 800 or second hand crank and head and a new con rod for Number 2, again the cost will be around 800 by the time I’ve bought gaskets etc
In the meantime I have a big box of bits that need cleaning and inspecting.. great fun. Merry Xmas everyone
Would a high milage engine be suitable as a donor or would you expect to find the same issues ?
You wouldnt think that much damage could be done in such a short time. Just shows how much these engines rely on a clean regular flow of oil.
I dont think high mileage should be a problem as long as its been maintained. The problem with this particular bike is that Triumph changed the design between 2012 and 2016. There seems to be plenty of parts around for the previous model, but as this bike is a 2014, parts are a bit harder to find.
In saying that I have located a 2013 engine with 18k on the clock for 1000. Ive advised the young lady that this is probably the way to go, if she wants her bike back on the road within a few weeks. Shes having a think about it and will get back to me. Ill post up progress as and when it occurs..
I only got to hear her side of the story, but it wouldnt surprise me if the bike ran on its side at full throttle with a hole in the engine case..
The oil pump would soon get rid of 3 litres of lube at 12000 rpm😈
You could get the crankshaft re ground and get oversize shell bearings to suit (if they still do that these days), possibly the same with the camshaft even though it runs directly in the head.
A replacement engine is the obvious route, although its condition will always be an unknown. I dont think that a complete strip down (as you will need to check everything) and rebuild would only cost 800 if using new genuine parts, a new crank alone is over 1200.
Her best bet would be a replacement engine with the above caveat or sell/break the bike and buy another.
Yep as I said above its an uneconomical repair using parts from Triumph. So its used parts or a SH motor.
The engine Ive spotted comes from a local breakers and they give a 2 month warranty (for what its worth). 18k miles isnt a lot on a 2013 engine. If it was my bike thats what Id do.
Agreed, s/h motor has to be the way to go.
I decided that as this engine is now pretty much scrap, I might as well remove the head and investigate further..
One of the symptoms of a spun big end bearing is that the shells can end up sitting on top of one another, meaning double the thickness and halving the distance between the piston and the combustion chamber.
And sure enough this is whats happened, and the No 2 piston has indeed come into contact with the head. Not enough to cause significant damage but any contact isnt a good thing..
Witness marks on the piston
Corresponding marks on the head, also note how clean the combustion chamber is compared to the ones either side
Another symptom of a spun bearing, is that the con rod big end can become oval. So I fitted the good shells from another piston and refitted No2 to its bearing. As soon as I tightened the cap bolts the con rod nipped up on the bearing, indicating that either it or the bearing is no longer round.
Came across this pic snapped 2 years ago. Recently just had her MOT which she sailed through, but sad that she did less than 2 tankfuls since the previous. In 2023, I am looking forward to some good weather to take her out again.
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Nice bike, shame it's seen so few miles recently...but it's not the only oneCame across this pic snapped 2 years ago. Recently just had her MOT which she sailed through, but sad that she did less than 2 tankfuls since the previous. In 2023, I am looking forward to some good weather to take her out again.
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R.I.P. David Minton, former editor of both Motorcycle Illustrated and Motorcycle Sport. I only found out today, he actually passed on November 22nd. A true gentleman motorcyclist and one of the most influential motorcycle testers of his era. I worked with him extensively on the Myatt McFarlane titles, chiefly Motorcycle International, Classic Bike Guide and British Bike. He continued to write for Frank Westworth on Real Classics.
His adventure exploits precluded adventure travel, even predating Ted Simon. David rode a prepared BMW to the Nordcapp, in February, riding a route across part of Finnish Lapland, in FEBRUARY of that year. This was early 70s when the 75 series came out. He didn't have the gear we have today, not even heated grips. Another launch trip was on the new Morini 500 camel, from Northern Alaska to Baha, Mexico.
He was always enamoured with Laverda motorcycles and with Roger Slater flew out to Breganza to collect a 750SF for himself and the first 1000cc Triple for Slater Brothers, the UK concessionaire. The two of them collected the bikes and rode away from Laverda HQ to Fritz Egli's home in Switzerland for the night. Then on to the ferry the next day. David still had that 750SF, he wouldn't part with it despite numerous offers over the years. It was a gift to him from Massimo Laverda. On the way home they rode a particularly swoopy stretch and David remarked to Roger, "that was proper bend swinging". His monthly pages at the back of Classic Bike Guide, and latterly Real Classics, used that phrase as the title: Bend Swinging, with David Minton.
A true gentleman who always rode wearing a cravat. He is missed.
Oh no, not Mr Minton. Another character from the legendary Laverda story no longer with us. I think he was more a 180 man, but here is my 120.
I so want to go riding but it won't stop peeing it down, and all of my waterproof clothing has shrunk dreadfully over the last few years.
The dreaded wardrobe shrinkage strikes again! Time to clean it and put it up for sale, there are others in the same boat so good used stuff available. I got a Klim Badlands jacket brand new with tags, for 400. It replaced my Richa that had done me proud for 20 odd years and is still waterproof, except where the tarmac went through.. just the outer layer, I was well protected within. I still wear it, but not for long journies because it won't stay dry now in constant rain for any length of time. I got a pair of Rukka bib and brace trousers for 150, similar sort of condition. If you keep your eyes peeled there are some decent opportunities out there.
Last edited by Kairos; 30th December 2022 at 11:01.
Thats an epic price for a Badlands , they are usually 900+ new. I thought I had done well at 650.
On another note I can still squeeze into my 40 year old Belstaff Trialmaster jacket. It looks ridiculous though, somewhat akin to a sausage skin its that tight, AND the belt wont fasten :)
Proper hairy chested blokes bike that!Oh no, not Mr Minton. Another character from the legendary Laverda story no longer with us. I think he was more a 180 man, but here is my 120.
Looks superb as well, I bet it sounds special too.
I don't like to brag, but I have to say that it sounds like a caged, very angry Tiger. There is something very animal about it, like nothing else. And I just replaced the Keihan Jota pipes with some Malcolm Cox versions. It now sounds even better!
sweet looking bike...Oh no, not Mr Minton. Another character from the legendary Laverda story no longer with us. I think he was more a 180 man, but here is my 120.
maybe a 120, but still looks the nuts.
(also 180's are a fortune now..)
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