Davidtav

This is the thing. As I said in my first post these are first world problems lol … so I’m retired. As most probably realise. And a lot of my income is from rent on properties I own in Essex and Yorkshire. And my tenants drive great cars. BMWs. Not any issues with that … but contrary to popular ideas as the landlord I actually drive an old Mini and wondering about upgrading to a Dacia. Mainly because I’m ring fencing cash to upgrade the rental properties EPC … I’m expecting a shed load of incoming and no sympathy!

Yeah. You might be right. But it is basically a Renault. And looks just as well built as any car to me. They are great value and comes with an excellent warranty.

Yes it is the petrol engine. And they are renowned for timing chain problems and oil consumption as you say. However mine hardly uses any oil. It didn’t use any oil between oil changes until it had done 90k miles … it has done 102k miles now and uses maybe half a pint between oil changes. The timing chain is noisy though. …I think it might be worth sorting properly for occasional use. I have plenty of time on my hands and could do with a project.

Appreciate all of your thoughts. I’ve never done a timing chain but quite fancy the challenge. I’m definitely not a hoarder but do have the room here to keep it. MB is absolutely correct. I’ve become quite attached to this little car … fyi I’m buying a new Dacia. And I have a sneaking suspicion that in the future the Mini might be worth more than the Dacia. Who knows? This is the Mini

Would appreciate any views about what I realise is a first world problem. So I live in the Highlands of Scotland now. But have to still travel to Yorkshire quite frequently. I use the bike as much as I can. But I do need a decent car. So I have ordered a new car for March. But what to do with my current car? It is a Mini Cooper Convertible. 2012. I’ve had it ten years now. Has been a brilliant car. Put loads of miles on it. It’s over 100k now. It is basically worth very little. Was given a good discount on the new car not to trade it in. WBAC price is around £600. So nothing really. Car does need some attention. Timing chain needs replacement. Paintwork needs some attention due to vandalism over the years. … so my question is this. I’m thinking of SORN ing the Mini and sorting it out properly at my leisure. And running it a bit in the summer. It is fun with roof down in the summer. Not as much fun as the bike I know. But different. New car is not convertible. So am I just wasting my time to think of this? Or is it a decent idea? I know the Mini isn’t a classic. Appreciate thoughts.

I get the impression bikes aren’t selling quickly. A dealer I’ve been looking at seems to have had the same stock for quite a while now.

Took my test in 1995. I had commuted into London for a while so like a previous poster not a complete novice. I’ve told this story before but will tell it again … so I was teaching in a comprehensive in Camden at the time. And had to take a morning off for the test. Another teacher told the kids what I was doing (nob lol) and of course I failed. I hadn’t had any training and probably did stuff wrong. Turning up at school again with L plates still caused some merriment to 15 year old boys lol … anyway a couple of months later I passed. This time I booked an hours lesson immediately before the test

That is very interesting. I am actually looking to change my car and I will bear that in mind.

Well out of curiosity I had a look at the Moto Morini website. And there is a significant dealer network. I counted 21 UK dealers. And the warranty on the bike Henry Cole was riding is 36 months. That all sounds promising to me. The service intervals do seem short. Seems to require a dealer inspection every 6000 km. … I’m not particularly advocating these bikes. I know nothing about them. As I said in the first post though you do seem to get a lot of bike for your money.

For some reason folks seem less concerned when it comes to cars. For example, I believe Volvo is now Chinese owned. I haven’t noticed Volvos becoming less desirable. Actually the opposite. They seem to have lost their “old man” image. Just an observation

Yeah. I get where you are coming from completely. Although I reckon it is actually quite difficult to avoid buying Chinese goods completely. And there is an argument to say that if Western consumers avoided buying Chinese this would badly affect the ordinary Chinese worker immensely … I was just surprised that the bike looked so good for the price. And there are actually a few dealers in the UK … the nearest one to me is closer than a Suzuki dealer. I currently have a Suzuki. … I know it’s been said a million times but it all feels like the vibe when Japanese models hit our shores back in the day.

Anyone else watch the Motorbike Show last night with Henry Cole? I thought the Moto Morini he was riding looks interesting. Yes I know it’s Chinese. Henry said a new one is from £7k which piqued my interest. But I’ve just looked on Autotrader and a new one is actually available for £5.5k. Seems a lot of bike for the money.

I’ve wondered how Allen Millyard gets around this? For example that huge viper engined bike must be a new build I would have thought? But has a private plate. Not a Q plate

I absolutely agree with this. When I took my test on my 125 and then bought a 500 I was amazed how much easier everything is. No low speed wobbles. Filtering much easier. A science teacher friend explained it is the gyroscopic effect of having greater mass. I wouldn’t discount taking the big bike test at all.

Don’t worry about not waving. Nobody will be offended.

I don’t think you have imagined it. But I wonder if this is related to our brains and perception of time? I read a very interesting book by Jean Paul Zogby … The Power of Time Perception. A fascinating read. The essence of it is that our perception of time is related to our brains and how quickly they are working. Our eyes record information in chunks. This is sent to our brains where it is stitched together and seems seamless. When we are young our brains are efficient and stitch together more chunks of information. So time appears slower when we are younger. The same effect happens if we are involved in an accident. And I have experienced this. Our brains start to work very quickly. And the result is that time seems to slow down. This is such an interesting phenomenon. For example top sportsman use this to their advantage. Without realising it probably. Top tennis players can return shots that look impossible because they have trained their brains to work faster and in doing so make everything seem to happen in slow motion to them. So my thoughts are that by riding your bike hard your brain was working more quickly than normal. And somehow this state persisted for a few roundabouts and altered your perception of speed and time in some way?

This thread is reminding me of an incident about a year ago. At a busy petrol station in Glasgow. I filled up the bike and went in to pay. And I gave them the pump number. Which the cashier questioned. So I checked it. Yes I had given the correct pump number. Now it turned out that another biker had filled up around the same time as me. They had charged him for my petrol by mistake. The assistant had obviously just glanced out the window. Saw my bike. And charged him my amount. By this time he had left the premises. So basically the staff started saying to me that I would have to pay for his fuel. I was saying that is your problem you charged him incorrectly. You need to charge me the right amount. And they were saying we have no facility to do that etc. and if you just leave we will treat it as a drive off … it was all starting to take up a lot of time. And I realised that the other guys bill was actually cheaper than mine. So I reluctantly agreed to pay the other guys fuel. … I wasn’t happy about the whole experience actually and I haven’t been back to that garage.

The new Royal Enfield 650 classic looks interesting. I could imagine having one of those as a second bike. https://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/new-bikes/2024/november/royal-enfield-classic-650/

Just use the bike and don’t stress about it. As I said earlier in the thread. You are overthinking everything. … these folks that say they always stick to 20’s I would take with a pinch of salt. This isn’t what I see in the real world. I’m not advocating speeding. Just be careful. Ride smoothly. And stay safe.

I think 20mph areas are a difficult area. It seems to me that most traffic goes through them at 25mph or slightly more. And my experience of keeping rigidly at 20 is that someone is going to be very close behind you. Whether in a car or on a bike actually. Which doesn’t feel safe. I’m definitely not reckless or a habitual speeder. And I get it that 20 zones are often close to schools. But I think it is generally safer to be at least travelling at the same speed as the traffic around you. Preferably with a safety “bubble” between yourself and any other vehicles. So I’m going to be criticised for saying this but my strategy with 20 zones is to adopt a very strong road position. And a speed of about 27mph. Be very vigilant for road hazards. And yes be vigilant for speed cameras etc. … I know I’m going to get criticism for this post. But in my view, this is real world riding. I would rather risk a ticket for being slightly over 20 than risk being knocked off by a stupid motorist.

You are overthinking everything … and I would stop criticising the wife’s driving. That won’t get you anywhere other than the spare room maybe

Regarding lane discipline. I might be misremembering this but I think that in the early 1970s during the energy crisis there was a series of TV adverts telling folks that the first lane on the motorway is for slow vehicles. Middle lane for faster vehicles. And outside lane for overtaking. … as I say I might be misremembering this and I cannot find this on YouTube. I was only about ten years old at the time. But I think I’m right. And I think it explains why a lot of older folk tend to lane hog.

I’m thinking of getting one of these electric outboards. And I think it would be a lot more manageable on a motorbike. But they are still quite pricey https://epropulsion.uk/products/elite

I’m honestly not sure if that is actually correct. I know it is true for cars but I’m not certain about bikes. The warranty terms in the booklet imply that the servicing needs to be carried out by a Suzuki dealership.

I have this conundrum at the moment. So I bought the VStrom 650 new last November when living in Yorkshire. It went to the dealer for 600 mile service. Planning to take it to the dealer for services up to 3 years old. And I believe the bike has a 3 year warranty if serviced by Suzuki. So the stamp in the book is worth having … but now I’m living in Scotland. My nearest Suzuki dealer is over 100 miles away. And a lot of that is highland roads. I’m wondering if I really fancy doing this in November? I’ve done 6500 miles on the bike. Everything seems perfect. Planning to keep the bike a few years. I am tempted to just service it myself and keep all the receipts. I’m confident I would do everything competently. I haven’t decided what to do yet.