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As you can see it’s a bit dirty at the back of the garage......
I polished the edges of the spokes, sprayed the wheels then wiped the paint off the edges with a rag and thinners.
It’s actually a V50 Monza front wheel. The discs are 10mm further out to help with the spacing on the yokes.(GSX-R yokes, CBR600 forks, Suzuki calliper)
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It will be easy enough for them to make sense of it all. They only wanted spare carbs!
The guy who picked it all up makes exhausts, he said they've been very busy with lots of people dragging bikes out of the back of the shed.
Thing is they have all the contacts to repair/restore or sell the parts so it will be easy enough to make a decent profit one way or another.
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Ah sure. I was looking at different exhausts for the DR350, and the choice was limited to pot-luck on ebay, waiting for Italians to decide if it fits, or a UK company that makes full systems from good steel. Maybe it’s the same guys, as the ones I tried apparently their lead time is double the usual.
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A year has flown by and the little YBR 125cc plods on and on. 21k miles I've done now, bringing its total to 53k. Its been pretty good, just needing regular oil changes, 2 bulbs, air filter, new rear tyre, two chain and sprocket sets, clutch cable and a bit of soldering where the plug between the magneto and reg/rec melted... I kind of feel like I should be doing more to maintain it but it just keeps going and engine wise it feels/sounds fine.
What's eating me is my complete lack of confidence in the damp still and wether the caution is justified. I just can't relax which is counter intuitive, I know.So it's time to start looking into this full licence malarkey, I wasn't intending to do the cbt again so need to crack on!
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I have been forcing myself to go out in the damp on the GN125.
My experience since November:
Better/new tyres help confidence (psychologically more than physically I guess).
Diesel is everywhere.
Even big bikes take road naps sometimes.
Get consistent braking distance down to centimetres in the dry, and accept it is miles long in the wet.
Keeping loose is key.
Keeping loose is especially important when the rear decides to fishtail. Mostly learned this forgetting that my stopping distance needed to be miles not centimetres/diesel patches, and applying a tiny bit more rear brake than I wanted, since I wasn’t slowing down enough in the distance I had.
Still no offs so far and still enough wet days to come.
Saw a guy with his big bike on the side of the road in wet weather, having come off (not sure if crashed, crashed into, diesel etc). It still happens to the big bikes.
I actually quite liked riding with the roads totally flooded with water. Preferred it to that awkward rainy slippy thin layer.
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It's understandable and probably rightly so. Reduced grip affects you in every direction. You won't get the kind of confidence from skinny 125 tyres in the wet that you get from hot sticky fat big bike tyres in the summer.
On the other hand you need to spend a bit of time experimenting with the grip especially in the wet because your tyres can get very slippery on the sidewalls if you're not leaning it that far.
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By the way, no matter how many times people poopoo it or sigh because it’s cheese, have you watched A Twist Of The Wrist? Rewatch it.
Even with the little bike I watched it three or four times and found it helped keep fresh about survival reactions and stuff. Might watch it again before long.
Also worth sleeping with the books near the bed, Twist 1 & 2 and the Motorcycle Roadcraft: Police Rider’s Handbook.
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Science time! (or lies told to me by my instructor)
Tarmac absorbs/ fills with oil/ diesel that is being constantly deposited by vehicles, when a light rain/ drizzle comes this is denser than the oil and forces the oil up to the surface, making it a slippy nightmare.
Heavy rain washes this away down drains/ to the gutters, but before that happens be extra cautious. -
Yeah I'm getting out there and riding regardless of weather, I've hardly driven the car other than family miles since getting it last year hence allllll the miles. Got Michelin Street Pilot on the rear, the Avon Runner on the front will be due a change before autumn. Its all in my head, I know, I've not even come close to coming off on a corner and in the sunshine I'm loose and relaxed. But cycling I'm just a shit descender also, especially if there are turns to navigate or its damp.
Confidence is all there otherwise, no problems filtering and braking, I'm confident in my anticipation and observation. I think a heavier bike will help me feel more planted in the damp, I'm only 65kg and the ybr is... 85kg? I don't even feel heavy enough to make the rear suspension work fully.
I love it though. Once I get something bigger I'll keep the 125 for as long as it holds out for the cheap commute and for Mrs Y to learn on. -
@DethBeard yes indeed. That first half hour of power (rain) is the danger zone.
@Yukirin totally. That’s what I thought too, about a heavier bike, then I realised I couldn’t bare moving one around. It’s the strong winds on dual carriageways that have me beat. I couldn’t bare the lack of power head-on, and feeling of the bike pushed sideways in the cross wind. Felt scarier than on a bicycle.
TGR
pdlouche
Dibble
Airhead
Yukirin
DethBeard
skinny
drøn
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@coppiThat
It was great and no fuss. The guys who bought it are racing endurance in the UK and Europe this year. Very deep into 2 strokes and very knowledgable. We had agreed a price in advance and they collected asap.
I'm a little bit in shock that I have made so much more space for my other hobbies but a bit sad I'm no longer a TZR owner. I'll have to go for a ride on the R80 to get over it.