what do you ride (motorbike)

[Reef]

Ahh, another passion of mine, motorcycles!

One photo is me with the throttle on the stop of my 1924 Sunbeam and the other is my last road bike which was a little 125 which was so much fun!

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[Tactical Pith Helmet]

My main ride (W650) complete with son.  Note ex-girlfriends lace sided leather loon pants.  I used to wear them until I stopped training martial arts for a couple of years and got bloody fat!

Bike has been dynojetted, airbox cut and pipes debaffled then dyno'd for perfect mixture.  Turned an 85mph constipated slug into a ton plus snorting beasty.  

Crap pic of my Guzzi.  Same Tonti frame as the LeMans.  Frame of a sportsbike, engine that's agricultural folk art.  Wanted one ever since I rode a friends new one back in the mid 90s.  Mrs TPH likes this one.  With a little bit of help from a bloody great iron bar it sounds like a Lancaster bomber.   

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It makes hum the CHiPs theme tune as you ride it.

Old pic of my XS 'Zig-Zag Wanderer' after the Beefheart song.  I'd bought some 7/8" ss tube to make handlebars with, but booze said, 'Nah, you need a sissy bar.'  Still have it.  It now has open shotgun pipes and is Daytona yellow. 

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My bike for hot dry days.  0-100 in 7.2...  My Dad bought this for himself for his 70th.  He has something more sedate now - Honda 750 Hornet.

I've a few more in bits and the lad already has four including a GSX250R.  I think they breed in the garage tbh.  

Looking to buy an Enfield to chop.  I want another hardtail.  Looking at an 883 on Saturday.  It's A2 license friendly and #1 son can slow down a bit and have something comfy for his girlfriend to sit on.  

I'll not put the patched up pics online, but bikes have been a massive part of my life for years.  Despatch rider for a while, lived in a shared house with clubmates.  Still get together once a month to scare polite society.  

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[Egon_247]

Heh, loving this thread. 

Some awesome bikes in here. I dont have many pics of my old ones as it was still 35mm and cartridge film, seem to have lost most of them after moves/divorces.  

Passed my CBT on a DT50MX in red/black.

Moved onto a TZR125L 

Moved onto:

RD250LC (hand grenade on wheels that tried to kill me many times)

XJ600N diversion 

XJR400 import

ZZR400 import

and then just for a laugh i bought a GSX750 teapot.

Which i rode three times. Three times i nearly got smooshed (used to commute through the dartford tunnel) so kinda gave up at that point.

Ahh, those were the days. 

Wished i'd kept the RD though. mental bike. The guy i bought it off was a racer, he'd tuned the nuts off it, twin disc setup, allspeeds, hangers, massive rear tyre that only just fitted in the swingarm, you know the sort of thing. Did just enough to get you moving until 6k then went off like a banshee with its balls on fire.

Been thinking about getting another one but living in the south east, the standard of driving is dire at best, so not sure my 50 year old ass could take it.

 

[Rogerborg]

XJ600N diversion 

One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn't belong...

Related, my daughter has just done a bike taster session and is booking her CBT. I swear, hand on heart, I had nothing to do with it and didn't encourage or suggest it, although Mrs Borg remains unconvinced of my innocence. ?️?

So of course now I'm Gumtree shopping for 125s for me her.  Miss Borg was given a Sinnis Terrain (luggage still fitted), which is a big old top-heavy lump of a 125 for a small human, and she promptly dropped it.  Good looking bikes though, and a training school running a fleet of them is a solid recommendation.

They then switched her to a Benelli TNT 125 that she got on with much better, and I have to say, sort of want. Marketing and review pictures suggest that front tyre wear will be minimal.

We'll probably end up with something dull like a CB125F though, just based on availability, budget and insurance.  Oof, I remember when 17 year olds get could cover for ten bob, and still have change for a slap up meal at Mrs Miggins' Pie Shoppe.

 

[Egon_247]

One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn't belong...

You're not wrong. I was supposed to start a job in Acton, NW london and living, as i was at that point in gravesend, SE london and out a bit more, i figured that a sensible commuter bike was in order. There was a 6 month waiting list for Bandits so that went out the window. The XJ was alright, not setting any lap times and not overly exciting but it was bright yellow and filled a gap. 

Unfortunately the job fell through (legal bullshit ensued!!) and i ended up with the Divvy. Meh.  

Minor update: might have the option of a 1989 CBR1000 in shellsuit colours....Non runner but clean....

 

[Rogerborg]

There was a 6 month waiting list for Bandits so that went out the window. The XJ was alright, not setting any lap times and not overly exciting but it was bright yellow and filled a gap. Unfortunately the job fell through (legal bullshit ensued!!) and i ended up with the Divvy. Meh.  

I think they got an unfair reputation, along with the Bandit.  I never tried a Divvy but a 600 Bandit could easily run out of road before you ran out of bike.  When Honda released the CB650F in 2014, journos coomed over it - "Finally, a middleweight IL4 among all the twins!".  Suzuki and Yamaha: "Are we a joke to you?"

Minor update: might have the option of a 1989 CBR1000 in shellsuit colours....Non runner but clean....

"Probably an easy fix, just not got the time" ?

I'd take a careful now approach to that: you could be spending a lot of time wresting with carb rubbers that have hardened to the consistency of adamantium.

 

[Callsign Warden]

Got a 2017 Suzuki dl1000 v-strom

 

[Tackle]

Any NC750X DCT owners on here ?, I'm actually tempted by the auto gearbox & apparent frugal fuel consumption, just don't trust reviews on sites run & edited by freebie loving journos etc?

 

[ButcherBill]

CBR1000

Had 2 of those... great bikes but weigh a tonne

 

[Egon_247]

"Probably an easy fix, just not got the time" ?

I'd take a careful now approach to that: you could be spending a lot of time wresting with carb rubbers that have hardened to the consistency of adamantium.

Lol. Yeah, I know what you mean. I know the owner (my older brother) and it has sat unused for over 6 years in his garage just collecting dust and not doing anything.

Not entirely sure how many parts you could still get for it, being a G plate.

Is also become one of those "born again bikers" that used to annoy me at the local greasy spoon meet ups. ??

Got a 2017 Suzuki dl1000 v-strom

Used to live opposite a guy who had some aftermarket pipes on one of those, sounded like an anti aircraft gun on tick over...?

 

[Rogerborg]

Got a 2017 Suzuki dl1000 v-strom

The top hit when I search for "a lot of motorcycle for the money".  

Any NC750X DCT owners on here ?, I'm actually tempted by the auto gearbox & apparent frugal fuel consumption, just don't trust reviews on sites run & edited by freebie loving journos etc?

Nope, I test rode one of the original NC700X manuals when I was scratching the adventure itch, but the downtuned and restricted engine did my head in, constantly running into the rev limiter earlier than you'd think.  However, that was on a test ride when I was pushing on, which is exactly how I don't ride day to day. I went for a BMW F650GS (800 twin) instead but then in reality ended up short-shifting it and exploiting the big-twin-torque in much the same way as you have to ride the Honda.  And the DCT will take care of much of that frustration anyway.

tl;dr version - I'd take one for a long test ride if you can, and ride it the way it's designed for.

 

[Tackle]

The top hit when I search for "a lot of motorcycle for the money".  

Nope, I test rode one of the original NC700X manuals when I was scratching the adventure itch, but the downtuned and restricted engine did my head in, constantly running into the rev limiter earlier than you'd think.  However, that was on a test ride when I was pushing on, which is exactly how I don't ride day to day. I went for a BMW F650GS (800 twin) instead but them in reality ended up short-shifting it and exploiting the big-twin-torque in much the same way as you have to ride the Honda.  And the DCT will take care of much of that frustration anyway.

tl;dr version - I'd take one for a long test ride if you can, and ride it the way it's designed for.

Yep a decent test ride is the plan, what is stupid is the number of dealerships that DONT have test ride bikes, about 10 years ago I considered a GS1200, nearest dealer didn't have a test bike, so I said "fine, what about that secondhand one your selling ?"

Dealer replies "your not getting it, the GS is our top selling bike, we don't need to offer test rides"

My reply meant I wasn't welcomed back there?

 

[LMKipper]

Any NC750X DCT owners on here ?, I'm actually tempted by the auto gearbox & apparent frugal fuel consumption, just don't trust reviews on sites run & edited by freebie loving journos etc?

Not an owner but I was once a 'freebie loving' bike journo. Genuinely never wrote/said anything I wouldn't say to a friend spending their own money but either way, I am no longer a journalist, so there's nowt in it for me.

The issue with the DCT gearboxes is that in standard modes, they just want to rush to top as quickly as possible. It's very easy to find yourself in 6th at 30. With the gearbox in the sporty mode they're a bit better but still hit and miss - I used to put Africa Twins straight to S3 and they still felt about 10bhp down on the standard bike. They've definitely improved the changing gear seemingly at random/mid-corner problems they used to have but it's far from perfect and it only takes one really ropey shift to catch you off-guard. On the Wing, they make some sense especially if you use the crawl mode in traffic, but on the rest of the range I'd honestly just stick with the manual.

 

[Rogerborg]

Dealer replies "your not getting it, the GS is our top selling bike, we don't need to offer test rides"

Probably true, Motorrads were queued out the door with stockbrokers and accountants when Long Way Round came out, and the 1150/1200/1250 GS has been the top selling bike >125cc every year since. 

Even though it killed Kevin Ash in a tankslapper due to the head shake that BMW to this day insists that the water-cooled bikes don't have, and which BWM then fixed by adding a steering damper for the head shake that BMW insists to this day that the water-cooled bikes don't have. ?

 

[ButcherBill]

I've been a honda bloke for most of my life but liked the TL1000S when it came out, nearly bought one until the tank slapper stories started appearing.

 

[Egon_247]

Ah. Erm. Oops. ?

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[Tackle]

Ah. Erm. Oops. ?

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That reminds me, I must put the kettle on ?

 

[ButcherBill]

Ah. Erm. Oops. ?

Great choice, had 2 of them myself until a few years ago.

 

[Rogerborg]

Ah. Erm. Oops. ?

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It's a pointless bike that does touring worse than a tourer and sportsbiking worse than a sportsbike and you're very silly for buying it and also gizza go, mister.

 

[Tactical Pith Helmet]

Ah. Erm. Oops. ?

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Fucking useless/wonderful, ugly/classic, ultra-modern/dinobike...

Fancied one myself until I saw what they reach now.   I concur with Mr Borg, Gizza Go Mista!  Love it TBH.

I had a pal murdered riding one that exact colour.  He was ex-Slaves and a workmate, a real loss.  I drive/ride passed the spot he died at every Monday.  If I bought one I'd have named it Fat Bob after said mate.  Bloody silly how a machine prompts so many memories.