Motorcycle and Scooter appreciation

Ah. Understand.

Time to get a big syringe and replace the fluid. Then push the fluid in and out a little. Pump the lever too.

SRX 400 - the one that was so popular in Japan. Very little performance diff between the 400 and 600. The 400 more or less does what my old Ducati 600SS did. Minus the breakdowns.

Atsushi Ichijo who designed the SRX (and also the Yamaha VMAX) is in his late 70s now but still riding around Japan on a red SRX600.

I've been enjoying Allen Millyard's recent series on rebuilding the Norton v8 Prototype

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBwMn1ookQE&ab_channel=AllenMillyard

Me too, love how almost everything seems bespoke on it. Just removing the front wheel was tricky if memory serves me right.

Yeah, the lower fork legs, fender and brake calipers are all a single piece of cast aluminium. Pretty crazy

Oi the 600 Duke is a nice package and don't break down ;)

I do like the jdm 400 and 250. If only I was a lithe as a Japanese person. You know there was a 400 monster! Fun bike and still have some of it left. They were really cheap and no one wanted them here.

It was a bespoke bike, really bespoke. Look at the parts they are so pretty

Dad’s Ducati Caff racer had the battery go flat over winter. Stupidly he unplugged the battery to put on a charger. It had a tracker fitted last year.

Now, there’s all bike but no speedo.

Local bike shop plugged in the diagnostics and got:

“can line to abs” “mute node”

I’m really hoping the disconnecting hasn’t fried something in the ECU as trackers have been known to do sometimes.

Earliest (willing) mechanic appointment is a month away. We’re going to have a poke around next week. I’m hoping it’s just a loose connector leading up to the ECU.
Going to be a jo

Might be worth to give louigi Moto a call. He is your neck of the woods and might be able to help.

Is there a Ducati performance chip available, that clips on top of the ECU chip?

Luigi’s was mid/late June earliest appointment! Fowlers booked it in for early May, and nowhere more local is competent/willing.

Has anyone here bought a bike from a private seller in Europe sight-unseen?
I'm still planning to pick up a super cheap (€3,000 max incl. shipping) 750 or 1000 sports bike for summer fun and I've been ogling bikes for sale in basically any part of Europe within shouting distance of a ferry from Ireland (predominantly France and Germany though). My logic being that Euro-bikers put their bikes away for the winter (and German's have TÜV) so by and large they should be in better condition than what's available in Ireland on the cheap end of the scale...

As appealing as it is to have a little roadtrip and pick it up myself, the way this summer is shaping up it's going to make more sense for me to have it curried home if I do buy one abroad... which means buying a bike that I haven't actually seen in person.
I do have a mate in Paris who's a biker so I could ask him to take a look if it happened to be a reasonable distance away but otherwise am I absolutely cracked to be considering it?

There is also the dealer abroad route which has a good few nice examples in budget too but I suppose I want to just discount private as a bad idea first before I commit to dealer only as the private seller bikes are (visually) in nicer condition for the price...

Par example...
€2600 in France

€2000 in Germany

€2400 in Germany

Has anyone here bought a bike from a private seller in Europe sight-unseen?

I've done this for bikes in Northern Ireland. My main piece of advice would be buy the seller not what they're selling. If you're bank transferring for something you haven't seen then it's always dodgy, but haven't been burnt yet. I've asked sellers to sign a very basic contract/receipt as some insurance but doubt it would hold any legal currency. Couriers can also help as an intermediary but some are more accommodating that others. If it's not a rare bike then possibly worth questioning if the risks are worth it. Best of luck.

Good point on the courier... there's a guy in Ireland who's really well known and regarded for bike collections in Europe and I suspect he would actually be quite helpful in that regard...

I'm not entirely fixed on wanting a specific bike to be honest, more that I just want a cheap bike that's not absolute scrap and the thing is a <€3k bike in Ireland is likely to have lived outside year round, not taken good care of and hooned... seems like the same bike in Germany will have been garaged and TÜV tested so likely to be in much better condition!

I passed my bike test in 1977 so I have absolutely no idea about the 125s I'm looking at on Bike Trader. I'm on holiday with my son and his girlfriend in Thailand and the boy and I have been renting Honda Clicks (125cc). He had a moped for a while but wasn't fussed until he passed his car test at 17, ten years ago. It could be the Chang/Leo talking but he now wants a 125. I've been looking at Bike Trader at Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki etc. am I right to be discounting Lexmoto, Sym, Keeway and other iffy sounding makes? I'm trying to take him down the path of righteousness and away from auto scooters but that may be difficult.

China 125’s are best for people who are young and need ‘cheap’ finance. But you’ll pay the value of the bike twice over in repairs and parts as it dismantles itself.

Occasionally you get a good one but generally they’re a disposable vehicle.

If you can stick to the Japanese brands (Honda, Suzuki etc) you’re in for better quality control and lifespan.

A 90’s 125 well-looked-after will keep going another few years (like my unkillable ‘93 GN125) whereas a 5 year old modern Lexmoto isn’t even good for spares.

Thank you. That's my thinking too. If I can get him thinking gears then he's less likely to buy a former delivery bike.

There are a few lesser-known brands that use a Suzuki block and are generally pretty trustworthy. Sinnis is based round me and there are loads of them running around, a work mate used to be the brand manager and doesn't have much negative to say about them aside from it not being the most exciting thing in the world.

pdlouche's suggestion is definitely the right answer but if a different aesethetic makes the difference of going for gears or not, Sinnis, Mutt etc are worth a look

Yea pretty much every 125 is using either the Suzuki GN or the Honda CG derived engine. I’ve seen a few Sinnis need entire top ends in the hands of 17 years olds at my mechanics.

Of course, did those riders keep oil topped up and occasionally ride below the red line? We’ll never know.

The main benefit of brands like Sinnis is you can do like I did and buy a ‘cheap’ 90’s Suzuki and almost every single pattern piece to rebuild it comes out at £5.99 + postage.

Anecdotal argument in favour of Chinese motors...

A lot of the local hire shops have started using Chinese motors for generators, chainsaws etc.
I asked how they were and they said they're cheaper and they're having to service them less than they did the Husqvarna / Honda equivalents...
Chinese stuff is waaay better than the lingering reputation would have you believe...

That being said as @jackbepablo mentioned if aesthetics are coming into it the likes of Mutt are quite cool, CFMoto look great if you want something more modern and my buddy just bought one to go alongside his all-bells-and-whistles R1250GSA and he's ridden the CFMoto more since he got it!

My TU250GB I sold a while ago would have been perfect for him...

What's his vibe in terms of aesthetics?

What's his vibe in terms of aesthetics?

He's a lazy little sausage so twist and go appeals to him but I reckon CB/CG125 would be better. He's looked at marketplace and seen a couple of minimised old Hondas in the cafe racer/mutt style. I've said if that's what he wants we should buy a stock bike and do the work on it. The trouble is, as stated he'll start it and I'll end up finishing it. 😂

Yeah that's a shame if he's not likely to get hands on with it but being so lazy as to refuse to shift your own gears is inexcusable 😂

I'd say best bet is something like a Mutt 125 that will look the part and make him want to get out and ride it without having to get his hands dirty... if it sticks he'll be looking to size up and do his own projects in no time but if he starts into a project and never finishes it he won't get as far as the good bit of riding it...

In fact would he consider going for a 250? If he's 27 now and anymore than a slip of a thing he'd probably enjoy the extra CCs when he's back on British roads?

Oi the 600 Duke is a nice package and don't break down ;)

Ha ha. I once interviewed Federico Minoli who was the president of Ducati, he told me that when TPG bought out Ducati in 1998 they did a review of all the components used and they found several electrical components had a 100% failure rate - meaning they were guaranteed to fail during the warranty period.

Something bigger might work too. We're home in 5 days so we'll see if he's as keen riding in 13C and a helmet

As I straddled my 2 yr old Ducati 900SS outside the Earls Court bike show in 1981, I turned the ignition key and the ignition barrel turned to dust. The electrical switches were unbelievably shit then too. Luckily I was allowed back into the bike show and found a brand new (shitty) Ducati ignition switch from a stall and fitted it, all in about 30 minutes.

I've said if that's what he wants we should buy a stock bike and do the work on it.

How come? If he's not interested I working on bikes he should get something already done.

Like this sweet ride.