Pete

We were having a windup on the more gullible guys....and they fell for it!

And here it is....a new XT660R! No point in me waiting for the 55 reg cos the XT will be the one that goes to Spain, and will get re-registered there. The ideal bike for Spanish roads I'd say! As for the TDM....it's a very good bike. But I just couldn't get on with it...particularly the handling. Even though the TDM was faster and had better brakes than the Strom, in every other area the Strom just whips it's ass. I've always wanted one of the new XT's....and the Spanish relocation plus the great deal just forced my hand. What's it like? I've done 120 miles on it and so far it seems to me to have similar performance to the Transalp....but a bit gruntier. It's light years ahead of the old XT's....no comparison whatsoever. Very tall....but I'll get used to that. Comfort?....It's no Strom but it's pretty good compared to most. Pillion provision looks pretty reasonable...but has to be tested. But one aspect that stands out a mile is the handling. With Michelin Siracs as standard, the thing goes round corners like you wouldn't believe. I thought the Strom handled well....and it did. But this thing is something else! On rural bumpy backroads, this new XT has the potential to really do the biz! You're going to say....those pipes are no good for offroad. Maybe not for you...........but they'll be fine for the namby pamby gentle trails that I occasionally venture on. What is more important to me is the fact that the bike handles like a dream on country roads, cos that's where I do my riding. What you think?

Apparently the majority of them just fall apart!

Well done Moz....you've managed to kill off the most action YC has had in months!

Eddy is a legendary internet figure...you'll find his rantings on all kinds of forums! Who else would go on a Cat Forum and say this? "I own a RWS German 1200 FPS airgun. I have killed three cats this week that were killing birds. I'd suggest that you cat owners keep your pets indoors because if they come onto my land I will shot them in the eye". snippets from other postings of his in OTHER Internet forums first, he's superman... Quote: I have already survived through a terrorist incident almost as bad as what happened on 7-7-05 in London. My experience happened in a train station too. I was blasted backwards with such force that my body tore three sets of steel bolted train seats completely out of the floor and smashed them flat. I went flying backwards at 70 mph headfirst through a wall. then he's James Bond... Quote: Actually I did want to get into the sack with the shorter of the two Australian women---Clare Lawrence. She was a cute little thing. I believe she said she had ancestors who were aborigines. Whatever, she had a nice little body on her. Actually, I was hiding the full details of the coming derailment from them. I knew that if I had told them what was going to happen they would think I was totally nuts. If the derailment did not happen that would confirm it in their minds. If it did they would have developed selective amnesia over what I had told them because their minds were not open and conscious enough to understand the transcendant intelligence they were dealing with. I was also the only person to have taken photos of the inside of the train just before it was derailed. Two were used on the front page of the Cork Examiner on August 2, 1980, the same day a powerful bomb killed 86 and injured 200 in the main train station in Bologna, Italy. Other of my photos were used inside the newspaper. One night, while in my bedroom, there was a knock at the door. It was Clare and Enid. They came in and thanked me for the help I had given them. They both offered themselves to me, either singly or both at the same time. They said they wanted me to know that they really appreciated my advice and what I had told them. It was a night to remember. ...and finally... Quote: If you are asking can I know (sometimes) when a supposedly totally unknowable event will happen---the answer is a total, resounding, unequivocal YES I can. I have done it several times with precision, detail, and clear vision. I CANNOT control it though. It has a life and movement all its own. It does not originate with me but it has come through me many times over the course of my life. and here is what someone else had to say about him... Quote: I know this guy. There's only one person on the internet who behaves exactly the way this individual does. I followed a link posted elsewhere into this thread. Forgive me for butting in. Yeh, there are a lot of thin-skinned people out there, but there isn't a soul who reacts with such vitriol after such innocently made comments as this guy. He's known among denizens of motorcycle forums as "eddyirish" or "irisheddy", also once called himself "farmboy". He's also a pathological liar; witness the absolutely bizarre statement that he knew all about 9/11 before it happened. He's also claimed at various times to be: 1. A vietnam veteran (marines) who's killed as many as 200 "charlies" hand to hand. 2. A famous doctor, who ran: a. a drug rehab center, or b. a clinic for orphans (depends on which thread you happen to drop in on when he's making that particular brag). 3. An executive at GM who was responsible for setting up equitable severance packages for laid off workers. 4. Owner of "several" internet services. 5. Has personally killed several people who attempted to insult him face-to-face. He's a class act!

Take a look HERE Moz....at posts 6 & 7. Me and Eddy posted at EXACTLY the same time, which is impossible if we were the same person.

Moz....I'm so confused I don't even know what bikes I've got now!

This is what happens....you get a decent thread going then Eddy fucks it up!

The XT is going Scott....and so is the TDM. Do try and keep up.

Can't say any more, but the TDM is about to leave the building! Which will herald the arrival of Bike no.52! All very hush hush at the moment!

FFS Moz....what did you have to go and mention Eddie for?

I had a Thundercat too....it was about my 40th bike IIRC.

Yam specific forums have been tried before Mozz....and they never took off. The machine specific ones have...but not general Yam ones. The reason is that people change their bikes a lot these days. I would prefer to have a Yam....but if they don't make the model I want then I have to look elsewhere. I've got 2 Yams now...but by the weekend I may not have either.

We've tried and tried Moz, and there's still loads of people signing up. But they either never post, or post once with a fucking stupid question, and that's it.

I think his name is Bubba!

That's a Chav Bike!

....says "Bikeless of Brighton!"

I've only got 2 Alex!

Shots from today....

You spilt the beans!

The Strom has been despatched to the Breakers Yard....and I brought this home today... 2004 TDM900 1200 miles as new! OK....here's the info: Left the house at 10am and got to Swindon just before 1pm. 45 miles of B Roads, then 80 miles of Motorway. My grey/ginger head got a right battering on the way up....particularly over the Severn Bridge! So I got to Swindon, had a coffee, did the biz, and left at 2pm. What's the TDM like? Well I saw it first being serviced on the ramp and they'd taken the plate off cos it had another dealer's name on it. And I thought it was a brand new one, not the used one that I'd bought! It had done 1200 miles all on dry roads cos I had a good look underneath. Absolute minter. Got on it...little bit lower than the Strom, with a very firm seat. Seems a bit heavier than the Strom (but it's not)....yet it feels very small when you sit on it. Build quality is superb. Pulled away through the city centre...very smooth indeed, though I'd say Suzuki's EFI is marginally better at those revs. Very easy to manoevre and you seem to be sitting higher than you'd think. Footrests quite well forward too. Gearbox is typical Yamaha with a very positive clunk...so I can tell it's not Silkolene in it cos it makes a big difference. Got out onto the Motorway....Wow! Just open the throttle, any revs, any gear and you've got a wave of smooth torque from 2-8K which is the redline. Very easy to go too fast though.....4K revs is 70 and 5K revs is 90. I found I was doing 110 on a 50 stretch and hadn't even noticed. After 80 miles of effortless motorway work (with zero turbulence) I hit the B roads. Stream of cars in front? No probs...no dancing on the gearshift, just whap the throttle and they're a speck in the mirror. Again....I had to watch the speed very carefully. It's not a fast bike....but it's a bike that's very easy to go fast on, wherever you are. Brakes are phenomenal...the last time I experienced anything like that was on my Fazer, so it's highly likely these are R1 brakes. Just touch the brake and you're sliding up the seat. Handles on B roads more like a sportsbike so it will take a bit of getting used to. Nevertheless, it is very planted and not as wallowy as a big trailie. Very, very comfortable...the ride back was so easy whereas the ride up on the Strom was much more tiring. So...what is a TDM? Well.....you sit on it and it feels like a Fazer with forward pegs. Round town it feels like a big trailie. On motorways it feels like a tourer. And on B roads it feels like a sportsbike. It's a parallel twin yet it sounds like a V Twin. Open the throttle and it's reminiscent of the pull of a Commando. But the weirdest thing is that there seems to be no engine braking when you close the throttle. So I'm fucked if I know exactly what the TDM is.....it's a complete enigma that you can't pigeonhole. But all I do know that it's a bloody fantastic bike that's bursting with character! I love it!

And there's more Scott....I did 100 miles on it today. Nothing attracts attention like an OldSchool XT!

Just think....you could be this cool too!

Fantastic on tarmac but no good for hardcore offroad work. But I don't think I'll be going there. The most hardcore I get is using cold instead of warm water to wash the bike! Here's a couple more shots taken today....

The Siracs are on...along with new inner tubes.