Neilly

1 hour ago, Justgrazing said:

C'mon then Guy's here's an idea ..

 

In 20 words or less best bike you've ever ridden ..

20 words or less the bike you wish you'd had but never did ( get one ) .. 

The first one is the tricky one, (and certainly not in 20 words) mostly because you could be riding the best bike in the world, but it's pi55in down and you're freezing cold so can't appreciate it...I have quite a few memorable rides stored in my head, time, place, bike and who I was racing against, or riding with. I will offer up the bike that gave me my first hallelujah moment...I was 16 and out with a friend on our 50cc mopeds up in the hills near where we lived when a friend turned up on his Suzi GT250...and he let me have a go on it. I'd been riding bikes since I was 9 years old...but never ever experienced anything like that...from that moment on I was hooked on two strokes and it reinforced my feelings for bikes 100 fold.

The one that got away...easy, RD500LC

2 hours ago, Justgrazing said:

Awesome and with an open 6/1 even awesomer .. 

A guy I know runs a dive business out of Brighton and he comes to Samui every winter for a few months. This was his CBX...pretty sure he's sold it tho now

2 hours ago, Justgrazing said:

 

The black one with you in the pic' is that a Midnight Special ? 

FJ underrated bike for sure .. 

Nah, the Midnight Special was a sort of cruiser type thingy ????

Loved my FJ, took it to the IoM TT and did a lap on mad Sunday...went to south of France a few times, Spain once and Italy twice...that thing could eat miles, and apart from blowing out the exhausts on the way back from Spain I never had a single problem with it.

3 hours ago, Justgrazing said:

Always thought it was a brave move by Yamaha to release a brand new range of performance 2 strokes at the time when Suzy and Kawa went all 4 stroke and from what I remember a change in the learner law down to 125cc ( was that 1980 ? my bloody memory don't work that well anymore ) but what a bike  .. But for sure love 'em or hate them they were one of the bikes of the 80's 

They were at that...wouldn't have missed it for the world.

I had to look up when they switched to the 125cc limit...obviously my memory is no better than yours, it was earlier than I thought...

Up to February 1983 learner motorcycle riders could ride motorcycles with an engine capacity up to 250cc. In February 1983 the law changed limiting learner motorcycle riders to 125cc.

1 hour ago, Justgrazing said:

We all love an XS don't we .. 

 

Yep...the XS1100 could be ridden fast, just so long as you didn't have a faint heart or back-off in a bend (that shaft drive played merry-hell with the handling)

Got a second hand XS1100 the same as this first

And then got a new XS1.1...think they even called it the Sport ????...me in my scruffy oik days

And the last road bike I owned before leaving Blighty for Thailand

3 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

More or less but if you bent down, either 249cc or 348cc was cast into the barrels below the fins. Strangely, the one I 'upgraded' for my mate had no numbers ????

I did look...yep, no numbers  ????

3 hours ago, Justgrazing said:

Hahaha yea the Japanese do love slight model adjustments that require another designation .. A mate of mine who's nuts about Z1's tells me stuff like Z1B has got a slightly different font to the speedo and revcounter numerals to Z1A and the 4 warning lights are arranged in a different order on one from the other and the correct colour schemes for UK bikes and other stuff that'll require a different model number .. Mad as they come is Dean .. 

I did a quick read up on the Yam models this morning to re-flash my fading memory...yerp, confusing as it ever was...things like 'were all YDS7's front drum brake'...nope, the 1st RD250's had drum brakes while they were still working out the details of fitting discs...stuff like that 

1 hour ago, KhaoYai said:

For me, they were great times at the time but now?  I love just pushing a button and knowing my bike's going to start.  I don't have to carry any spanners or clean the plugs every time they foul..........2 strokes, loved 'em then but I wouldn't want one now.????

Hmmm...good question, if I could find a RD350B I'd have to have it...no matter what condition it was in. Not so sure about the 350LC...I doubt there's one left that hasn't been mullered to within an inch of it's life

He's taken two cobras from my house...a finer guy you couldn't wish to meet

2 hours ago, Justgrazing said:

Early doors 350 and younger bro' 250 both in classic early 70's colour schemes

Seeing those just reminded me of something...on my way thru Bath everyday sometimes I'd get in the mix with a Ruby Red RD250...we had some damn fine races on a few occasions and I could never work out why I couldn't leave him for dead the same as my mates who were still on 250's. One Saturday we were going down to Bath and I spotted him on the side of the road outside his house so stopped for a chat...he hadn't passed his test, so his '250' was actually a 350 with different side panels!

1 hour ago, Justgrazing said:

I've ridden out in the sticks in Thailand but even then there's a lot of dodgyness on the roads particularly riding the wrong way on the hard shoulder because they don't wanna ride a mile or two to the next cut back

After 30 something years or working in the middle east I'm fairly used to odd ball driving so it doesn't really bother me...I just treat them all like they're out to kill me.

Back on subject...two very different styles...

1 hour ago, Justgrazing said:

though I don't enjoy riding in Thailand with the road casualty figure and in Pattaya I find you got have reactions of a fly to deal with some of the plonkers on the roads .. Not enjoyable .. 

When I was doing my apprenticeship I used to commute thru Bath and Bristol everyday on my RD350...how I'm still here today I have no idea. I do enjoy riding in the country in Thailand...but towns not so much. 

Baak do a nice makeover for the Royal Enfield (13,750€ duty free ????)

https://www.baakmotocyclettes.com/en/motorcycles-triumph-guzzi-enfield/379-royal-enfield-trial-1960-ltd-classic-500.html

Bit arty...but nice all the same

I've always had a soft spot for the Rickman Metisse since first seeing them while working in a bike shop after school and at the weekends

Matisse are still going and they make the Steve McQueen Desert Racer...I'd love to get my hands on one

http://www.metisse-motorcycles.com/motorcycle/steve-mcqueen-desert-racer/

12 minutes ago, geriatrickid said:

A toxic substance need not have an odor to be dangerous. Remember that carbon monoxide is odorless as is natural gas. We must add an adulterant to natural gas for people to realize it is present.

 

Sorry to spoil a good rant...but there is no toxic substance in vape liquid

What exactly is e-liquid? E-Liquid is made up of four basic ingredients; water, nicotine, flavorings, and a propylene glycol or vegetable glycerin base (or sometimes a mixture of PG and VG).

The two you will be unfamiliar with are...

Propylene Glycol (PG) – This is a lab-made liquid that the FDA generally views as safe in food, drugs and cosmetics. It’s also used to make artificial smoke or fog for performances. It can irritate the lungs and eyes and may be more harmful for people with chronic lung diseases like asthma and emphysema.

Glycerin – Odorless and colorless, liquid glycerin has a slightly sweet taste. Like PG, the FDA generally views it as safe. It’s found in many products, including food and drugs, both prescription and over the counter medications.

2 hours ago, thaiguzzi said:

Oil tank is stunning.

Seen similar on a few other builds...does look the dawgs nutz