Motorcycle and Scooter appreciation

London bike buying can be a bit like that. I went to Earls Court to look at a scooter, met at a taxi rank and the guy told me he had the bike garaged a few streets away. Set off with him with one of his mates from the taxi rank he'd not bothered to introduce. I asked him if he had the papers for the bike and he told me he was waiting for them. Decided to quit at that point, too many variables.

Bought one of my TZR250's from a crack den in Battersea in the middle of the night 2 days before Christmas. They had to check under the seat to make sure there was nothing stashed in there before I took it away.

You'll laugh about it one day, maybe not tomorrow but one day. :)

As far as I can easily get to via public transport since my bike was my only transport. Within the m25 but south between London and Brighton would be fine. Or else in Shropshire which is where my parents live.

Any reason why not further out? I went to Edinburgh for my first bike.

I don’t have the time or money for that.
Obviously if I am confident that I’m completely happy to buy it before I’ve even test ridden it then I’ll make a journey for it. But to just go and do viewings on bikes I’m not sure about I’m not bothering to go far.
Something sub 200 miles away would be fine if I could ride the bike home.

I bought my TL-thou from Barry Island of all places. And it broke down on the test ride and I still bought it. Dumb youth...

My first GSXR1000 came from somewhere north of Leicester. The ride home was interesting...

Total digression but that first K3 Thou was the best handling road bike I've ever had. It had the Ohlins cartridge kit in the forks, shock and the owner was a TT / BSB Mechanic. It was meticulously set up and detailed. Far too nice for me, which is probably why it got stolen inside of 6 months...bah.

If you view another Hornet, that high idle might just be the auto choke - it should go down over a few mins as the bike warms up.
Shame about the rest of it though!

Possibly the only extant pic of it and me in happier times. This was 4am or so, about to set off from Bloomsbury on our first Italian tour I think. Ended up lunching the gearbox somewhere outside Rome...never really found out why. It was an absolutely magnificent experience up to that point. Thank gawd for the AA, who arranged recovery.

(note Vuitton bag, held down unsecured on the tank for the duration by, amongst other paraphernalia, a large Almax chain...)

On a fuel injected bike?

Yep! Technically probably a bit of code in the ecu enriching the mix but refered to by Honda as a choke.

Some current considerations which could be had sub £2.5k:

2006 FZ6, 14k miles

2006 Speed Four, 11k miles

2008 GSX650F, 10k miles

2008 Shiver 750, 13k miles

2006 Street Triple, 32k miles

2007 FZ6, 25k miles

FZ or Shiver. I wouldn't do a street triple above 15k. In the short time I had it, mine spent most of its life in Burwins trying to figure out what the fuck was wrong with it.
They warned me and I ignored their advice.

@Jung digging the frayed jeans as well! How was the 1000 over distance?

Yeah, I'm with you on the striple - love those things and it looks really clean but that's a lot of miles on one of those motors.

It sounds crazy but the 1k (at least all the GSXRs) I've had are fantastic for distance. They're so fast and under-stressed, you can cruise the peage well into 3 digits without feeling the least bit troubled. The fairings work well, especially with a TT style screen. Then when you get to the twisties, they're in their element. Me and the Mrs did London to Lyon in a day, no bother aside from a bit of arse ache. It's the main reason I kept getting them - I know I'd have more fun scratching a 600 but the 1k bikes are just so much more practical if you want to do any big distances.

Worth noting my K5/6 had more legroom than the K3 in that pic...made it even comfier. I did 1000 miles in a day on the K5 including multiple passes in the Pyrenees. (Admittedly I was a total zombie by the end.) I can't recommend the k5/6 iterations highly enough - they are one of the all time great bikes in my opinion, there's nothing aside from perhaps the brakes that isn't absolutely wow.

Me and the Mrs did London to Lyon in a day

You're having a fucking bubble son! That's a lot of horizons eaten up! Took me nearly three days to do that in the Pyrenees. Jesus man, you have issues. Saying that, you do MX in the desert so I suppose that's normal.

Hypotheticals again. I'm debating something rapid, between the 600rr/Daytona 675/GSXR750.
I know...all different, but you can see where I'm heading with this. I know the RR is supposedly the most comfortable whilst still screaming around corners, so any idea how the GSXR compares? If so, which iteration? Biased opinions welcome.

You're having a fucking bubble son! That's a lot of horizons eaten up! Took me nearly three days to do that in the Pyrenees. Jesus man, you have issues.

I've done Cahors in a day before. It's another 100 miles more than Lyon (and then back in a day, three days later).

We're doing the same trip on Friday / Saturday this week...

Haha - the last 150 miles of the 1000 mile day was miserable. I was hallucinating. The crazy thing is I started early in the morning in San Sebastien, did all the mountain gnadgery and got to Toulouse, where I sat down for a steak frites at 6pm. I eventually ended up just south of Paris after breaking the sound barrier for a few hours on the Peage. It was a mistake really, I had to be back in London the next day and just had to keep going.

I've no time at all on the Triumph...it's a bike that I'd really like to have at some point though. I'd have the GSXR over the CBR all day ...physically speaking there's precious little difference in comfort but the bigger motor makes for a much more relaxing ride when you're not going gonzo. All the 750s are good, there were big revisions in 00 and 04. I've ridden an 02 a bit in street and track form and it was so sweet. A real turbine. The 04 was a bit more sophisticated and delightful too. I think the really recent ones went back to a shorter stroke engine and I've never tried any of those. Have a proper go if you can, they just feel very 'right' and balanced as a bike.

Heart Triumph, head GSXR for me.

@soul - yeah that's a schlep!

I take back what I said about MCE insurance being alright.

Uh oh, I use them...

yeah that's a schlep!

Especially as it was on an MT07, in March, in the rain. I was a gnat's bollock away from having to push it for a couple of miles on the peage because the tank is so tiny.

This time, it will be on my new Tracer GT which will be night and day in terms of comfort and suitability.

Don't crash and you'll be fine.

@PhilDAS - if you'd be up for some minor work I know someone with a stripple that needs a new clutch cover and mirrors following a low speed bump by a van.

No idea if they want to sell, but I could always ask. Prior to that it was in vgc and has alway been stored indoors.

I'd certainly be interested in hearing more about it. Sounds very similar damage to my bike but a bit less severe. Mine's the left side engine case (whatever that covers), both pedals, handlebars.
I'd just fix it but I think it'll be a hassle now that its officially written off. I don't know whether its even possible as Cat B. They're telling me its fine for breaking for parts but the frame needs crushing and shouldn't go back on the road.
You're man kept it outside of insurance?

Good advice for life I suppose. I thought you’d got it all sorted?

Yeah me too. Was all going well.
They gave me a courtesy bike, collected mine at the same time.
When claim is settled the partner company who arranged the hire bike call to arrange collection of it. I asked if they’d be returning my bike at the same time. “No we’ve given that back to MCE now” right.
MCE call. “You’ve got 14 days to collect your bike from us before we start charging you £20 plus vat per day for storage”
-“where is it?”
“Can’t tell you unless you agree to collect it but it will likely be in Northamptonshire”
-“I don’t have a car/trailer/van. How am I supposed to collect that when I live in London. Can’t you deliver it to me?”
“Yes but there will be a significant cost”
-“right well you’re giving me absolutely no options here”
“Alternatively since it’s a write off, we can scrap it for free for you”
-“for free?! You told me it’s worth £500 and as such I received £500 less than I should on the premise that I’m getting it back. I would be without the bike or it’s full value if you scrap it. How is that fair when the claim is non fault?”
“I’ll put you down for a delivery and they’ll send you a quote, you can decide what to do then”.

On the advice of the financial ombudsman I have made a complaint and will be not paying the storage costs while the complaint is ongoing.
I can share my shitty email to them if it pleases you to read

For the sake of all things holy, why? I think I read your post about this a while ago and how it rained the whole time. Your parents place right?

@Jung The guy I bought my first bike from replaced said bike with the 675. I rode behind him on the way down to Moffat through the A708. Needless to say, I was hypnotised by the reverberating sound coming off the Lochs we kept passing.

I liked the idea of the 600rr simply because it can do two things. Go fast, and be comfortable; but if the 750 does that too, then I will be looking hard into them. Some days I find them appealing, other days it feels like the ultimate squid bike. However, I imagine there's a reason for their popularity.
The cost between the 05-05 isn't that vastly different to the 06-07. I want one of the later melted looking ones.