SV-Wolf's Bike Blog

[sv-wolf]

Hi DW

Are you telling me I'm in love with a pig?

Triumphs're not nearly as ugly as BMW's, by the way, or as boring as Hondas. (Now, falling in love with a BMW would amount to some kind of bestiality!)

Just for that you can help me work out how to get a favourites button and a text editor on my new laptop. Don't know much about pigs but Windows 7 is a total swine.

These are purely objective judgements, by the way.

Cheers

Richard

[sv-wolf]

If I was to buy a bike now, a baby Tiger would be on my short list. Been thinking a lot about it.

Mmmmm. If I were looking for a second (or third) bike, I might well go for it. It's was like having a funny, good natured friend around. I could certainly live with that. It took the edge of a bill for £634 this afternoon (service, fairing, replacement indicator and labour)

Remember that pristine yellow 955i at my local dealer I wrote about a while back? Darned if someone didn't buy it recently, and for the full price too. I think they were asking $8K or $9K for it.

Certainly do! Win some, lose some. Bad luck, js.

[drumwrecker]

Richard,
Your pig is decently dressed but those Speed/Street Triples and the new Triumph competition to the BMW GS range really are in my opinion just about as ugly as a bike can be made.

[sv-wolf]

Richard,
Your pig is decently dressed...

But still a pig, eh! (Ron, give serious thought to quitting before you dig yourself in any further.)

...but those Speed/Street Triples and the new Triumph competition to the BMW GS range really are in my opinion just about as ugly as a bike can be made.

You seriously think so? Can't agree. The Triumphs may not be sleek, but they are neat and functional. The GSers just look silly. They also sound silly and ride silly.

[drumwrecker]

Was looking at an 800XC at Grafham Water, bloody heck it is high and if those engine bolts ain't stainless then they are going to rot with the first winter's salt. It's soposed to be a good bike but for tall people only and if I remember correctly the fuel consumption isn't that good either. It'll be interesting to see them in a couple of years to see how they stand up.

[sv-wolf]

Was looking at an 800XC at Grafham Water, bloody heck it is high and if those engine bolts ain't stainless then they are going to rot with the first winter's salt. It's soposed to be a good bike but for tall people only and if I remember correctly the fuel consumption isn't that good either. It'll be interesting to see them in a couple of years to see how they stand up.

Ah! What's a little rot? The Daytona has its fair share from riding through salt every winter, day after day, year in and year out. But she still rides as well as ever and there are no great holes in her yet.

Anyway, a few bolts don't cost a lot to replace, if necessary. Not sure I would really care unless I suddenly decided that I wanted to mount her on the wall. (And I think that's unlikely.) Of course, it would be nice for bikes to be well made, but given what's on offer, I'd trade off the quality of the build for the quality of the ride anyday.

I agree though, about the height. Why do they want to make bikes that high? Not all bikers are 6' 3". I'm 6' 00" (all but a fraction) and I can't get both my feet on the ground on the 800. I can put one down quite comfortably, though, and balance well on two. It's enough.

Cheers

Dick

[drumwrecker]

Richard,
If I was in the market for a bike and didn't mind a little rot I would buy a second hand one and pay a lot less for it, but I'm buggered if I would want my brand new pristine bike to go that way when it has cost loads of money.

We are talking nakeds here and yours can rot under the fairing and no one would know except for the person doing the service.

[sv-wolf]

Richard,
If I was in the market for a bike and didn't mind a little rot I would buy a second hand one and pay a lot less for it, but I'm buggered if I would want my brand new pristine bike to go that way when it has cost loads of money.

Why not? That wouldn't compute with me. Either I don't mind a little rot or I do. If I don't mind, why would that be an issue?

I wouldn't buy second-hand unless I had to for financial reasons. That's because I like shiney new things. But I don't expect anything to stay looking shiney and new for ever - especially if it is well used.

We are talking nakeds here and yours can rot under the fairing and no one would know except for the person doing the service.

You've obviously not had a good gander at the Daytona's exposed parts recently, Ron. They're not easy to miss.

Take care

(Where are you now? I've lost track of your travels.)

[sv-wolf]

A nice, little video here that gives the flavour of the the Horizons Unlimited (adventure biking) camping weekend that I am always going on about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uuph3ZHV ... ture=share

[drumwrecker]

Very interesting film, I watched all four parts.
At that time I was working at the AJS/Matchless factory at Woolwich.
You can see why the industry went bust with all that antiquated prodution.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-ABelgFdjA
I also watche the film on the 59 Club.