Any Motörbike riders here?

octatonic

I had no idea it was going to be this good.

Why didn't anyone tell me?

Seriously- it is just the best thing!

I need to lie down for a bit.

Bron_Yr_Aur

octatonic;196993" said:

I had no idea it was going to be this good.Why didn't anyone tell me?Seriously- it is just the best thing!I need to lie down for a bit.

Dead chuffed for you Oct. Hope we get some nice weather for you chief. Damn it. I really need to get another bike now don't I.

octatonic

Cheers- yes you do!

We need to do a summer ride out once I'm more comfortable on the Striple.

boogieman

Lucky you didn't go yesterday, Kingston was completely ferked! The road down to Twickenham was shut at the bridge and everything was being diverted. Took me an hour to get round it all and that was on the bike.

Told you you'd feel a huge difference on a bigger bike. enjoy!

octatonic

boogieman said:

Lucky you didn't go yesterday, Kingston was completely ferked! The road down to Twickenham was shut at the bridge and everything was being diverted. Took me an hour to get round it all and that was on the bike.

Told you you'd feel a huge difference on a bigger bike. enjoy!

It is night and day.

I'm glad I did my 3 months on the wee-bike though.

I'm a lot safer for it.

Fusionista

boogieman said:

Lucky you didn't go yesterday, Kingston was completely ferked! The road down to Twickenham was shut at the bridge and everything was being diverted. Took me an hour to get round it all and that was on the bike.

Glad I don't live there anymore.

Oh and Colchester is completeley ferked at least twice a week - ohwhatagiveaway.

Mind you I tried Sydney and it wasn't any better.  Gundagai was, though.

cruxiform

Awesome bike James, sounds like you're on a high!  The leap in power is breath-taking but in time you'll get used to it. I went from a 125 to a GSXR750 after passing my test. Scary at first but in time I was enjoying the power! There's nothing like having a powerful bike.

Myranda

octatonic said:

After a bit of a delay it has arrived.

OMFG- so much power!

I went for quick trip down to Kingston and back.

Really nice to ride, instant power- found myself up the speed limit at no time at all- didn't push past that yet but it feels like a proper hooligan bike.

After the 125 it is quite a step up.

Also to that- after being quite anonymous on a 125 it was quite a surprise to see how many people would turn and stare at it.

Yes, I'm shallow, I know.

I am also in love.

https://scontent-a-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/t31.0-8/1926098_484313921698394_1663653099_o.jpg

We wants its! It's a shiny precious thing!

octatonic

So I've had the weekend to really get used to the wee beastie.

Mostly been fine- other than having a touchy throttle in 1st and under 4k, which is where a lot of the commuting happens.

It just means I am constantly feathering/feeding the clutch.

Oh and the turning circle is rubbish- u-turns are out most of the time.

Other than that it is pretty brilliant- instantly speedy, handles great.

Very happy.

strumjoughlamps

I have just treated my bike to an oil change and filter clean, first time I had ever attempted it but all seems okay(fingers xxxd) not sure if it was needed bike had its first service and oil change at 653miles and bike is currently on 2455, I think they said 3k was the next recommended service.. trouble is I don't know what 'needing a change' oil looks like but the filter certainly had signs of dirt on it.

I could have done a quick oil change of course and not bothered with having to take the engine case of to clean the filter but I am slowly getting into this tinkering with the motorbike malarky.

midiglitch

No harm in doing oil and filter change 'early' being as it's probably the single most important item of maintenance for maintaining the longevity of the engine!

I cleaned mine yesterday, topped up all the fluids and waxed it but we had a shower this morning which left it and all the cars in the local area Heavily covered in thick dust!  Bloody typical!

Spider

Just taxed mine this morning (Honda VTR1000) just need a bit of sun now an I can go for a blast.

LastMantra

Well done chief, nice bike.

I'm thinking of starting a cafe racer type thing with my old man. Based on a Velo Venom.

Oooooh, just found this...

 

Tone71

Been out loads recently, covering up to 300 miles a day.

Have removed all the commuter nonsense from it, the rack, Scottoiler and alarm and replaced all the locks.

I`m happier with it being a straight bike, less battery killing from the alarm and as I`m either sat on it or it`s locked up in the back garden I didn't think it necessary.

Roll on the weekend, more miles to cover, aiming to ride to Lands End soon

gavin_axecaster

Spider said:

Just taxed mine this morning (Honda VTR1000) just need a bit of sun now an I can go for a blast.

Identical to mine!
I must try and get out on it more often this year - I confess to having become a fair-weather rider in my middle age.

octatonic

Tone71 said:

Been out loads recently, covering up to 300 miles a day.

Have removed all the commuter nonsense from it, the rack, Scottoiler and alarm and replaced all the locks.

I`m happier with it being a straight bike, less battery killing from the alarm and as I`m either sat on it or it`s locked up in the back garden I didn't think it necessary.

Roll on the weekend, more miles to cover, aiming to ride to Lands End soon

What are your thoughts on the Scottoiler?

Do they do what they are supposed to (as in make the chain last longer)?

Tone71

octatonic said:

Tone71 said:

Been out loads recently, covering up to 300 miles a day.

Have removed all the commuter nonsense from it, the rack, Scottoiler and alarm and replaced all the locks.

I`m happier with it being a straight bike, less battery killing from the alarm and as I`m either sat on it or it`s locked up in the back garden I didn't think it necessary.

Roll on the weekend, more miles to cover, aiming to ride to Lands End soon

What are your thoughts on the Scottoiler?

Do they do what they are supposed to (as in make the chain last longer)?

They are meant to be the dogs danglies, people swear by them for commuting etc, and they are meant to make the chain last ages, my experience was something that wasn't working correctly and caused the chain to near seize, plus the breather tube thingy wasn't connected properly and was causing the bike to run like shit.

I therefore decided that as I only ride for pleasure then I'm happy to clean, adjust and lube the chain myself to know its right rather than relying on something to do it for me (or not in my case) so chose to remove it ( I have it if you are after a cheap oiler!)

In all fairness it was the fact that it wasn't set up and connected correctly rather than the oiler not doing its thing, Im just happier being "hands on"

octatonic

I'm probably more of the 'hands-on' type as well.

I am putting an immobiliser in the bike this weekend as well as some crash bungs and engine cover- I figured I'd get one if it was worthwhile.

Sounds like it probably isn't worthwhile for me- putting a bit of oil on the chain is a pretty easy task TBH.

Fusionista

300 miles in a day ?   Just 200 miles nearly did for me the other week.  The position (now it's a cafe racer) and vibration are killers. A few years back I did the same run on a Hayabusa and it was nearly as knackering (just a lot quicker). My chum used to ride regulalry down to the south of France on his R1 though.  I'm a fan of Henry Cole, who doesn't always pick the right bike for his touring programmes, and thinking of 'doing' New Zealand one of these days.  Would be interested to try a few tourers to see which were best suited for really long runs.

Tone71

I went from Epsom to Weymouth and back via Southampton, loved it, some excellent roads, was riding with a mate and trying to keep up with his ZX9R was a task in itself.

I love touring on the bike and have taken to reading Ride magazine as there is plenty of trips to do in there, will be out around the south coast on Friday hopefully.

How was the Hayabusa? Im really leaning towards a GSXR as a next bike but not sure how long runs will be on one.

Maybe having 2 bikes is the answer, weekend blaster and upright cruiser (GS or similar)