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  1. Pulled the trigger on a vmax this evening. Practically stole the damn thing. She is lightly modded to exactly how I would tweak a max. Motorcycle bucket list complete. So if anybody wants a tdr......
    7 points
  2. Pulled a short video together now that I'm back from my work travels. I tried to throw some music over the top (by a Welsh band, naturally) but after upload to YouTube the audio quality became distorted - so you may wish to mute. UPDATE: I've now sorted the music quality, and it'll default to 1080p if viewed via YouTube, rather than the embed below. In truth I had actually managed to film probably about 70-80% of the entire ride out on both days, so this video barely scratches the surface! Tommy is lucky, on the ride home I had put the cameras away so didn't get to capture my leaving him for dust on that beautiful, flowing road I'll see what photos I took on my phone and share any worthy ones later. But for now, sit back and waste 5 minutes of your life...
    7 points
  3. Sorry haven't commented on this earlier. I've been looking at trying to get a good way of automating posts from here to Facebook, currently I haven't really found a nice way of doing it without spamming everyone. There's a new version launching int he next few weeks which should make this possible. You're right it's Facebook, our traffic significantly dropped once shortly after they launched their groups functionality. Compared to a forum it's pretty useless in regards to searching and usability etc. However it's there immediately in your hand where most people are checking all the time. We'll have an app coming out soon with alerting functionality, hopefully it's going to help!
    6 points
  4. Yesterday a van turned up bringing a pressy to myself Younger version of the one I got with only 16.5K miles on the clock. FJ-1200 3XW That also means that the 3CV is on the market.
    6 points
  5. Hey guys - long post alert, but for those not interested in reading it, there's a link at the end to some photos. So I’m finally getting around to posting up about my Europe trip. A rough plan for the trip was conceived before I had the Tiger 1200, but I won’t lie at being relieved with the prospect of doing it on a far more comfortable bike! Anyway, the core principles were to be on the move pretty much every day, to camp every night, and to be as self-sufficient as possible. In total I was away for 16 days and clocked up 4,000 miles. For the first couple of days I actually chaperoning a friend who wanted to go to Europe on her bike, but was a little tentative about crossing the pond and being there without the prospect of any support. Because of this, we spent 3 days getting to the Black Forest, which for me wasn’t ideal (as it was boring). If I had travelled on my own I would have reached the Black Forest in 1 day, but never mind. Anyway, I left home at 5am for a rush hour commute to the EuroTunnel. The panniers on the Tiger give it a very wide profile, and whilst I have previously filtered fully loaded, I was hoping for a trouble-free journey down the M1. Thankfully all ran smoothly - and the weather was crisp and clear. I arrived at 11.30am at our agreed rendezvous (a Shell petrol station one junction before the EuroTunnel). I filled up and then pushed my bike to a parking space to wait for my friend. Pushed the bike forwards (and even backwards!) into this parking bay so all I had to do was ride it out. Fully loaded, I was quite impressed. And then… for some reason when I went to put the side stand down, I physically pushed the bike away from me ?! I have no idea what I was thinking! It was a literal shove with both my hands? I’ve never done anything like that before. So naturally my bike fell onto it’s right side. A 90 degree drop, fully loaded, and pushed with quite some force! A couple of bikers were fuelling up having just returned from Europe so I enlisted their help in lifting it. The damage - well nothing which prevented me from continuing my journey thankfully: Smashed front right indicator so that wasn’t working A minor scuff on the right hand guard (but this had saved my mirror and brake lever) I had added some fork protectors and they’d done their job - no damage to the forks, front brake, etc. Just a very minor chip on said fork protector A little bit of coolant had leaked out, causing the bike temperature to sit just a little higher until I topped it up later in Italy My poor right pannier had taken the bulk of drop - but saved literally everything else on the bike (including the engine guard). The inside of the pannier compressed from the pressure applied to it from the pannier frame and weight of the bike / luggage pressing on it. The pannier stayed on for the rest of the trip (didn’t want to risk removing it), but I did leave it secured with ratchet straps as a back up. So that’s it! I need a new pannier and a new indicator, but everything else survived unscathed, which is a relief. Bike up-righted and friend now in toe, we headed for the EuroTunnel and had plain sailing over to France. It was then a dull jaunt over to the first campsite which was literally just a rest stop for us. The final couple of miles to this campsite were down a forest track. I was tired (having been riding since 5am) and mentally drained trying to navigate and lead my friend smoothly. This is only my third time riding in another country so every sense was heightened. Whilst trying to work out where our next right turn was I had stopped paying attention to the awful road conditions. The physical weight of the Tiger helped as I then spent the next few hundred miles literally storming through a series of rather aggressive potholes! I kicked up so much dust behind me, that when I did eventually see my friend in my mirror, she was so far back! I had a blast - the suspension on the Tiger was just soaking up these potholes. I had a massive grin on my face at the end! Day two - well nothing really exciting to report on this one. It was just another jaunt over to our second French campsite. Both these campsites were really close to the borders of Belgium and Luxembourg, so we spend our time snaking between these 3 countries. Upon arrival to the campsite I pulled down a road which was actually the exit for the campsite. Full gated security - no way of us getting through. So we had to turn the bikes around. This is where the physical size of the Tiger and my inexperience let me down. This road was narrow and on a very steep hill. My friend (on a tiny BMW 650) was able to shuffle hers round. I was over thinking and starting to panic. Assessing the situation whilst she parked at the top of the road, I thought it was best for me to utilise a patch of grass to help with the turn. So when ready to go, I aimed for this grass to complete a wide turn, rather than being restricted to a narrow road. I completed the turn successfully, but what I didn’t foresee was quite how rutted this grass was going to be! I wish I had it on film - a quarter tonne bike, with luggage and an idiotic woman at the helm basically didn’t make for a dignified scene! Much cursing and much bouncing up and down. In situations like that I usually go for speed and power (because I’m clueless and want to get out the situation as quickly as possible). Well that’s great in principle, but it was like riding over tiny trenches so my back wheel was only able to get traction on raised parts. Much wheel spinning and a scream of relieve when I was back on the road and climbing up the hill! Day 3 and we diverted to Strasbourg before arriving in the Black Forest. I’m not keen on city riding anyway (I used to get zero joy from my central London bike commutes for work). This is also where the Tiger isn’t in it’s element. It’s massive with full luggage, so I couldn’t filter through the heavy traffic, and I was struggling to locate a parking spot for both bikes - particularly one of my size. Anyway, success eventually and it was a spot literally in the centre! Perfect. A bite to eat in a restaurant clad with retro bike memorabilia, and a wander around, we were then back on the bikes and heading to the Black Forest. Finally, this is where the roads started to get interesting. We had our first introduction into hairpins - the first of MANY on this trip. We stayed at the campsite for 2 nights. On Day 4 we both did our own thing because our riding style is just different. I left early and did about 350km, my friend left later and did 50km. So I was glad to be out on my own, and was enjoying the roads. I actually chose to stay away from the more popular roads (such as the B500) - they felt quite similar to roads we have here in the UK, but the single track back roads were full of hairpins and steep drops - much more exciting. If I had travelled on my own, I would have spent 3 nights in the Black Forest. Day 5 and we were aiming for a German campsite near the Austrian border. It had been bucketing it down from 9pm the night before so our tents etc. were saturated. This made for a slow ride as I spent most of the time worrying about my friend who feels the cold, doesn’t have adequate bike clothing for rain, has no weather protection on her bike, and feels the cold. In comparison, I don’t feel the cold, have a Rukka suit which kept me bone dry (they are amazing) and was well protected behind my screen and fairing. I felt we had to keep stopping so that she could warm up, etc. About 20km from the campsite, her clutch failed, but luckily it was an easy fix at the roadside. It was at this point we agreed to split from day 6 onwards. I wanted to stay in Austria for longer and she wanted to aim for the warmth and sun of Italy. It was always our intention to ride our own ride, but the night before the EuroTunnel she lost her wallet, so I was having to buy her petrol and food, etc., meaning she was unfortunately tied to me. We withdrew a stack of cash from my account so that we could split. So day 6, and I was so happy to be able to ride how I wanted / for how long I wanted / and where I wanted without worrying about anyone else. So to Austria I went! I stayed for a couple of days at a campsite near Italy, so I was overlooked by the beautiful Dolomites. I loved Austria, and wish I could have spent more time there. I had a list of roads I wanted to ride, but physically didn’t have the time. However the standout ones were the Felbertauern Tunnel (I love a good tunnel) and of course, Grossglockner. The day I rode Grossglockner the weather was less than ideal. The toll person was in shock when I pulled up - warning me not to ride it as it was horrid up there. But I went ahead and ended up riding it twice (because I needed to get back to the campsite at the end of the day!). I get what he was saying…. I saw only a handful of bikes in total. The first time I rode it the temperature at the top was around 2 degrees and there was black ice. My back wheel was squirming around for traction on the hairpins, but thankfully I didn’t have an issue with the front wheel, otherwise I think I may have regretted my decision rapidly! For the ride back it was a little warmer at the top (3.5 degrees…!) and the torrential rain I’d been in all day had since made it to the summit, but was still just falling as rain. The black ice had gone on my return leg too (thankfully!). Overall visibility was terrible. I was able to see the glacier, but the higher I climbed, the worse it became. For those that know the road, you’ll be aware there is a ‘bikers point’. Checking out the map after I paid the toll I thought, perfect - I’ll head there. Well the fog was so intense that It was literally only when I pulled onto the access road, that I could see it was fully cobbled. I was doing this in the morning where I’d been encountering black ice, the fog was just crazy, from what I could see of the access road, it was incredibly narrow and my sat nav showed a tonne of hairpins! FFS… I was on it now, no choice other than to get to the bikers point to turn around. Because it was generally quiet, and bikers were in the minority, I was encountering cars on this road (I assumed they weren’t allowed). Really not ideal. I shat myself the entire way up because I was worried the cobbles would be slippery. Anyway, made it - but it was pointless because I couldn’t admire the views! Never mind, at least going downhill was easier… Days 8 and 9 were spent in Italy. I rode countless mountain passes in the Dolomites, but don’t have a list of the ones taken. They were great though, but I’ll admit to noticing a difference in local driving quality (when compared with Germany and Austria!). The Italian’s are a little mental and car drivers won’t hesitate to overtake another car whilst on a bend. Sometimes road conditions weren’t as great either, and I noticed that their hairpinned main roads were normally narrower than the hairpin roads in Germany and Austria. So overall I kept my wits about me the entire time I was in Italy. I was getting Italian bikers pulling up next to me in my lane and riding with me whilst they were checking me out. They’d do it for a while, give a thumbs up, and then carry on riding like lunatics. I couldn’t work out whether it was them seeing a UK biker, a biker on their own, a big 1200 (it’s all mopeds there), a woman biker, or that fact I was in full bike gear when it was hot?! No idea why I was attracting such attention from every other Italian geared bike…. It was making me chuckle anyway. It was at the Italy campsite that I’d agreed to meet up with my friend again so that I could top up her funds and so we could share our adventures to date. On day 9 (I think) I took a break from mountains and hairpins for a more leisurely ride around Lake Garda. I have visited Lake Garda when I was younger and loved how clear it was. So it was great to re-visit, and great to just stop and enjoy a nice coffee and ice cream by the lake. On this day I also pulled into a Triumph garage I was riding past. They were so kind and took the initiative to check the bike over. Everything was fine other than the coolant (from my drop, which I knew about). So whilst they were checking everything over (free of charge) I wandered around admiring a little slice of British motoring they had - classic Mini’s (I used to own one) and some old school Jags hidden out the back of their workshop. On the last day in Italy I headed to Stelvio Pass as I made my way to Switzerland. I knew the road had a tonne of hairpins, but I’ll be honest with you - I hate hairpins. I know the theory of how to get a bike round a hairpin, but I’ll often then overthink it and mess them up. However, I don’t like my own irrational fears to get in the way of why I ride. So I aimed for Stelvio with a clear idea of what to expect. Mind you, the first few hairpins really caught me off guard. The main thing I struggled with was the serious lack of visibility - I had not idea whether there was a vehicle coming down. So I was going into these hairpins blind, with a fully loaded bike that is overwhelming if I needed to physically stop it on a camber. I think it was that playing on my mind and making me feel tense. Anyway, once I cleared a few of the more tree-lined hairpins, the scenery opened up and I began to enjoy myself more. Don’t get me wrong, I was still taking some of the hairpins in a way which would make experienced riders wince, but I was enjoying myself, recognising my mistakes, and grinning like an idiot when I completely smashed one. I felt liberated by the time I made it to the top. I sat and watched bikers and high-end cars for an hour and a half at the summit, enjoying a bratwurst, of course! The ride down the other side was just as beautiful. I stayed in a campsite which was probably the worst overall - whilst it was in Switzerland, it was close to the Italian border, and still very much felt Italian - drivers were mental and I didn’t hear anyone speaking French or German…. The campsite itself was dated, the ground was like sand (so difficult to get my bike secure on its side-stand) and the campsite was also bizarrely a destination for locals to visit for their evening meal?! Italians gathered in groups are not quiet!! Never mind - it just encouraged me to get out and stay out the next day! It was from there that I headed to the campsite I was looking forward to the most. A campsite in Switzerland which was at the foot of a glacier. It was basically close to Mont Blanc (as the crow flies). I stayed there a total of 3 days and chilling at the campsite of an evening was just so serene. Over these 3 days I soaked up roads in the Swiss Alps, dipped into the French Alps and enjoyed seeing Mont Blanc up close. Overall the weather was great, resulting in fabulous views. One night I experienced a first for me, a silent thunderstorm. The mountains surrounding me were blocking out the noise, and the lightening was momentarily silhouetting the mountains which was so cool. I took a tarp with me so that I could comfortably sit outside my tent and cook, etc. So it was nice just sitting there listening to the rain fall. On my final night at the campsite, there was some light rain when I went to bed, then clearly a cold snap hit during the night so all these rain drops which had been sitting on my tent and tarp fabric has frozen solid. My entire tent was frozen, the glacier had a fresh layer of snow on it, and the ground was slippery. It was so cold that anything I then placed outside the tent as I was packing up was freezing! What I have also experienced is how painful it is trying to open frozen aluminium panniers with bare hands…! Likewise, my tent has one of the poles exposed, so I was having to melt the seams with my breath so I could collapse that down. All good fun! Getting my bike off this hilly campsite on icy ground - well that was less fun, but I did it. This is the very campsite where the day before I thought I’d ride towards the glacier and see how close I could get (big mistake as I ended up on a dirt track with large loose stones - and then suddenly a narrow dead end out of nowhere! Turning my bike around then (with no ice) wasn’t fun, so I was glad this time I didn’t encounter any problems. I’ll also take the time at this point to say just how amazing the heated seats and heated grips are on this bike. At this point in the trip, my friend has been taking 4 days slowly riding back through France to the EuroTunnel. I didn’t want to do that, so stuck in Switzerland for as long as I could. I then rode all day on the motorway to make it to the campsite we’d stayed at on day 1. This was then a great starting point for my final trek back to the EuroTunnel. Even though it was a boring day riding through Switzerland and France, it was a compromise I was happy to make. Along with Austria, the French and Swiss Alps are certainly a place I want to go back to. After I’d packed up at the final campsite back in France, I had a 250km jaunt back to the EuroTunnel where I met my friend again. She was a little worn out from her slow trek back through France, something she didn’t enjoy doing. But we were both safe and sound and ready for the delightful over-populated UK roads. After arriving back in the UK we went our separate ways (my friend back to London and me back up North). Terrible planning - the train had got us back into the UK on a Friday during rush hour…. So it was slow going for me, but I arrived back home with no dramas! It was a full on adventure, moving every day, but I loved it. I enjoyed camping every night - the longest consecutive period of time I’ve spent camping. The bike was mainly a pleasure to ride, long distances and cold weather are easy to tackle aboard this bike. Really it was only awkward slow speed manoeuvring I struggled with (more because I’m on tip-toes), and then the consistent 27 degree heat in Italy ,as I get no air flow behind the huge screen, hand guards and countless wind deflectors dotted around the fairing. It wasn’t uncommon to see me standing on the bike as I travelled around Italy…! The next time I head to Europe for a biking holiday, I’ll cover less distance. I want to spend a long weekend in the Black Forest (I think that would be enough for me). I also would love to do a week-long holiday specifically in Austria, and another week-long holiday specifically around the Swiss and French Alps. So it’s certainly given me a flavour of what those locations are like. Here’s to the next adventure! https://imgur.com/a/56Lomzz
    6 points
  6. I had a bloody great weekend, loved every minute. 100 per cent agree on a second meet every year. End of August ?? Blackhat you choose? Great ride out,,,, lots of miles, loads to see, great roads, perfect speeds (fast X slow), really like riding with you lot as we now know eachother's riding style's over the years. Your a great bunch of lads. Thanks Merve for the route and leading the way. No crashes is good as it doesn't spoil the day. I had good fun at the back, kicking up a sand storm on poor Tommy,,,, I know you were swearing at me, I can lip read,,,,, + out sneaky pint was so funny at the time. Really good weekend,,, my boots were full of water when I left Merve but the rest of me was dry. I took A40 home in the end,,,, was busy, had to do a lot of 50mph filtering. My back tyre is dead, I'll be lucky to get the week out of it. Yellow mellow,,,, pitty you didn't make it after all your time trying. Thanks all,,,,, chat soon,,,,,,, ps I didn't take any pictures, sorry Pat
    6 points
  7. Just found Tommy's ride and slide photo
    5 points
  8. I had a low speed off way back when with the girlfriend on the back. No big deal and it didn't put her off marrying me but... My biggest fright was as a puny 18yrs apprentice shipwright, I was coming home from my birds house when I saw one of my workmates staggering home drunk. I stopped and asked if he wanted a lift (always seemed to carry a spare lid then). Big Stan gets on the back. Now, I was 5'8 and about 11stone, Big Stan was about 6' 8 and around 20 stone, extremely drunk and wobbling all over the place. Never came off, but the worst 5 mile pillion ride I've ever done.
    5 points
  9. Oh Slice... owned twice in one thread! [emoji1787]
    5 points
  10. I made it back home safely too. I had a thoroughly enjoyable time, can't believe 2016 would have been my last time out on one of these...! Anyway, thanks Merv for the planning (it was a fun ride) and supplying us with a BBQ. Thanks to Tommy for catching my bike (!! - I'm an idiot). Also thanks to Tommy and Drewps for the chaperoning home (hope you didn't mind me wizzing past you on those twisties, Tommy?) It was great seeing familiar faces again (Andrew, Jason, Tommy, Paul) and wonderful meeting new faces (Merv, Martin, Pat). I'd be up for meeting more regularly too. I'm away with work now, but will check through my footage and see if I captured anything good.
    5 points
  11. Before I say anything else "Thank you" to pilninggas for yesterday, just brilliant mate tho some of those roads were terrifying! but the views at the end were worth the terror. The "stop and wait" system worked great with just the one glitch, soon sorted out. It was fun to see you all again and I'm just sorry I could only make it for the Saturday, I really needed to end the day with a pint or three with you all. got home around 7PM so just under 2 hours from when I left you all on the mountain top. I have a good lot of videos from the ride out and will stitch something together in the next few days and upload it when I can, hope you all made it home safe and sound and see you next year wherever that might be? Oh and I have some of Pat trying to climb the mountain on his fazer! yep I'm still laughing.
    5 points
  12. Here's my XJ6 s 2012 I bought recently. Only 1,750 miles on the clock! It's a great ride, excellent condition really comfortable and pretty quick. I think I'll be keeping this one for a while...
    4 points
  13. 4 points
  14. Hello, I've been a yammy man for a long time, since my first 350YPVS back in the very early nineties, I've built countless specials over the years and more recently I've been working through my bucket list, buying tired but low mileage cosmetically challenged bikes and restoring them back to mint original perfection, doing everything myself in my domestic garage, fabrication, plating, painting everything. I've always loved the unloved underdog, nothing better than stuffing an underpowered bike past a wobbly sunday barstool racer on his 'superbike' So I'd been half looking for a SZR660, they've always interested me, a nice single in a small light good handling chassis, the potential is there, just that Belgarda made a dogs breakfast of packaging it. Then a bike popped up on ebay, yeah the fairing was fitted all wrong and looked awkward but it already had a few desirable bits for the special I already had visualised and more importantly was much cheaper than the overpriced original bikes that dreamers on ebay seem to think are desirable. As soon as it arrived it was stripped and the project started.... First up get that fairing off and suddenly it looked much lighter The look I'm going for is naked, stripped down, lightweight - taking styling cues from the SDR200 and R-1Z, now the seat unit looked way too big as well so that came off as well, and then the engine came out and it was much lighter Few hours later and I was down to the starting point of a bare frame. I have a TIG but have never done any ally work so this was the chance to learn.....
    4 points
  15. Now that I've sorted myself out (didn't realise I had to become a member to get the "attach" option), here's a couple of pics of me and the FJ from a ride out a couple of weeks ago.
    4 points
  16. Oh. Dofus. Yoc remember. Should say 600 fazer. No gold star for you...
    4 points
  17. ponderosa was quiet and found a great new cafe too wasn't till i got on the m6 that it was busy
    4 points
  18. Two wives decided on a girlie night out. On the way home they needed a pee and nipped into a graveyard. Then they realised that they didn't have any wipes to finish up, so the first one used her knickers, and the second one found a wreath and used that. The next day one husband rang the other and said 'No more girlie nights out, mine came home with no knickers on'. The other said, 'Well if you think that's bad mine came home with a card in her crack that said 'From all of us at the fire station - we'll never forget you.''
    4 points
  19. About twenty years ago coming back from Clevedon in Somerset on the M5 Northbound after watching our local football team play away to Clevedon with my son on the back of my Divvy 600 he decided to fall asleep going across the Avonmouth bridge in Bristol. My mistake was to shout his name and ask him if he was OK. What I should have done was to pull into the emergency lane and woke him up. But since that experience I've learned that is a common occurrence. (frightening) But the most frightening time was coming back from Poole in Dorset again watching our local team play and as luck had it I entered a 40mph speed limit just before Warminster on the A350 and he decided to feint. I felt him slipping off the back of the bike towards the middle of the road so I had to hold him in a headlock to stop him falling into the road, literally stall the bike into the side of the road. Believe it or not about four cars passed us before finally a car stopped to help me get him off the bike and sit him onto the grass verge. And the car that stopped was a woman on her own and gave my son some water from a bottle she had been drinking from. She did leave without giving me her details but to this day I really do thank her and will never forget her good deed where as others just drove past. But the good news was just after she left a car with Chippenham supporters pulled up thinking that we had broken down but after explaining what happened they put my son in their car and took him all the way home with me following behind. There is good people about thankfully. Mike.
    4 points
  20. I've been the pillion in a situation. Was at a friend of a friends at about age 15 and he offered to take me home on his RD350LC, but like most things, it had to be NOW! So there I am, climbing on the back whilst trying to zip my leather up and his girlfriend had kicked one peg up but not the other... So now I'm trying to zip my jacket up AND kick the peg down at the same time. Him, thinking I was on, takes off. I don't... Next thing I know, I'm laying on my back in the middle of the road and everyone comes to to see if I'm ok. I'm fine, just slightly confused about what happened. But this isn't the worst part! We thought he'd get to the end of the street and turn around for me, but we don't see him for the next 20mins... By the time he gets back, I've taken my helmet off and had a fag and a cuppa. And here he is and we walk out to meet him and he says: "I didn't realise you weren't on the back till I got to your house, so rode back slowly to see where I'd lost you. What happened?"!!! I was only 10 stone at the time and hadn't put all my weight on the bike when he took off. So he just never noticed the change in weight. He thought I was the best pillion ever!!!
    4 points
  21. I was riding through Copenhagen with the Mrs on the back, and there were these huge tabletop speed bumps all down this road. The kind that wouldn't be out of place on a bmx track. So I had the bright idea of standing up on the pegs and hitting one at ramming speed forgetting she was there. As we came down off it she slid forward onto the riders seat as I simultaneously went to sit back down on her lap. I stood straight back up and got punched in the arse for my trouble
    4 points
  22. Hi Scott, International Rescue here.! I've also got a DT 175 MX 1978 round tube swinging arm bike. I've got a photo of the loom under the tank if that helps, and I'm more than willing to take my tank off and photo around for you. I'm familiar with the electrics of this bike, see one of my main popular posts on 12v conversion if you're interested. I can send you the photos, if you PM me if thats any help. Plus if you happen to reside on the South Coast I could simply show you.
    4 points
  23. Well its been the shittiest summer i can remember,,, But" 25 degrees forecast this weekend,, and were off to a classic rally, up North, first this year,,,,,,am on a different ride too ,,,its blue,,,,,
    4 points
  24. First post, I can't believe I have never been on this site before, I have had XS's for 17 years. Current bike XS 850 with a rebuild XS 850 just started, I bought it 12 years ago as someone's stalled project, for spares or rebuild and has been virtually untouched since. Lockdown has prompted a relook at it. This will be an 'economy' rebuild, I live in the far north of Scotland so don't get to many meetings although I did go to the Yorkshire Pudding Rally in 2017. Round trip of 930 miles, I was the only XS triple there. The highlight of my weekend was getting the bus into York for some 'culture' and a beer, (yes I am boring). Last year went to 'Thunder in the Glen'. I have taken the bike to the Continent nine times, mostly Germany, Belgium and Holland, been round the Nordschleiffe, terrifying. Went to Assen Moto GP in 2009, great time. I meet up with the German Triples IG (Interested Group)at various locations in Germany for their Treffen (rally). Last October we had a stand at the Stafford Show so no trip to Germany. This year I don't know if I will be away due to COVID, we shall see. Ken.
    4 points
  25. 4 points
  26. Well I’m back home now, safe and sound - after 16 nights camping, I’m looking forward to a proper bed (and decent shower...!) I’ll sort through some photos / footage over the next week or so and share a general update with you all.
    4 points
  27. I’m in the Black Forest now, Drewps [emoji846] heading off the the Alps tomorrow. Camping the whole way.
    4 points
  28. So as I asked a few weeks ago "was the ABBA superbike lift any good?" Well to cut a long story short SWMBO has bought it for me for my birthday (YAY) it turned up in several boxes, well what's a birthday without something to open! and she had got me the whole kit and caboodle, I mean the lift the trolly widget and the extension arms for front and rear wheel removal. So I can now take the wheels off and still move the bugger around the garage. It was expensive tho just under 3 hundred quid. Anyway the point of this missive is to say that the thing is just brilliant, after you have attached the bobbins to the bike it's a simple matter to just hoike it into the air with one hand which brings it into the same height as if you were using the centre stand, for which up till now I have to use a lump of wood under the rear wheel to get it to the height where this old sod can then just about get it over the hump onto the stand and that's using both hands and still struggling with 350Kgs of dead weight. So I'm just saying, if you have no centre stand or struggle to use the one on your bike then this thing is the dog's danglies when it comes to ease of use. This is what she got for me. Plus I can now take off the centre stand and suspension and the swing arm to grease them whereas before it took 3 different set ups to do these jobs!
    4 points
  29. Well I sort of got this video uploaded and hope you all enjoy it, it's only a flavour of the day but it was fun out there never the less. I'm sorry about the language on the video if you show it to your kids or partners please turn the volume down! Well here goes nothing. Also it seems I have had my camera set on 480p not the 1080p it should have been so the quality is well to be honest crap, I will see if I can upload an better version later. https://youtu.be/wLROAaQliVo
    4 points
  30. Ok, so HOW many times do we hear the pub championship winning tw@ say he has saved 3grammes from fitting a different headlight bulb. They say losing a bit of weight makes all the difference, well after that diabetic business I had/have/er? anyway. From October I am now a trim 75kg, (around 12st). That's over 4 stone down. Now this year my bike has felt a lot quicker, initially I had to change the suspension preload by quite a lot and it certainly goes a damn sight better. I thought my cock up fitting those wheels with a 40 instead of a 44 tooth sprocket would be on my to do list. Not a bit of it, pulls it fine now I have got rid of the flab. That got me wondering, 130kg for the bike 105 (ahem) for me as a starting point at my worst. 235 on (lets be honest) 45hp. That's .19hp/kg Now 130kg for the bike, 75 for me and 45hp. 205 = .21hp/kg Or, in real terms, its worth around 11%, so not eating all the pies got me a right result. Lot of waffle if you ride a cruiser or a superbike bit on a sensitive little bugger like mine its made a hell of a difference. And yes I am bragging about losing a shit load of weight.
    4 points
  31. It's been a while since I started a new post, so thought I'd share my new toy! Picked it up last week, I'm 30 this year so I thought balls to it and had a brand new bike. Gone for the new speed twin... Pics attached. All I'll say is that it's awesome, torque for days, nice and easy to ride - even at a spirited pace Sorry it's not a yam [emoji851] Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk
    4 points
  32. 3000 in a week, surely? bloody soft as shite northerners, get on your bikes ya pansies....
    4 points
  33. after being blocked out for years I am back good new or bad ? thanks for sorting it Alex
    3 points
  34. I couldn't find a 'middle finger' emoji, so...
    3 points
  35. Ok if it's going to be shit weather then let's leave it till it get's better, as Tommy said Stafford show might be fun anyway for a quick trip out and if some of us meet up there we can talk about it then.
    3 points
  36. Hi merv,, good to see your Back,,,, be good to hear from others, se if theyre still alive,
    3 points
  37. And a few more photos - this time from the "Ride To The Wall" event, at the National Memorial Arboretum, back at the start of October - truly one of the most moving experiences of my life. Over 8,000 people, on 6,000 bikes, all joined together in remembrance of those who have lost their lives in the Armed Forces and Emergency Services (Police, Fire, Ambulance etc) since the end of WW2, and in support of their families, friends and comrades. I joined with a couple of mates at Leicester Forest Services on the M1 for one of the 11 group ride-in's.
    3 points
  38. And a couple when I'd given her a good clean up to show at the Rugby Bike Fest. I LOVE this bike !!
    3 points
  39. Same up here , mobbed ,,first warm day,,,
    3 points
  40. For those into engine porn. My 1975 T160 Trident was burning a bit of oil, so having missed out on a few weekend aways due to lockdown, I saved my money and gave the bike through to Grin Triumph in Kennoway, Fife. He is a one man operation with a great rep for auld Triumphs. I dropped it off in March and picked it up a couple of days ago. He stripped the top end and rebored the barrels out to +20 and fitted new pistons. He also fitted new valves, guides, springs etc and vapour blasted all components. Apologies it's not a Yam, but hey...the sharp eyed will note that the vacuum covers on the carb gantry are actually Yam parts, so qualifies
    3 points
  41. Out today, 15 degreees ,,,hottest yet,, i was on the 550.. mates on Yds7
    3 points
  42. I’ve decided to go for the refund and find a new bike. I’ll keep an eye on that breaker for future smaller jobs.
    3 points
  43. My mate has been drinking brake fluid, I asked him if he was addicted? he said no he could stop anytime!
    3 points
  44. TDM is a bit SHORT!. Im 6"1 and I thought it was spot on. I nearly bought a 850 back in the stone age. Green one as I recall but no matter. How is the 1300 better if the tdm is small, or are we just talking numbers? You need to get him on some bikes so he realises just how fast bikes are so he realises just how slow his 535 was in the motorcycle universe. In his mind 1300 is big numbers so fast, 900 is smaller and slower. The real world difference, with the bodywork you can ride the tdm considerably faster and for longer than the 1300. My vmax has a ton of horsepower, needs a subtle experienced hand to ride it quick though. Its knackering to ride hard too. Any year the YOC tour has proved that any bike, from an sr125 right up to an FJR1300 and anything in-between ridden with a group of genuine friends is a great.
    3 points
  45. 3 points
  46. If you cba why would anybody else spend the time. This forum is for the benefit of every member. Not a free fixit for the lazy.
    3 points
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