Reply With QuoteThat's looking very nice, Tony! Hopefully it'll get sorted promptly and you can get out and enjoy the thundershowers!Originally Posted by learningtofly
I did get one quick shot during my aborted ride on Saturday, albeit there are some more farkles to come. Oh, and having bags on the bike is transformational - I've used them repeatedly since I mounted them and the 20 litre capacity the two of them give me is perfect for everyday use.
That's looking very nice, Tony! Hopefully it'll get sorted promptly and you can get out and enjoy the thundershowers!
Thanks Ian, and I hope so too. The forecast down here is for about a week of blistering, cloud-free sunshine (albeit that the earliest I'll get the bike back is Wednesday, assuming they'll just need to run some diagnostics and then do the necessary).
Does anyone else find themselves actively looking for another bike despite having bikes that you enjoy, don't want to replace, and despite barely doing enough miles in a year to justify owning even one?
At the moment I've got the Street Scrambler and the R80RT mono on the road (well, the R80 is nearly on the road), the R65 being slowly recommissioned and the YBR in the garden for light duty. At the moment I'm probably covering 1,000-2,000 miles a year. The figure is only that high as last year as I took the SS for a weekend in France and a couple of days out in south Wales. The Scram is brilliant, great fun but a bit limited if you want to cover distance. Or overtake. The RT is also marvellous, but at 43 years old I'm nervous about its reliability (though realistically I shouldn't be).
But at the moment I'm looking enthusiastically at things like the Triumph Street Triple 765 because it's nice to go mad occasionally, S1000R because it's nice to go even madder occasionally, a CRF300 as there's a delight in having something bouncy and fun on the lanes, an R1200RT so I'd have modern touring capability and comfort for Mrs Gyp (who might get on it once) and an Africa Twin (maybe an auto) as that could also tour but will likely be more reliable than the BMW. Mrs Gyp doesn't consider a holiday to be a holiday unless it involves a flight and a beach, so the opportunities for touring are limited.
Likelihood is that I'll buy nothing and stick with what I've got, partly because I don't really want to part with any of the current fleet and partly as I have no space, but I'm finding it intriguing that I'm looking in all directions at once!
All the time Ian, all the time.
Well, it's not going too well at the moment.
Apart from discovering that the mounting system isn't quite what I'd expected (the "RAM" style mounting is integral to the back of the unit so needs to stay in place), it's not working and their support haven't been particularly supportive.
Gyp: I'm afraid the unit is dead on arrival and won't switch on. I wish to return for refund.
Supplier: Try re-pairing the Blutetooth and see if that helps
Gyp: I can neither pair, nor re-pair the Bluetooth as the unit won't switch on.
Supplier: Please take a video so we can see the problem.
Gyp: <takes video or nothing happening> here's a video showing the power connection, me testing the voltage with a multimeter, checking the fuse, and showing that the unit hasn't powered up.
Supplier: Can you please go through the menus and let us know the software version number.
Gyp: How do you expect me to go through the menus when it won't switch on?
Supplier: We cannot see what the problem is from your video. Please could you take another video so we can see the problem.
Gyp: <takes a photo of the set up with volt meter, and videos of it connected with the power button pressed at different time intervals and nothing happening on the screen> Here again is a video of the connected unit not switching on. Can I have return details for a refund please.
Supplier: Can you check the fuse?
Gyp: I have checked and replaced the fuse, including checking it both visually and for continuity with my multi meter before and after the videos
I'm not impressed by their support
Bought this in 2019 and sold it a year later.
Bought it back again last week.
In the interim there's been three other bikes that have come and gone.
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
Whilst walking down the road this morning, I heard an old motorcycle engine noise.
I turned around, saw this, and immediately fell in love with it.
Fortunately, I already had my phone out and was able to grab a few shots as it drove past.
My question is...
What is it?
Having had a quick rummage around The Web I think it's not a stock Royal Enfield. The front of the bike doesn't seem to match the rest.
If you recognise what the bike is/was, please let me know so I can start saving up for one =)
Thank you =)
It looks like a “ bobbered” Enfield, possibly a 500 cc bullet engine, but could be a 350cc. Looks an older model due to the chrome choke lever on the left hand bar. Low revving long stroke motor , loves to lug along 0->60 eventually.
Steve
Ralphy you have a problem the screen needs trimming, the previous owner has let it grow too high :)Bought this in 2019 and sold it a year later.
Bought it back again last week.
In the interim there's been three other bikes that have come and gone.
R
Also the fact that the rear brake is on the left (with presumably the gear shift on the right).
Heavily transformed though
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Not great - next they’ll probably offer you a discount- happened a few times for me with iPhone screens that are faulty - what’s the point of a partial refund - it doesn’t work
Must admit the Garmin XT was great last week
Do I recall your Street Twin being photographed in the same location? It may have been a few pages back ;o)
Hoping the 'more farkles' include removing those reflectors on the fork legs and changing the indicators?
Well spotted, as has the hedge in the background.
Despite the bike having been ‘farkled to death’ after I first bought it, the interim owner managed to add several other items, including a different screen, but kindly returned both the screen which it came from the dealers when I bought it and the aftermarket one I’d added before selling it to him.
He’d also added a Tutoro chain-oiler which is one I’d never heard of before, however it’s impressed me already over the Scottoilers I’ve had before.
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
Sam here; my eBay watch list is a compendium of twentieth century bikes.
And now a bunch of KTM supermotos.
Tutoro’s are popular over on the GS forum for the non shaftie riders. They came after Scottoilers and dont rely on a tapping off the carb to sense vacuum. From memory they work on vibration of the bike. Folk seem to rate them for extending chain life without turning the rear wheel into an oil bath.
In fact here you go
https://www.tutorochainoiler.com/pag...toro-auto-work
Another option is a Cobra Nemo which are in essence a resevoir of oil with a twist cap, you give the cap a twist every 500 miles or so. These are similar to the engine oilers on 1920’s vintage bikes :) :)
I wouldn't be surprised!
What could be fun will be explaining to them that UK consumer legislation makes them responsible for the return shipping on faulty goods.
I really get on well with my BMW Nav VI too. It's operating the various features of the mobile through the Cardo head set that I'm struggling with. One answer is to mount the phone on the handlebars, but I don't really fancy doing that.
Are chain oilers really still needed? I understand they'll extend the life of the chain, but an X-ring lasts a hell of a long time now with sensible cleaning. Let's be honest, most riders will trade their bike way before they wear the chain out
There remains relative movement between roller external surface and the sprocket teeth.
I’m a fan of chain oilers if they are accurately metered (electronic Scottoiler for example). Downside is the state of the rear wheel if you don’t get it cleaned often.
If people want to run their chain dry - fine.
I only ride off road and you'd think that the beating the chain gets from a lot of hard acceleration plus no cush drive plus being run in a mud bath most of the time would kill it in about no time flat. I've got over 100 hours of riding through the winter on mine and it's not showing any appreciable wear.
Up to people what they want to do, obviously!
I found this too- I’ve a bold and my made has an x4 I found when I connected the Zumo to my cardo everytime he called me on the intercom I was not available-
Tbh I found the spoken nav instructions a bit of a distraction- )
The first chain I put on an off road bike wasn’t a sealed chain. The first time out it stretched so much that it jumped the sprocket and smashed the crankcase.
I’ve always fitted O ring since and never had an issue with stretch.
Whilst their may be movement of the chain against the sprocket, all the hard work is done inside the roller and O or X ring chains really don’t need much attention. The oil on the outside only allows bits to stick to the chain and accelerate wear. If you want to lube the chain externally, use a dry film lubricant (PTFE based).
Buy a Street Triple RS 765, loving mine, just added some extra bits today and then took it to a local guy to get the suspension setup for me, including the brakes and pegs.
Handling even better than before.
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Just had a right good result after a phone call with my insurers.
My renewal is imminent and the quote for this year only went up by £64 after adding the ZX14 to the policy.
That tiny increase in premium is vastly inproportional to the performance potential of the Kawasaki. Do they not know what a ZZR1400 is capable of..!
Various online quotes from the usual sites for a separate policy on the 14 came back with ~£300 so well happy with adding it to my current policy with the GS.
If it wasn`t for the fact that i only have one years no claims (had classic bike insurance for years which doesn`t attract NCD) my insurance for both `proper` bikes would be even lower..
Realistically the RS is far better than I am so the R would likely be more than enough. Didn't stop me getting this close (<this close emoji>) to buying an RS Moto2 a couple of days ago. I tell you it's not safe when Mrs Gyp goes away for a few days
I like the Moto ones but they would be total overkill for me plus that clip on riding position I could see becoming a pain real quick.
Have to say today was the first time I’ve ever had a bike setup for me by a pro and I’ll say it’s the best £50 I’ve ever spent on a bike, just feels so much better and plusher than stock Triumph setups.
I’d recommend it to anyone to get it done.
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Thanks guys, much appreciated =)
Yesterday was a day of two halves.
Beautiful run down to Bristol, it was scorchio by the time I got there, so much so Mark, the site manager, and I were in shirt sleeves to suss out the site for boat launching. I was only in Bristol until about 11.00 and had to open all the vents on my riding jacket to stop me from sweating even at 60mph! I got through to Pyle, between Swansea and Porthcawl, and showed Gerald how to put it up and the various features of it, he is off on a big trip around Europe with it in a fortnight. We were still under the sun at this stage and I set off up through the valleies to Treorchy. The valley road is good, but the hill out of Treorchy is proper switchback hairpins up the side of the mountain, what is left of it from quarrying and mining. Then on to Bwlch mountain, where the thunder started. Deep joy. I put my waterproof trousers on but both they and my top of the range KLIM jacket couldn't deal with the downpours I encountered. My Altberg boots though, a bit damp around the top where the capillary action from my trousers wicked down but my feet were bone dry, everything else was as wet as if I had stepped into a shower, but I wasn't cold so pressed on...... until somewhere just outside Builth Wells, where I parked the bike under a yew tree and I dived into a barn for cover, sharing it with several families of swallows who were also sheltering from the absolutely torrential rain. I haven't seen rain like that since monsoon time in India.
I waited the worst of it, dripping from the cuffs and bottom of the jacket, tee shirt and rugger shirt were drenched underneath, so I daren't take it off, instead got going again as the worst had passed. All the way to Newtown it thundered and chucked it down at me, seeing required total concentration with an open face helmet, the rain stung constantly but I had to press on. The A483 is a lovely road normally but in this, every inside of the corner was flooded, the sides were flooded and between Newtown and Welshpool it was at its height of the storm - there were cars stranded in the middle of the road, flooded and stopped. The standing water was up to my cylinders at times but the old girl got me through. I left home at 06.30 and got home at 21.30 after a really testing 500 miles (507 to be exact) with 150 of those miles through those constant thunderstorms. I stripped off and went had a shower to warm me up then the shivers set in... it took a towelling robe with a fleecy robe over that and hot bean bags and plenty of hot coffee with some Bailey's in it to get me sorted. But, I loved it, fighting the elements and winning - I can still do it!
Vehicle insurance underwriting assessment is based on many factors, top speed/acceleration is but one of them. There's been a growing emphasis on the owners home address over the years for example, which I've experienced when moving home.
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
Lovely, lovely bike - and what a memorable ride you had!
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
Beautiful bike. Shame about the weather. Glad you got back safely =)Yesterday was a day of two halves.
Thank you. We have had her since 1991, when she turned 3 and required an MOT. We have never seen a need to change, add to, yes, but we won't get rid of this one until we can no longer ride her. The pillion is so comfy and the suspension so compliant it is the memshaib's favourite. It isn't all about performance.Lovely, lovely bike - and what a memorable ride you had!
R
Talking of which, it is windy and sunny here today and I have put all my stuff out to dry.... I had left one of the full side vents open on the jacket, no wonder the wet came in! I shall still blame the jacket of course.
Fantastic and iconic bike, and it looks great in red too. One of the older bikes that I would be willing to spend my money on.Yesterday was a day of two halves.
Beautiful run down to Bristol,...
Yes indeed - in fact I think all my bikes have been shot there when they were new to me.
Good point about the reflectors - they'll definitely be coming off. As for the indicators, the only reason they're still there is that I've not decided what I'm doing with the rear end just yet (although I'm edging towards the R&G tail tidy as I need to retain my grab bar and rack (and R&G looks like the only option). In the interim, they give the Bonnie that classic look so all is well for now.
Echoing these comments.Lovely, lovely bike - and what a memorable ride you had!
R
Well done for riding through the torrents. My other halves family are in Stroud and said the rain was the worst they've ever seen.
I have an R100RS that has been lightly modified to be more scrambler. There is something so charming about these old airheads
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Well, I've literally just had a call from Triumph, who collected the bike earlier this afternoon. It was just a kinked fuel line.
Apparently they don't carry a stock but a replacement has been ordered and I should have the bike back on Thursday. Probably the simplest and least worrying thing it could have been.
Fantastic run out today for me and my mate Pete. From my place across to Middleton In Teasdale, across to Hawes then over to Devils Bridge and back through Kirby Stephen and home.
All in all approx 160 in glorious weather and great roads (apart from a couple of sections where the stone clippings were down).
Obviously stopped at a few places for a bacon sarnie, ice cream and a tuna sarnie thoughout the day.
Superb, wish I’d done my bike test back in early 2011 instead of getting guilted by my ex wife (you’ll kill yourself was all I got told).
Totally clears the head and you see some great sights and the Street Triple was a dream to ride.
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Cleaning has started on the red GS, this is my other airhead, 1982 (Brembo brakes version) R100CS
Took my oldest for his first proper ride yesterday. He loved it and has asked to go again this evening
Well, the bike came back home today, wth it's new fuel line installed and back to its rumbling best. Such a sweet motor. Oh, and I've fitted some more billet options from Motone:
Black cover for the clocks (need to order a black bolt)
Union jack reservoir cover
Fuel cap
Chain guard
One more to go for now, but I need to take my time with that one!
I think I seen you today bringing it home through Radlett. I was in the black car in front of you coming through the back doubles due to all the traffic.
Looking really good
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Yes, that was me and I recall the car (we both turned off towards Gills Hill, and I nipped in front of you at the junction). What a small worldI think I seen you today bringing it home through Radlett. I was in the black car in front of you coming through the back doubles due to all the traffic.
Looking really good
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The R seems capable enough!
https://twitter.com/sarahlezito/stat...220501505?s=20
(Edit as I forgot the link!)
Last edited by Gyp; 16th June 2023 at 17:49.
If anyone is wanting to upgrade their bike clothing armour to Level 2 soft armour have a gander over on Sales Corner.
https://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.p...43#post6228743
Quick ride on the small road from Bala to Vyrnwy, then over to Shropshire for a taste of Enochs roads
Going away for a fortnight, so I took both bikes out for a run today.
Has anyone else tried one of these Jackets/shirts, I bought one this week, in this silly hot weather it’s brilliant, keeps me cooler and offers good protection, obviously I tested that.
https://www.urbanrider.co.uk/knox-ur...irt-black.html
I’ve a slightly earlier model - the original I think- excellent
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzJ1HByzTww
Last edited by lewie; 16th June 2023 at 20:59.
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