Fenland Plodder

Technically made off without paying once. Went in to pay, gave pump number and paid what seemed a little higher than expected. Checked pump as I went back to bike and realised they’d overcharged me by about £3. Went back inside thinking this will be quick to sort. 15 minutes later it’s finally sorted; turns out I’d paid for the guy on the bike at the pump behind me. About 6 weeks later I’m at another Co-Op petrol station about 40 miles away. Try to fill up but can’t, and they ask me to come inside where they mention an unpaid transaction. Clearly they’d refunded me, charged the other guy the amount he owed and didn’t actually process the transaction at the pump I was at. Anyway, I was able to show them the amount owed via my banking app by way of the amount paid on that date minus the refund which was, of course the amount owed. They said they’d make some calls to sort it. What surprised me was the fact that they had erroneously had me down as not paying, but done nothing about it until I’d returned to another one of their stores. Avoided the stores for a while until case it still hadn’t been sorted. Eventually did use them again, no problem. Pleased they’d finally sorted it, until about ten minutes later realised it was probably because I’d part exchanged my old bike. So if you bought my old Z1000, sorry if the Co-Op refused to serve you too.

Just the once, on my first day of riding as a sixteen year old. Nowadays, I’m more worried about the second crash that might end up being on my last day of riding!

Oil in the Blood I thought was better, actually bought the DVD when it first came out. Why We Ride not bad; American and a little more eclectic in its subject matter. Both well worth a watch though.

I used Gumtree twice and on both occasions almost instantly had a message containing an email address for their dad/nephew or whatever who liked to deal 'direct.' Couldn't quite workout what the scam was but neither contacted me again. What made me suspicious was the fact that these came through within minutes of the add going live. I'm assuming they were just phishing emails.

I've just gone from an SV650 to a Z1000SX. Both have gear indicators and while I take little notice of it on the SV, on the SX I'm still looking for that extra gear despite seeing a big 6 in front of me. I guess I'll get used to the difference one day.

Subscribed to Readly until this year (think recommendation came through this forum.) It had MCN and pretty much all the big bike mags. However, some disagreement with Bauer Media meant the majority disappeared so I've cancelled. A shame as for £7.99/month I'd easily have my money's worth, as would rest of family.

I went with Gumtree to start with as it's free. Had a few dealers offering fairly low which I expected. Then accepted an offer only for buyer to turn round an hour later and say another bike he'd had an offer on had been accepted!! Had similar experiences with eBay as well when selling other stuff. Guess the world is just full of time wasters. Anyway, on here and on Gumtree for free for another month, then it's eBay classified or MCN.

I'd second the call for Z1000SX. Had (still have, not sold yet) the new shape SV650 and as much as I loved what it did, it did feel very cramped two-up. Still working my way round the Kawasaki as it's very different to the SV, but with a pillion it's a dream. I'd go as far as to say you hardly notice they're there.

It's a 2016 SV650. It's the new shape (AL7) just under 8k on clock. Seems to make sense to try various forums first for free before trying one of the bigger sites. Rightly or wrongly I always look on eBay as it's just so much more navigable on my device. But like MCN site it's dominated by dealers. That said, huge market on both sites, but that's what you're paying for I suppose. Thanks to all for advice offered.

First of all, hello to you all. I've been lurking for some time now enjoying the posts and advice offered, but only now am wanting some advice of my own. I've just changed my bike, a little earlier than I'd planned, and now have a bike to sell. Having just had it serviced and fitted with two new tyres I thought a private sell might be a little more profitable than a trade in. The question is, who to sell through? I'm not keen on massive eBay fees should I go down the normal eBay route, so it's a classified ad with them, or through MCN. Both are similarly priced and will have the bike advertised for four weeks. My plan was to upgrade in the Spring, but saw something too good to refuse. So MCN or eBay, and should I sit tight for a few weeks and wait for the weather to pick up? Or are there alternatives I'm missing? Any advice on what others have used much appreciated. Thanks.