Any Motörbike riders here?

Fusionista

 The last thing you want to do on such a lump is  go slowly, and half the beauty of biking is swift overtaking, and filtering.  Frankly for all its amazing versatility, even the GS is still too heavy.  It makes my R100 feel nimble!  

underdog

octatonic;648930" said:

Big traily is in having panniers fitted.They gave me this as a loan bike.

Glad I'm not in a hurry.

Give me that bike and an angle grinder and I'd be very happy.

octatonic

underdog said:

octatonic;648930" said:

Big traily is in having panniers fitted.They gave me this as a loan bike.

Glad I'm not in a hurry.

Give me that bike and an angle grinder and I'd be very happy.

Footboards?

underdog

octatonic;648980" said:

underdog said:

octatonic;648930" said:Big traily is in having panniers fitted.They gave me this as a loan bike.



Glad I'm not in a hurry.

Give me that bike and an angle grinder and I'd be very happy.












Footboards?

Yes, to start with, then screen, bags, pillion, both mudguards cut down new seat

Like this but maybe a little less left again

octatonic

Well that was a wasted day.

I had my dealer buy in the Triumph 3 box luggage pack so I get to use one key for everything.

It has been a real problem to get the top box rack in but they assured me they had an alternate solution using a Givi monokey rack that would work with the top box (that is rebranded Givi Outback Trekker).

Bike spend the whole day in the shop putting on the pannier mount, attaching the panniers and only THEN do they see if they top box rack fits the top box.

No dice- it doesn't work.

So either I pay £1200 for a 3 box luggage system that won't work until the proper top box mount comes in- no date for that- it is delayed for 3 months now.

Or they take it all off and I buy the Metal Mule boxes that are £500 more and won't use a single key.

How hard is it to make luggage mounts?

octatonic

underdog said:

octatonic;648980" said:

underdog said:

octatonic;648930" said:Big traily is in having panniers fitted.They gave me this as a loan bike.



Glad I'm not in a hurry.

Give me that bike and an angle grinder and I'd be very happy.












Footboards?

Yes, to start with, then screen, bags, pillion, both mudguards cut down new seat

Like this but maybe a little less left again

I had a ride on a Tbird Commander too- preferred it.

Less wind blast because it had no stupid Triumphs screen that just creates turbulence.

I'm going to have a go on a Rockett III soon.

Fusionista

octatonic said:

So either I pay £1200 for a 3 box luggage system that won't work until the proper top box mount comes in- no date for that- it is delayed for 3 months now.

Or they take it all off and I buy the Metal Mule boxes that are £500 more and won't use a single key.

How hard is it to make luggage mounts?

The original metal mule boxes were just that - standard boxes some trekker guy stuck on his bike.  Now somehow they are made of gold ?  One reason my bike is free and clear When I need luggage I'll wear a rucksack or strap on a bag. 

octatonic

Fusionista said:

octatonic said:

So either I pay £1200 for a 3 box luggage system that won't work until the proper top box mount comes in- no date for that- it is delayed for 3 months now.

Or they take it all off and I buy the Metal Mule boxes that are £500 more and won't use a single key.

How hard is it to make luggage mounts?

The original metal mule boxes were just that - standard boxes some trekker guy stuck on his bike.  Now somehow they are made of gold ?  One reason my bike is free and clear When I need luggage I'll wear a rucksack or strap on a bag. 

I need something a bit more than a backpack/strap-on luggage- I'm going away for over a month, touring through Europe.

I have some Kriega strap-on luggage that could get me by but I'd rather not have to take it all off the bike when I stop for lunch and carry it around with me in the heat of the summer, plus a lid, plus a jacket, in leathers.

I'd rather just pull up, put the helmet and jacket in the box and go for lunch knowing it will still be there* when I get back.

*Probably.

rsvmark

Love him or loathe him, he can ride a bike

octatonic

Just pulled this out of the Tiger's tyre:

Fortunately it is a tubed tyre and the tube wasn't hit.

Nomad

Update on my Johnny L-Plate activities...

Restarted the DAS from scratch a couple of weeks ago (rather than continuing from where I left off the first time). Mostly did the Mod 1 stuff, and went for the test last week. Failed - put my foot down on the U-turn. This was the day after a full day on the big bike, which again left me feeling very tired (I think it's a combination of the more physical nature of them and the general concentration that's required when you're learning, especially if you're a mid-50s car driver that's new to bikes). Anyway, I cancelled the Mod 2 stuff for now, and had a Mod 1 retest today (this would have been the day of my Mod 2 test).

Result of Mod 1 retest: passed with one fault.

I also bought a 125 yesterday - a near new Van Van (affectionately known as the Shetland Pony Of The Apocalypse). This is on the shop's buy-back scheme, which basically means that, when I come to trade it in for a big bike, I get all of the cash back, less clean-up costs. I reckoned it was a case of I either get through Mod 1 & 2 in the next few weeks, or I decide to drop the big bike training for a while and just get plenty of road time in on the 125. Either way, I have a bike to ride while preparing for Mod 2, and something to continue to ride after Mod 2 until I see a big bike I like.

Not sure when Mod 2 training will start - it'll either be September (next available slot for the instructor), or a possible cancellation during the rest of July (should hear about that tomorrow). Got other things on this month, so I might not be able to fit it in, but we'll see.

I feel better about Mod 2 than I have about Mod 1 - always felt fine on the road, even during the CBT, and my roadcraft is pretty good for the most part (did the IAM advanced course for cars a few years ago). I kind of came to the conclusion that Mod 1 is a bit of a lottery if one assumes that everyone make a little mistake now and again (like a U-turn wobble that causes a foot to go down). Even if the moves are mostly fine during practice, you get zero chances to make the foot-down mistake during the test, and it's a case of will I or won't I? Anyway, that's now past - every mile on the Van Van is now practice for Mod 2.

So, nearly there.

Tone71

Congrats for getting Mod1 passed, the hard bit is now done, enjoy practising for Mod2

People love the van vans, they do look fun it must be a blast to ride.

I haven't done much riding this year only taking it to work every now and then, new job long hours and tired at the weekend has killed my blasting antics!

Nomad

Yeah, I reckoned Mod 1 is the harder bit.

Not sure I'd use "blast" when speaking of Van Vans (60mph almost feels like an achievement), but it is good fun. The seat is quite low, but just about okay for me at 5' 10". It's a comfy bike - seat is quite soft, big fat tyres, and wide bars. After a few big bike sessions in recent days, it feels light as a feather. It's a breeze in city traffic. I like the retro styling as well - rather that than the sportsbike looks that the 125s for teenagers have (all show and no go). About the only thing I'd like to see on it is a bigger tank - it's about 1.4 gallons, which is just about enough to scrape 140 miles if you run it dry. Light comes on at about 100 miles. 2 to 2.5 gallons would give a much more useful range for a negligible weight increase, and would probably make it look better as well (tank looks a bit skinny -  a bigger one would match the big blobby tyres better),

Nomad

Van Van update - got it up to an indicated 68mph, downhill on a dual carriageway, seated pretty upright.

Anyway, a couple of questions...

Leathers. I'm kinda set on treating myself to a set of leathers when I get my full licence. Separate jacket and trousers. What sort of features should I be looking for? They're for road use by a noob, and I'm not attracted to things like knee sliders. Am I right in thinking that the connecting zips may not be compatible between makes? Any thoughts on the D3O protection? I was looking at some back protectors the other day, and they feel much softer than the usual layered foam. (Got a pair of Furygan summer gloves a few days ago with D3O at the knuckles - feels much softer.) The choices at my local shop seem to be RST or Furygan.

Suggestions for a big bike around 650cc. The Van Van is on the shop's buy-back scheme, so I'll get the best trade-in from there. I'd also rather go to them and get something clean with a year's MOT and 3 months warranty on the basis that I'm not sufficiently familiar with bike mechanics to assess a private sale competently. I'd like something with a fairly upright position (sports tourer / all-rounder?) and decent comfort for longer day rides. It would also be used for a 15 mile each way commute fairly regularly in good weather.

The only big bike I've ridden has been the SFV650 Gladius (the DAS bikes at the shop). Riding position seems okay, in spite of it being seen as a bike for smaller people. The seat can feel a bit hard at times. I like the low end torque of the V-twin. Wind blast gets a bit noticeable at 70. They sell off their training bikes at regular intervals, but I don't know when the next sell-off will happen, or how much they would cost. There are two bikes at the local shop that I'm interested in, both 2008: a Bandit 650S and a Kawasaki ER-6F. The Bandit has ABS, which appeals, but I keep wondering if it's heavier than I'd like. I believe the ER is lighter by a good 30kg or more, but I don't think it has ABS. I'm after something clean that doesn't have too many miles on it. The shop has some other bikes, trade-ins, that are cheaper, but they generally need bits fixed. Any others to consider at around £3K or so from a shop?

boogieman

Don't get hung up on having ABS. My Honda has it and I don't like it that much tbh, to my mind it robs some of the feel from the brakes.

I rode a Gladius when I did a refresher course before I went back to biking. (I hadn't ridden a geared bike for 30 years.) I quite liked it to ride, it's very light and forgiving but it looks a bit of a pig.

The Bandit should be a safe buy, they're mechanically solid and because they've been around for years, all the problems have been sorted. They're a bit prone to rust, so need washing down regularly if it's going to be used for winter commuting.

Never had leathers, so can't advise on that bit.

strtdv

For leathers it depends on how hard you'll be riding and how much you worry about your bones being in one piece.

One piece leathers are for track day heroes but I wouldn't bother for everyday use.

Get one that you can fit a back protector into if you do intend to go for "spirited" riding.

I would recommend sliders if you intend to ride quickly too, it's nice to have your knees and elbows in one piece after a crash. Elbows are fairly easy to break coming off a bike, and are a nasty fracture to heal too.

A good friend of mine came off his Triumph Daytona 675 when he hit a wet patch on a summers day round a corner.

He was doing about 60mph, bounced across the road, went through a barbed wire fence, down a 10' bank and landed on a telephone pole that was lying in the field next to the road. The bike was in pieces, he suffered no broken bones, his only injuries were some bruising and a cut on his back where the leathers didn't quite keep the barbed wire out.

He was wearing good leathers with sliders, boots with ankle protection, and armoured gloves, and I'd recommend the same.

Bare minimum I'd recommend is kevlar jeans with hip and knee protection, boots, jacket with sliders and gloves.

During my time working in A+E I've seen plenty of fairly low speed spills come in with nasty fractures and bad road rash because they weren't wearing adequate (or indeed any) protection, and on the other hand I've seen people who came off at 175mph (the department had a race track in its catchment area) who had some broken ribs and a broken shoulder but no road rash and no major organ or spine damage because they were wearing decent gear.

strtdv

SV650 is a decent bike but it's getting very long in the tooth, hasn't had a significant upgrade in about 10 years, and it shows.

It's light, which is a plus, and the riding position is quite aggressive if you like that. It's also pretty cheap.

Other than that, the brakes are below average, engine power is below average, and handling isn't brilliant either. Build quality isn't up there with the best Suzukis and certainly nowhere near Honda or Yamaha

The ER6F is the better bike all round. It's roughly the same power and torque as the SV, it's got better suspension and brakes, engine is very reliable, and it's better handling.

The riding position is a bit more upright than the SV.

Bandit is also a decent bike, Suzuki have done much more to keep it modern than the SV. It's torquey too for a 4 cylinder. 

You're right about the weight though, at over 240kg it's quite heavy.

If you want a slightly posher looking bike than the bandit, the GSX650F is basically a bandit in a full fairing with a slightly remapped engine and tweaked suspension.

I'd also have a look at a post 2011 Honda CBR600F.

The new (post 2011) ones are basically a Hornet with a fairing, but feature USD forks, digital clocks (a relative rarity at this price point), and it's a nice looking bike.

Power is about 100bhp so certainly ample. It likes to be revved though.

I'd choose it over the newer 650cc version that uses cheaper conventional forks and has less power than the old one.

BenSirAmos

I love my Bandit 650.

I've promised myself that I won't upgrade until I redline it all the time. I've still got a way to go. I always take a pillion and I don't have too much trouble keeping up on ride outs. 

I wear Dainese leathers and they've been fine. My missus has a cheaper brand and, while they are okay, the difference in quality is noticeable (thermal lining not so comprehensive, leather thinner, protection not so extensive, etc.) so I guess you get what you pay for (but there aren't so many options available for women).

Nomad

Went with Furygan Evo stuff for leathers...

http://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/content_prod/237187

http://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/content_prod/78897

...but at the local shop to get my Johnny L-plate 15% discount. Just been out for a quick scoot, and it all seems good. I tried the Furygan Highway trousers as well, but wasn't so keen on them. The waistband wasn't as snug (sort of single width compared to the Evos), they were a bit loose around the knees, and I preferred the leather on the Evos (more robust feeling). I'll probably get the hip pads and level 2 back protector soon. I like the D3O stuff - better comfort, far less noticeable than the layered foam.

Turns out that there are no pending plans to sell off the Gladius fleet, so that's probably discounted. I'll check out the CBR600F. Of the bikes I've seen so far that are under consideration, the ER-6F looks the nicest, although it's a bit pricier than I was thinking of at just under £4K (it's an '08, but less than 5000 miles, FSH, and looks super clean).

strtdv

You can probably do better than that for the money, a quick look shows plenty of the new model ER6F's with under 5k miles for about £4300. The new model is considerably nicer looking (much more tied in with the rest of the Kawasaki range, and has two headlights like a ninja, not the single central headlight which is a bit ugly IMO). The new one also has slightly improved geometry and suspension, bigger fuel tank, and if you're over 5'10" you'll appreciate the slightly higher seat height.

£4000 will also buy you any number of 3-4 year old Yamaha Diversions and Bandits, or a nearly new Gladius or SV.

You won't get one of the new model CBR600Fs for under £4500 I wouldn't have thought