Any Motörbike riders here?

octatonic

I am now (temporarily) bikeless.

Sold my bikes to a dealer today in preparation for the move.
Not sure what I will get in Singapore- probably a GS or an Africa Twin.

Had a final blast on the hooligan- what a great bike but no longer the style of riding I like to do.
I must be getting old.

quarky

Think I just wrote mine off today No damage to any people, but the bike is probably toast... 

roundthebend

quarky said:

Think I just wrote mine off today No damage to any people, but the bike is probably toast... 

Damn! Glad you're OK, hope you get back on soon.

roundthebend

I'm having withdrawal symptoms from mine. A week ago I had just returned from a long weekend trip to Le Mans for the 24 hour motorcycle event. It was a fantastic weekend of riding with 3 mates, great weather, great roads, lovely food, few beers, awesome local people, and I gained a lot of confidence in my riding. Since then the weather has been grey and I've not been out.

Fortunately, I'm between jobs right now so I should have plenty of time to get riding. And my missus is also not working and has the gear to ride pillion so we can get away for longer rides.

quarky

roundthebend said:

Fortunately, I'm between jobs right now so I should have plenty of time to get riding. And my missus is also not working and has the gear to ride pillion so we can get away for longer rides.

I think that is a big problem for me, not enough time riding. In similar circumstances a year ago, two years ago, I wouldn't have come up I think. Time on the bike is important!

Le Mans is supposed to be awesome, never done it, but it sounds like a blast.

p90fool

quarky said:

Think I just wrote mine off today No damage to any people, but the bike is probably toast... 

Shit, what happened? 

quarky

Went over the brow of a hill and there was a lot of traffic going up the other side of small valley. The car in front hit the brakes hard, I hit the brakes and started to move back to the left lane (which was clear at that point), and the bike just slipped out. I didn't go over the bars or anything, just ended up sliding along the road watching the bike spin in front of me. It eventually stopped when it hit the car in front, which cause almost all the damage.

So I was fine apart from a sore thumb (I was in full protective gear obviously), but the bike isn't so lucky.

Guitar_Slinger

Oof.

quarky

So thinking about one of these (Street Cup):


Or one of these:


Both a lot different from a sports bike, but I am older, and maybe I should be slowing down! Both are also basically the same bike, but the Street Cup has different bars, and is a five speed rather than a six speed.

Need to take one or both for a ride, but thinking of the Street Cup mainly because if I have to go up to another office on the bike, the little bitty fairing might make a bit of a difference. Any one have any experience with either of these?

roundthebend

@quarky I've been in love with the Street Twin since I first saw one at a show last year. That's the bike that got me to do my training and get a licence. I've taken one for a test ride and it's pretty nice - tiny and light and comfortable. It does get windy so isn't really great at higher speeds, unless you man up!

I am new to riding so can't really comment on the ride. It feels like a well made machine, and the engine and gears were lovely - tons of torque so I never felt like I was labouring the engine. Very forgiving. I still want one, but can't decide on colours or whether I can justify the finance. I might go for a T120 instead if I'm having to finance it.

The Street Cup looks great. But I don't think I'd get on well with the racier riding position. I should take on for a test ride though, now that I've been riding longer and feel more relaxed about it.

Keep us posted on what you go for, and any test rides you do.

PC_Dave

roundthebend said:

@quarky I've been in love with the Street Twin since I first saw one at a show last year. That's the bike that got me to do my training and get a licence. I've taken one for a test ride and it's pretty nice - tiny and light and comfortable. It does get windy so isn't really great at higher speeds, unless you man up!

I am new to riding so can't really comment on the ride. It feels like a well made machine, and the engine and gears were lovely - tons of torque so I never felt like I was labouring the engine. Very forgiving. I still want one, but can't decide on colours or whether I can justify the finance. I might go for a T120 instead if I'm having to finance it.

The Street Cup looks great. But I don't think I'd get on well with the racier riding position. I should take on for a test ride though, now that I've been riding longer and feel more relaxed about it.

Keep us posted on what you go for, and any test rides you do.

Have a look online at the issues with the T120 before you consider it. My best mate has had one for a while and hasn’t been able to use it for more than a couple of rides at a time before something else went wrong. Everything from the battery draining once the bike was started, through to the immobiliser coming on while on a ride, through to being able to turn the alarm off with his Mercedes car key to the brakes failing completely, which he found out at 65mph....

boogieman

PC_Dave said:

roundthebend said:

@quarky I've been in love with the Street Twin since I first saw one at a show last year. That's the bike that got me to do my training and get a licence. I've taken one for a test ride and it's pretty nice - tiny and light and comfortable. It does get windy so isn't really great at higher speeds, unless you man up!

I am new to riding so can't really comment on the ride. It feels like a well made machine, and the engine and gears were lovely - tons of torque so I never felt like I was labouring the engine. Very forgiving. I still want one, but can't decide on colours or whether I can justify the finance. I might go for a T120 instead if I'm having to finance it.

The Street Cup looks great. But I don't think I'd get on well with the racier riding position. I should take on for a test ride though, now that I've been riding longer and feel more relaxed about it.

Keep us posted on what you go for, and any test rides you do.

Have a look online at the issues with the T120 before you consider it. My best mate has had one for a while and hasn’t been able to use it for more than a couple of rides at a time before something else went wrong. Everything from the battery draining once the bike was started, through to the immobiliser coming on while on a ride, through to being able to turn the alarm off with his Mercedes car key to the brakes failing completely, which he found out at 65mph....

Blimey! That’s scary, especially the brake issue. I thought the era of British bikes being rubbish was long gone? 

quarky

PC_Dave said:

Have a look online at the issues with the T120 before you consider it. My best mate has had one for a while and hasn’t been able to use it for more than a couple of rides at a time before something else went wrong. Everything from the battery draining once the bike was started, through to the immobiliser coming on while on a ride, through to being able to turn the alarm off with his Mercedes car key to the brakes failing completely, which he found out at 65mph....

This is based on the T100. Never been a huge fan of Datatool alarms/immobilisers, but that seems to be what everyone uses these days.. Scary about the brakes, but I *think* the brakes are different compared to the T120 as well (that is dual disc at the front).Do you know why they failed? 

I remember once years ago overtaking (naughtily) on solid raised white diagonal lines. Once I got over the tank slapper my front brakes were a bit hairy until I pumped them a few times. No idea what I did, but on the way home I was doing even more engine braking than normal!

octatonic

Check out the Bonneville Speedmaster.
It is, for my money, the best of the retro bikes.

zepp76

I have a Suzuki GSX750W Inazuma and a Honda VF750C Super Magna, the Magna is surprisingly quick thanks to its V4 lump, it only has a 70 mile range on a full tank though so not great for touring but great for hooning about.

robinbowes

zepp76 said:

I have a Suzuki GSX750W Inazuma and a Honda VF750C Super Magna, the Magna is surprisingly quick thanks to its V4 lump, it only has a 70 mile range on a full tank though so not great for touring but great for hooning about.

Christ, that's ridiculous. I thought my Nuda was bad with only 13 litres!

PC_Dave

quarky said:

PC_Dave said:

Have a look online at the issues with the T120 before you consider it. My best mate has had one for a while and hasn’t been able to use it for more than a couple of rides at a time before something else went wrong. Everything from the battery draining once the bike was started, through to the immobiliser coming on while on a ride, through to being able to turn the alarm off with his Mercedes car key to the brakes failing completely, which he found out at 65mph....

This is based on the T100. Never been a huge fan of Datatool alarms/immobilisers, but that seems to be what everyone uses these days.. Scary about the brakes, but I *think* the brakes are different compared to the T120 as well (that is dual disc at the front).Do you know why they failed? 

I remember once years ago overtaking (naughtily) on solid raised white diagonal lines. Once I got over the tank slapper my front brakes were a bit hairy until I pumped them a few times. No idea what I did, but on the way home I was doing even more engine braking than normal!

The alarm thing has been ongoing - The Triumph dealer are bing really shitty and won’t even replace the clearly knackered battery without charging (no pun intended) full whack. Brakes was a total and complete failure of the ABS system which caused the the whole brake system to just stop working. They haven’t said what the root cause of it was, not where they surprised when they were told, which I think speaks volumes..... My mate was just really lucky he was a on a very straight, empty road and could engine brake and then use a wall to stop completely....

quarky

octatonic said:

Check out the Bonneville Speedmaster.
It is, for my money, the best of the retro bikes.

That is nice too. I saw a new one in the flesh a couple of weeks and it was nice. It is a few grand more than the Street Cup though, and I am not sure I like it much more. If they were the same price, that would be an interesting decision.. 

guitargeek62

So I’m toying with swapping my Street Scrambler in for an older T100 tomorrow... pics may follow... 

quarky

guitargeek62 said:

So I’m toying with swapping my Street Scrambler in for an older T100 tomorrow... pics may follow... 

Oooh (in surprise), why?