manxie49

Cracking looking boat .... Sadly these are the only ones I'm ever trusted with, and even that's at a push

Changes for 2022 / 23 TT races have now been announced .... For those "hopefully" going and haven't read about it see link below https://www.iomtt.com/news/2021/06/11/tt-switch-on-announcements

New cafe recently opened, The Victory Cafe at the Bungalow on the TT course. Very biker friendly, great food, great customer service ..... It's gonna be a busy place when TT is next on!

They seem to be rushing headlong into massive problems .... I don't know how they'd do it where my mate lives, no car parks, just nose to tail cars, all the side streets are the same, thousands of homes, parking is an absolute nightmare. And that doesn't even begin to take into consideration those folk that live in high rise flats with only limited residential parking.

Very true, using TNT as an example, tractor units that were used for the night time trunk runs were also used during the day for hub and depot deliveries.

I agree, the road my mate lives on, Tudor Road it's called, is manic. When I called off to see him last time I was down that way I ended up parking in another side street, couldn't get parked near his house. He reckons that's normal for that area, if he works a late shift at the weekend he reckons it's not unusual to have to park a couple of streets away......The problem is there are a lot of cities with thousands of populated areas just like this, not everyone is fortunate enough to live in nice, sparsely populated villages with their own driveways.....I just can't see how they plan or intend to cater for areas such as this?? Fraught with problems.

This is the road my mate lives on in Leicester, I don't know how many hundreds of terraced houses there are down here but it's a lot ..... How are they going to provide charging points for every house down here? Are charging leads going to be strewn all over the paths potentially creating another problem? Or are they just expecting that the working classes will no longer be able to afford cars! Personally, I really can't see how it's all going to work ....

Sounds like a good course.....I've always said any training is good training, even for people who have been riding for years. I'm hoping, covid permitting, to get on one of the Bikemaster courses this year, see how things pan out

Nice one ..... Enjoy

You're right, it's probably just a convenient excuse

Definitely her fault mate, the fact she tried to drive of afterwards says it all, you did well keeping it together, sounds like she had an abundance of attitude! Not sure about the squeak, however it does sound similar to a squeak I had on an old GPZ I had years ago, that was caused by a warped disc. I would personally take it to the dealer and get it sorted, her insurers will be paying. Go to a physio and get you back sorted as well, keep receipts and submit them with your claim. Hope you get sorted

Mesh jacket with plenty of ventilation, Jackets aimed at ADV riders are normally pretty good and Bullitt kevlar jeans, that tends to be my summer riding gear

My Mate just sent me this on what's app, made me laugh .... I know the feeling well

I've had exactly the same problem Stu, I've just built a raised decking area in our garden, I priced all the timber up last year for the job but never got round to doing it, last year the timber would have cost me £480, this year I paid, for the exact same lot of timber almost £800! Complete joke, and yes, the builders merchant has blamed the excess cost on Brexit. We're also waiting for our path to be resurfaced with a resin type surface, they keep putting the date back and back all the time saying they're struggling to get hold of the resin, it's coming from somewhere in Europe and Brexit is being blamed, I'm just glad we have a written quote for this work because the costs are going to rise.

Nice bike, enjoy it mate

Have a look here, admittedly they're not the cheapest but they are good, service from Denali was also 1st rate. I've used Denali DRL's on my bikes for a few years now and never had any issues, friends who have seen me out and about have also commented on how bright they are as well. https://www.denalishop.co.uk/denali-led-lights/denali-led-lights.html

My mate picked up a 2019 XSR 700 for just shy of 4k, the bike looks new, not a lot of miles and he loves it, his remit was similar to yours, something for the weekend ride outs and general knocking about on. Servicing and parts are cheap and easy to come by, and they appear to have a good rep for reliability. Just another idea in the pot.

Tracer 9 has a 193kg Load carrying capacity, still not brilliant but I suppose it depends on how often you go two up. Like I say, in stock form, it's still doable on the Tracer 900GT, you have to adapt your riding style a bit though.

I think it does compared to a standard Tracer although never ridden one in standard version. The big issue I have is two up riding, on my own it's perfect, two up with luggage and it definitely isn't that good .... Now that's either because my Missus packs to much stuff or I'm just a fat t--t!

I've got a satnav mount on it thanks Mike, good luck with the Honda

You're right, the menu selector can be fiddly, especially with gloves on. All in all though the bike was a pretty good choice for my needs, once you sort the niggles out it's brilliant. How are you getting on with the Africa Twin? I've heard a lot of good reports about those bikes....

I’ve owned the Tracer 900GT for a wee while so thought I’d say what my impressions of the bike were. Nothing technical, you can find all the technical data on Google, just my impressions as an all-seasons owner / rider. I bought the Tracer as a bike to not only tour on but a bike that I could live with every day, commutes and runs to the shops, and it certainly ticked those boxes for me. I test rode several bikes, including a Triumph Tiger and a KTM before making my decision on this one. so down to the nitty gritty. THE GOOD: The bike is a pleasure to ride; it’s forgiving and rarely puts a foot wrong. The 847cc, in line, three-cylinder engine provides very smooth power delivery in all gears, although the “fly by wire” throttle, at first anyway, can be a bit snatchy. That was something I was used to with my MT10 though. The bike has a lot of low-down torque and a very useable mid-range which is great for the quick overtakes. If you want to enjoy the sportier side of the bike then you can change the mode settings. I was actually pretty impressed by how much difference, sticking it into sport mode made. The bike comes with the usual array of onboard electronics that are useful and easy to use on the fly. The fuel tank holds 18.17Litres and I get about 160 miles on a full tank, this however is subjective and depends on how you ride it. All in all, I would say that it is a very capable sports tourer. THE BAD: Stock tyres, Dunlop’s, were, for me anyway, not brilliant. The bike didn’t feel planted, it was jittery on white lines and rough roads, I didn’t like them in the wet, and the bike felt like it was “drifting” into bends rather than gripping the road and powering around them, which is what I was used to. I was advised to try Michelin Road 5’s, which I did, and wow, what a difference a couple of rubber rings made, definitely money well spent, it totally transformed the way the bike handled and felt, both on wet and dry roads, and I would have no hesitation in recommending them. My next minor niggle was the seat, firstly it was uncomfortable, especially for a bike aimed at a part touring rider, it also, when braking, had a tendency to push you forward into the tank. I upgraded the seat for the comfort seat, which is more comfortable, however, there are better seats out there. I would recommend, potentially, looking at having the stock seat recovered with gel inserts added, this actually would have been a cheaper option. The last thing I consider to be bad with the bike is the suspension. If riding solo then the suspension is brilliant and I have no issues with it, however, go two up and fully laden with luggage and it’s bad. Firstly, the maximum recommended laden weight for the bike is around 180kg, me and my wife, fully kitted, with the bike laden, puts us well in excess of that recommendation. Whilst you can still ride safely you do need to adapt your riding style, I’ve ground the Centre stand on two occasions, once on a roundabout and again on a tight bend. Secondly, fully laden, trust me when I say, you feel every bump in the road! I’ve looked into this further and may, at some stage (overtime dependent), change the rear shock for Nitron and upgrade the front springs, it isn’t a cheap mod though. The snatchy throttle can take a bit of getting used to, it can be smoothed out by having a reflash done, however, I have heard some people who have had this done say it caused them other problems in the long run. TBF I don’t really find it a major issue, just something to be aware of. THE UGLY: For me, the only thing that fell into this category was the stock screen. The wind noise and buffering, for me at 6’1”, was horrific, even with good quality ear plugs in, my ears would ring after a blast over the mountain road. I changed the screen for an MRA touring screen with flip up visor, whilst this did improve things slightly it still was not good! After chatting to a friend, I decided to opt for an MRA sports screen and this appears to have cured the issues I had. The wind now hits me in the chest, and I can put up with that, no more deafening helmet roar, and although it’s a sports screen, I’m actually being buffeted around less than I was with the touring screen. MODS: MRA sports screen, Akra exhaust, comfort seat, LED indicators, engine bars, Denali DRL’s, Lightech chain adjusters, pyramid fender extender and hugger extension, Michelin Road 5’s. Generally, I love the bike, it’s very easy to live with, reliable and ticks all the boxes. Due to covid I haven’t been on any long tours yet but hopefully that will soon change and I’ll get to stretch its legs, first trip possibly around Kerry in the South of Ireland. I would recommend the bike to anyone who wants a capable, dual purpose bike, that you can also use as the daily run around. It’s easy to ride and very forgiving and would be ideal for a newb wanting to upgrade to a larger capacity bike. If you’re going to use it as a tourer, especially two up, laden weight is a consideration, upgrading the suspension is an option, however, it is expensive!

Trust me mate, the losses were worth it!

Happy Birthday, have a good one

This must have been written by my ex wife