Gerontious

Im not surprised that she found that HP was the best deal... given that she didn't run a comparison between HP and a bank loan. she only looked at buying outright from the perspective of having cash in hand rather than the source of the cash. I can't remember whether HP was over a 3 or 4 year term. my loan was over 5 years and the interest was 3% - I do remember that HP interest was a lot more and the repayments were quite high. too high for my comfort anyway. And, obviously as she points out. you don't own the bike until the final payment is made. with a bank loan you own the bike from day 1. I was also puzzled by what she said about maintenance, this was unclear. is it the case that maintenance is paid for by the dealership as a part of the deal? or maybe she was referring to out of warranty repairs. Anyway, all that aside, it doesn't surprise me in the slightest that PCP can be the best deal of all.. for the dealership.

It must be easy to regret buying something and never actually owning it and not being able to use it as you want. You pay for its upkeep to maintain its value and all that does is mean that buying it at the end is as expensive as possible!! A con made in heaven.

I was faced with this exact same choice in 2018. there was a third choice, Hire purchase but I ignored that as it was by far the most expensive option. At basic cost PCP was cheaper over the 3 years than a bank loan over the same period. and at the end of the 3 years, you have a choice. let the bike go or take out a loan to pay off the balance. another 2 or 3 years? Let the Bike go and start up another PCP agreement perhaps. Then there are the constraints the PCP agreement puts you under. servicing strictly to the book. Rules about mileage. In the end I went for a 5 year loan. The amount I paid was about £40 more than the PCP deal over that period. I didn't have to worry about servicing, which was handy during Covid. I didn't have to worry about the miles I was doing. During "good" months I made extra payments. So at the end I actually paid the loan off in January, instead of later this year, in December when it was due to end. £10 one month. £30 another. and so on.. it soon added up and I saved 10 months. The difference with me is I tend to hold on to bikes for a long time. only 'second' bikes have come and gone. So, a 5 year commitment didn't mean much. Its gone by quickly enough. And unlike PCP, when the deal ended I owned the bike outright. (I did from day 1 - but you get what I mean) I wasn't faced with a dillemma: do I set up another PCP deal? for a new bike. or do I go to my bank to borrow £5000 to buy the bike outright. I also kept at the back of my mind... what if a disaster strikes? I have this asset that I can easily sell. pay off the balance of the loan. maybe have some cash left over.. but at least no repayments. And when things improve.. try again. This thought made it all much easier. When I was a kid. debt was seen as a bad thing, aside from a mortgage. it was called the "never never' - because you Never stopped paying. and you Never owned the item. PCP is the never never gone mad. its the never never in its truest form. You might go from bike to bike for years and never actually own any of them. 3 years and its returned and your next debt starts all over again. I can understand why people go for it, the lower monthly payments seem on the face of it very attractive, and we don't live in a vacuum, we all have bills to pay. but to me.. PCP is a revolting idea. but then.. im known to be a bit weird. with ideas that don't normally fit it. PCP doesnt suit me.. I would rather go for a second hand bike using the credit I can get from my bank than ever use PCP. One final thought, which may not be relevant today. but, when I decided on the bike and took out the loan. The RRP was £12,000. I took out a £12,000 loan and when the money appeared in my account went to the dealership. Paying cash meant I was an appropriate candidate for the end of season discount. (This all happened in November) Almost £2000 knocked off the price!! This allowed me to buy an upgrade to the bike that I could never have considered otherwise. I changed the wheels. A major upgrade.

I’m not sure I would want an alcohol stove on a boat. With gas in cold environments for camping stoves you need two things. A preheat tube that carries the gas from the valve that enters the stove and passes very close to or through the flame - plus the ability to invert the gas so instead of vapour the gas enters the preheat tube as a liquid which is then vapourised. This would be extremely dangerous on a boat. I would want the gas or fuel fully contained on a boat just as it is when being used in the vestibule of a tent. Or in a caravan (to a lesser extent) I would maybe try a petroleum based fuel like Aspen 4 petrol, which burns extremely cleanly (never use ordinary unleaded) and a pressurised stove like the double one from Coleman, or one of its clones. This way the fuel is fully contained and the performance is not affected by either temperature or movement. I would not be happy using an alcohol stove anywhere near a tent, certainly not in its bad weather cooking area or, for the same reason a caravan or boat.

Any tester worth his salt is going to lay a trap to test your observational skills. This is what the test is about amongst other things. Prime example might be a road that is a 40 then passes a school and the limit drops precipitously then rises again. The signs will be there. It’s for you to see and act accordingly.

One Call. They were the second cheapest last year, behind Bennets. (who I refuse to touch) and this year the premium has gone down by a few quid. No security. No garage. (almost) inner city postcode. £300 excess. Gate to my garden/patio is locked and so it counts as a "Locked compound", which is how the bikes overnight storage is described. Locked gate and fences over 5 feet high. FC + Rescue + legal. I couldn't care less about the reputation or reviews for insurance companies. all that matters to me is how much it costs.

Insured for another year. £120. This has left me feeling extremely traumatised and Ive run out of Hennessy. which might have helped - somewhat.

Unfortunately it is what it is. new riders will be hammered by the insurers as you are an unknown risk to them, risk of accident. risk of theft. This can be made considerably worse if you tick some boxes for them. No garage. A bike that its attractive to thieves (by their measure) Commuting probably too. a small collision in the thick of morning rush hour can be expensive. This is all because they have no idea whatsoever about how risky you might be. Previous experience in a car counts for nothing. The only thing you can do is just stick with it for the first year after which the premium will fall considerably. And DO NOT CLAIM. unless it's a total loss. Think of insurance as an extra tax on riding. It will get better.

what next?

I ordered a 5A optimate yesterday and it arrived this 8:50 morning. Fully charged the new battery (took 25 minutes) and am currently using it to check and charge the original - it only spent about 10 minutes charging and has now shifted to balancing the cells. Who knew that charging a battery could be so complicated? But therein lies the biggest difference, If I did the same with the battery on my previous bikes the entire process would all morning. now, it takes minutes. Just ran downstairs to check and the optimate has finished, done in under 15 minutes. test - charge - balance - finished. So two batteries checked and charged in well under one hour!! The joys of lithium. Its going to be a balmy 12c today so, might go out for a ride later. New rota appears tomorrow, so time to get the bike booked in for its 'partial' 16,000 mile service. before the pre-season rush begins.

I’m too excited to be hungry. I’ve just been warned about wolves by an Italian “Don’t sleep. There are wolves!!” He said. “Make fire and talk loudly” he continued. oddly enough I was just polishing my stove when this thread popped up. Sorting out my camping gear. Only 14 weeks so times growing short. An air fryer would be useful but it needs a bit more power than the bike can supply. See what I did there? It’s a hard life trying to make these odd threads relevant to a bikers forum. But I do try. Now… where’s my kettle?

I tried one once but it made a crap cup of tea so I sent it back

it has actuality dropped in price by £120 in recent years. Now that there are alternatives. Though, alas only one. The Shido, is readily available here in the UK. It’s not a huge concern in the same way that it was in 2018/19, when there were no alternatives at all. And inevitably some owners got a bad one and Honda refused to warranty them. These Batteries are becoming common now so it’s only a matter of time before more alternatives become available from more mainstream manufacturers like Motobatt. Exide. Etc. But, yes. Look after it. Even £140 is steep.

My answer to this problem is to have more than one set of boots. and swap between them so a pair has time to air. damp boots from sweat that are never allowed to properly dry out due to being worn every day. that's the problem.

Managed to bag a fantastic bargain. nearly broke my wrist in the rush to beat other people to it mind. So a fella buys a 2022 Africa Twin and goes on tour, last August with it, but he's the type who pays too much attention to Facebook and in a fit of paranoia buys an OEM battery as a spare to take with him. he doesn't use it. gets back and then this year decides to trade his bike in for some Ducati thingy. Advertises this battery on FB... and while the others in the group are busy asking him where he is based, I just looked at his profile and soon worked out he was either in or near York. Send him a direct message: "How Much?" plus my mobile number. He texts me back. £150 and I say I'll have it. It arrives today. Perfect. Sealed in the box. unused, obviously. Thing is, from a dealership this battery costs £516. (yes really!!) Will keep it as a spare. my original is now over 4 years old. There is only one alternative available in the UK that will fit and that's a SHIDO, which costs £140 and is rated at 4.5AH (The original is 6AH) Its only when you see it in the flesh do you realise just how small these things are. Tiny. 4" wide. I need a lie down.

And, obviously everyone under the minimum age (24 is it?) in Europe. Their test is practically identical to ours. Some countries do extras. In Germany night riding and on the Autobahn is an obligatory part of training (if appropriate). For example.

Here is a stitched together full map of the route with the area adjoining. its quite large.

Ive never really understood the logic of repetitive CBTs. However Im old enough to remember the stupid system that was in place during the 1990s. where a CBT lasted 24 months and at the end of that time, if you had not passed the test, the CBT lapsed for a year and you were off the road!! Others might disagree, but I think we should have followed the European model. where a CBT leads directly to lessons and the test. ie you took the CBT which allowed you to go on the road to have lessons and eventually gain a full license. this could be just for a 125cc bike. or the unlimited. L plates are not a thing Europe. The only time you will see the nearest equivalent is someone taking lessons. or the practical test. Under the current system.. the only people who are gaining anything are the insurance underwriters. and the training schools who have a constant cash stream from CBT retakes. They must be making a mint these days from all the delivery scooter riders.

They’ll never catch on. Never seen one. Never heard one and if I did it would probably be the crunch as it hits me. They’re quiet aren’t they? (assuming they are really out there) I’m not convinced. something in the water.

Yes and no. I’m having a service done but no engine work. The techs at Nottingham Vertu have never come across an Africa Twin that needed the valves adjusting or the spark plugs replacing at the 16K service. And that’s the way it’s been having read literally 100s of service reports from other owners over the years. So I’m leaving it alone. Service will be all filters and oil. Brake fluid was done last year. I will be supplying my own air filters. hiflo. As they are considerably cheaper than oem. Engine work can wait until the spark plugs are replaced in a few years time. Right now it’s paying for nothing aside from peace of mind, perhaps. but it comes at a very heavy cost. £400-£500 to be told. everything fine. Stuff that. Dealer told me that it’s a two hour job just to access the valves. So double that and add time for the actual work. My plan is to buy the bits in advance. Mainly the spark plugs I suppose and spread the cost somewhat. But as I’ve pushed it down the road, so to speak. It’s not something I’m going to worry about for a few years yet. I’ll have the valves checked when the spark plugs are due to be changed as the time and work involved to access is exactly the same. at 32,000 miles. Hiflo air filters part no. HFA 1933 Bumot luggage is great. Fit close-in to the bike and the middle size I went for a 1/2" per side wider than the mirrors. which makes filtering a lot less fraught.

Bought mine with a bank loan, there’s something. Actually a lot of somethings I don’t like about PCP. So a bank loan over 5 years. Little overpayments here and there and the loan was paid off 11 months early. 49 months. Miles stand at 15,700 and no commuting. I walk to work. Still loving the DCT transmission. One of my better decisions. Highly recommended.

No need for an app. Ive added it to my calendar on my phone and as if by magic its already appeared on the calendar on my computer and tablet. I know using a calendar is a bit old fashioned when you can download an App to do the same thing, but hey ho. dinosaurs R us.

My days of rebellious devil may care law breaking came to an end. riding to the MOT place through the non existent blizzard that the weathermen have been warning about all week. if a few odd flakes make a blizzard. No problems found. I had a wander around the dealership and was bored by everything I saw. 1100 version of my bike costs £20,000. I paid a snip over £11,000 for mine - end of season discounts, remember them? Only bike I found vaguely interesting was this CB. had a sit on it and my knee nearly put my eye out. hey ho. But, a lot of bike for £6000. even if it was designed by and for dwarves.

From day 1, I used 'we only mot?' and they would send an email reminder. however last time the bike failed due to a (bizarrely) warped rear disc. so I had that replaced and the MOT done at the same place. the dealership. And they didn't send me a reminder. But.. I'm using 'we only mot' again so problem solved. I like using this place, not just because they undercut the other places, but, because they have no vested interest to fail a bike. if the bike fails they give you a free retest. (if you paid in advance) or.. as with last time. don't charge you if it fails and you were going to pay on the day.

Just wondering when it expires and.. oh bugger. Been merrily riding all through the winter without a care in the world... sigh. Obviously ANPR isn't sophisticated enough to recognise a vehicle doesnt have an MOT. which is just a tad disturbing. but also a relief as I would have been stopped and forced to walk months ago. never mind eh. Booked in for next Tuesday.