Motorcycle and Scooter appreciation

Trail tyres?

Not sure what they are at the moment actually, they are brand new though as I bought from a dealership and they came fitted.
Probably going to go for something in the middle ground as a sort of enduro/ adventure tyre I think?

Knobblies are hilarious on the street. (Very) surprisingly grippy for cornering and incredibly predictable - the line between grip and crash is much softer than street tyres.

Downsides they are absolutely shit for stopping fast, you need to be very careful grabbing the front brake. The knobs wear out in a hot minute if you're heavy on the brakes or gas and then they're compromised for off road. You'd also want to run bead locks for proper off road riding which feel fucking awful on the tarmac at any speed.

Got to say, stuff like Trailwings are shit both on and off road. They don't grip for shit on the tarmac and if you air them down enough to start getting traction in the dirt, you get punctures as they move on the rim. Terrible things.

Why are you even tinkering with two wheels right now? Go get that Sportwagon then come back here and spanner on two wheels.

I actually just replaced the thermostat on the Sportwagon this evening and put the battery on charge. The chap with the Brera should be coming over next week to have a look and see if we're going to do a swap!

I was -this- close to going shambler with the gn125, but decided I’d prefer cafe-crawler instead. At least for now. Keen to see how your 250 turns out. Love retro scrambler aesthetic.

How do you feel about the Brera? Personally I think they look amazing and are future classics. You figured out what to do with the roof rack?

Yeah I'm quite keen, obviously doesn't have the practicality of the Sportwagon but I fo feel like it's much more likely to appreciate in value which would be nice! Ideally I'll take the swap and be in a position to get something more practical to daily in a few months and maybe clean the Brera up a bit and then have a think about selling it or keeping it!

I've given up on having a roof rack though, no roof rails and a glass roof :(

Plenty of space with the back seats down though :)

Bollocks -_-

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Look at yamaha xjr shocks and do not bother with the ohlins ones as they are no better than standard.

Mouse instead of bead locks?

Is it the weight of the bike, as on the tigger and gs some of those trail tyre choices are quite good.

No photos but on Friday I managed to install the front caliper and reverse bleed it. Fuck me is was it hard to keep the tube on. Maybe it was too long. Maybe it was too cold and stiff. Decided to replace the fluid in the rear while I was at it rather than wasting the fluid.

Haven't had a chance to go out to test it. Plus I need to give the discs a good spray of brake cleaner. But from wheeling my bike into a corner tonight they do brake. We'll see about spongeyness.

Fingers crossed for anyone else leaving their bike outside over the rest of the weekend.

Glad I have the shed. Suicide stand on the 125 was looking sketchy when I parked it in Avebury this afternoon. Also, saw a ‘71 Ural with sidecar. All original. Very chatty owner.

Thanks. Was hoping maybe a bargain set of Hagon if not the Marzocchis. Looking at yamaha xjr shocks now.

Cable tie the from brake on.

To firm up the breaking or protect it from being blown over?

I tied off the brake yesterday, so it was held for almost 24hrs. Which should be fine I reckon. Didn't do the rear as it felt pretty tight and the bleeding went seamlessly.

Curious to see what the new pads combo will be like (HH sintered front/orgainic rear). Hoping for good things. But obviously a new set of pads when the old ones are knackered isn't the most scientific comparison.

Have fun beding them it.

I am quite lazy and clean the disc surface with a wire brush attachment on a drill and all the holes in the disk with a drill bit. That way the surface is ready and clean.

What a pain, nearly found a pair of Hagon’s cheap but measuring they’ll be too long. GN125 has 310mm on, but I want to raise the rear. Hagon’s I found were 360, which would be too much of a change.

Was hoping to find 320 or 330, at a push 340 could get away with? Bike is incapable of speeds over 70mph anyway, and isn’t a knee-down racer, but I don’t want too radical a change in geometry.

Getting rearsets put on at some point soon, so I really wanted a little bit more height.

I'm in the same boat.
I just bought a near new set of hagons in the stock 310 mm, but now there's a set of koni sp3 330 mm laughing at me. I'm sorely tempted, but not made of money either.
Also while the change won't be too bad for steering, my bike has a drive shaft joint that apparently don't like to be too much out.

On ebay? Hagon/Koni are my shortlist and 310-330 is my preference. I guess I’m bidding against you...

On local (CPH) facebook.
Edit: exactly the same as these, but a bit more grubby and a bit less than half the money.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Koni-7610-1282-SP3-23-55-02-70-0-Moto-Guzzi-V65-Florida-Stosdampfer-shocks-329mm/114080532851

Ah sure.

And thanks everyone for the glove recommendations by the way!
Atm it seems to be a toss up between Goldtop and weise, but some fresh and expensive dark horse has appeared. (Fuel Dune, don't fit my initial request, but look cool) I'm waiting for some reward points to clear at urbanrider so we'll see...

I'm a big fan of the Fuel stuff (used to work at a dealer) but I would recommend trying for size if you can, they may or may not suit you

Thanks. that is exactly the thing. I'm between sizes according to size chart and width measurement, but nowhere near, I can try on. I'll most likely go for one of the cheaper options anyway.