Any Motörbike riders here?

boogieman

Adelaide insurance are excellent. Register an interest on their website and they phone you back. They'll guarantee to beat a genuine quote by 10% as well. I paid £140 fully comp on my Honda 1000 last year.

midiglitch

sinbaadi said:

That's the main question facing most wannabe-bikers.  I'd always say, get tuition.  If that means as a part of DAS, then fine.  CBT and straight on the roads is the worst way of doing it imo.

+1. Get tuition. The DAS is great.  

Cbt then bimbling around on the roads making up as you go along is madness imho.

midiglitch

Fusionista said:

That looked like fun. Except...

one of my' problems' with biking is I like to be 'going somewhere'. That is, I just don't get any satisfaction out of  bimbling around to no purpose (which as we all know is one of the joys of biking  )

Only mention it because it appears to be a fairly rare psychological quirk in the biking community and I would dearly like to talk myself out of it!

Just back from a 2 and half hour, 120 mile loop

I'd rather go somewhere too, but one thing thats great about the forest at this time of year is that roads are fairly empty.  I had a lovely ride just now - not particularly spirited - there's too much crap on the roads for that at the moment, but nice to explore and just enjoy the country on an otherwise dull sunday morning.

Im planning to ride down to South italy, and then ferry back to the south of france via sicily, returning home via the west coast of france this summer, or maybe easter holidays if the weather is clement.  You could argue that I'm not really going anywhere as its just a big loop, but I want to enjoy the scenery by bike and its something to do so why not!!

Fusionista

midiglitch said:

Im planning to ride down to South italy, and then ferry back to the south of france via sicily, returning home via the west coast of france this summer, or maybe easter holidays if the weather is clement.  You could argue that I'm not really going anywhere as its just a big loop, but I want to enjoy the scenery by bike and its something to do so why not!!

I would define going somewhere as being where you finish up in a day Italy trip sounds like even more fun. Not been to the South in 30 years (since I got married in fact).  When I get my GS1200, might do something similar, however just booked to go to Romania this year. Likely fly out, hire a bike there as it's a 3000 mile round trip, would take too long for this working man.

midiglitch

That sounds like fun. I've thought about doing the same in south america: fly out and hire or buy a bike for 3 or 4 weeks and go exploring. Not going to happen this summer though.

The GS is the perfect bike for those shenanigans, surely.  Are you buying a new one?  When are you getting it?

Fusionista

The new ones are car money and considering they are the most common bike on the road these days BMW seems to have a stranglehold on the aftermarket, with private sellers trying for similar prices.  Not one for paying over the odds, so I might settle for a Stelvio where you get a great engine and used prices seem a tad more realistic. 

cruxiform

I've let things slip with this thread, I'm going to catch up this evening on what everybody else is doing...

In 2014 I managed:

The IOM TT.



Germany.



...and Wales




Planning a euro tour this year. My old Fireblade is still doing me proud.

midiglitch

Top effort, love to see that. The old blade looks great. 954?

Where are you planning to go on your euro tour?

cruxiform

Thanks, it's a 929. Probably heading back to Germany. I love the place.

Nomad

Belated thanks to those responding to my questions.

I've decided to take the CBT/DAS route. CBT is booked for next Sunday, and theory test a week or so after that. If both of those work out, I'll be booking into the DAS course immediately after. Currently swotting up on highway code and the hazard perception DVD.

After some humming and hawing, I've settled on an '08 Suzuki Bandit 650 with half-fairing and ABS (there's a clean one in a local dealer for £2.8k, 20k miles - I really don't know enough about bikes to be buying privately, and this will have a year's MOT and 3 months warranty). A browse of compare the meerkats dot com suggests about £150 fully comp with no NCD.

boogieman

Good luck with the test. The Bandit is a good choice for a first medium bike, reliable and very forgiving. Just make sure you hose it down if you go out on salted roads because they do have a habit of corroding. Don't blame you for going through a dealer if it gives you peace of mind.

Nomad

Yes, I read that they need to be kept clean. This will be a spring to autumn thing for me, so I should be able to avoid the worst of the salt.

Had a look at some private sale prices for similar age and condition, and there's not enough difference for the chance to be worth it, especially if seen as a percentage of the overall cost of training, tests, tax, insurance, bike and gear. Aside from that, I like the vibe at the dealer - I very much get the impression that they're customer focussed and aim to treat you right to keep your business.

boogieman

Some of the guys on the bike forum I use swear by ACF50 as a way of avoiding winter rust on their bikes. Apparently it even "self-heals" if it gets scraped off. I just hose my bike down though.

midiglitch

Good man, good choice of bike. I personally think abs on a bike is a very good thing. Just check for any known 'issues'

MtB

600 Bandit - good choice for first bike. Reliable, lots of them about, nice smooth power delivery, and the spares shouldn't be too expensive. They've been around for ages - I had a 1200s (half faired version) back in 1998. The only issue I had with it was that it was thirsty - about 90 miles before it went on to reserve.... not great for touring! 

Nomad

It's the later 650 (came out in 2007?). I think the main changes were water cooling, fuel injection, and updated instruments, along with the increase in capacity and some styling tart-ups. From what I can find out, it should be good for 50-60mpg and has a 19L tank, so about 200 miles range.

Aye, forgiving nature and smooth power delivery were attractions for me, as were the fairly upright position and the fairing (this one has a screen that looks a bit higher than standard). My main expected use will be runs at the weekends (with brew stops when the scenery is nice), and probably some commutes when the mood takes me.

Fusionista

boogieman said:

Some of the guys on the bike forum I use swear by ACF50 as a way of avoiding winter rust on their bikes. Apparently it even "self-heals" if it gets scraped off. I just hose my bike down though.

Bought some this year and tested it on my garage locks.  It has left them looking not just oily, but 'wet'. However it has kept them working nicely in the bad weather and certainly no rust.  Before I put it on my bike though think I'd like to learn a bit more about it.

xmrchi

ACF is not to bad, and does work, but after a few says in this weather everything sticks to it and it make the bike look a right mess, if you get ot on your discs its game over.

 I have used GT85 for the last 10 years of all weather riding, keeps all the water out and makes it really easy to clean all the chain and road grease, I don't have anu rust or furring on my 99 r6 and its used daily.

Dominic

Been a serious Harley rider since 1982 -probably done 2 million miles or close enough on them -every kind /type from hardtail bobbers to full dressers ,built them,crashed them ,designed customs etc -done a lot of club riding and big tours

They are very agricultural ,unwieldy ,poor handling ,poor brakeing etc - but they have a charm and more smiles per mile than anything else ( I also used to race Ducati Superbikes )

You cannot compare Harley to the Triumph -its like asking whats better ; A Gibson Byrdland or a Suhr GG Modern superstrat

 -they will both play any tune in capable hands but the way they feel ,the sound,the ultimate capability ,authenticity and how you feel using them is what counts

The Triumph is undoubtedly superior engineering but the Harley has the grin factor and the charm

Dont be fooled into thinking HARLEY is slow -they can be made to go very fast with a bit of aftermarket knowledge

Fusionista

mrchi said:

ACF is not to bad, and does work, but after a few says in this weather everything sticks to it and it make the bike look a right mess, if you get ot on your discs its game over.

 I have used GT85 for the last 10 years of all weather riding, keeps all the water out and makes it really easy to clean all the chain and road grease, I don't have anu rust or furring on my 99 r6 and its used daily.

Actually I found the GT85 gets a bit sticky, what's your method ?