Gas up - Let's Go!

Only if you do it again, On the other hand, I'll bet you never leave a bolt or nut off again

CAn't decide if it just wrong, or so right.....

When I took the bike out of the shop, the owners and both mechanics thought I'd gone mad, turning down spanking new R's for the little commuter, especially as I'd arrived on a 1300cc grumbler.... so I was expecting the bike to be a pile of poo by comparison. It's bloody comfortable though, and if I thought it was a little tight, the motor that is, it only had a handfull of miles on it. I imaging it will loosen up quite a bit once you get past 6k miles. Don't like the crazy Yamaha digital fuel gauge though, hate it on the Tenere and it's just as bad on the XJR. They're are as much use as opening the filler cap and sniffing the air inside to guess how much fuel is left! Oh, and the digital speedo's, they are way too slow to respond - again the Tenere has one and it's rubbish!

I just had the XJR1300 in for it's service, and the dealers gave me the choice of three bikes to take home. All of them had less than 200 miles on the clock, there was a R1, R6 and the new 600 Diversion. Now I've been on R1's and 6's before and to be honest they just don't float my boat at all, so I took the Divvy out under the instruction of using some of the fuel and putting some miles on it. After 40 odd miles I must say that I'm quite impressed with this little bike, sure it's not going to light any fires, it skips about on the rough pot-holed bits but as an entry level bike this is very impressive. Having owned a Fazer 600, I can say that I actually prefer the XJ6 to ride, it's comfortable and incredably easy to flow through the corners. The brakes are good, no over sharpness but they stop you just the same. As a commuter the bike is perfect, good all round vision for traffic, decent weather protection, narrow and a piece of cake to filter with it's smooth delivery of power and light clutch. On the open road the bike can get you overtaking and reaching the naughty side of 60 in a heartbeat, nothing like as quick as a Fazer but with much less fuss. Even the looks ar OK, there are lots of cheaper parts, but I guess it's what you expect from an entry level bike. And the short under-belly collector and exhaust pipe look and sound nice and modern. Under the seat there is more than enough space to stash a set of waterproofs, although the bike lacks any kind of luggage capacity, something you would expect of a commuter bike? Anyway, thems my thoughts on the bike, if it helsp anyone who's looking.

There you go. You can treat leather to give some shower protection, but it doesn't last very long. Keep the leathers and wear them, then go and buy a cheap set of waterproof pants from Aldi or the like. Don't spend much as they usually tear after a while. Best to buy cheap and chearfull. Keep a roll of DuckTape handy and use it to make repairs, looks crap but crap and dry is better than smart but wet!

Anything can be painted, it's all a question of prepairation, choosing the right paint, prepairation and finish. Prepairation is quite important too. It really depends what paint you are using, but you need to get the surface sanded down and keyed with a fine grit wet'n dry / sandpaper / emery cloth - whatever you choose to use. Of course you could have it bead blasted, sand blasted or any other kind of prepairation treatment that leave the surface clean, keyed and ready to apply the base coat. Some paints don't need a basecoat and some do - Check the tin ! Apply lots of thin coats, leave lots of time for the surface to dry properly, read the instructions ! I've sold a whole heap of lamp brackets for the Tenere and I've used Plastikote paint on them, nice high gloss finish and as tough as old boots, but it does take 3 days to paint them! Of course there are other paints available.

I'm sure I don't need to add to this, but just for the hell of it...... 1) Why would you need to wear a uniform if you are a using a bike ? 2) Cracked IT is not listed at Companies House, yet it say's it is 3) 54 Blossom St does exist, however try searching for it, look at the websites you get back, similar eh? 4) 54 Blossom St does exist, however it is very small, and painted to look like a Keep left sign (Google Maps), and is in the junction next to Sainsbury's ! 5) The search results from the address shows up one, Innovation-Business.co.uk, who offer virtual office services, in other word, services that are not there! and when you dial the number, you get a woman, no company or business mention. To be honest, I'd pass the stuff you have straight to Trading Standards and have them investigate it. They are attempting to obtain money by dishonest means. You could go to the Police, but they'll only mess it all up with thier size 12's, Trading Standards will at least investigate it.

Good for you, but an R6? forget it, restriced it will be a pig even if you can get any insurance. You can restrict anything, but there is always a downside, generally, the bigger the bike (or more importantly, the bigger the bhp) the more asmatic it's going to be, so you'r better going for a smaller bike that needs no restriction or a mid-range 600. Bikes like the MT-3, XT660X XT660R or XT660Z all come in at around 50bhp so restricting them down doesn't effect them too much (especially when you drop a tooth on the front sprocket) Carefull....... Lots of Smoker lovers here, full of good advice, even if they do leave a smoketrail behind them... I wouldn't worry too much about this, the UK has one of the toughest routes to a full liciense. This is going to hit the likes of Greece (where you have to be able to ride the bike 20 meters without falling off) hardest. Although a return to the old way of motorcycle liciensing, to me is a good thing. But as Graham says, it's focusing on the most 'at risk' groups, in 10 years time they'll realise that the 'at risk' groups have moved to the 40-something, new age born again bikers (all the gear, no idea types) and it'll change again. There is nothing wrong with learning to ride a small, low powered machine properly, if you can get your CBR125 around corners quick, then you'll be bloody fast when you get a bigger bike (by fast I don't mean straight line speed, I mean your cornering will be fast) as cornering quickly on the CBR's push-bike tyres is much harder than on say a CBR600 with a big fat curved lump of rubber. When I was younger I loved speed, as I get older I've slowed down yet I corner faster and with more control and anticipation than many others (thanks to the IAM), I almost never need to carry out an emergency stop and all braking is nice and gradual. Sure, power rangers wiz past me on straights and just before corners, on corners and other dangerous places but normally it's because experience tells me to slow down, it's not something you can be taught is experience, you have to learn it and the best way is to do it slowly.

Generally a battery that is run every day for over 20 minutes will last ages. If you start the bike once a week for 10 minutes, your battery will be knackered before long - so it depends on what you do with it, as to how long it will last. Batteries on small bikes are normally small also (in power capacity) so it depends on the capacity of yuor battery as to how long it will last under load. No help this really is it? An optimate/optimise/conditioner thingy will keep your battery going for a good long time, on the big singles that I ride a battery is estimated to last about 2 years, with an optimate device I'm still on the same battery I bought 4 years ago (on the dirt bike that gets out about 2 or 3 times a month), so worth the investment in the long term. However if you ride the bike every day, for at least 20 minutes after every start then you will recoupe the 'cold crank' loss and the battery will go on and on and on. in other words no need for an optimate device. As you move to more cylinders then the cold crank requirements drop and the batteries generally last longer. I would suggest, especially if you've flattened it, to get an optimate thingy and use it, they are especialy good at keeping batteries good in cold weather.

Me too, I've tried many different type over the years, but the Halford Proffessional stuff is still like new, I've never experienced a fracture or break and the rachets don't slip either. Not the cheapest stuff though, but you can feel the quality.

Alzheimer's has reduced most of them to forgotten momories, but in the past 10 years or so I've had Kwacker ZZR600, VFR800, two XL1000 Varaderos, Kwacker KLE 500 and I currently have a XRJ1300, XT660Z (Tenere) and a TTR600RE..... Maybe a 1200 Multistrada in the near future I'll drop him a line. I might even have a photo of it somewhere...

You need to be a little more specific about your needs. As a Motorway mile muncher these bikes are not the ideal choice, as a RTW (Round The World) choice of steed they are well suited, or with a tyre change they make great Green Lane bikes. On single, twisties they will out perform all but the most spirited sportsbikes, even from a standing start they are bloody quick, all the way to 30 or 40mph!! They top out at 60/70 but you can change the final drive to give you more top end, although the lower end will loose out. The fuel tank is pittyfull, at 7 litres before you hit reserve you have around 110Km's before reaching for the tap (Oh yes, and they are in Kilometers, not miles!), although for around £200 you can chuck an Acerbis long range tank on the bike. They are awesum fun and alway return a smile, and they hold thier value very well (a 2005 model will still return £2500 in good nick, or around £2k for a 'used' bike) and are pretty much bulletproof, hense the good choice for RTW.

Like this ? Nice. Goes like stink, it's really sedate under 4000rpm, then it turns into a bit of a monster (it's a VVC engine) as the other 4 valves come into play..... I had this one for 8 months and just got sick of the back racing the front out of the roundabouts. It just didn't suit my riding style, but it did look this good after a winter's salt had taken it's toil. I'm not sure it's so different from the T'cat though in terms of size and possition. A mate of mine has on on a 53 plate with about 6K on the clock, he keeps elling me he's going to sell it, just the same as the one in the picture but silver. I can ask him if he's serious about the sale if you want? (drop me a PM)

I do, I'm even planning to tax it this week and get it back out on the road - now that the salt has all gone and we're into summer........ Now then, the XJR is a comfortable bike, and easy to ride, really easy, despite it's 1300cc lump it feels light on the road at speed and in traffic. It is un-faired and you do get the old wind blast and driving rain, and coming from a Thundercat you'll notice it. A few quid spent of a small screen (I have a Puig one, but there are many available) will make a world of difference, although when the speedo passes 80 you'll start to notice the wind more and more - sort of a 'slow down now' reminder!. More of a sort of rumbling power house, rather than a racer. But I kinda like it,,,,, then again it might well morph into a 1200 Multistrada before next summer. When you say you want comfort, what sort of comfort ? for a big fell like yourself th Varadero will suit speed and handling, but it really does come down to what you want ?? The big trailies will offer the best size, and if you look at the Triumph Tiger these get good feedback from owners - you'll save on the insurance too. One thing I realy don't like the XJR for, it a git to keep clean, way too much chrome and engine stuff that you can see, and it look like a shabby old piece of russian crap when it's too dirty!

I alway nod, as long as it's safe to do so. I usually find that during the winter months everyone nods or waves/leg out but as the summer months come and 'certain' bike/rider combo's come out of hibernation that statistically less people do it. Different people have different experiences, I often find that some BMUU GS's (usually the shiny ones) won't wave if I'm on the Tenere (jealousy I would say!) but will if I'm on the XJR !! Everyone waves when I'm on the TTR and it's covered in crap, even power rangers when I pass them on the signle track twisties!! I find that riders on old or bikes covered in crap are often the most likley to wave/nod/foot out.

In a free market economy, the only power customers have to force down prices is to use their feet, literally in this case! You can stop buying fuel, that's the only way to 'force' prices down, if there is no demand at all then the fuel companies might listen, if there is demand in one area then the companies will just move the fuel around. There are only a small number of refineries in the UK and all fuel comes out of them, that we use here in the UK. Problem is, companies have to sell at a price that returns a profit, if they don't they won't be around long and that's bad for competition (resulting in prices then going up!). The other thing to consider is Oil, it's a finite rescource and it's running out..... So the fuel companies are funneling loads of cash into alternatives. It makes good business sence, you have to have something to sell to survive. It's not a bad think for the future but it does need funds to happen. Tax, now this is a real bug bear for just about everyone. The percentage of duty is bad enough, but to then add VAT onto the duty is sickening, a tax on a tax... so for every £0.01 Duty that goes on, it equates to £0.0117 at the pumps, not a bad way to swell your coffers. So the Governement could do the decent thing and stop this double taxation, but the problem is they cannot afford too. The country would not be able to pay it's debts, the pound would crumble even more (putting a certain end to any holidays you all had planned), the country would loose it's credit rating and it would then have to pay more to meet it's debts, sort of a ever descending spiral. It's too late to do anything about it, and we are going to have to face upto the fact that we are all going to be taxed more in order that the counrty can recover - no matter what happens in May. Had government policy be a little tighter on the banks we might not be in this possition. I rememmber an election slogan from years ago "Labour isn't working", funny how thing go around in circles init ?? (BA on strike, unemployment up, Raliworks planning strikes.......)

You say the sweetest things.....

Thanks Paul, this happens now and then to the TTR, normally just turning the fuel off, then on again sorts it, but next time I'll wack it with a fence post!

I'll tell you what, When I get the card through I'll buy you all a nice new bike - who does that sound. Now whee is that holiday bochure ?

I'm in the money..... I'm in the money....... From Zenith Bank RE: YOUR PAYMENT NOTIFICATION From: Mr. Tony Elumelu Remittance Manager Zenith Bank of Nigeria. Attention: Beneficiary, This is to officially inform you that we have verified your contract inheritance file presented on my desk, and I found out that you have not received your payment due to your lack of co-operation and not fulfilling the obligations giving to you in respect to your contract /inheritance payment. After the board meeting held at our headquarters and also with the approval from the ministry of finance Nigeria, we concluded to send you an ATM card which gives you access to make withdrawals from your total sum of $14.6 Million USD.(Fourteen Million Six Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) The contact person below (Card centre Official) will send your ATM card along with an official document from Zenith Bank that will contain directions for your card usage through DHL services. Is rest assured that you can make withdrawals with your master card from any ATM MACHINE near you or in any part of the world. To proceed further and for informations on when to expect your card you are to contact the below person with your personal information which must include your full name and phone/cell number: Agent Name: Godfrey Young Email: [email protected] Phone: +234 807 960 6919. Thanks for your co-operation. Best Regards, Mr. Tony Elumelu Remittance Manager Zenith Bank of Nigeria.

Then I'll become,,,,,,,,, nothing but an urge in my old mans mind........ Horrible thought

Bumpers ?? Have you tried the HUBB ? (www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb) Or I'm not sure there are many Super Tenere owners on here, I'm just a lonely old Tenere owner, keeping the home fire burning....

Is the country entering a dancing contest ? (Can't be footbal, I though the only player we had broke a nail ??)

I uses alot of 2 piece waterproofs for off road work, the first set was HG and cost around £50 for the pants, lasted about 45 minutes til I ripped and melted them on the hot pipes! The longest lasting pants I have a are Spada, cheap, on warm days you'll sweat like a swede in a sauna but they last for ages and keep the outside wet out. I've tried lots of one-piece suits, and it's the same as taskmaster and oldtimer point out, look out for the cheap stuff as they all rip and tear when your trying to put them on, on the roadside when you are usually a little wet too. These days, I treat waterproof stuff as a consumable..... and always buy a roll of ducktape to keep them lasting past the little holes you develope... I also have a rally suit, the waterproof liner is on the inside and in three years and close to 50,000 miles has never let in a drop - but these are expensive, and not really suited to anything but adventure style bikes.