That ship has sailed mate. Instead Tony has opted for becoming the NEC himself, bike after bike
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Taking this point seriously, if I may, and leaving out the original Street Twin that was a mistake and gone after a month... three bikes in three years isn’t so bad given that I was trying to find the right bike for me. Especially as they’ve all been right in their own way.Originally Posted by Saint-Just
That ship has sailed mate. Instead Tony has opted for becoming the NEC himself, bike after bike
Now, this one - the fourth - will be the keeper.
It was said in jest Tony. And it’s a totally normal path anyway: one first buys on criteria that one thinks are important, but experience allows to relativise them and focus on others. Also, the style of riding comes into play.Taking this point seriously, if I may, and leaving out the original Street Twin that was a mistake and gone after a month... three bikes in three years isn’t so bad given that I was trying to find the right bike for me. Especially as they’ve all been right in their own way.
Actually, if I had a large storage facility I reckon I’d have kept them all
Now, this one - the fourth - will be the keeper.
The last stage of the journey revolves around an American saying: there is no substitute for cubic inches.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Sorry Tony, honest . . .
;-)
F.T.F.A.
Tony, I’ve averaged a new bike about every 2 years for nearly 30 years- so I suspect you will maintain a reasonable turnover
In 42 years on the road, I’ve averaged over one per year but not sequentially; I’ve currently got five in the garage!Tony, I’ve averaged a new bike about every 2 years for nearly 30 years- so I suspect you will maintain a reasonable turnover
Only ten of them have been new bikes though, most have been bargains that are just too cheap to resist!
Rukka ( Apollo) for me too Andrew ( only item of Rukka I possess) Superb quality and never had wet or cold hands in them. Dont use em in summer as quite frankly they are too warm.
Last edited by higham5; 20th November 2021 at 10:21.
Rukka Virium (lightweight goretex) and Forsair (lightweight mesh) are also fantastic. I have a pair of ancient rukka winter gloves as well, still going after about 20 years.
Not the coolest gloves around, but the best quality imo, and definitely the best fit for my hands.
I use Rukka Rytmi in the summer and Rukka Mars when it’s cold
Both excellent fit and nice and flexible too.
Bike wise, you find your own way.
I passed DAS in June 2018 and have had 5 bikes to date. I sold my R9T and first gen Ducati Multistrada, but still have my GS, R1100S and VF1000R.
There is room for one more in the garage. I measured just to be sure!
Passed my test 30 years ago, and have owned 7 bikes total, 3 of which are still mine. Biking competes with a host of other interests, so it doesn't get the time and budget that some can afford it.
So I finally managed to work out which 2nd bike to go for, so my new Aprilla Tuono 660 arrived last night, managed to snag a great deal with a big discount and IMU/Quickshifter fitted. Unfortunately its looking like the end of the week before I can fire it up and ride it...
Last edited by Martylaa; 20th November 2021 at 19:52.
I’m going to suggest that making the wrong choices is what makes it fun, and you get to experience different bikes on your journey.
If you got it right first time, just imagine all the other bikes you’d never get to ride!
Wise words. I always think I've got it right until the next bike which is always that much better (mostly). Trouble is I've always had full on Supersports bikes until recently and miss them. Only I know if I bought another I'd remember the uncomfortable reason I sold it in the first place.
I wore the Knox on a ride out to J&S and they were so uncomfortable that I bought a pair of Rukka Ceres for the ride home..👍
I also splashed out last week on Rukka Kallavesi jacket and trousers hence the sale of my Dainese kit on SC.
The Dainese stuff is good and has served me well, but now that I’ve worn the Rukka gear I can see why it’s so flipping expensive..
Rukka gear is a first class. Have five different pairs of gloves from them for the varying different seasons. Love them.
Been out on mine today.A nice sunny day so a good day for another test ride.
This bike is ballistic. The engine is superb with loads of torque from way down; the gearbox and shifter are great and the suspension smooths everything out; brakes are amazing. It is quite thirsty though.
It has quite a sporty riding position, but didn't feel cramped - definitely somewhere someone used to sports bikes would be very comfortable.
Got to be one of the best sounding stock bikes out there.
After 5 or 6k revs its addictive.
Too may bikes to still enjoy to have a keeper in my book.
I couldn't work out how much of the wonderful noise it makes was induction and how much was exhaust - either way, it sounds greatBeen out on mine today.
Got to be one of the best sounding stock bikes out there.
After 5 or 6k revs its addictive.
They are great lookers, congratulations...I should have tried the 660
Did a "Biker Down" workshop this week. 3-ish hour evening free session run by volunteer retired m/c police and firemen.
Split into 3 sessions; what to do if you arrive at an incident, very basic first aid and how to avoid having that accident in the first place.
A lot of it was things that I was aware of and no surprise, but a few things did stand out.
I was interested to learn that what three words is actively sought and used by the emergency services. I always wondered if it was advertised more than used, but no, the services are actively encouraging its use.
The session on conspicuousness was really interesting as it pointed out where hi viz worked and more often where it didn't. More importantly how other road users can easily recognise a motorcycle "shape". 2 wheels, motor between them and someone sat on top is recognised as a bike and hence a "hazard". The use of colour (including high viz on the rider and bike) and lights (GSs lit up like christmas trees) that break up or disguise that shape make the bike less obvious as a hazard in the glance of an eye despite efforts to make it more so.
What was the biggest surprise to me though was the current thinking on helmet removal. Stats on accidents apparently show that by far the biggest injuries are from blood loss and long bone breaks (leg/arm/collar bone) and that C-spine injuries account for a minimal number of serious injuries (less than 0.1%).
With that in mind, the current advice is to always remove the helmet (using a front /back rocking motion not side to side and supporting the head throughout) irrespective of whether the rider is conscious or not. It opens the airways, improves communication and simplifies all other interventions.
All in all a very informative evening.
I have often thought this. One method the military used to use to camouflage things is lights, anything lit up with a bright background just disappears. Just one of the reasons I dislike the modern idea of not having an off switch on motorcycle headlights and genuinely detest those auxiliary lights people put on adventure bikes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffus...ing_camouflage
If you’re riding near sunset with the sun behind you, or even on a very bright day, headlights are basically camouflage. Also, multiple lights with a lot of separation, like aux lights, break up the silhouette of a motorcycle and make it less identifiable.
Indeed.
It was suggested that there was a short period of time when lights on on bikes was beneficial - from when bikes lost the switch* to when cars got DRLs.
The ex copper that took that session said he always installs a switch to allow him to turn off the lights on his bikes.
I've always hated excessive inappropriate lighting on bikes and cars. I've often fitted higher output or more lights, but only to come on with main beam when there's no-one coming the other way.
* The main reason the light switch disappeared was that one or two countries made it mandatory to have lights on all the time and it was cheaper to make one wiring loom and switchgear rather than different ones for different markets.
It's why Harley made 3 different versions of their bikes; US, California and export. The export version was limited to the most restrictive overseas market (Switzerland?) so was slightly quieter than necessary for EU markets etc
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This was a contentious part of my Bikesafe / Biker down training I attended in 2019. The paramedic was quite straight fwd. She said there is a very small likelihood of spinal damage when removing a helmet if done incorrectly.
However she said if as result of the accident the rider has swallowed their tongue or has vomit in their mouth, they will suffocate and die.
Her advice was always remove the helmet ideally two people , one supporting the chin and the other rolling the helmet off fwds.m
I was once out with a pal who hit a sheep. When I went back to find him he was lying unconscious face down. I decided it was best not to try to move him as he was unlikely to swallow his tongue or vomit in the position he was.
Fortunately, he regained consciousness soon after and, after being taken to hospital by ambulance, was allowed home later that day.
Very scary though and I really didn’t know what to do.
Must be awful; hope he's ok now.
I like to think, having done the course, I'm a bit better prepared than I previously was, but I'm sure if it were to actually happen I'd still feel a little lost
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I should hope so, it happened in around 1988/9. He had a GPX750 and I was on my Z650.
We both bought new ZZR600s in 1990.
It’s one of those things that you never forget though!
Chilly and ride down to the South Coast today with my brother. He’s bought a new Street Tripple RS as a second bike to his S1000XR. The Triumph looks very nice. I’m looking forward to having a go once it’s run in.
I’m really enjoying the GSXS 1000. It’s nice to ride relatively gently as we did today as the Triumph only has a few miles on it, but it can really hustle too. The legendary K5 1000cc had really good mid range shove in the state of tune in the GSXS. It’s got the lowest seat of any bike I’ve owned in the last 20 years. The lowest since my first bike (Fazer 600) in fact. The Oxford heated grips the first owner fitted are brilliant. It’s a simple bike in many respects (no modes, no shifter, no TFT screen) but great fun and great value.
Andy
Wanted - Damasko DC57
Your Mrs let you buy a bike then? What did you get? I’ve only got 2 sets of gloves one of which are thick winter ones and the other spring/summer leather gloves . Heated grips beat any gloves I found.
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Last edited by Stilgoe1972; 22nd November 2021 at 15:28.
Ha, had a 650 bandit, then a 1200GS followed by two more 1200GS but adventure versions. Lovely bikes but had to sell it last year as we were moving house and because of covid and winter I hadn’t used it in 12 months. With the heated grips and the hand guards on the GS I could pretty much wear light/summer gloves most times. No need for the big claw pair.
Hopefully be back on a bike next summer but we’ll see. No garage anymore so need to see if something can fit down the side.
First time using a quickshifter today, wow they really are worth it…
Looks like MCE might have just gone bust if anyone is insured with them. UK not affected allegedly but I think all claims still have to go through the claims authority anyway which will be a total ball ache.
Yep I'm insured with these, just had an email and trying to work out what it means...Looks like MCE might have just gone bust if anyone is insured with them. UK not affected allegedly but I think all claims still have to go through the claims authority anyway which will be a total ball ache.
Shared access and two steps up so I’m limited in what I can do but I’m racking my brain. Had to take the gate off entirely to get the fridge in.
You might end up seeing me around on a Grom at some point!
A moveable ramp should help there. Luckily the only stipulation I made for our house purchases in London was that they had to have drive for Mrs Car and a garage for my bike. Even though we lived in outer London (Beckenham - zone 4) it was still outrageously expensive to get insurance without a garage and limited what choice of bike I could have. Good luck finding a bike with narrow enough bars to get through a side gate. Is the front garden an option with a cover , ground anchor , chain, alarm, dog, disc lock etc ?
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quickshifter and cruise control on the MT10 i recently purchased - both are a revelation (never had a bike with either before )
* re MCE insurance - ive been with them for a few years (they are usually the cheapest but with a massive excess - usually 1k ) - i decided to ditch them a few weeks ago after hearing multiple bad feedback from people (when trying to claim) - bikesure was just as cheap this time round and the xtra kit i have on the bike made it no more expensive (though it took almost 3/4 hr to get a quote and set it up via phone)
Last edited by pugster; 22nd November 2021 at 18:27.
I actually got all my previous bikes (Street Twin, Street Triple, R9T and Thruxton) through a standard width side gate; a bit of handlebar manipulation on the way through did the trick quite easily. Adventure bikes are a different proposition, though.
Was my stipulation too but I had to cave in.
We have a front garden which will become a drive soon. Doubt there will be enough space for a bike and a car but there’s a chance as the car will most likely be diagonal. Got a bit of time yet.
Indeed , something usually has to give be it the area or size of the property. At least you’ve got winter to decide :)
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Ain’t that right:) I had a KTM 950 adventure that was always touching mirrors through traffic!! Great bike though.
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Been fettling with the roadster and fitted a few farkles to make it mine. Now with the short days, really happy with the addition of the LED foglights, mounted on shorter MachineArt mounts to position them closer in and higher than standard. The 1250 motor in the lighter and short wheelbase R pulls harder than it ever did in the GS. Absolutely loving this new setup. The new Dunlop Mutants are also proving to be an exceptionally sticky tyre that also happens to be M+S rated!
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That's a lovely looking bike. Almost Urban GS meets Streetfighter! A great pic too.
Is the screen effective?
I had never thought of the bike like that, but now you mention it... maybe that's what has been subliminally in the back of my mind for so long. Trying to find a screen for a naked bike has been such an [expensive] chore. Without any screen, the bike was really lovely - but when it was warmer. A large barndoor type screen still wasn't effective for my size/height/positioning. This combo of BMW sports/flyscreen + airscoop + MRA Tour-Xscreen seems to be quite ok: it simply reduces the amount of full airblast but keeps it relatively smooth and quiet. Will probably keep tinkering to see what works best.
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