Reply With QuoteWell, I’ve not seen anyone describe it as a commuter before. More power to you, though, if it works for you. I bet it gets some looks, too!Originally Posted by oliverte
^^^ Thanks for the reply, I really didn't want to use up someones enthusiast vin allocation, I was hoping there may have been someone with a professional unit that does resets as a side hustle!
It appears I was clutching at straws so I think need to decide whether to buy one or get on ebay (or UKGSer) and book a reset in. Decisions, decisions.....
well i got the bike out for the first time this year today and managed to get 3 miles out before i realised the engine management light was on :/ , i know its something daft like the o2 sensor (fingers crossed) so ive ordered an obd reader to reset it it myself .
more high tech= just more problems
My lad has just passed his Mod 1. Mod 2 next week.
Well done that man, good luck for mod 2. Is he eyeing up your scrambler?
Apparently I need to get my R80 MOTed so we can ride together and he can use the Scrambler, so yes.
Based on the things he's ridden so far as part of his training - MT07, XJ6 and CB650R - the Honda is coming out favourite at the moment.
Bearing in mind that he's pillioned with me on everything from the YBR to the K75 outfit to the Hayabusa, and on the Tiger 1050 all the way to Amalfi, I suspect he will set his sights somewhat higher than the Scrambler when he does get his own bike.
Frustrating in a way though that all of my bikes were too powerful for him to use for A2 test, but not powerful enough for him to use for A test.
Hopefully all will go well next week for the Mod 2. I think.
Haha yes, my previous bike was a ktm rc8r so the diavel is luxury in comparison!!
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thanks Steve,enjoyed the ride,these old beasts are at their best on country roads
Whilst this looks good, it fills me with sadness.
The first component that my lad's been given to fully engineer is a numberplate/light mount.
Chances are that nearly all of them will be binned and repalaced with tail-tidys. It's like being a muffler designer for Harley Davidson.
It’s just way too much plastic - I think I removed about 50 fasteners to get it off- and I’m not kidding
Gyp the Honda monkey bike forum is full of folk modding their 125 Monks. No 1 mod, tail tidy, No two fit a Yoshi RS3 exhaust. The Yoshi at £450 boosts the not insignificant 9.5 bhp to 9.7 and is louder………. So loud there is a buoyant market on “ only 200 mile” RS3’s
Bikers , how we like to tinker.
Steve
Last edited by higham5; 18th March 2022 at 08:57.
The Grom I rode had a Yoshimura system. Great for 5 minutes down the road, but couldn't live with it
Safe to say my son is pretty happy with his new wheels.
Yamaha MT 125
Welcome to the club! Great to see a picture of a young lad so pleased to be on the road. Takes me back to when I was that age on my TZR125.Safe to say my son is pretty happy with his new wheels.
Yamaha MT 125
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Great stuff. Is it me or is that rear tyre a bit squared off?
Does look like it in the photo. But it's fine.
It's only done 1500 miles.
Looks like sensible rider strips to me. Good for him and good to have him on board.
Fantastic to see he's spending his money sensibly and getting the rewards for his efforts!Safe to say my son is pretty happy with his new wheels.
Yamaha MT 125
Good for him!Safe to say my son is pretty happy with his new wheels.
Yamaha MT 125
That’s a cool looking bike too, way better than the CG125s and YBR125s we had to put up with :D
Lovely 50 cc engine that will run like a sewing machine…………….but, watch the carburettor with this awful E5/E10 petrol. A lad I know runs a Honda Chaly, he left fuel in the tank ( about half a gallon) , it went stale in the carburettor and caused all the jets to foul up. It took him weeks to get it running properly since he had to keep buying new bits for the carb.
So if its going to be an occasional rider, either drain out the fuel in the autumn ( pre winter) or run it on Aspen fuel which can be left in all year round but is about 3X price of normal petrol.
With my classics I ride them, switch off the fuel, run them until they splutter to a stop, then drain the fuel tanks. They usually start up no issues in the spring.
Steve
Not going to argue with that
Insurance going down! That's a first. Nice one.
That`s exactly what i was thinking.
That Yamaha looks like a smart first bike - much better than the rubbish i started out with so no wonder he looks pleased, and in a great colour too - grey vehicles are à la mode currently...
bikes these days dont even look like learner machines and its hard to tell unless you see some L plates , hope your son enjoys the bike - i have the mt10 which is stupid quick for a upright machine.Safe to say my son is pretty happy with his new wheels.
Yamaha MT 125
Funny you say that, it’s been stored as part of a large collection of monkey bikes until I bought it a few weeks ago. It didn’t run that well so I changed the carb to an original one and flushed out the fuel tank. Filled the tank with Esso super unleaded which I’m lead to believe is ethanol free and rode it round the garden for 10 mins or so, now it’ll idle but stalls when you open the throttle. I’ll be investigating further this week.
I’ve got a load of 2 stroke Aspen for chainsaws etc so I’ll just buy the 4 stroke equivalent for the bike for winter storage.
Mine went down this year as well. On the car as well as the bike!
Not going to argue with that
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
I think it’s a consequence of insurers no longer being allowed to offer lower prices to new customers.
Legislation was brought in late last year IIRC.
That sounds like a good explanation.
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
I think I would have been pleased with that as well at his age! Probably a tad better than a Tiger Cub Trials.Safe to say my son is pretty happy with his new wheels.
Yamaha MT 125
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
Oh heck.
The lads just passed his big bike test.
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Outstanding!
(Which one of your bikes are you going to give him as a congratulatory present?)
Ah well done
I'm tempted to say the R65 as that'll take 5 years of restoration to get it rideable
Or half an hour and a roll of duct tape if you’re seventeen!
Thankfully as he's had to get to 24 to take his test, some of his inner seventeen-year-old had deserted him
Spent a day riding oranges. The 1290 Super Adventure S and the 890 Adventure, back-to-back from the KTM dealer.
Great chassis on both. The 1290 motor wants to rev and is stronger than BMWs boxer above 7k rpm or so, but it is BMW’s boxer that is more tractable and pulls harder below 7k rpm.
The brakes on the 890 are woeful. The entire bike felt cheap, the engine is clearly in a high state of tune but it felt like it was the millenium falcon: fast but rattly. Perfect size for blatting around town and on trails, but would be tiring over distance though.
The 1290SAS also felt surprisingly cheap, but it wasn’t as bad as the 890. The electronic suspension felt really busy - so much was going on and it was effective. But it felt a little disconnected from the rest of the bike. The dash interface is poor, and the buttons were Fisher Price quality.
Sadly, I was deeply unimpressed with either- I went with high expectations! Jumping back on the BMW R1250R to go home, the BMW felt hewn from granite in comparison. The touchpoint controls - clutch/brake levers and gear change etc felt oiled and smooth. Nothing rattled like on the KTMs. There was no chain slap obviously, and the whole BMW felt like it was version 37.2 vs the KTM’s version 2.0.
Honda’s AT next…
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Nice write up. I was looking at the KTM1290 GT as my next bike and have only heard very good things about it. I have a GS and it feels agricultural compared to almost any bike I've ever ridden. That said, it serves its purpose in a tractor type way and I guess that was the design criteria. Most online reviews I read put the KTM ahead but I still bought the GS because its an awesome looking machine.
Got a bit pissed with a mate and we have signed up for a track day on the GP circuit at Brands Hatch end of June.
I’ve done the Indy, once, before.
Anyone done both and have any insights as to how they compare? A brief look at YouTube makes it look a lot faster!
Tried the multistrada?
Mate has just picked up a 950s which seems pretty nice so far
Think I’d probably pick the 1260 twin for the torque but might tempt me off my 1250gs rallye….
I loved the concept of the 1290GT when it was launched. The current version should be head and shoulders above everything else. But it isn't. KTM's roots are firmly in the offroad world, and I think offroaders have a different appreciation of the joy of repairing bikes :-) The latest versions are better, but even when I was on the 890 test ride yesterday, the TFT dash blacked out on me midway through. I rode half the test ride without a dash display at all. And although the bike was just run in (600 miles on the clock), the 1290 head race bearings were loose and there was play. The chain needed adjusting and there was chain slap against something really loud and it sounded like the back of the bike was going to fall off. Overall, just really unimpressed - sure, the dealer should have sorted these things out, but they seemed unfussed by it as if "they all do that sir"...
BrandsGP on the bike is one of my utmost favourites. Best in Europe after 1) the Ring, and 2) Spa. BGP through Hawthorns and Dingle Dell is basically one giant right hander... you will try perfecting it all day. Epic circuit, and it's just ace on the bike. It is remarkably technical - and doesn't make me as nauseous as going around in circles on the Indy.
Test ride on the Multi V4 booked for Thurs. The only adv that is frequently rated > GS1250. But I wonder if the lack of low down torque is my kind of thing... and how it would really handle offroad. (my intent is to take the bike offroad for 20-30%)
Triumph's new 1200 is interesting on paper, but there are things that put me off it: 1) current/latest Triumph reliability is poor, 2) brand new bikes tend to need lots of refinement, 3) there's nothing that it looks better on paper compared to the existing 1250GS which is just ultra refined in so many ways, 4) it's a bit niche/'focused' as a brand.
I suspect I may end up going back to my 4th GS if I'm honest... it's just an epically refined and well thought through bike that does it all, and has the best dealer network backup bar none.
From what I’ve read. Fuel consumption on the Multi Strada V4 seems to be very high compared to the Twins.. something to consider perhaps🏍
I've seen the same. Consumption is one thing (cost) but the other is the lack of range. I reckon that would be a pain on a touring bike.
Thanks for the thoughts on Brands. I am excited now!
You're right! 200mi is generally what I consider practical for an adv/touring bike - I've done long stints in forest where you often don't see a main road for 100+ miles of trail. That being said, I've done plenty of Eurotrips on both a Ducati and Aprilia when we were refueling every 100mi!
My XDiavel uses the 1260 V twin motor… over the 12k miles I’ve owned it I’ve kept accurate info on cost of ownership etc.. I think an average of 53 MPG for something with over 150 BHP is pretty good, I hope my new Euro 5 model sitting in the garage is as good🤞
Getting all excited tonight as tomorrow will be my first ride out of the year. I have thd day off work, new tyres and going to spend the day round the Cotsworlds. No work, no wife....me and my bike.
Maybe when I get home family BBQ, perfect
I was out last weekend for the first time. Decided NOT to make the first jaunt in about 5 months on my R-1. Took a more sedate bike.
Beginning of the season is a great feeling.
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