Motorcycle and Scooter appreciation

I had to go down to the garage and drag it out. Fired up 4th kick after a summer hibernation. Have to go ride the thing now....

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Did do a little wheelie down the alley. Shorts, no helmet, natch. I should call it the Twatmaker.

Been given an 850GS Adventure as a loan bike today for my 600 mile service.

It's not very good (at least comparing a back to back ride with the 1250GS).

Engine is properly gutless below 5k
Engine doesn't have any character - feels / sounds like a 300cc scooter engine
Larger front wheel means it changes direction slower than an oil tanker
Front fork dive / brake feel is a joke
Seat is ridiculously high - I nearly couldn't get it off the side stand
Seat is super uncomfortable
Almost no wind protection above 55mph

If you're in the market for a mid size adventure / adventure sport bike; this isn't it.

Only positive was that the quick shifter is less clunky than on the big 1250.

That's near enough spot on how I feel about the Tiger, minus a couple of points.

Engine is characterful if a little...flat. I almost never go above 9k because it doesn't seem like it's doing much.
It's supremely comfortable, to the point where you sorta fall into it.

Aside from that, it's been a surprisingly non eventful affair to the point where I'm looking forward to get back on the SV.
I think at this point if you want to be off road, it's better to go smaller displacement, and if you want to haul on road, a larger bike is the wiser choice. Only caveat being weight.

Funnily enough, people seem to rave about the 850GS.

Was there anything about it that you thought was better than your Tracer?

Brakes are stronger when pushed but fork dive was so bad that you didn’t want to push them.

Switchgear / build definitely feels more premium but should do for the £.

Up and down shifter was nicer.

Everything else is better on the tracer.

Was very glad to be back on the 1250 afterwards.

Ready for spannering tomorrow...

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Niiiiiiiice. About to pull the plug on a set of hard panniers as well. Show and tell when you fit them.

Will do.

Should get them fitted tomorrow.

Definitely check out sw-motech if they do a set for the tiger. Quality is top drawer.

Someone had a 600 transalp Rally twin earlier, he paid £500 low mileage 2 previous owners. Let me have a sit on it and felt super nice and cushy. Very not-offroad, very adv.

It’s been stuck in one of our sheds for a year but started first kick when dragged out yesterday and this morning the mighty Honda got a run out.
Downside - I think the new rorty engine noise was due to a buggered exhaust .

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Are they as genius and fun as their reputation suggests? An oldboy friend has one or two (probably three) in his garage stood for a decade or two, that I’m trying to push to dig out.

They are kind of crazy fun. Used to be a standard for pizza delivery. You could throw one 50 meters down the road and effect a long term repair with gaffer tape! I think one of their main qualities is they are so simple to ride you can navigate at the same time. :)

C50 or C70 at a push, the c90 is just too much power ;)

Yes and no.

110 inova is the up to date version.

That’s the mighty 90cc version
and having had bikes for the last 30 years or so the Honda cub is, in its own way, one of the most fun I’ve had.
Ideal in country lanes, a bit of off road and around town . Makes me smile every time I ride it and I can’t see myself ever selling it. Prices have seriously hardened on them over the last few years as well.

Will have to twist Noel’s arm to see if I can acquire his. Shoulda got that Yamahopper a year ago. It got flattened in the end apparently.

Boom.

Enough storage for the Paris-Dakar or the big shop.

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Interesting, thought the engine was great, way better than the last version of it found in 700/750/800 bikes, gearbox good, handled well at medium speeds, but as soon as you try to get a bit more the front is WAY too soft, and not adjustable which is baffling to not have even preload or some control over compression damping at that price point. I reckon they made it no adjust as the average rider will probably make it worse by fiddling, or cost? Brakes, yeah thought the same, plenty of power, but they feel 15 years old and part seized from new, kind of firm stale mush. One I borrowed had around 400 miles on it, and the fork had a nasty clonk about 20mm into the travel, rattled over just about everything like something internal (Damper rod maybe) was loose.
If you want flat and lifeless, try the Yamaha T700, although in this category a nice consistent power/torque delivery is really what you want, a monster torque peak in the middle that comes on like a truck crash isn't really ideal. Saying that, would probably have a T700 over the BMW, partly for cost, and partly for gravel manors (not that there is much to ride here).

Tricked out Monkey. Forget the full list, larger capacity (or overbore), Ohlins, nitro’d, and so on.

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To be fair, I haven’t tried the previous engine and I’d come directly off an hour on my 1250 so maybe the contrast was too much but for the same money as a tracer 900, I know which one I’d try.

The one I had, was fitted with dynamic esa so assume that affects front preload / damper as well as rear? Either way, it was a joke.

I’ll stick with mine!

Saw this trio today

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Must be worth a bit in this condition .

Gorgeous.

Cracking!!!!!