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GazzyG

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Posts posted by GazzyG

    New (old) bike...

    in The Bar

    Posted

    FJR was just too good all-round, so decided to get rid and get back to basics with an old school beast.

    a0FuL8z.jpg?1

    1981 XS1100 Midnight Special. Bought her from an enthusiast who looked after her very well. I hope to do him justice, but at the same time this bike is going to get RIDDEN.

    • Like 4

    XVS950 or 1300 advice

    in The Bar

    Posted

    Both would be awesome.

    The 1300 has that extra grunt, but is by no means fast. Coming from a YBR, however, even the 950 will feel like it has all the power in the world.

    Whichever you get, enjoy!

    Thundercat before she goes...

    in Yamaha Gallery

    Posted

    I like that, looks much more comfy than my r6 haha

    I've had a sit on an r6. You're right lol - r6 is a much sportier, more compact riding position.

    Would love a cat. Awesome bike.

    I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a Cat to anyone. Served me well.

    Main reason I'm getting rid of it - I ride two-up a lot. My legs are short and the Cat is quite tall and top-heavy, especially two up. The 600cc engine doesn't enjoy hauling two of you through town either. Get it on the open road and it'll lunge along, mind.

    I'm sure the 1300 Midnight Star won't be as fast or agile, but I'm hoping it'll be easier for me to handle and it'll make me smile in different ways :)

    getting my cx seat recovered

    in General

    Posted

    Nice work, looks a lot better.

    I used to have a plastic maggot too! Mine was an absolute shed that had been abused its whole life, lol.

    Only thing I liked about it was the noise. Oh - and the engine looked pretty beefy too.

    im coming back! hopefully with a YZF600r

    in The Bar

    Posted

    looking forward to the power jump, im stepping up the chain nicely :)

    what do you mean about the riding experience though?

    It BEGS to be revved to 14k. That's where the power lives. An SV650 has quite a flat powerband, from what I recall. Whereas on an i4 600 the power just builds and builds and builds till you don't think it can anymore. Then it does!

    Gets very addictive. Leads to illegal speeds in no time flat.

    Part of the reason I'm making the migration to a cruiser, lol. Though I'm very glad I had the 'Cat while I did.

    im coming back! hopefully with a YZF600r

    in The Bar

    Posted

    A new selector fork won't cost much and it should only take about 2 hours to fit it that's in the worst case, it might be alright and it's a nice bike anyway, no matter what bike you buy it's going to need fettling.

    Not if he contacts Pidcock Triumph of Long Eaton and gets mine after I trade it in ;)

    Year's MOT, new fork seals, recond brakes, new downpipes, full service and carb balance, new chain set. new tyres... Passed MOT with flying colours and ready to rock and roll! I'm sure they'd give it him for a steal, too...

    im coming back! hopefully with a YZF600r

    in The Bar

    Posted

    You WON'T find a lot of complaints about second gear. It happened on a tiny handful out of the thousands upon thousands of bikes sold. Yet people keep repeating it as though it's something you should expect on every 'Cat lol. Such is the internet, eh, haha? Once the rumour mill starts, it takes a long while to put something to rest lol.

    I've had my Thundercat for two years so feel I can help you out here.

    It's big enough and comfortable enough that you can ride two-up quite happily for a whole day, though I will say the revvy 600cc engine, though supposedly torquey compared to an R6, doesn't enjoy hauling two of you through traffic. There's a lot of riding the clutch to smooth out the ride in town.

    But go out on your own and its got the power and handling to keep up with many more modern bikes. I regularly ride out with an SV1000, S1000RR, GSXR600 and an R6 and never get left behind.

    Mine has a Viper race can and it sounds great. Exhausts, actually, are one thing to look out for on a Cat - the original downpipes were made of monkey metal and tend to rust through. Mine did, so I replaced them with stainless steel Motads.

    If I were to keep mine, I'd lower it and put some raised bars on it, as my back doesn't like the hunched over position (even though it's nowhere near as extreme as an R6 or the ilk). I'd probably also gear it down a bit to give it a bit more low-end oomph.

    As it stands, I'm trading it in for a cruiser which I'm hopefully picking up this week, simply because I want to take it easy, do more two-up touring and no longer need the speed a Thundercat can offer.

    If you get it, you'll get a fast, frugal (50mpg+), good looking, capable and ultra-reliable sports-tourer. You'll enjoy it.

    xvs 650 or xv535

    in Yamaha Customs

    Posted

    Out of interest, what is the 0-60 of a smaller cruiser, eg a 535 or 650?

    I know sportsbikes (the Cat is ~3.6secs) and I know what a bigger cruiser can do (the 1300 Star will apparently do it in 4.5secs) but what are the little ones like?

    I had a friend at Uni who had a 535 and used to speak of beating Imprezas from the lights. That seems somewhat optimistic to me, but he might be right?

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