Motorcycle and Scooter appreciation

I think so. Sleeved VT500 mainly for the Japan market because 400cc was the maximum for one of their licence tiers.

Not sure if it's urban myth but I read somewhere that part of the Japanese M/C test is to pick a dummy bike up. That was why the lighter class was so popular. Maybe someone knows more.

If you (or a friend) know what to look for on a used bike, Facebook marketplace has bargains.
I’ve just sold my 2001 non-ABS cbr600f for £1800 on there, which is probably a bit less than I could have got a couple of months ago but more than I paid in early spring a couple of years ago 🤷‍♂️.

@Dramatic_Hammer that's a good idea. I don't have access to that but sure I could access via someone else.

@jambon haven't done test. Did CBT and theory test a couple of years ago but now lapsed so will have to start over. It has to happen next year!

Both my bikes came from fb marketplace. It seems to be the main classifieds people use now. I was shocked how many go up for sale compared to gumtree or ebay.

You’ll be best saving a bookmark on the computer to fbm set up as motorcycles, sorted by newest first, in your location plus x miles. I had to do that as on mobile it was naff.

The GN125 is a mutt, but I had no idea what I was doing when I bought it. The DR350 was a very calculated and patient purchase, and I must have checked everything down to sticking a multimeter on it. Definitely make sure someone who knows the bike comes with you, to look for all the telltale signs of abuse, and if there are known issues that can be spotted.

Thanks @pdlouche for the advice. I don't have FB, Mrs recently set one up for work purposes but it won't let her access FB marketplace for some reason, maybe not had an account long enough. I'll figure something out.

Wow sounds like fb actually has a protocol in place for a change! You can use anyone’s fb so long as they can access the marketplace, lots of people post through friends or partners anyway.

I had saved ebay searches with daily emails set up with the variations of the bike name (dr/dr350/dr 350/dr350se - where they should yield the same results but sometimes don’t), plus the general fbm bookmark. I gave up with autotrader and gumtree, but your mileage will vary. Mine actually came up advertised through the TET page or something. Keep an eye on fb user groups like that too

Good choice of bike - take it easy though, won't cost a fortune either.

Ok thanks. That's all good advice!

Yeah, I was initially going to get a little 400. Ninja or Duke but I'm now set on a late 600f with abs. They seem to be pretty much perfect for what I want. I will definitely take it easy. Im middle aged with family. Bike will only be used for recreation. Just like the idea of cruising around the south coast on nice days.

Is winter a better time to buy?

Like with cars and bicycles you an often get better deals/cheaper bikes. But supply is lower. Now is probably not a bad time as summer is over and you may have some people trying to get rid of bikes before winter starts.

This year has been all over the shop for pricing. Lots of hiked prices at strange intervals and bargains at others, both snapped up immediately. I don’t think 2020 has played by the rules on any front, and used vehicle prices reflects that.

Yeah I can imagine.

One of the current projects threads prompted me to check out the used Brompton prices; Absolutely. Fucking. Insane. I know they've always held their value but still...

Funny that a sport bike is now considered sport/touring with emphasis on touring but they are more comfortable with a more sensible power delivery than the other 600s.
It will still do 0-60 in under 3 seconds if you want it to (and then just keep going) but it’s docile at low revs and the midrange is decent enough to sit in on b-roads etc.

Fitting some big Denali D4 spots today. So much fairing needs to be removed but all good.

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How do aftermarket mods work when you give it back? Do you have to undo everything?

I did a very mixed bag of 50 miles today along to beachy head - boring fast trunk roads, bouncy slow lanes and some brilliant smooth twisty bits in that magic 50-70 zone.

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Bad idea time...

Long story short I really ragged the GN125 over the spring/summer, and haven’t touched it for a few weeks since it developed a noisy engine noise. Slight rattle but otherwise just like it’s really not happy at all when revving. Sounds angry. Maybe burned something like a valve seal or?? Having sat a couple weeks it didn’t even want to start immediately. It starts but doesn’t sound confidence-inspiring enough to test ride again. May be the cam chain, who knows.

Plan A: sell it ‘cheap’ and get shot
Plan B: strip it down, and learn how to rebuild the engine

I have a few more weeks til Mod2 and potentially actually having a damn motorcycle license, so Plan B seems quite tempting to fill the time. Equally, not sure if I want to open this can of worms.

Might be fun to have in pieces in front of the tv during the TdF, which so far seems like an absolute shit show.

Yeah, I did some upkeep on the tiger and thought it was gonna be a doddle. 9 Plastic pieces and the tank had to come off.
How are the Denali's? Really surprised by how good the lights are, but reckon some auxiliaries could come in handy.

@Dramatic_Hammer Where you based? Sounds like a banger of a day.

Up to you. Sell the bits with the bike when handing it back, take them off and sell them.

High chance I’ll keep this bike though.

Yeah heard that too.

the bros was a great bike as it was really sknny and battered ones could be had for cheap and sold for similar prices.

The seat is really uncomfortable after about a 100 miles on the M1.

Hastings. There’s a lot of shitty roads down here and traffic density tends to ruin the decent ones but there are some gems to be found.

Not to far from me I'll give you a shout once I'm up and running in a few months!

Radness. Thinking of heading yonder way next week weather permitting. Any gems that I should check out?

https://goo.gl/maps/MAoE3o2JQStDFwgf7

The climb out of eastbourne with an anti clockwise loop of the cliff is a route I’ll be repeating. Short but glorious!

Hastings - Dungeness is the standard ride out here, plenty of options to vary the way out / back and the inland roads are better imo - quieter and less 30mph village sections. Brede - rye - appledore - tenterden and back down is a nice loop too.

Yes! Don’t know any bikers down here, just people back in London and at work.