Any Motörbike riders here?

octatonic

Get some proper boots though- google 'motorcycle foot degloving'.

guitargeek62

Thanks! They're TCX ones - stealthy look but have the proper protection in them (albeit only in hi-top height, not full shin). Similarly the jeans are Rev'it kevlar something-or-others with CE armour and waterproofing gubbins

guitargeek62

So I've racked up my first couple of thousand miles now thanks to a run of weekends away in the south west. 

Tonight I'm catching the ferry from Plymouth to Roscoff, and then over the next 10 days will then be making my way down the west coast of France, nip into Andorra, then across to Monaco, onto Switzerland (possibly cutting through Italy), up through Luxembourg via France/Germany, across Belgium, and back to Blighty on the Eurostar.

  

octatonic

Awesome stuff- have fun.

hywelg

Hah, finally got it to work,Dropbox that is. The link DB gives you when you choose Share is the problem. If you just right click and 'Copy Image Location' that works fine



Edit :- I give up. Dropbox doesn't work here

guitargeek62

Made it to France! I'm somewhere in Brittany atm, en route to St Malo - it's freezing this morning though!

octatonic

Bumping this thread.
I have been thinking about getting a custom bike for a little while now.
Hoping people here can give me a bit of advice, especially those that have had a few Harley/Triumph/Indian's in that style of bike.

I'm looking at offloading the S1000R- it is an awesome bike but it is simply too fast.
Bikes like this are designed to be ridden at above the legal speed limit.
I've done a couple of track day type things but it isn't really for me.
So, I want to slow down (although I don't want a 'slow' bike)- which I've done on the S1000R but it is a fairly boring bike when ridden slowly, and it isn't very comfortable.

So I fancy something like a Bonneville, Harley Dyna, Indian Scout, Moto Guzzi Griso, BMW R NineT etc.
A retro inspired modern(ish) bike that is fun and looks cool.
Use will be as a summer daily rider (I'll use my GS in the winter) as well as short trips (so needs to be able to have at least soft panniers and perhaps a removable screen).

I'm not looking at the Japanese brands- I want something a bit more special than that.
I don't want anything too massive- so the Harley Softail or Triumph Thunderbird are probably out.

The Triumph Bobber and Ducati Scrambler are too much of a marketing exercise and fail the traffic light test.
I rode the Bobber though and it was fun, sounded great but I wouldn't buy one.

I've ridden a couple of Harley's.
The Sportsters aren't for me- they felt a bit too 'urban hipster'.
The Fat Bob was nice- felt like a premium product if a little under equipped. I like the twin discs up front, it stopped properly.
Had decent power but I could do with more.

I'm riding the Low Rider S tomorrow which should be a riot, although it is £16k.

The issue I'm having with Harley is something to do with Harley culture, at least in this country.
It seem there are mostly two types of HD rider- either patched club members (which I am not and don't want to be involved with) and then the cashed up professional who plays at being a rebel on the weekend before returning to the suit and tie world on the week days. 
I'm not sure I'm prepared to be lumped in with all that- I know ultimately that all sorts of people buy bikes for different reason but still, owning a Harley (and a fairly new one) says something that perhaps I'm not prepared to do. I'm sure there are normal people who own them too. Feel free to convince me I'm wrong here, I could well be.

The Bonneville T120 seems like a good shout- perhaps not quite quick enough and I was thinking a feet forward bike this time.
I'm probably not up for the new Thruxton.

I've ridden the Nine T before- it is more like the Bonneville than the Dyna. It would be the safe and obvious choice, which is perhaps why I am thinking not.

The Moto Guzzi Griso is possible (not feet forward) and it would be used as it didn't survive the Euro 4 cut.

So that leaves the Indian Scout- it is feet forward, looks proper, has a heritage badge, comes with none of the Harley baggage.
It is fast (for a cruiser) and comfortable, it even stops ok (for a cruiser with a single disc up front).
At £11k they are ok money and they come with a 5 year warranty.
I'd be concerned about dealer support and parts.
And depreciation.
I'm riding one on Friday.

So that is where I am at with it.

Edit: paging Harley riders- @luscombe,  

MtB

A quick flick through a 2016 Bike magazine throws up a Ducati Diavel and a Guzzi Audace. 

octatonic

MtB said:

A quick flick through a 2016 Bike magazine throws up a Ducati Diavel and a Guzzi Audace. 

I've ridden the Diavel- it probably is too modern looking, I've had quite a few modern looking bikes now.

The Audace might be worth riding.
It is under 300kg... just.

Moe_Zambeek

I'm a guzzi fan. I've had 4. The Griso is a great bike.

hywelg

I think this looks absolutely stunning. My LT is pretty and if my wife resolutely maintains her refusal to come on the back with me I might well trade in for one of these. 

robinbowes

octatonic said:

Bumping this thread.
I have been thinking about getting a custom bike for a little while now.

Nuda?

octatonic

robinbowes said:

octatonic said:

Bumping this thread.
I have been thinking about getting a custom bike for a little while now.

Nuda?

LOL- not quite what I was looking for.

robinbowes

octatonic said:

LOL- not quite what I was looking for.

Trying my best to steer you away from Harleys...

guitargeek62

octatonic said:

Bumping this thread.
I have been thinking about getting a custom bike for a little while now.
Hoping people here can give me a bit of advice, especially those that have had a few Harley/Triumph/Indian's in that style of bike.

So I fancy something like a Bonneville, Harley Dyna, Indian Scout, Moto Guzzi Griso, BMW R NineT etc.
A retro inspired modern(ish) bike that is fun and looks cool.
Use will be as a summer daily rider (I'll use my GS in the winter) as well as short trips (so needs to be able to have at least soft panniers and perhaps a removable screen).

I don't want anything too massive- so the Harley Softail or Triumph Thunderbird are probably out.

The Bonneville T120 seems like a good shout- perhaps not quite quick enough and I was thinking a feet forward bike this time.
I'm probably not up for the new Thruxton.

I've ridden the Nine T before- it is more like the Bonneville than the Dyna. It would be the safe and obvious choice, which is perhaps why I am thinking not.

I'm not sure you'll be content with scaling down at all, no offence meant but it sounds like you're far too worried about what other people think of what you're riding than about the bike itself?

The RnineT is a hell of a bike, and there's a lot of modding potential there to make it your own*. If I had the cash spare though I'd go for a Diamond Atelier series 2 BMW R100, though they're both above your budget and probably too "hipster". The older R1200's are great bikes too, and cheap enough that you could pick one up, spend a lot on customizing it, and still come in <£12k.

FWIW, I absolutely love the XSR I bought - I'm far from an expert (have only ridden 5 proper bikes now, incl. an RnineT) but it ticks all my boxes and works well as Tourer/Commuter/Fun/UJM bike... it's Japanese though, so you won't like it!

*aka the same as everyone else who mods them!

octatonic

guitargeek62 said:

octatonic said:

Bumping this thread.
I have been thinking about getting a custom bike for a little while now.
Hoping people here can give me a bit of advice, especially those that have had a few Harley/Triumph/Indian's in that style of bike.

So I fancy something like a Bonneville, Harley Dyna, Indian Scout, Moto Guzzi Griso, BMW R NineT etc.
A retro inspired modern(ish) bike that is fun and looks cool.
Use will be as a summer daily rider (I'll use my GS in the winter) as well as short trips (so needs to be able to have at least soft panniers and perhaps a removable screen).

I don't want anything too massive- so the Harley Softail or Triumph Thunderbird are probably out.

The Bonneville T120 seems like a good shout- perhaps not quite quick enough and I was thinking a feet forward bike this time.
I'm probably not up for the new Thruxton.

I've ridden the Nine T before- it is more like the Bonneville than the Dyna. It would be the safe and obvious choice, which is perhaps why I am thinking not.

I'm not sure you'll be content with scaling down at all, no offence meant but it sounds like you're far too worried about what other people think of what you're riding than about the bike itself?

The RnineT is a hell of a bike, and there's a lot of modding potential there to make it your own*. If I had the cash spare though I'd go for a Diamond Atelier series 2 BMW R100, though they're both above your budget and probably too "hipster". The older R1200's are great bikes too, and cheap enough that you could pick one up, spend a lot on customizing it, and still come in <£12k.

FWIW, I absolutely love the XSR I bought - I'm far from an expert (have only ridden 5 proper bikes now, incl. an RnineT) but it ticks all my boxes and works well as Tourer/Commuter/Fun/UJM bike... it's Japanese though, so you won't like it!

*aka the same as everyone else who mods them!

I don't really care what people think of me (if I did then I wouldn't have been so revealing in my thought processes above) however some of the bike culture does matter.
I'm looking for something authentic, as opposed to something that is forced.
Maybe authentic is the wrong word- I want something with a bit of heritage, that I look at think 'yeah this bike I love' rather than 'yeah this bike was designed by committee in order to appeal to X demographic'.
The Bobber, for instance, felt forced and a bit of marketing exercise rather than being an excellent bike.

Just back from riding the Low Rider S- it was a hilarious bike to ride but the peg mounting was all wrong for me- it can be fixed for a mere £700.

I like Japanese bikes just fine, I just don't want a Japanese cruiser.
I'd happily have had an MT10 if they were out when I bought the S1000R.

Having ridden a bunch of bikes now I'm kinda back where I started- maybe keeping the S1000R and buying a 10 year old T100 might be the trick?

jaytmon

@octatonic the itch is back!! Have you looked at any of the Ducati Monsters? Bit of Italian class and will actually go round corners.
Or if you want to be really silly, a Rocket III?!

octatonic

jaytmon said:

@octatonic the itch is back!! Have you looked at any of the Ducati Monsters? Bit of Italian class and will actually go round corners.
Or if you want to be really silly, a Rocket III?!

Yeah I know.
Terrible eh?

I rode the Rocket III- it is too big.
Monsters aren't really for me- they are closer to my S1000R in terms of design.
I have that covered.

I'm thinking a T100- £3-4k gets me a nice one, which as a Sunday morning toy is justifiable.

MtB

Triumph speedmaster on fleabay:  http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2008-TRIUMPH-SPEEDMASTER-865-/162512218597?hash=item25d67ba9e5:g:obwAAOSwDiBZGXUs

My mate has a T100 that he bought when they first came out about 10 years ago or so. It's a great little bike. Been thinking about getting one myself.

MtB

Have you looked at the old Thunderbird 900s?