The Motorbikerist Thread

[NotoriousREV]

So my inability to buy anything without undue hassle continues to both baffle and amuse me. The dealer I bought my KTM from phoned me this morning. Apparently they made a slight mistake with the paperwork and I have both the numberplate and log book for someone else's bike, and my bike was actually unregistered until yesterday, so I'm basically running around on false plates. Fucking amazing.

lols. 'Slight mistake'. Cretins.

My affection for my new motorcycle is beginning to manifest itself in strange and troubling ways. This afternoon, I caught myself fitting a chrome luggage rack to it and shortly after that noticed that I was buying two shiny chromed horns on the internet to replace the perfectly good OE black ones.

No doubt later today I shall be found in the local newsagents. Pissing quietly into my Y-fronts whist squinting at the centre spread of Classic Bike magazine.

ffs.

You'll be reading Ogri next.

[Jobbo]

If I had read it carefully, I might have noticed it had the colour as Black instead of Orange.

Which bit does the V5 colour refer to? To be fair, I can think of far more complicated examples since at least I can see the frame, which must be the basis of the bike, is orange.

[NotoriousREV]

"Black" ones have more Black and less Orange.

[Broccers]

There are other operators that use snetterton so I'll have a search but I was given a £50 MSV voucher for my birthday, and I like MSV days they are well run. Most of them are in August it seems, which I am <first world problem claxon> on holiday for the entirety of.

Got a message from Shimmy (This is England actor) the other day about his new venture 'tracksidehire'. They are nearly ready to go and have some brand new bikes to hire. I'm interested in doing Donington next month - will post cost when I get em.

[NotoriousREV]

Finally got my new exhaust. Comparison vid (in portrait mode!) of standard exhaust, new exhaust with DB killer, and new exhaust without DB killer. Hard to really get the sound across properly on an iPhone vid but the new exhaust is much bassier and sounds brilliant when you blip it.

[mik]

You made me go and get some headphones - sounds meatier, but yeah - i think you need to be 5m+ away to get a half decent recording.

[evostick]

Sounds decent that does.

Inevitably, I'll end up swapping the standard can on the XJR for something a bit louder. As it's been around for years there's some very cheap options for it but they all come with a shitty exhaust strap father than a proper fixed mounting point like the OE one does.

I don't want to buy another akrapovic as I know you're paying for the brand now, but at least you know that the feckin can has been designed for the bike, rather than a generic can with a rubber strap and the appropriate size link pipe.

[NotoriousREV]

You made me go and get some headphones - sounds meatier, but yeah - i think you need to be 5m+ away to get a half decent recording.

It was 10am and I was trying not to piss the neighbours off too much. I got a text off one neighbour whilst I was filming “Stop playing with it! ”

[tim]

Was out tutoring with a RoSPA candidate this afternoon, 31 degrees at one point was getting a bit much (shut up JL) even in kevlar jeans and my Knox aero-jacket.

Roads were nicely deserted coming back from the final debrief though, thanks kickballists, and managed to get a 2 wheel drift going around a big wide roundabout which got my attention somewhat! Still love the way this big old RT barge hoofs it around corners.

[Broccers]

Tested a 18 Gsxr1000r yesterday - had it out on my usual route around Fox house, Grindleford and accross to Winnats pass. As there wasn't a huge amount of traffic it was swift progress and by that I mean its best handling big bike I've ridden. So flickable and the forks forgive any over eagerness approaching bends too fast. And fast it was and is. But at 15 grand its not a special bike - its so vibey which really annoying, feels cheap and the one I was lent had fueling issues.

Looking for a BMW HP4 Carbon now which is a little old hat but will always be special.

And they are a little quicker than my K7

[evostick]

I can't get my head round these new bike prices. Silly money. I guess that the upside is that residuals are stronger. I just sold my f800gs for just £100 less than I paid for it 3 years back. I didn't treat it too kind and trebled the mileage as well but prices are high it would seem.

Took a couple of weeks to sell though. I had various foreign buyers offering me reasonable money but they all wanted to pick it up sometime in the future and send the money through that day. I wasn't keen at all. Mostly due to my Xenophobia tbf.

In the end, some slightly foreign (Scot) bloke from Bournemouth came and took it away in a camper van. I'll miss it in winter and on longer trips but not that much I suspect.

Changed the oil, fitted the slightly too large chrome horns, a sub-standard air filter and a titanium noise cannon to the XJR. It really is quite loud now. I guess I could put the baffle back in but.....nah, fuck that, it sounds magnificent.

Might be my imagination but people seem a lot friendlier to it then they did the GS. Very quick to move over etc. Lots more nods from other helmets too.

I also suspect that women get physically moist when I pass them. Mostly due to the chromed horns no doubt.

[Nathan]

I didnt realise you had a GS.

I would have presumed you felt they were for urban cowboys who work in IT and can't open jars of beetroot.

[GG.]

You made me go and get some headphones - sounds meatier, but yeah - i think you need to be 5m+ away to get a half decent recording.

It was 10am and I was trying not to piss the neighbours off too much. I got a text off one neighbour whilst I was filming “Stop playing with it! ”

Delayed message. That was the one from when he was peering in your bathroom window

[evostick]

I didnt realise you had a GS.

I would have presumed you felt they were for urban cowboys who work in IT and can't open jars of beetroot.

That's the 1200s. I had an 800.

The bloke I sold mine too had sold his 1200 to buy an 800. He'd become a man essentially.

I've gone beyond manhood now.

[NotoriousREV]

I’m not a fan of the horns. I think you should paint it drab olive and fit knobbly tyres.

[evostick]

I’m not a fan of the horns. I think you should paint it drab olive and fit knobbly tyres.

I'm not either but they cost me £20 so they can stay there for now. Eventually they'll be replaced with 80mm non slotted chromed items (they're 100mm) but I don't want a drawer full of unused horns so I'll have to find a use for the perfectly good ones I've already removed.

Loving having shiny things to polish again though tbh.

And you can't beat polishing a shiny horn.

[tim]

The engine bars are more offensive than the horns!

[evostick]

The engine bars are more offensive than the horns!

Don't you have a candidate to debrief or something?

I like the engine bars. They're staying.

[tim]

Yes, several!

[Broccers]

Very shiny Evostick!!

Yes older bikes don't lose too much value - I think there's an appreciation of lack of rider aids. Got mine back yesterday with the brakes sorted out and bloody hell they are absolutely night and day from when I dropped it in. Doing the same route as earlier this week on the new bike its apparent my old dog is far more stable, has a better linear low down wave of power compared to the 18 bike - I guess having had it set up on a rr with a pc3 mapped to fit the pipe makes it work well. Its probably a lot slower around a race track - might take it on trackday when I can find the baffle. Saying this costing up a day on mine with instruction is more or less the same as doing an elite course on ron haslams school.