Motorcycle and Scooter appreciation

Filth! Double beemers then?

Got to maintain that brand loyalty.

Also, we get ridiculous discounts on BMW cars and bikes through work...

@Soul enjoy! You test ridden one? I'm excited to get out on it in a few weeks

They're amazing bikes, but sweet tap dancing Jesus I hate driving around Europe and seeing them tank around with a small factories worth of accessories like it's the end of time.

Stonking machines to ride, only the Multistrada 1260 was more hilarious to cover miles in.

Jealousy +10

I have ridden them a few times. Definitely in need of the lower seat option.

Lovely things though.

I'm not commuting into London on the bike as much any more but doing more rides to my parents place in france. The GS is the perfect bike for that...

Oh is this the Aussie chap who built a mental Hilux drift ute before?

That’s him. He’s just started a new build on another Bimmer which is sponsored by them.
The drift hilux is nuts

Excellent! Used to follow his Facebook years ago but you've reminded me to get on his Instagram!

Considering one for a cheap reliable run around for the next few years and I remember seeing a picture of yours and it looking pretty cool.

Looks like there is a place in Crystal Palace that offers a range of courses, will hit them up when I’m back. 4 days riding experience should be enough to handle a ~1 litre Ducati I expect.

4 days riding experience should be enough to handle a ~1 litre Ducati I expect.

Ha, no problem.
Though even a modern 600 will give you >100bhp and weigh ~165kg

I’m assuming that any nice bike that is not kept locked in a garage will be swiftly stolen?

The bike doesn't have to be nice to be stolen...

So any bike will get nicked if left outside?

I guess you're in a good position of no passing foot traffic but it's generally just a matter of time before a bike gets nicked if left outside.

Having said that, prior to moving house, my bike was left parked on my drive (locked to the house and with a disc lock) for three years without being nicked.

Depends, I had mine stolen out of a garage with the bike anchored to the ground. So hey ho. Just do the best you can.

@PhilDAS I thought I'd get bored of it after riding a few nicer bikes, but it still makes me happy and is really fun once you sort out the bouncy bits. Add to that they're dirt cheap and you can mod them for little money

It's ratty as these days. I'll throw some pics up later.

https://www.three.fm/news/isle-of-man-news/tributes-paid-to-daley-mathison/

RIP Daley Mathison.

RIP

Bandit passed its MOT today!

Forks seals & fork oil renewed
Oil service done.
Rear tyre valve change.

Cost £160 all in (mainly because Burwin re-did forks & seals for free as they were done in October and failed).

2004 Suzuki Bandit 600 with full service history. MOT till June 2020, mileage 25,900.
Bike is therefore for sale at £1,160

HPI is clear - just the change of private plates shows on it

Is the BMW scheme a good idea/good value?

BMW scheme

It's a bit hard to find a true / simple breakdown of all the costs. Unfortunately finance has massively pushed up the cost of new bikes over the past few years. This means finance is probably the best way to get on a new bike. If you want a BMW, then from what I can see it looks ok, but you should get the spreadsheet out. My guess is Yamaha or Honda would give much better VFM on finance. IMO Yamaha are putting out great models at the mo.

If you want a rough comparison of costs here are my ballparks ones to give you an idea:

• CBT ~£100
  
• Theory - £35?
  
• Direct access ~£800 (I think maybe £850)
  
• 2nd hand low mileage Triumph Scrambler 900 ~£5k
  
• Insurance ~£500
  
  

Clothes: These are more of a range of expected costs rather than mine if you search this thread there's a tonne of chat about what to think about re clothes.

• Boots - £100-250
  
• Jacket - £100-200
  
• Trousers - £100-250
  
• Gloves - £175 (assuming £35 for summer gloves + and all round set)
  
• Helmet - £175 - 500
  

One thing to mention is that BMW's kit while pricey, is generally known for being excellent quality.

The one consideration I'd have is that buying an expensive new bike for a first bike isn't necessarily the best idea? Especially one that is going to suffer from being dropped on it's expensive electro-gizmo doodads and spendy plastic panels...

Ya, Just get a honda hornet or something.
0-60 in 3.1 seconds for £3,000
I might get one next actually

@Nahguavkire Good point, one of my favourite things about biking is you can get away with hanging around petrol stations generally looking like a shit-kicker.

A shame in some ways but as mentioned finance is now most probably better on paper than getting into biking on a shoestring. Not sure if that still rings true when you inevitably have an incident though.