Motorbike and scooter owners.
- Thread starter Cavalol
- Start date
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StuAff
Silencing his legs regularly
- Location
- Portsmouth
As I'm here…feel the same about my Xmaxes. The 400 is thirstier & heavier to lug about, but has the edge for long-distance riding (most I've done in a day- 240 or so to Dungeness & back), thanks to the small but noticeable extra grunt, just a bit more stable & the ride's a bit better. With the aid of speed limits on the commute (now up to 60 mph for most of it, roadworks permitting) still getting well over 70 mpg- best recently about 76. That passed 2000 miles on the clock soon after I finally got the full licence in December '20, now just under 11,000. The 300 is barely slower, a bit flightier in high winds, but ridiculously frugal for a bigger-than-125 scoot. Got 102 mpg last week. Rode it up to the O2 for the Tool gig a couple of weeks ago, and even with trudging through central London & sustained (legal, I hasten to add...) speeds on the A3, still got 92 mpg!! Done 6,500 miles on that one in just under a year.
Also did an MOT check on my old PCX today. The buyer did say he intended to fix her up, and I'd checked she'd got back on the road a couple of times. Had another look today, then read the test history. 50,375 miles when I sold her. Last MOT, in April, 62,582. Glad to see that the little bike that could, still does.
Brandane
Legendary Member
- Location
- Costa Clyde
Good idea for a new thread... My "most in a day" was 650
. Cambrai in northern France to home in North Ayrshire. Via the Calais/Dover ferry, M2, M25, M40, M42, M6, M74, M8.... Left Cambrai 6am, home at 10pm. On a Yamaha XJ900 Diversion.Hornchurch
Active Member
Found it very interesting as regards your selection of bikes & how ya "came down the ladder", size (cc) wise.
I've always been into 'big bikes' & still do own a few - I'll post 'em later in this thread..... (further down, later)
At the age of 22, bought my first 1,000cc bike - Gorgeous 'brand-new' A-Reg Kawasaki Z.1000-J - ( J3 model )
Have always owned a 1,000cc M/cycle ever since AND never "envisaged" going down the later, capacity-wise.
But old-age strikes most of us who WERE born before the Beatles became famous & long before Concord & 747's first flew.
Which is precisely "why" I've now "gone down the ladder" & bought myself a "baby-bike" - (smaller machine)
With it's rack & tallish fairing (& wide "fat-tank"), it actually doesn't look (visually) any smaller than my 1,000cc bikes
But it puts out LESS than 50bhp & these bikes ARE capable of very, very high-milages, if looked after.
The one I had my eye on, fell like a stone (price-wise) during the Covid-Pandemic & subsequent "Lockdown"(s)
Price went down from £1,395 all the way down to a (ridiculous) £995
That's £995.00 with 10-months M.o.T and just 9,000 miles from brand-new - Bog standard, "mint as F'k"
O.K, it's not everyone's cup of tea, but as I've learned, there ARE some relentless snobs about - (who'd berate it)
Meantime, I'm laughing all the way to the bank, with a ridiculously cheap (& mint, low-mileage), run-about.
I like it's looks - It's THE last model (ever) Made In Japan, before they moved production to Spain & thence, South America.
Does me a treat, even tho' it's "un-exciting" in terms of performance, but then I knew it's limitations when I bought it.
I loved the fact that it was both "low-mileage", absolutely "bog-standard" & about as cheap as a bag of chips....
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That's a lovely bike, and as regards the snobs then it's their problem, not yours. The scooter world has quite a number too, sadly. Would absolutely love a Z1000J, like most things of that era they're getting silly money now days.
Meanwhile this (and that's about all that's left of it) was acquired yesterday...
Meanwhile this (and that's about all that's left of it) was acquired yesterday...
Smokin Joe
Squire
- Location
- Bare headed cyclist, Smoker
The best bike I ever owned was a CB500, bought new in 1997 from Grimsteads in Newbury park (I used to live on your patch, Elm Park). They are easy to ride, capable of 125mph and it would cruise two up at 90 all day long. We used to go all over the coast from Clacton round to Bournmouth on it and it took me down here to west Wales a few times before we moved here. I traded it in for a GSX750W which was a nice bike, but I always regretted getting rid of the CB.
wheresthetorch
Dreaming of Celeste
- Location
- West Sussex
I wavered between a CB500 and a Kawasaki ER-5 in 1997, and bought the Kawasaki. Big mistake - lovely to ride but hopelessly unreliable as a daily commuter.
FrothNinja
Veteran
You may have been unlucky, the engine in the ER-5 is fairly bomb proof. I've had GPZ500s for decades and while bits may fall off, the engines have always been peachy - and the 5 is slightly detuned too. CB500s are reliable and bits are less likely to drop off but some of the versions are more commuters than others
wheresthetorch
Dreaming of Celeste
- Location
- West Sussex
Yeah, could be right - probably also didn't help that I used to get it serviced at Motorcycle City. Remember them? The Halfords of the motorcycle world!
Hornchurch
Active Member
Was it/ is it up for sale then ?
Also, whilst I'm not "up" on all the R.1 versions, it looks like the 1999 original to me, am I wrong ?
I never bothered getting one, when insurance companies told me they were "Group.17" out of 17
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