cupcake1973

Hello Tezza. I lived in Woking for about 12 years before moving to Bracknell (for work, not out of choice!), so not all that far from you really. Glad you found yourself a decent ride after the Bandit

Suppose I should add my bit to this since I have owned my 2010 XJ6N for a couple of months now. I'm not a new rider but have recently come from Harley ownership - so any bike is going to feel great after that! Like others have mentioned - gear change is a bit rubbish at times and I get a couple of numb fingers/thumb on longer rides, but overall I'm pretty happy with my choice. It rides nice and has plenty of power with a little person like me on board. Mine came with tail tidy and Scorpion end can. I put some crash bungs on, radiator cover, adjustable levers (for my small hands) and added quite a tall screen - MRA Highwayshield, which fits really well, nice and sturdy and gives me great wind protection. Thought it would ruin the looks of the naked bike, but I was very pleasantly surprised Going to French Alps on it this summer so that will be a good test of comfort and long-distance rideability. Won't keep it forever though. Sat on an FZ8 recently to see the size (expecting it to be too big for me height/width wise) and it fitted really well, so I expect that will be replacing the 6N next year. But so far, really really enjoying it. Great little bike

hello from me

maybe one day...

Buying parts to make a bike work is not new on me - I owned a Harley remember!! Spent a fortune fitting a full stage 1 on that just to make it even half rideable Didn't expect to have to do the same to a Yamaha though - usually expect Jap bikes (newer ones especially) to be rideable straight out of the box, as it were As for the dark side, well my old FZR400 was the oldest bike I had and I swear it was heavier than my Harley. Not sure I'm ready to go back to old classics yet. I'm enjoying modern life after the tractor too much

Will do

As much as I love my little XJ6, I've taken quite a fancy to the FZ8N and was just wondering if anyone has one, or has any experience of what they are like? Husband rode an FZ1 and he said that, while it's a great bike, it's very twitchy and tends to be to the extremes of all or nothing with the throttle - snatchy acceleration and not particularly smooth. He said it's a bit mental Is the FZ8 like that too? Or is it a bit more 'rounded' in terms of rideability? I don't want anything that's hard work. My XJ6 is easy to get on with and I'm wondering if the FZ8 is just a bigger version, or is it more like a smaller mad-machine like the FZ1? Yes I know I really ought to take one for a test ride - great in theory but I'm small and dealers don't tend to have lowered ones as demo bikes and I struggle a LOT on standard sized models

I'll have my mobile as back up, just as I did when I used paper maps last time. My package now is much better so won't incur roaming charges either, which is a bonus. Did some shopping around and went with a Garmin unit. It had one or two more useful features than the Tomtom equivalent priced model and yes, the lifetime map updates made it a no-brainer really. Just waiting for it to be delivered and then I can decide on mounts etc. Thanks for all the suggestions - big help

Harley sell their own side mounts for their bikes, so to me that would suggest it's fine - as long as the actual number plate conforms to all the legal sizes & colours etc. Had a friend with a black & silver (classic style) plate on a side mount and all she got told to do was put a legal plate on it (yellow) cos her bike wasn't old enough to qualify for the old style. I think it just has to be clearly visible from the rear and must have a number plate light

I've got an Android phone with Google Navigation pre-loaded. Like I said, it's adequate for the car but no good for what I want on the bike. Routing options and display options are far too limited to start with. Not paying extra for a dedicated navigation app when I can spend a bit more on "proper" sat nav. I had co-pilot on my iphone, which I paid for and that was pretty rubbish too. I navigated myself and husband all the way around France just using road signs and a few paper directions, then the one time we actually used the co-pilot (to get around the Lyon Peripherique) it took us on a magical mystery tour in circles through the middle of the city in rush hour. Utterly useless! Turned it off and within 5 minutes we were back on route again. Never used the co-pilot ever again after that, despite us both having iphones for a while afterwards. Plus I've noticed that while google nav runs from GPS signal, the maps load via the data network - which will cost in roaming whilst abroad. And where there's little signal, the maps take an age to load. Not much use really. Nor do you get any advanced options/junction assistance, lane advice etc. Hence there are many reasons why I would like a dedicated sat nav device And yes I know about the law about using devices with camera detection and all that, plus helmet stickers, spare bulbs etc. etc. etc. (I wrote a whole article about biking through Europe not long ago)

Thanks for all the suggestions guys - given me an idea of which route (pun intended) I'll probably go down. Will have a look at the ram mount with either tomtom or garmin I think. They have batteries and you can get chargers for them for the bike (and waterproof case if needed) I have google navigation on my smartphone, which is just about adequate in the car, but it's just not suitable for the bike. I'm not paying for a navigation app for the phone (which I won't be keeping longer than 6 months anyway) when I can spent a bit more and get a dedicated sat nav device

Hello and welcome from me Used to have an FZR400 that I loved. Now have an XJ6, which I also love

I am still a big fan of the maps or just using plain logic to find the way. Navigated 1800 miles around France last year with just that. The only time we (husband) used sat nav, we got lost! Just think sometimes it would be a handy gadget to have for longer journeys where we'd like to avoid motorways and don't really know the area. Might do go down the route of getting a slightly older model for not too much off ebay and just update the maps. Thanks chaps

I'm looking to put a sat nav on my bars ready for the summer and some nice riding days out. Anyone got any recommendations? Will want European maps included too. I've been looking at the dedicated motorbike ones and they're a bit out of my budget. Would an ordinary car sat nav be ok? Or would vibration and sun/outdoor conditions ruin it? Also, can you get the bar mounting brackets for the non-bike specific ones? I know I can get a waterproof cover thingy and universal charging socket for bikes off ebay. Been searching the actual units and seem to be going round in circles trying to figure it out Any thoughts/recommendations would be a big help. Thanks

Hello and welcome. I work in Reading and I have a mechanic that did all the stuff on my Harley in Caversham. He can pretty much work on any bike (he's gonna be looking after my XJ) and I'm sure he could strip your engine. He's an excellent mechanic and nice bloke. Think he charges about £40 an hour labour. I can put the two of you in touch if you're interested?

Hello Garth and welcome from me I'm Leicestershire born and bred

I did get a book with it and although I've read some, I haven't seen anything on bulbs yet. Will have to check when I'm home tonight. I've found the book to be full of pages containing very little useful information so far

hello and welcome from me

hello from me

Welcome from me

Going to France in the summer and need to get a spare bulb kit. Anyone have a list of the bulbs the XJ6 takes? Seen some on ebay for various Yamaha models but not the XJ6, although they all seem to include pretty much the same bulbs (H1, H4, H7 and indicator, stop/tail bulb and fuses) in the kit. Will one of these do? I don't even know if my bike has HID / xenon lamps (assuming it doesn't). And is the tail light LED? Google isn't helping me much at all! Really should get to know my bike a bit better...

Lovely bikes. I had a 'baby blade' 400 in the urban tiger colours years ago. Great bike and definitely the best paint scheme. You'll have to find a new Mrs Foamy to make proper use of that sissy bar

Welcome from me

Glad I don't have to go through the new bike test system, it's all rather complicated these days. I do understand the need to try and make things safer, but how come the driving test has gone through so few changes in comparison? All drivers should have to take (and pass) a CBT before they're even allowed behind the wheel as a learner IMO. Anyway, I digress from topic. Phoning around a few places is a good idea before you decide what test route to take and how much it's likely to cost. A good training centre should give you some decent advice if you're not sure

I liked the Algarve last time I went there, but then again, it was many years ago now Have a great holiday. At least someone is getting some decent weather this month