Yeah – I am planning having 2 bikes in the future, the second is going to be a vintage machine though 😉 Probably trade the Speed Triple for a Sports Tourer next summer and see how I get on with it – never ridden anything with clip ons before (I like my Renthal bars!)

Oh aye – Peter – worth keeping an eye on this for Ducatis. Mate was telling me that specific bike forums get you some very tidy bikes usually at a very good price. Nothing hugely of interest at the moment perhaps, but thought I would point you in that direction….

Rob, yes I'm actually a member on the Ducatisti forum. I tried selling our Monsters on there with zero result. I sold them both via STW classifides in the end!

Yes I know you sold them on here and not even to me :'(

Robs how vintage do you want your bike? Is it for duo? Touring or jsut some pootling around?

It's going to be pretty vintage – there is a stupid and doomed to failure plan of getting to the Nordkapp on BSA M30s (old military model, 500cc thumpers with single sprung seats). Think they were 1930's – 1950's or somesuch.

I also have my eyes on a very nice race prepped Norton that happens to be in my Great Aunts attic in grease paper and has been for the last few decades since my Great Uncle died…. mmmmm

****MUSSSSSSSST STOP LOOKING AT BIKE TRADER AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH****

Yeah – been doing that a lot lately myself 😉

However – I have a few jobs to go to now… apparently they need pumps in Keswick, who would have thunk it. No more computers for me today!!!

Have a nice day rob 😀

****MUSSSSSSSST STOP LOOKING AT BIKE TRADER AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH****

I am now expecting a "look what I bought" email from my brother PP before Christmas. 🙂
PP has no willpower when it comes to nice shiny stuff. 😉

Problem with the monster 696 is that I see too many of them, just rode to go to the café.

Juan, you're waaaaaay too concerned with the 'image'. Or at least the image that you percieve. So what if people ride them to cafes? I've parked every bike I've ever had outside a cafe (Well, maybe not the CG125) and sat looking at it for a bit. Nothing wrong with that though. I've also done 2 trackdays and the IOM TT course on a commuter (CB500), toured on a streetfighter (S3) and wheelied and beaten sportsbikes on a scooter (Runner VXR180)

IMAGE has nowt to do with it. Nothing. I'd always wanted a S3. So I got one and used it and loved it. I'd always wanted a Monster. So I got one and I loved it and used it.
I've had people sneer at my bike (CB500 on a trackday) but I was lapping a bloke on a Fireblade twice a session until he crashed it.

It's not WHAT you ride that matters. It's THAT you ride which counts. 😀

Stop thinking about IMAGE and go test some bikes FFS!!!!!!!!

Can you post a pic of an ST for me?

Rob, it's ain't happening. We're broke. 🙁

Spring 2011 is the date I have in mind…..

Oooooooohhhh. That's nice.
Do all Ducatis have to be in red? That one does look good in red though.
Looking forward to spring now?

If you're skint then I'll send an emergency cake parcel for Christmas, should see you through for a while………….. 😉

Do all Ducatis have to be in red?

Yes.
It's the law.

If you're skint then I'll send an emergency cake parcel for Christmas, should see you through for a while…………..

Kirsty has made 3 Christmas cakes already. She seals them in foil and hides them or they end up with chunks missing.

Kirsty has made 3 Christmas cakes already. She seals them in foil and hides them or they end up with chunks missing.

Tea/keyboard interface 😀

Err, have we strayed off topic here a bit? 😉

Cake is NEVER off topic.

She seals them in foil and hides them or they end up with chunks missing.

Can't possibly see how that could happen. Must be those cake burglars that always attack our house.

That ST IS nice…… Bikes 🙂

This is what I am fancying at the moment…

1050cc of three cylinder goodness 🙂

In the summer.

Probably

RobS – Member

It's going to be pretty vintage – there is a stupid and doomed to failure plan of getting to the Nordkapp on BSA M30s (old military model, 500cc thumpers with single sprung seats). Think they were 1930's – 1950's or somesuch.

I did this in 1990 0n my 1961 BSA A10 2 up. We rode from Edinburgh to Moscow, then on to St Petersberg, up thru Finland and downw theu Norway. 13000 miles in 13 weeks and 13 countries. Needless to say it all went Pete Tong at the end

I also have my eyes on a very nice race prepped Norton that happens to be in my Great Aunts attic in grease paper and has been for the last few decades since my Great Uncle died…. mmmmm

Jeepers – get it and cherish it. That could be valuable and rare

how much do i have to ride before it all starts becoming a bit more automatic? Passed test in August bought bike about about mid sept, been going to work on it most days (15 miles there and back) I kind of enjoy it, it certainly is much better than driving a car (hate cars) but I do find it a bit taxing in some undefineable way.

"Do all Ducatis have to be red"?

Nope, 748s have to be yellow, 848s have to be white, and all the rest look best in black 😉 Apart from 888s and their ilk, they all have to be red.

anagallis_arvensis

It should never become automatic. You should always be concentrating at all times.

To become a confident and relaxed rider? many thousand miles Do more than your commute on it and get some advanced instruction ( maybe in the spring tho.)

Edit:- Maybe get the suspension set up / tyres checked?

My penny-worth.

Bikes wear out, not with miles but abuse and weather. I wouldn't touch a 10 year old BMW, the same way I wouldn't touch a 10 year old Jap 4.

I've had many bikes over the last (nearly 30 years), starting with a Tiger and ending (currently) with a Tiger. My was a Garelli and my current a Triumph 1050. Most were bought to commute on, except a Ducati which was bought to impress a girl (and succeeded as she's my wife).

Your cannot go wrong with a Jap 4, full stop. It will just work, taking incredible levels of abuse with quite minor maintenance – my zx9r which I ran to 60k would still rev to the red line and top out in excess of 170 without a worry. I commuted on this bike into central London for 3 years in all weathers, never ever let me down – although did go through some rear tyres…

I only bought the Triumph, instead of another Jap 4 to go British – and its superb. And its ABS saved me about 2 months in, cabbie shat himself though 😆

But most of all, pass your test, buy something with a mid-sized engine (600/4, 675 or small Ducati) and this time next year maybe look for something bigger.

Oh – that's the route I really wanted to do, but we won't have time alas… figure it is probably going to be a Newcastle – Bergen and then up the fjords. Probably come back down through Finland and Sweden before heading back to Bergen… try and do it all in 2 – 3 weeks or something.

S' a lovely looking old BSA that one 😉

b r, how do you find the 1050 Tiger? I keep ruling them out… and then coming back to them again! I *think* the Sprint is more what I want, but you never know 😉

I started out with a TDM 850 and kind of liked the idea of that bike, though it was a bit too old, cheap and knackered to really do anything for me (hence why I traded it in for the Speed Triple after 6 months – the bike I always wanted in my heart, but the mismatch between what it is great at and what I want a bike to do 90% of the time is the problem…)

Yes – I know I could work around the limitations of the Speed Triple, I keep toying with it, but it is easier to work around the "not right 10% of the time" than the "not right 90% of the time".

Probably.

I like the Tiger, but you really need to be 6 ft plus to be comfortable.

I've the raised screen, heated grips and hand guards – so keeps me warm and dry.

After a diet of Jap 4's the different engine takes getting use to, and its nowhere near as quick as either my last 2 bikes (zx9r and fazer thou).

But it is the most stable and safe-feeling bike I've ever ridden – and it has 'presence'.

sorry forgot to say, 60mpg on my 100 mile round trip commute, whereas the Fazer was 50mpg and the zx9r 40mpg

bergen-newcastle ferry is no longer running is it?

S'okay – there is the Newcastle Stavanger service, so that will do 😉

RobS – I chopped my 955 Speed Triple in for a Sprint 1050 last year. I suppose it would be good for long distance, but it nowhere near as much fun as the S3. It seems big and heavy. Engine is fantastic though and it handles well for a fat lass. You're right about that burble on the overrun!! It's my fourth Hinckley Triumph (TT600, 2 x S3) and they have all been superb. No corrosion either. I have a hankering for one of the new Bonnie SEs, but I'm worried that it may seem a bit flat.
Have you seen the new Norton Commando? I'm going to sell a kidney.
To go back to the original point – for £3000 you could get a good Tiger 955 (if you were tall enough!)

Have you seen the new Norton Commando? I'm going to sell a kidney.

Sorry mate, looks like the market for second end kidneys has been filled up. And yes one on mine is on the list.

I've just realised I'M OLD – bike insurance quote actually seems reasonable :-/ Fully comp on my Ducati 749 for under £150!

Yeah – that's what I was on about with compromises. Most the times when I want to use a bike it is for a reasonable distance. The S3 is just ace for blasting around the local roads for an hour or so, but I often find a reason not to use it for longer trips when I need to take a bit of stuff… and default to the car.

I shall give em a test ride, the Honda CB1300 S is on the list too and a few other things. Going to have some fun over the spring/early summer trying stuff out 😉

Oh aye – and I so want that Norton too 😉

For 3k of the original posters cash, a Trumpet t595 or something similar? Decent enough engine for a bit of fun, but a touch easier to ride and more real world than a jap sports four, and more reliable than anything with pasta for wiring? Or a vfr you can't rally fault.

If you have ridden a bike before, recently, then a smaller cc if your into touring may be a waste. I just bought a sv650, and already thinking of a thou next spring, as after the gpz500 I had a few years back, it feels no quicker, (just a bit better handling)

Not being funny here but an SV650 is a heck of a lot quicker than a GPZ, 3.7 vs 4.9 tested 0-60, which is like the difference between an SV and a Hayabusa And top speed 140mph (indicated) vs 120, mid 12s quarter mile vs mid 11s, even though the SV's never been about top speed. The Geep's about 40 kg heavier and makes 20 bhp less. You sure you didn't buy a 400? 🙂

"Your cannot go wrong with a Jap 4, full stop. It will just work, taking incredible levels of abuse with quite minor maintenance – my zx9r which I ran to 60k would still rev to the red line and top out in excess of 170 without a worry"

cool.i might just keep the zx9r then!

Anyone want a bandit 12?

Mate of mine has one for sale. cosmetically tatty but a good runer – 30 000 miles much cheapness