Briski Bikers Come Forward!

[octimark]

 The luggage/heated grip and seat offer is on at the mo too so I'm fighting the urge to do something daft. Off to Wolverhampton tomorrow if the weather is fine to go to both the Triumph and Beemer dealers for another look.

 

 

Now that sounds like my kind of day. Enjoy :sun:

 

P.S. Its only daft if it's not what you want :p

[mender]

How's this for a crap bike dealers?

 

I spent yesterday on the phone with a bike dealer in regard to buying in my 3 month old Peugeot Vox and after a while we agreed a price and a time to bring it in.  It was a very very low price, but my new bike arrives tomorrow, I am due to go on holiday soon and we have limited space for storage so I decided to take the low offer.

 

So, as discussed, I removed the box, cleaned the bike, booked the morning off, asked my Parents to take time off and follow me over to the dealers to bring me home.

 

It is a 40 mile round trip to this dealer, with my Parents in tow and we arrived dead on time.

 

Cutting a long story short, the the other salesman had a stand up row with the guy who agreed to buy the bike yesterday in front of me, before even looking at the bike-then tells me that they no longer want to buy it as they have another one in stock.

I protested and asked what I was supposed to do about the lost morning for both me and my Parents and both of our lost fuel.  They just shrugged.

 

I am really busy and put off a paid job to sort this today, plus had accepted a price which gave them 50% profit easily, so I was furious about this.

Dreadful.

[Chriswright03]

Ade,

 

To be honest I cannot say I have given a second thought to the size of the front tyre.  Reason being that the bike has wide handlebars and with the sit up and beg riding style the bike goes exactly where you want it (as long as you look where you want to go of course).  I know the 800 has a pencil thin front tyre and one of the Guys I ride with has said it does have a tendency to tramline on the overbanding on tarmac but I have not noticed it with mine.  I did hit a dead rabbit carcase on Sunday on the way back home and it slid the front wheel across the road but as soon as it hit tarmac it griped again no problem.

 

After our test ride on the Explorer I was convinced I wanted to change bikes but told the wife to say nothing on our return to the showroom.  When we got there the salesman who I know quite well by now asked what I thought and I said with a deadpan face "I don't know what all of the fuss is about".  He just looked and said "You liar.  I can see the grin starting by your right ear and traveling to the other side".  At this point I just laughed and sat down to discuss a deal.

 

I tried a BMW GS1200 when I bought the VFR.  In fact road tested them both the same day.  My opinion of the Adventure style bike on that day and even now is they handle far better than I expected and were so easy to ride.  At that time I chose the VFR over the Beemer for two reasons, one being I had a VFR (non  VTEC) for over four years when I was instructing and it just felt so natural to me and second I just do not like the Boxer engine and it's characteristics.

 

When I called in at Webbs of Lincoln and looked at the Triumphs I had gone to look at a Yamaha FJ1300 to replace the VFR.  I only went upstairs to see what was up there and had never given Triumph a thought and never knew what models they had.  I saw the Sprint and saw the price which with luggage was about four grand cheaper than a new VFR and booked a test ride and loved it so bought it. I looked at the Tiger range at the same time but just thought that I will never ride off road so why do I need that sort of bike?  I now know they are like Range Rovers and hardly anyone takes them off road but having ridden this for a few months now I can say what a fantastic all rounder it is. 

 

I have never used the heated seat and used the heated grips on less than a handfull of occasions but they are there if I need them.  Likewise the panniers came off the day I got it home and will only be replaced if we go touring which we intend to do later this year.  My only criticism is of the standard topbox that only just fits a full face helmet. I intend to replace that with a 52 lt one that will take two helmets as it save having to faff with the helmet lock and the pillion seat which always means I have to remember to take off the intercom before leaving it on view.

 

One other thing to note with Triumph if it would be of interest.  Most dealers support a RATS group (Riders Association of Triumph) and our local group have a Facebook group where we arrange and organise ride outs where we get to eat cake!  They are a good bunch and there is always someone to offer advice if needed.

 

Have a test ride but be prepared to fork out the money because if you are smitten as I was it will cost.

 

Regards Chris

[fluffmeister]

I cleaned mine last weekend and fitted my new LED spots, I found a GS under the coating of ACF 50

Shiny

I've got a 320 mile trip up to Oban for work on Sunday so it will be back to non shiny mode fairly quickly I reckon

[Chriswright03]

That ACF 50 certainly does what it says on the tin fluff.  I hosed mine off on Sunday and a quick wipe down with a mf cloth and it was all done.  Saves having to have cut fingers from reaching in all those finger trapping places with a cloth.

 

Regards Chris

[mender]

How's this for a crap bike dealers?

 

I spent yesterday on the phone with a bike dealer in regard to buying in my 3 month old Peugeot Vox and after a while we agreed a price and a time to bring it in.  It was a very very low price, but my new bike arrives tomorrow, I am due to go on holiday soon and we have limited space for storage so I decided to take the low offer.

 

So, as discussed, I removed the box, cleaned the bike, booked the morning off, asked my Parents to take time off and follow me over to the dealers to bring me home.

 

It is a 40 mile round trip to this dealer, with my Parents in tow and we arrived dead on time.

 

Cutting a long story short, the the other salesman had a stand up row with the guy who agreed to buy the bike yesterday in front of me, before even looking at the bike-then tells me that they no longer want to buy it as they have another one in stock.

I protested and asked what I was supposed to do about the lost morning for both me and my Parents and both of our lost fuel.  They just shrugged.

 

I am really busy and put off a paid job to sort this today, plus had accepted a price which gave them 50% profit easily, so I was furious about this.

Dreadful.

 

Every cloud.....

Had a load of ebay callers today after getting back from the dealer and knocking £100 off my original listing price and have just sold it for what I was asking for it (it was a real bargain for them), really pleased going to a nice bloke who will use it and not a conning dealer using every trick in the book.

 

Ace  :sun:

Pleased for the buyer who is getting a genuine bargain, pleased the stupid dealers aren't making money, pleased I have sorted it to get my dream bike.

[littleade]

Ade,

 

To be honest I cannot say I have given a second thought to the size of the front tyre.  Reason being that the bike has wide handlebars and with the sit up and beg riding style the bike goes exactly where you want it (as long as you look where you want to go of course).  I know the 800 has a pencil thin front tyre and one of the Guys I ride with has said it does have a tendency to tramline on the overbanding on tarmac but I have not noticed it with mine.  I did hit a dead rabbit carcase on Sunday on the way back home and it slid the front wheel across the road but as soon as it hit tarmac it griped again no problem.

 

After our test ride on the Explorer I was convinced I wanted to change bikes but told the wife to say nothing on our return to the showroom.  When we got there the salesman who I know quite well by now asked what I thought and I said with a deadpan face "I don't know what all of the fuss is about".  He just looked and said "You liar.  I can see the grin starting by your right ear and traveling to the other side".  At this point I just laughed and sat down to discuss a deal.

 

I tried a BMW GS1200 when I bought the VFR.  In fact road tested them both the same day.  My opinion of the Adventure style bike on that day and even now is they handle far better than I expected and were so easy to ride.  At that time I chose the VFR over the Beemer for two reasons, one being I had a VFR (non  VTEC) for over four years when I was instructing and it just felt so natural to me and second I just do not like the Boxer engine and it's characteristics.

 

When I called in at Webbs of Lincoln and looked at the Triumphs I had gone to look at a Yamaha FJ1300 to replace the VFR.  I only went upstairs to see what was up there and had never given Triumph a thought and never knew what models they had.  I saw the Sprint and saw the price which with luggage was about four grand cheaper than a new VFR and booked a test ride and loved it so bought it. I looked at the Tiger range at the same time but just thought that I will never ride off road so why do I need that sort of bike?  I now know they are like Range Rovers and hardly anyone takes them off road but having ridden this for a few months now I can say what a fantastic all rounder it is. 

 

I have never used the heated seat and used the heated grips on less than a handfull of occasions but they are there if I need them.  Likewise the panniers came off the day I got it home and will only be replaced if we go touring which we intend to do later this year.  My only criticism is of the standard topbox that only just fits a full face helmet. I intend to replace that with a 52 lt one that will take two helmets as it save having to faff with the helmet lock and the pillion seat which always means I have to remember to take off the intercom before leaving it on view.

 

One other thing to note with Triumph if it would be of interest.  Most dealers support a RATS group (Riders Association of Triumph) and our local group have a Facebook group where we arrange and organise ride outs where we get to eat cake!  They are a good bunch and there is always someone to offer advice if needed.

 

Have a test ride but be prepared to fork out the money because if you are smitten as I was it will cost.

 

Regards Chris

Thanks,

I know what you mean about adventure bikes. A couple of years ago when Ewan and Charlie were all over the box I had been out on my MTB and was absolutely plastered in mud. I stopped in Bewdley by the river to have a snack before I rode back on the road home. There were a couple of blokes on fully loaded GSA's with all the BM kit on too, but both them and their bikes were immaculate what tickled me was the looks on the day trippers faces as they walked past us as I stopped next to the 2 "off roaders"

I called into Stratstones in Wolverhampton today which was an experience. The guy tried just about every trick to hook me even though I said I had no intention of buying a bike today and he wanted me to buy one without even a test ride (though they could arrange one if I wanted). His piste de resistance was to load the stock TEX up with loads of extras on the configurator and trying to get me to have a PCP because the extras hardly added anything to the "cost" 9.9% APR .... No thanks... especially as Triumph were offering the panniers, heated grips and heated seat for free! Though he did say he was new to the job and the coffee wasn't bad. I Called into the BMW place too to see when the R1200RS would be in, but was told not until June though I sat on one of the S series bikes that it's based on and wasn't too keen on the riding position. The R1200R by contrast was nicer to sit on but the front looks like it was designed by one bloke and the rest of it by someone else! Think I need to get myself to the Trailquest place in Malvern for a day out on one of their bikes...

Quite like the RATs idea as the few biker mates I had have given it up now and will deffo not be buying another so I'd be billy no mates so I'll have to look into that. cheers for the heads up. The red one does look good

As he put it "I have the red TEX in stock and I can get you one on the road by the weekend sir...." BMW... "Place your order today for the R1200R and it'll probably be end of May". Wife asked me what I did today, for some reason I had a bout of temporary memory loss...

[matt_theforce]

Talk to me about Chain Lubricant

 

The can I was provided with when I bought the motorbike is all empty (Motul chain oil, I can't remember which C model).

 

Its a spray based lubricant, its OK when the weather is dry but when in wet/muddy/salty conditions it dry's up very quickly.

 

What do you use & why?

[Carlodiesel]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WURTH-DRY-CHAIN-LUBE-500ML-CAN-/191528038141?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2c97f5eefd

 

Best I have found so far.

 

Clean chain first, then spray on as you rotate wheel. Simples.

==============================

Buy 2, makes it £9.49 a tin.. Barging

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wurth-High-Performance-Dry-Chain-Lube-500ml-Twin-Pack-/351342534341?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item51cda59ec5

[essexocty]

Pj1 is a very good lube!

All I do is spray some de greaser on chain the wash off after about 10 mins the re lube the chain

Pj1 is not cheap but very good

[FUBAR]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WURTH-DRY-CHAIN-LUBE-500ML-CAN-/191528038141?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2c97f5eefd

 

Best I have found so far.

 

Clean chain first, then spray on as you rotate wheel. Simples.

==============================

Buy 2, makes it £9.49 a tin.. Barging

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wurth-High-Performance-Dry-Chain-Lube-500ml-Twin-Pack-/351342534341?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item51cda59ec5

 

I use that WURTH dry lube too, but only in the summer ish drier times. It washes off so fast with any rain, but is light and clean compared to wax. I hate heavy wax ones, but I keep ending up back with them :(

[littleade]

Pj1 is a very good lube!

All I do is spray some de greaser on chain the wash off after about 10 mins the re lube the chain

Pj1 is not cheap but very good

+1 on the above. I used to use it on my Blade and the chain hardly stretched in the 5 years I had it. You do need to leave it some time before you ride the bike to allow the solvent to evaporate though.

[octimark]

I have never cleaned or lub'ed  any of my bikes chains and I've never had a problem.

 

However last year I did buy some WD40 stuff that was highly recommended by my Kwak dealer and it couldn't be easier to use. Works really well.

 

There's a Cleaner and a lube. Some handy vid's on the web site for anyone who needs them. Not the cheapest product.

 

http://www.wd40specialistmotorbike.co.uk/product-range/chain-cleaner/

 

http://www.wd40specialistmotorbike.co.uk/product-range/chainlube/

 

There's also a wax:

 

http://www.wd40specialistmotorbike.co.uk/product-range/chainwax/

[FUBAR]

I just went out as there was a sunny spell and cleaned the chain and lubed it up (not been that long but my WURTH didn't last long in some bad hail and other crapy weather. Rear hugger off and cleaned it too. FML I went for my trusty castrol lube and near floated out of my hand I was left with a choice of more WURTH (leaving that a month or 2 yet) or a tin of 'Halfords' chain wax for motorcycles ......... The stuff is rancid, looks like someone sprayed foam on my chain, not even a thick heavy sticky wax, it's like soap water!

 

 

I so need a friggin paddock stand as doing this on the side stand takes so much more effort. TBH maybe I should just get a new bike I might keep a hold of this one as a bit of a hack, it's ok. 

 

[FUBAR]

The countdown is on :D

 

Anyone coming over for it / a Brisky Bikers meet? 

 

http://emp.bbc.co.uk/emp/embed/smpEmbed.html?playlist=http%3A%2F%2Fplaylists.bbc.co.uk%2Fsport%2F0%2Fnorthern-ireland%2F32057057A%2Fplaylist.sxml&title=North%20West%20200%3A%20Stars%20line%20up%20for%20big%20race%20launch%20at%20Titanic%20in%20Belfast&product=sport

 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/northern-ireland/32057057

[littleade]

What you really need is shaft drive....IMO of course!

[FUBAR]

What you really need is shaft drive....IMO of course!

 

I have been so tempted tbh, but nothing out there to suit my special needs at moment on the old shaft! :(  

[fluffmeister]

For anyone planning routes, the latest version of MotoGoloco has gone live, V3, free to use and one of the best bit's of software I've used for planning, with a direct upload to Garmin /  BMW Nav or TomTom Rider range.

 

No connection to the guys other than supplying some feedback to them, but give it a look folks.

 

http://www.motogoloco.com/

 

Got my May trip to Austria all ready to go now, Looking at a second trip to Romania, Bulgaria in the summer if anyone wants to tag along, going to have a play on the transfargassian (Or however you spell it) and nosey round Transylvania

[fluffmeister]

Thanks,

I know what you mean about adventure bikes. A couple of years ago when Ewan and Charlie were all over the box I had been out on my MTB and was absolutely plastered in mud. I stopped in Bewdley by the river to have a snack before I rode back on the road home. 

 

I'm glad I had my first GS before Charlie and Ewbiwan Kalahari Yellow R1100GS, still in daily use with a guy down in the smoke and racked up over 150k Miles now.

[littleade]

I have special needs

LOL.....

[FUBAR]

LOL.....

FACT! 

[FUBAR]

Saw this a few days ago and meant to post it. 
 

A great video of a group ride and one having an 'off' and everything not to do if you have an IQ of more than 2... I have a harsh sense of humour and so laughed at the start when he came off, more so at 'how the feck?' Then moved onto sheer frustration at the crap actions of his mates.... An adult turns up and takes charge in the end thankfully, but only after he ignores the camera man's claims that he is a first aider and has done his thing. Guy had a ruptured spleen it transpired, but fannying about moving him and so quickly deciding to tell him to remove his lid etc.... catch a frigging grip! 

 

[CFB]

DOH!

That's why I have a label on both sides of my helmet which says "Do not remove my helmet unless you're a paramedic"

[matt_theforce]

I bought some Spada overmitts last month & it came with a crash card and green dot sticker to apply to the side of your visor, apparently Paramedics have been told to look for these to advise of a crash card in the helmet, advising of any health issues.  Anyone know if this is true?

[mender]

I bought some Spada overmitts last month & it came with a crash card and green dot sticker to apply to the side of your visor, apparently Paramedics have been told to look for these to advise of a crash card in the helmet, advising of any health issues.  Anyone know if this is true?

I've got the card and dot in/on my lid, great idea