Biker's Cafe Chatroom

[The_Abyss]

I felt largely the same when I had a long test ride earlier this year. I arrived expecting to have to resist buying one, and although I enjoyed it I left feeling disappointed.

The engine and exhaust notes are indeed lovely, as is the low torque. But it is too heavy for what it is, and they’ll not put a quick shifter on it because it doesn’t match how the bike is marketed, and it is screaming out for one.

Ultimately for me, a bike to look at in the garage, not one to ride.

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

Due to go see a 2015 yzf-r 125 today, or maybe tomorrow if I don't manage to get over this afternoon.
It got dropped after a lorry backed into the forks after it missed a turn and stopped suddenly and backed up. I don't believe it was dragged or squashed.
It is coming back from the insurers today to my mates garage.
It's his stepson's bike, and he does not want it sat in his garage for months. It's been offered to me for £500. I can get forks on eBay for under £200..
Apparently it was not economical to repair, but I am guessing if the frame is sound, and just the forks need replacing (with a bit of scratch/rash from getting scraped) it's worth taking for 500 if I do the work myself? Not sure on the mileage, but I am told the guy gave up biking to get a car so it's probably not mega miles.
I would be doing all the work myself, and I guess reframing a bike is needed/possible or perhaps straightening the frame If I get a firm to do it? Although if that's the case £500 might be a bit much..
What do you think peeps? Will get some pics when I see it.

 

[Freeman]

If all it needs are new forks then go for it. It's worth about £2500 depending on mileage.

 

[tom_e]

Forks plus any plastic damage would be more than enough to write off a bike like that I would think, if the frame is damaged the write off category should reflect that.

 

[Snaggle]

if the frames damaged i would leave it .. if all else is ok then good buy at £500

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

13000 miles.
Frame looks sound as a pound. Just getting the pics down now. The right fork leg is slightly bent back pushing the wheel just slightly turned to the right.
It's got road rash clearly on the panels. But it started up once we get some fuel in it and bumped it after turning it over a bit to get the oil around the block a bit.
It also rode around the street fine.

Just waiting on the write off forms. He said he thought it was Cat N (which is like cat D, right?)

 

[Diddums]

Yep, but I *think* it also extends to Cat C. Either way for £500 it looks like you should be shaking hands, that's a bargwin right there.

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

Yep, but I *think* it also extends to Cat C. Either way for £500 it looks like you should be shaking hands, that's a bargwin right there.

Yup, it's all done, just waiting on the Category confirmation.
It's a nice looking bike for a 125 and a full 15hp.
Sorting out the forks could be fun, not quite sure how to hold it up whilst I do it!
I guess I can lay the headstock down on a bench or hang it from the ceiling (both?)

 

[Snaggle]

@Malt_Vinegar I use an abba stand now but in the past i have jacked it up under the exhaust with a car jack and abit of wood with the rear on axle stands on the bobbins . Have also used a cut down gence post with a spiked end into the hole under the yokes .. Tying it to the roof with ratchet straps also works !

 

[BUDFORCE]

IF you are going to get into biking it's not a bad idea to get an abba stand as they will fit most bikes.

They are expensive compared to other stands but I can vouch for how stable/sturdy they are, plus easy to use with one person.

I dont have the front end bit of it, but tbh, once on the regular stand, the bike is reasonably balanced so you would only need a little bit of force to lift the front up and you can easily DIY that.

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

Cheers for the info.

I will see how I get on with the a DIY approach and look for a stand if I need it. With the monkey bike I work on mainly, the weight is light enough to just prop it up with a jack or axle stands.
The KSR code i sold had a centre stand that meant I could do a lot of work just using that. I guess centre stands are not too common on "sport" type bikes?

That said, the abba stand seems to be a nice universal centre stand by the looks of it and seems like it packs away quite easily too.. I am space limited

 

[tom_e]

You pretty much won't find center stands on anything that isn't adventure/tourer or little non sporty bikes like the ybr.
You can get aftermarket ones for a lot of bikes but they've never looked great to me, the abba stand is a great bit of kit I've got the front lift attachment as well and it makes things like fork/wheel removal a breeze.

 

[Maccapacca]

IF you are going to get into biking it's not a bad idea to get an abba stand as they will fit most bikes.

They are expensive compared to other stands but I can vouch for how stable/sturdy they are, plus easy to use with one person.

I dont have the front end bit of it, but tbh, once on the regular stand, the bike is reasonably balanced so you would only need a little bit of force to lift the front up and you can easily DIY that.

Yes an abba stand would work well, benefit of an abba stand is once you've bought it all you need is the inexpensive adaptors for another bike

 

[khemist]

I've ordered the Richa Atlantic gore-tex jacket, should be here tomorrow, anyone got one?.

 

[The_Abyss]

I've ordered the Richa Atlantic gore-tex jacket, should be here tomorrow, anyone got one?.

No but very interested in them - keep meaning to get up to SBS to try it. I’d be very interested to hear your thoughts.

 

[Gamefreak501]

It will be soon time to hibernate my bike for the winter unfortunately...but I will try to get out on it a few more times before I put it in for it's MoT in the next few weeks, can't believe how quickly two years has gone, in a month or so, I would have held my unrestricted license for two years! Last time I rode it was in late September to early October, I'm itching to get a few more rides, especially if I need to iron anything out for the MoT.

 

[Kreeeee]

I've just done my first track day at Bresse. It was good fun and I'd do it again one day, but I'm not sure if get what all the fuss is about. I'd rather ride through six mountain passes then do another one soon.

 

[The_Abyss]

A bit of an Indian summer this weekend in East Anglia. Got a good few hours in late afternoon. I do hate riding into the low sun though - I did my favourite route the wrong way around and it was in my eyes constantly.

 

[Kreeeee]

I've just done my first track day at Bresse. It was good fun and I'd do it again one day, but I'm not sure if get what all the fuss is about. I'd rather ride through six mountain passes then do another one soon.

Just to add to this, here a few more thoughts on the day:

I went in expecting to absolutely fall in love with the track but seeing 12 people fall (who knows how many fell that I didn't see as I stopped watching the other groups later on in the day) and the people from the group above being dumped into the beginners group (the cause of quite a few of the accidents) put a bit of a downer on the day.

Having said that I really learned a lot and the tuition that came with the bike rental has really improved my riding. There were six of us in a group all renting R6s from the same company and all of us learning and jostling for overtakes was brilliant. It was pretty frustrating being quicker than the other beginners in the corners only to have them nail us on the two long straights in their ZX10Rs and GSX-R 1000s though

I am really keen on renting a bike at another track to see if I get the bug, but two of my mates are definitely taking up track biking after that first taste. I'm definitely not taking my road bike though after seeing how many people crashed because others either ran into them or overtook just before a corner and then slammed on the brakes forcing a rear-ender.

One thing I never got the hang of though was doing safe overtakes. Unless someone was a lot slower than me I really struggled to overtake them as their lines were often unpredictable and I wasn't that much faster that I could avoid an accident if they suddenly changed direction unexpectedly.

It really is incredible how hard you can brake and how fast you can corner with all that insane grip on a track.