Motorcycle and Scooter appreciation

University and back 65 each way.

Nah never been, a wrong I really need to correct!

Beautiful old triumph that, with an equal story.
Enjoy!

Thanks guys. It was always my favourite as a kid and there’s so much story behind it. I’m pretty sure my grandad painted it with a brush on the dining room table.

Don’t think I’ll be taking my test on it. It had 10bhp back in 1935 but I’ve been told the horses were bigger back then.
I’ve been speaking to one of his mates who will be helping me out with the triumph and he’s told me all about ignition advance and retard. I also found out my grandad was a former president of the VMCC.

Any recommendations for a good starter bike? I’ve been having a look at Daelim VJ125.

@Jules I've been looking at https://www.ipasscbt.co.uk/ for tests, think its the closest to us as its in Richmond. There's a decent one in wimbledon too though I think.
When you wanting to do it? Lets book together yay friends

RE getting your licence:
Go do a CBT on a geared bike
Buy a CB/YZF/CB/CG whatever 125
Ride it as often as you can, do your theory test
Do your full licence.
Mod 1 test is on a controlled test centre, Mod 2 in on the open roads.
1 you will demonstrate bike handling (off the bike moves as well as on bike) emergency stop and U turn, etc. Quite straight forward, just be calm and talk yourself through each part.
2 is showing you can handle traffic and the rules of the road as well as riding at the speed limits.
I spoke to myself the entire time, telling myself to do lifesavers (never too many, twice for every move) saying indicators are on and to turn them off. Exaggerated head movements for the mirror checks are a must so the examiner can see you doing it.
I passed when I thought I had failed so don't be put off by an early mistake, it's possible they missed it, or can forgive it by being confident in the rest of the test.

Yeah I’ll be looking to do mine in November. Haha yeah let’s do it as a team

Sorry to hear the bad news, beautiful bike.

As far as working on it they're far more accessible to a home mechanic than more modern stuff but that's not to say they're any more forgiving of abuse. A few things to bear in mind:

1. All the fasteners/threads will be in imperial so don't try using anything metric! They'll also be some fasteners using "whitworth" which was an older convention that sized spanners based on the shank/threaded section of the bolt rather than the width of the hex head.

2. It will leak oil, if it doesn't that's usually a sign there's none left inside it. Keep an eye on the oil level (check when warm) but be aware it's a dry sump system with the oil held in a separate tank. This is different to the majority of modern vehicles so advice relevant to wet sump systems may not be applicable.

3. It will need more regular maintenance than modern stuff but it's really straightforward to do yourself (valve clearances and oil change). Fresh oil regularly is better than expensive oil left in for too long.

Thanks man. Yeah there’s a set of whitworth tools that go with the bike. Yeah my grandads garage was always covered in sawdust because of all the oil leaks from vintage bikes.
As for the servicing, I can’t wait to get stuck in! I don’t think he was one for tidy wiring so I’ll be tidying that at first. It’s also got a loose throttle. Not sure if that will need replacing or some tinkering.

Need to make room for it in the garage first.

Oh you need to use a traditional oil with a zinc additive. Castrol make one specifically for classic bikes I think.

Ask opie oils what you need for it, probably miller will be the ones making the right stuff for it. expect constant slow oil leaks, they did that from new I'm sure!
A mate did a restricted license (a1 or a2 I guess?) on an 80s Ural with side car, which is a copy of a BMW r55 or something of that era. He did his car test in a 2cv lol

Anyone got first hand experience of a triumph tiger 800 vs BMW F800.

Thinking of upgrading from the CBF 500 due to longer rides.

I fancied a tiger but everyone (I know who has ridden or owned one) says they are getting a bit old (as is the f800 twin) and feel a bit overpriced compared to competition?

If you were buying new I'd wait a free months for the one and get that.
If your buying cheap (more than say 2010 age) then just get thr f800 twin. It's prob what I'd get (coming from its pre pre decessor).

Having come back to this thread I realised I missed your question ages ago about the Tiger. I'm afraid I don't have any experience vs the F800 but I did take an F750 for a test ride and the Tiger was, for me, the clear winner. It felt more powerful and stable (with much less vibration) at high speeds, comfortable too, essential for me as I've used it for a huge amount of motorway riding across Europe. I am by no means an expert or particularly experienced so I really just went with what 'felt' best for me too rather than weighing up pros and cons too much. I think fuel economy is better on the BMW though. Hit up local dealerships for some test rides and see what you think!

Looks like there will be updated versions of the Tiger and F800 pretty soon too.

Balls. Oval Motorcycle Centre is gone!

Think they lost their premises for some reason. AFAIK the business was going very well
In trying to start something similar up my way (no where near the scale of omc) and is very hard, most landlords don't understand the concept or will not allow that setup under their terms etc.

That's massively disappointing but not really surprising. Considering the monster amount of 'redevelopment' happening in the area, I imagine everyone wants to sell and make some cash.
It was such a great place to work. Come in, spend all day there and leave having hit two birds with one stone.
Would insurance and liability be entirely different to setting up say...a standard workshop?

Also..anyone got an Abba stand or some such I could borrow for a few days?

Thanks, I stuck my nose in Metropolis on the weekend to look at the new Tigers, still think a fully loaded one from around '12 or '13 would be good at about half the price. It would be mainly used for m-ways/dual carriageways and commutes rather than off road so seems to have the edge in that area

Is this a 125cc?

2 Attachments

Could be, or a 250 maybe. Wouldn't make much difference if you are taking it easy which you'd want to be in flip flops!

Looks like a Chinese 125 four stroke - obviously 'Cheerful Charlie', one of the country's leading dentists on the back, is trialing a new braking system.

It's a bit disappointing there's no wheelie action.

Yeah, most argue that customers paying monthly/hourly to use the space for their own gain = sub letting (or a form of), so you either have to own the premises yourself, or have a "right to sublet" within the tenancy agreement.
Or use the argument that "well it's kinda like a gym", where you have customers who are accessing the building themselves, using equipment and space/services for their own gain; Only in the case of a gym it's to get ripped/feel less guilty about that double cake lunch you just had, wheareas in omc/my case it's to get that new clutch pack installed.

It's about finding the right landlord and getting the right liability cover in place, not an easy combo.

So Mrs 5000's scooter was stolen last week and has now turned up smashed to bits on an estate in Gospel Oak.

Presuming that she'll get an insurance write off (it's a 2002 Aprilia Scarabeo 300 so NO parts availabilty) she's on the market for a scooter.

Does anyone want to sell/ know of for sale a decent 125 (or larger - but not maxi style) scooter?

Will be used as a daily year round workhorse and left locked up in the street so nothing collectable or too fragile.

What have you got?

Maybe you want something fairly new if you want to avoid the incoming ULEZ rules? I don't have any little ones to sell but the SH125 is a decent scooter. You should find some a few years old for reasonable money. Motorcycle Giant have a couple for sale. Not sure what your budget is though.

Anyone got an Abba stand I might be able to borrow for the weekend perchance?