OV9

I sort of agree with JL. You’re looking at bikes that are the equivalent of Hyundais or Kias. Although, I think sportsbikes make terrible road bikes.

I know UK roads are a factor here, but I just don't see the harm in giving one a crack. The Hyundais / Kias analogy is spot on - try an M3 CSL or 968 CS as well.

Its definitely all a personal preference. My mate Matt won’t even consider anything other than a sportsbike. He won’t even sit on my KTM

A Harley-owning mate once begged me to take it for a ride, just to have an actual reference point for my total hatred of both it and them.

I refused, point-blank.

Marv - a lot of people's dislike of sports bikes is as a result of their own physical quirks - bad backs, dodgy knees, too tall etc. My ex was (is, I guess) 5'4" and the 600 fit her like a glove. I'm 6"1' and never had an issue with it. They're not the torture devices people make them out to be.

Anyway - the drum has been beaten. Just don't buy something boring and shit.

Does James want me to try a sports bike? I can't tell

You'll thank me. You'll ALL thank me.

JLv3.0 wrote: Mon Aug 20, 2018 9:06 am A Harley-owning mate once begged me to take it for a ride, just to have an actual reference point for my total hatred of both it and them.

I refused, point-blank.

You should have, they are fooking hilarious. I rode Jon H's V-Rod and couldn't stop laughing the whole ride round it was that stupid a machine.

I believe Shockers has/is about to buy some kind of Hardley Ferguson too, so there's that hilarity for us to look forward to.

I'm supposed to be setting off on a big tour round North/West France on thurs, ending up back at my folks after 3 days, but I seem to have developed labyrinthitis which is fucking inconvenient since I just booked the crossing and hotels yesterday. FML.

He was trying to explain how awesome and mechanical it was "you have to let the revs pretty much drop to idle before it shifts, and the brakes need plenty of use"

"so it's a shit bike then? Yeah thanks mate I'll pass"

I rode an 883 Sportster that had been converted to 1200. It felt as slow as the Honda CM250 I once had and I ground out the undercarriage taking a 45 degree bend at 32mph. Sounded pretty good, though, and it was a nice custom job but as a thing to ride, it definitely wasn't my thing.

That's exactly what it was Dave - an 883 Sportster. I couldn't find a single aspect of it that made me like it any way.

I tried a 1200 Sportster. Shook like a shitting dog, brakes were non existent, narrow working range on the engine. Horrible machine.

I took my Suzuki touring, they're great at covering ground quickly but not as relaxing when you want to sight see or in built up areas.

The range of options these days is huge though, try as many different bikes as you can. My Tracer suits me well enough, hopefully even better once I upgrade the suspension.

Barry wrote: Tue Aug 21, 2018 5:09 pm I tried a 1200 Sportster. Shook like a shitting dog, brakes were non existent, narrow working range on the engine. Horrible machine.

I took my Suzuki touring, they're great at covering ground quickly but not as relaxing when you want to sight see or in built up areas.

The range of options these days is huge though, try as many different bikes as you can. My Tracer suits me well enough, hopefully even better once I upgrade the suspension.

Try TW Suspension Tech in Preston for your suspension, Barry. It won't be off the shelf but he knows what he's doing and doesn't charge the earth.

https://www.twsuspensiontech.co.uk/

What upgrades Barry? Not a cheap exercise.

Cheers Rev, will give them a call.

OEM suspension is where they saved money on the MT range, the rear shock on mine is dangerous at anything above 7/10ths. Too soft, too little damping, it can't control the rear basically.

Options are expensive Maxton, Nitron £450 ISH, Hague maybe. Ohlins if I want to really invest.

Or just take the sting and upgrade to the new GT with the extended swingarm.

Fuck me, that was a wet ride home.

My previously-waterproof RST textile jacket just let the water straight through, my RST TrackEvo gloves aren’t even supposed to be waterproof and gave up after 2 miles, I was wearing Kevlar jeans rather than my textile overpants so the water pooled between the tank and my crotch and then soaked in and ran down the backs of my legs and pooled in my boots.

To add to the fun, for some reason at the recent service they’d disabled the heated grips in the menu so I couldn’t use them (I’ve re-enabled them in the settings menu that you can only access when stopped).

Miserable I'm a total pussy when it comes to rain (on the few occasions that I've ridden in it). Goretex head to toe, to the point that when it was lashing it down on a Norway ferry, I just stayed put on the bike, feeling smug.

Thankfully my inner ear problems have gone away, so I'm off early tomorrow for Eurotunnel and 810 miles of Normandy, Brittany, Loire and into Limousin over 3 days.

Cannot wait!

JLv3.0 wrote: Wed Aug 22, 2018 6:34 pm Miserable I'm a total pussy when it comes to rain (on the few occasions that I've ridden in it). Goretex head to toe, to the point that when it was lashing it down on a Norway ferry, I just stayed put on the bike, feeling smug.

I’m fairly happy in the rain usually. I’m a complete pussy on roundabouts, though. The Pirelli Angel GTs on the KTM are great in the wet, as good if not better than the Michelin Pilot Road 4s I had on the BMW and the Triumph. Sticking the bike into Rain mode and putting the suspension into Comfort and cruising home makes it stress free, too.

tim wrote: Wed Aug 22, 2018 7:13 pm Thankfully my inner ear problems have gone away, so I'm off early tomorrow for Eurotunnel and 810 miles of Normandy, Brittany, Loire and into Limousin over 3 days.

Cannot wait!

Enjoy! Looks epic.

My textiles can generally take about half hr of rain before water gets under the jacket and wicks upwards. If I know it's going to rain I'll throw the Oxford rain jacket on. In this heat I'll just get wet though, it's less uncomfortable lol.

Good trip that Tim, I'm getting pestered to join a few mates at the Bol again, down at Paul Ricard. Similar run, we'll take ferry to Caen if I can be bothered.