Guius Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 The next bike I'm thinking of getting is one of these LGBT's. Apparently LGBT rallies are held in most big cities now, though I've been warned off going in full leathers for some reason. Guy.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
modfather Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 I'm toying with an original Africa Twin, failing that s classic brit bike to really upset the locals over here! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockershovel Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 The next bike I'm thinking of getting is one of these LGBT's. Apparently LGBT rallies are held in most big cities now, though I've been warned off going in full leathers for some reason. Guy.. Arent they those big narrow-gauge things that people run in the garden? It's true about the leathers, Germans only wear those silly shorts for two weeks in October.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockershovel Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 Still seems strange as 360 parallel twins are really no better than a single And the 180 twins I had were fine. 360 degree Twins trade off reduced amplitude, for higher frequency. So you get a less intrusive vibration, but just as much of it. Triumphs etc buzz, rather than shake. The rocking couple on 90 deg and 180 deg twins smooths out above tickover, the sum is near-zero so you only notice it when the revs are low enough to notice individual pulses. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockershovel Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 I'm toying with an original Africa Twin, failing that s classic brit bike to really upset the locals over here! My son in law has one, it's a super thing. I once had a TransAlp, which was the same sort of thing, and it was great.. it had a 19" front wheel which really sharpened the handling. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 OK, well I might not have decided on the bike itself, but I have decided that (after some research) it's a bit of a pfaff to register a UK bike in Spain. It *can* be straightforward until the Spanish test centre decided it doesn't like something about your bike and insists on an independent engineer's inspection (€€€€€€€€). I think perhaps something like a '98 VFR for the UK 2017-2019 would suit me well. This can be sold on and another bike purchased after the big move. I would like to think that a 20 year-old bike, if looked after and maintained well, probably isn't going to devalue horribly after a couple of years use. As for the Spanish bike, I feel a detour to that Alicante Triumph dealership might be on the cards... 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Enterprisingwestern Posted July 7, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 7, 2017 OK, well I might not have decided on the bike itself, but I have decided that (after some research) it's a bit of a pfaff to register a UK bike in Spain. It *can* be straightforward until the Spanish test centre decided it doesn't like something about your bike and insists on an independent engineer's inspection (€€€€€€€€). I think perhaps something like a '98 VFR for the UK 2017-2019 would suit me well. This can be sold on and another bike purchased after the big move. I would like to think that a 20 year-old bike, if looked after and maintained well, probably isn't going to devalue horribly after a couple of years use. As for the Spanish bike, I feel a detour to that Alicante Triumph dealership might be on the cards... Whichever Spanish bike you buy, make sure you can pilot it one-handedly whilst wearing flip-flops, carrying a gas bottle/3m length of wood/fishing rod and basket/a weeks worth of shopping/Ikea flat pack wardrobe or similar, smoking a cigarette and carrying out a conversation on your mobile phone. Non residents may not believe me, but I know Pete will be smiling. Mike. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 Whichever Spanish bike you buy, make sure you can pilot it one-handedly whilst wearing flip-flops... That'll be the guy on a Gold Wing carrying a 3m length of drainage pipe that I saw last October... Whilst nowhere near as bad as what I've seen of Vietnam, India etc on the telly, there is something of a cavalier attitude towards bike gear. Whilst I'd be happy with jeans and lightweight leather gloves, a decent jacket and boots are a must. Highs of 40 degrees in the summer? Perhaps I'll lose some weight! Maybe I've just invented the "leather-clad biker diet". Daughter is keen to get herself a little Vespa or Piaggio or similar to get from the villa into town but if she thinks shorts and sandals are acceptable, she needs to think again... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold chris p bacon Posted July 8, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 8, 2017 The next bike I'm thinking of getting is one of these LGBT's. Apparently LGBT rallies are held in most big cities now, though I've been warned off going in full leathers for some reason. Guy.. Just don't offer to ride anything while wearing crotchless leather chaps......... It would not be good.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Enterprisingwestern Posted July 8, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 8, 2017 Just don't offer to ride anything while wearing crotchless leather chaps......... It would not be good.... , for any of us! Mike. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 The next bike I'm thinking of getting is one of these LGBT's. Apparently LGBT rallies are held in most big cities now, though I've been warned off going in full leathers for some reason. You might also want to avoid anything that looks like rubber for the same reason. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold chriswright03 Posted December 15, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 15, 2017 Just seeing your name from another thread reminded me of this Pete. So? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
meil Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 Never meet your heroes. It might have been cutting edge in 1984, but that was 33 years ago... Even a restored one now will only be a good choice if you want to spend longer fixing it than riding it (and nothing wrong with that if you do). If you just want to ride then something modern would probably be the better idea. I'm no biker, but I like the Ducatti scrambler. Honda Gold Wing - you know it makes sense. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 (edited) Just seeing your name from another thread reminded me of this Pete. So? Now winter's here and as available funds to make the purchase have been delayed by legal red tape and will not likely appear until the new year, I'd kind of put this out of my mind for a bit, but... The first of the watercooled GSXR750s (WN, WP) is tugging at the heartstrings. The earlier oil-cooled GSXR750 was the first big bike I ever owned, so naturally it has to feature in the list. Part of me thinks it would just be an attempt to recreate past youth... I also recently found some snaps I took of the last big bike I ever owned (below). As glorious as it is (and it's still around, I checked the plate), purchasing one of these is likely to to see me seeking a registered chiropractor as my new best friend, sadly. In short, I'm still torn. Head says go for something a little more upright and comfy. Heart says get a GSXR750WN or a TL1000R. Rest assured, whatever I do buy will make an appearance on these pages and then I can be told I've got it all wrong!!! Honda Gold Wing - you know it makes sense. No. Just no............................... Edited December 15, 2017 by Pete 75C 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium New Haven Neil Posted December 15, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 15, 2017 Why so big? A lot of fun can be had on smaller bikes you can ride the wheels off..... 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 16, 2017 Share Posted December 16, 2017 Sorry Neil - that just doesn't appeal. I'm happier riding something bigger at far less than 50% of its ability. I've no desire to "ride the wheels off" anything. Getting old? Oh yeah. Getting soft? Probably. Bothered? Not in the slightest... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold chriswright03 Posted December 16, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 16, 2017 I also had an import GSXR 750 of some sort. Just struggling to even remember what year it was but I seem to recall it was never very fast and as I started to become a Instructor it wasn't comfortable so gave way to a VFR800i pre vtec. That was far better and I put over 30000 miles on it in three years. These days being much older I prefer comfort to speed and even though the Triumph Tiger Explorer is a huge lump it is really easy to ride and it is pretty nippy anyway. Great handling for something so big because of the wide bars. I think I posted in here before that I also for a short time had a Triumph Daytona and as much as it was a great bike it was far too uncomfortable for me. Probably not the best time to buy a bike if you are not going to ride through the winter but a good time because there are some bargains out there. We actually make a massive effort to get out on ours at least once every month but so far this month not done yet. Maybe next week when it is warmer considerably but then I now I will have to clean in really well to get the salt of it. Still love riding and will continue for as long as I can but I am not interested in trading in for the new Tiger as the top one costs nearly as much as I recently bought a top of the range Seat Leon for and mine suits me just fine. Hope you still have the bug in the New Year and you find something to get you back out on two wheels. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium New Haven Neil Posted December 16, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 16, 2017 Sorry Neil - that just doesn't appeal. I'm happier riding something bigger at far less than 50% of its ability. I've no desire to "ride the wheels off" anything. Getting old? Oh yeah. Getting soft? Probably. Bothered? Not in the slightest... I'm getting old too (58.9) and certainly soft - but do enjoy riding the wheels off things! Hence never having modern sports bikes - I'd be jam. Away from the TT course they're useless here anyway, most other roads here are narrow and bumpy. Back in the day I had a CB900 when they were new ('78) - licence took a hammering (I am much more sensible and law abiding nowadays) and there was a lesson there, I have always had middleweights and lightweights since. An early VFR would suit in many ways, but just too heavy and stodgy for life on a small island. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 OK, after a year of scratching my... ...the winner is (bar any last-minute indecision), a new BMW G310R. Having test ridden one in Norwich, it ticks all my boxes. It may be built in India, but oozes BMW quality (in my humble opinion). The single cylinder 310cc engine probably won't win any prizes for smoothness at tickover or outright power, but it'll sit happily at motorway speeds all day and crack a ton if asked. The price is right, and my back will be thankful of the flat bars too. Just need to get boots, gloves, jacket and lid sorted. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Enterprisingwestern Posted June 20, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 20, 2018 OK, after a year of scratching my... ...the winner is (bar any last-minute indecision), a new BMW G310R. Having test ridden one in Norwich, it ticks all my boxes. It may be built in India, but oozes BMW quality (in my humble opinion). The single cylinder 310cc engine probably won't win any prizes for smoothness at tickover or outright power, but it'll sit happily at motorway speeds all day and crack a ton if asked. The price is right, and my back will be thankful of the flat bars too. Just need to get boots, gloves, jacket and lid sorted. bmwG310R.jpg If it's got a loud exhaust please don't bring it up our way on a sunday, we've already got enough thanks, and, the local police are cracking down on decibel deviants! Mike. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 (edited) ...and, the local police are cracking down on decibel deviants! I wish they would round here. There's a Subaru driver and a handful of bikers that I'd like to see run out of town. Don't even get me started on the tw*t that rides an unsilenced two-stroke around the streets at 2am on a Sunday morning... It's probably illegal to stand in the middle of the road and hit him in the face with a lump of 2x4 as he goes by. Tempting though. By comparison, my little BMW will just burble inoffensively like a gassy baby. Edited June 20, 2018 by Pete 75C 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Enterprisingwestern Posted June 20, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 20, 2018 Gassy babies I can cope with! Mike. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
admiles Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 OK, after a year of scratching my... ...the winner is (bar any last-minute indecision), a new BMW G310R. Having test ridden one in Norwich, it ticks all my boxes. It may be built in India, but oozes BMW quality (in my humble opinion). The single cylinder 310cc engine probably won't win any prizes for smoothness at tickover or outright power, but it'll sit happily at motorway speeds all day and crack a ton if asked. The price is right, and my back will be thankful of the flat bars too. Just need to get boots, gloves, jacket and lid sorted. bmwG310R.jpg Nice wee thing the G310R. Not tried one yet but I probably should. Is Clinton still at Lind? Always been a gent in the past with me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 (edited) Nice wee thing the G310R. Not tried one yet but I probably should. Is Clinton still at Lind? Always been a gent in the past with me. I don't know any of their names, but helpful guys, every one of them. Impressed with the workshop too. I think the blue demonstrator is up for sale now, but I'm fussy and don't fancy the blue one! I'm going to go back there tomorrow with daughter in tow. She wants to look at the Harleys, but it'll pass... I hope. Want to spend a bit of time in the clothing store next door, too. Need to think about jacket, gloves, boots etc. I used to have an Arai RX7 lid years ago, but would need a mortgage to afford the latest version. Need to try some on to get the right size. I think my brain's got bigger, but kids reckon it's shrunk with age, so who knows? Edited June 22, 2018 by Pete 75C Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockershovel Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 OK, after a year of scratching my... ...the winner is (bar any last-minute indecision), a new BMW G310R. Having test ridden one in Norwich, it ticks all my boxes. It may be built in India, but oozes BMW quality (in my humble opinion). The single cylinder 310cc engine probably won't win any prizes for smoothness at tickover or outright power, but it'll sit happily at motorway speeds all day and crack a ton if asked. The price is right, and my back will be thankful of the flat bars too. Just need to get boots, gloves, jacket and lid sorted. bmwG310R.jpg 350s are definitely having a moment in the sun, aren’t they? Look st KTM and Ducati’s contributions to the class, and of course the big Japanese companies have always done well in the 350-400cc range Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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