What did you do to your bike today?

bout the same then I suppose,i like the gsxr's myself ,the r1's went bit ugly imo after 98/99

don't like the newer zx10's either the 04/05 looked the best
 
Ninjas were the poster bikes of my childhood, and always loved the look of the underseat ZX series, but when I go to the age of actually being able to ride sportsbikes I just fell in love with Suzuki's, they just suit my riding style.
Never been an R1 fan, if I had to choose one it would also be the 2005 model, but I would gladly have any of the ZX10 models.

But its all personal preference really, if we were all the same we would be riding Honda's....Zzzzzz I joke :D
 
Just got my best tank of fuel so far on the CB400 - 220 miles, and there was still fuel left!! That makes, as near as makes no difference, 60mpg. Only managed to get 16.7l in, the most I've ever put in is 17l.
 
I can do just over 300 miles on a tank, so that works out to be around 80-85mpg. Its a 125, but its kind of thirsty for a 125 considering grom to do 180mpg or cbf 120-130mpg. :p
 
Yeah my old varadero (also a "proper" size 125) got around 80mpg, 270-280 miles to a tank.

The 200 miles to a tank figure is important to me as my commute is 18 miles, means i can fll up at the weekend after a ride and not have to fill up again until the next weekend.
 
TallPaul_S said:
If I got a triumph of any sort it'd be a Speed Triple R, not a measly Street Triple :D

I fully intent to keep the CB400 for a long time yet, it does the job of commuting in all weathers and being washed occasionally very well. The ONLY thing I'd change would be for it have ABS. Other than that it's perfect.

The new bike would be a 2nd bike for summer/weekend use and for touring down to the alps/scotland/italy etc. I get 25 days holiday a year so 4 weeks worth of motorbike holidays, 4-5000 miles of touring a year easily.
Click to expand...

I really don't see the point in a "weekend" bike, I don't think I'd ever be able to walk past it in the garage :p
 
TripleT said:
I really don't see the point in a "weekend" bike, I don't think I'd ever be able to walk past it in the garage :p
Click to expand...

I would. Obviously in the summer it would do a day or 2 a week commuting duty, but not when it's January and the roads are caked in salt and grime, and it's all greasy and horrible outside and everything gets dirty after a few miles. You know that "winter spray" you get which covers your visor in a few miles? That's also covering you bike, mile after mile.

There's no way I'd put a gorgeous bike like a speed triple R or a Multistrada through a winter commute of 200 miles a week - you'd be washing it once a week, at least, and after a year doing that it' be dirty and ruined, the alloy would be corroding and so on. Better to have a cheap hack bike that can take the abuse, and a weekend bike which can come out on the occasional dry summer commute and be kept nice and and clean and polished.

Bear in mind also, I do roughly 10k miles a year just commuting, then another couple of thousand weekend summer miles, then a few thosand more touring holidays. That's 15k miles a year, on a single bike, in all weathers. No bike would stand up to that and not be shagged after 2-3 years unless your washing and maintenance routing was military. I hate washing my CB400 because the dirt is ingrained - keeping something that doesn't get dirty, clean, is much easier than cleaning something that gets used and abused with every type of muck, and grime, and **** know to man thrown at it.

This was my CB400 on the 10th Jan, I bought it (clean!) on the 30th December. a few hundred miles of normal winter riding and look at how filthy it is!
 
Last edited:
I'm probably going to get a car for commuting like a Nissan Micra. It'll cost less than to buy a bike and I don't have to put all my power rangers kit on. :p haha

No seriously, you guys on bikes surely must have a car? I can't imagine myself in the future without a car, I mean bikes are great fun and quick. But car gives you the comfort, especially in winter.
 
IC3 said:
I'm probably going to get a car for commuting like a Nissan Micra. It'll cost less than to buy a bike and I don't have to put all my power rangers kit on. :p haha

No seriously, you guys on bikes surely must have a car? I can't imagine myself in the future without a car, I mean bikes are great fun and quick. But car gives you the comfort, especially in winter.
Click to expand...

Nope, I have the use of a car at the weekend/evening but not for commuting - I've had cars in the past but running costs and cost of buying something that is halfway decent (i.e. won't break down all the time) is expensive.

You might be able to pick up a cheap car for £1500 but add on £500 insurance, 30mpg fuel, repairs when it fails it's MOT, and it's not worth it IMO. A bloke at my work has a car like this, a 1999 focus - it's only worth a grand but he's spent 2-3x that keeping it going due to breakdowns over the last year. He does 50 miles a day commuting to work and back.

Down here in Kent we get maybe 1-2 days of snow per year, I'd just train it if the weather was that bad. Get the right kit and you can be warm even through the 1-2 degree mornings.
 
I have a car, which is equally as impractical being a 2 seater, and at this time of year it rarely gets used, maybe a few times a week when I don't feel like going to the gym on the bike or need to do a food shop.
 
You can pick up a Nissan Micra for around 300-600, insurance should be cheap. For me as a young driver its around 700-800 for a micra, but if engine or gearbox breaks you can pick either for around 50 quid off ebay.

But then I'm paying currently 340 TPFT for a 125, something like CG or CBF would be cheaper. But I wanted to try KTM, so that's what I picked. I might re-think buying a bike for commuting instead of a car, I'll just steal my dads car when I need it. :p hahaha


Sports bike and something like Honda Grom, 180mpg seems great and seriously 125 for comutting is perfect!

Edit

Fireskull said:
I have a car, which is equally as impractical being a 2 seater, and at this time of year it rarely gets used, maybe a few times a week when I don't feel like going to the gym on the bike or need to do a food shop.
Click to expand...

What car is that? (I like pictures :p)
 
Last edited:
Well I suppose that's one way of doing it, but on a cold winter morning I could see a cheapo 20 year old micra refusing to start and letting you down time after time. Winter commuting on a bike is fine if you have the right gear.
 
TallPaul_S said:
Well I suppose that's one way of doing it, but on a cold winter morning I could see a cheapo 20 year old micra refusing to start and letting you down time after time. Winter commuting on a bike is fine if you have the right gear.
Click to expand...

Not sure about that, but surely with a car there's more to break so you're kind of right.

I really want a Honda Grom 125, but I'm over 6ft1 so I would look like a boss (sarcasm :p) on that bike. :cool:

BTW Does anyone know how tall is RJ? I always wondered this, does he also only use bikes for commuting?
 
Last edited:
He does have a car, according to the FAQ on his website - "rarely used" - he lives and works in London I think, does 25 miles daily - no-one with bikes would commute in London in a car! :p if you go through his vids, he's done enduro tours abroad, and did a euro trip on his S1000R. But mainly London riding.

Don't think he's particularly tall. I'd look ridiculous on a grom, at 6ft 3. :D
 
wazza300 said:
A car??? Blasphemy
Click to expand...

Haha, quite. I don't think I could deal with sitting in queues on my ride to/from work - my 35-40 minute commute would be an hour, easy. Especially with all the roadworks going on at the moment round my work. A bike is cheaper and quicker than the train or car. Not quite as warm as the car but much more fun! And less totty to look at than on the train ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom