Ttaskmaster

650 Dragstar gets an easy 48mpg. I would have suggested a Tourer of some kind, myself. FJR1300, perhaps. Guy (his actual name) here at work on a Honda 700 Deauville claims around 70mpg. I recall one of the 500cc Enfields being advertised as getting 84mpg. That's the highest I ever heard for a bike. Snazzy, too!

Along with "Live fast, ride free", "Live to Ride, Ride to Live" and other such cliches, I assume? Call me when you actually get a fail from loud pipes

I have a rucksack. I don't need shopping bags.

Kinda like the old French Military Victories, where it found no results and asked instead if you meant French Military Defeats.

Loud Pipes don't save lives - Riding so people know you're there, does. I do actually miss my quiet original pipes, especially when I come home late at night and the only noise is this GGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrr of my custom ones, shattering the night and pissing all my neighbours off.

The easiest and cheapest is to drill some holes in the backplate of each pipe. Start with one each and increase the number until you're happy. This will mess with your mixture balance a touch and will worsen as you put more holes in, so you might want to re-jet. The best, cheapest method is to cut open the silencers and rip out all the innards. Ideally, you'll want to re-jet after this so your performance doesn't suffer, but that will cost a few quid extra. Unless you're extremely skilled with tools, it will likely look shit, though. However, if you want to just get different pipes, keep the originals in pristine condition and sell them. New Pipes: I have a set of the Gemini ones from the Italian seller on eBay, for something like £250. A simple search will find them (cannot send link as I'm at work). Quality varies a touch, but mine fit quite easily and replaced the whole pipe assembly. These have removable baffles (undo one bolt on each and out they come), so you can have the nice growly sound of a medium-sized dog... or take them out and be DEAFENINGLY FECKING LOUD as you amble on by! The 650 will never sound especially deep and menacing, as it is only a 650cc engine... but it can still make some impressive sounds. Other pipes are available, but are more expensive - you can pay up to £600 for some of them and they are not all complete systems... some are just slip-on silencers, so you'd need most of the original pipework intact.

Ohhhhh yeah..... There is a vague reference from Vampiro to Goff (how dare you spell her name with a lower class G ) , but I hadn't made that tenuous link and twigged that it was the same bike. Since Goff's photos of Elvira are no longer around, I had to compare the two and thus remained untwigged.

Pfft.....

Getting married. Thereafter, I expect trips to the Lake District (again, sigh...), Cornwall, Scotland and who knows....

No, no, no.... That Elvira you posted = Wrong one. Elvira was the legendary and gorgeous 650 Dragstar owned by Goff, one of our erstwhile Administrators of the forum here. Unfortunately, she sold it and upgraded to the 950 and we haven't seen either of these ladies since. Even the photos have vanished now... But she was awesome (and the bike was damn amazing, too). I know which Elvira I'd rather ride....

Ah... I see the issue. Get some plain, unslanted saddlebags, like I did. Literally, the only decorative part are the single buckle closures. The rest is all plain black leather - No studs, no tassles, no conchos, no cowboy accoutrements of any kind! They just look like leather boxes.

If they offered the same stuff in a non-chromed format, for about half the price, I'd buy half the shop! But I can't justify that kind of cash for something just because it's chromed. I don't have Harley syndrome. Oh, Saddlebags are great - I love the easy removable models with the massive capacity. I also love how you can squeeze more stuff in when you go grocery shopping, which you can't always do with rigid panniers. Anything that beefs up my bike's backside is a bonus, too

Hi there! Whereabouts near So'ton are you? I know Portsmouth area a bit and I have to go to places like Eastleigh, Highfield (to the student pub!) and that Flowers estate every now and then.

Speak to a local, independant locksmith who specialises in vehicles. They can impression the lock and cut you a new set of keys. Costs around £15 for a set of 3. If you have one of those that also controls the immob, he can use something like a VAG66 to encode the key for you.

You have FOUR bikes, though......

This bike reminds me of Elvira!

Just give it some good care and attention yourself. TBH, most 125 Cruisers are in good nick, usually. Even the high mileage ones that have been abused a bit. Sounds like you just lost out on this particular one. I hate to say it, but that is indeed what happens if you don't go and try before you buy.

Hmmm... Not usually my kind of thing, but they have some interesting and unusual pieces there. I just wish it wasn't ALL complete chrome! Some nice saddlebags, too.

Steady on, old bean - He's not even logged in since yesterday. Give him a chance, at least...

Bike related - I got wet. Not related - New compass, 7 books by WW2 veterans about their time in the forces, 2 new shirts and a PC game (to keep me occupied for weeks on end as I save up for the wedding). Mrs got: Heston Blumenthal kitched timer (cos her old one is crap), big box of choccies and a bottle of 1980 (the year she was born in) vintage Taylor's port, in handmade presentation box!

It will take a bit of Googling and a bit of patience, but you can usually find most of the Big-4 Jap 125 Cruisers, in great condition with less than 15k clocked, for under £1,600. Try starting with the small, independant dealers. There was one round my way a few months ago with a Drag 125, 250 and a 650 all in great nick for decent prices. Brand new, not so easy and people don't seem that interested in 125 Cruisers any more. I guess the Mfrs think the plentiful supply of good-nick 2nd handers is enough for now, or that they won't make enough money in teh current financial climate - We are still recovering to a great extent and further recession is still on the headline horizon.

Hairdryer - Heat the glue up. Prise it off. Scrub with a clean cloth and white spirit.

10W40 is pretty standard for the UK. I think the fat bits on the exhaust are just the heat shields. They are fat to look a bit better and to help keep you from burning your leg, is all. The actual pipe bits are pretty thin under all the shrouding.

High mileage = 80k and above. These things will last well, though. Exhausts... Don't worry about that. It will hold it's resale value better with all original stuff and will be far less hassle. It won't sound much better with any changes and will need a lot of fiddling. Hills - You'll be lucky to get to 60 (assuming proper hills, that is). Top speed is about 74, done properly. Torque... You have a fair amount of grunt for a 125. You have 12BHP and the bike weighs 144kg (24 stone). However, mine still managed motorway speeds going 2-up with a 13 stone pillion, plus a weekend's worth of luggage

Friend of mine welded one on to the frame of his BMW K1100. Used a standard hitch and trailer latch off an old caravan/towbar assembly. Trailer was a one-wheeled frame, with that 4-way hinge thing they use on steering columns (forgot the name) so it goes up and down, left and right, but will not tip over on it's own. Get 4 kegs of beer on that thing, easy!