Motorcycle and Scooter appreciation

Open up the pads and don't use the back brake.

Tips stedson and walks away with spurs a jangling.

Mine was on a gsxr braked bandit. The backing had rusted.

Nissin oe pads were what the hornet cup racers used through choice. Hence me trying them.

1200 Shockingly usable power, and despite the upright position which I never thought I was a fan of, feedback was superb. It's such a ridiculously capable bike. Quick shifter made clearing tight apex's seriously addictive stuff.

I'm abroad these days so only have the SV here as it's cheap to run and easy to maintain. I'll dodge EBC and either dump money on some Brembo or Vesrah pads. As for rotors, easiest option is to go for originals. They work, they don't overheat (V engine braking helps) or warp and I can have them for cheap.

I loved the 1000. old tech and with superlightwieght and my mantra of firstly getting the static load of my fat arse and all the kit on the bike seems to make the bike really handle.

Still got mine with the fucked engine. No money to replace/rebuild the engine so sits at my friends folks.

I just can't get rid of it, and even if I did, it wouldn't be worth much so there's no point.

It's so easy to work on, everything is accessible. I changed the springs and shock with two car jacks and some breeze blocks and now it sits well with my weight on it and tucks much more predictably into corners.

It's on 60k and can still sit above a ton comfortably and returns 40mpg! Actually I'm not sure if the ticking is the cam chain awaiting explosion or if V's simply have that tickety tick sound.

What happened to yours? 1000 engines are pretty dear.

If you like it, enjoy it. You are in a good place grasshopper.

My multi was bought very cheap, as the bike failed a HPI check as it was a cat c write off and the mileage was dodgy. I knew the bike first two owners, the write off so knew the reality. Had had the belts changed in the last year and one belt came off and that stopped the engine. Head is off, dents in the piston and damage to the seat and bent valve. Not got any further.

Have to do open heart surgery on the Z and will need a decent torque wrench.
Any recommendations ?

Halfords professional ones are great

Thanks Sir - was thinking about Norbar or Snap On but would rather go by personal recommendation - hows the new bike ?

Snap on do make a very nice 3/8 flex head torque wrench. They are absurdly expensive though if you buy them new.

I've got a new starter clutch assembly to fit - one step down from a full engine split ( about 11 cups of tea time wise ).

Was just about to post a pic...

Picked it up at 8.15 on Saturday and have put 250 miles on, 2 up with luggage, already.

It's great.

Super comfy, lovely and responsive, even when fully loaded and the additional comforts (cruise control, remote preload adjustment etc) make it so easy to use. Wife was very comfy on it too.

Here it is parked for the night, with luggage removed.

1 Attachment

+1 on Halfords Professional.

Great vfm and often on sale. I'll dig up which one I got.

Box/case isn't great would be my only negative comment.

I like that a lot. Considering an older Tracer 700 for my next since my GSR is dead now and I wouldn’t mind doing some long trips into Europe.
Can’t fall in love with the SV650 I’ve got on loan at the moment, just don’t like a V twin at all compared to my screaming inline 4 and most of the sports tourers seem to be Vs. So I’ve got some thinking to do. Could still get luggage on a 600 standard I suppose but lack of screen and comfy seat might bother me long distance.
Drove the most amazing road I’ve ever been on today in Italy, unfortunately in a smart car though. Wished I was on any bike. The Strada Regionale 222 from Florence to Siena. 60k of rolling hills, no straights just bends and switchbacks the entire way. Super smooth road which is extremely rare for the area. Rolling hills through chianti vinyards and olive groves.

Need help bike shopping on a budget.

What size torque wrench?

Presonally I'd buy the halfords one, comes with a certificate and think the older ones were made by norbar. Have a trade card to reduce the price but not by much.

Think the last one I bought was a sealey ak624 for £20 delivered from ffx. Cheapest calibrated 1/2 i could find that had the range I wanted.

That is a nice road and quite fun on a vespone.

A year after selling my ZX-6RR I'm getting itchy for another bike, not sure it will actually happen as currently saving for a house.

Think I've narrowed it down to an Aprilia RSV as always wanted some V twin action and Honda SP1's aren't getting any cheaper. Will most likely watch prices over the winter but looking on eBay is dangerous!

I've never understood the need to have something that feisty, especially if you're on a budget. There's so many entertaining bikes around for a small outlay. I've always had old or cheap bikes though, the only time I spent half decent money it was stolen within a year.

I've got Snap-On (1/2", 3/8" and 1/4") and I'd put it thus; of you don't mind spending the money and you appreciate good tools and take care of them then there's no point buying anything else.

The quality is just light years ahead of everything else. They're not cheap though.

I'm only talking about spending 2-3k max, not sure if that's considered expensive but my motorbike career has always been on a budget, which I think is part of the fun. It won't be my main transport but more locked away in the garage for sunny weekend blasts.

£2-£3k is my all time top of the range but I see what you're saying it's not that heavy an investment unless you are saving for a house. It probably wasn't the best way to say what I meant to say, just that there are a lot of smaller fun bikes out there for relatively little money if there are bigger priorities. The money you're talking about is a bit of a sweet spot though, loads of barely ridden bikes with a few small cosmetic issues that outperform just about anything else on the road.

Totally agree about getting a lot for your money when spending £2-3k, I've started tinkering with my car and as predicted everything bike related is a lot better value in terms of performance.

I know another fast bike will happen sometime. A throaty V-twin will probably be the modest pinnacle of flashiest things I'll ever own and chances are I'll get my money back when I sell it on, discounting any incidents with hedges. Hopefully I might get a better deal if I buy around January but amazing what can be had for £2-3k.

Yep - will probably go for a half inch Halfords pro from 30 Nm up ish. Apparently, one of the fun things I've got coming up is removing ( and re-torqueing ) the main clutch basket bolt which will need breaker bars and big guns, which I don't have.

just don’t like a V twin at all compared to my screaming inline 4

What was it you didn't like? Never ridden one so interested what you thought

Is that a new SV or an old one? I didn’t like the new SV I learnt on, for various reasons but most importantly it didn’t sound like an in-line 4 revving to the moon!
V4s are supposed to be the best of both worlds, I’d be tempted by a VFR if 2-up doesn’t improve on my CBR.