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Wales
by Joske Vermeule, September 1
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Forums39
Topics49,880
Posts837,761
Members9,597
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Most Online1,063
Jun 14th, 2026
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Joined: Aug 2019
Posts: 793 Likes: 144
Talk Morgan Regular
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Talk Morgan Regular
Joined: Aug 2019
Posts: 793 Likes: 144 |
Was a biker from the moment my parents took me to watch the TT in the late 50s. Bantam at 16, 650 A10 at 17 and club level road racing at 19. Pics from 5 years ago show the Fireblade owned from new for 16 years and the 250 Ducati at Tonfanau. At 63 years young and a visit to Malvern the Morgan pull was too strong. Both bikes sold plus a classic cafe racer retirement project to make way for a very shiny piece of work with a long bonnet.... Still have the biking gear. You never know.... ![[Linked Image]](https://tm-img.com/images/2021/04/16/P1020521.jpg) ![[Linked Image]](https://tm-img.com/images/2021/04/16/_DSC0459.md.jpg)
Chris
2015 Plus 4 Silverlake Blue
(2014 3.7 Roadster Crystal Blue)
(2012 4/4 Sport Black)
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Joined: May 2014
Posts: 5,442 Likes: 133
Black Rat Charter Member
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Black Rat Charter Member
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 5,442 Likes: 133 |
Or is it? I have just sold my BMW 1200GS and am bikeless. Remarkable lack of depreciation - bought for 9500 in 2013 sold for 7200 today, low tax , low insurance ( <£100) and low MoT. But I am ageing , and at just over 200kg the bike is heavy to handball about. Whats more my concentration / mental alertness on the road isnt what it was when I fisrt took up biking almost 50 years ago so maybe life in a tin can is better. Certainly safer But giving up is awfully final isnt it? I gave up once before after a helicopter ride into A&E but 6 months later I was looking at parked bikes I bought an Elise as a bike substitute. 18 months later I had a KTM 990. I know that I should give up...............  I am lucky that I can afford a few toys though in total they cost less than a fancy Aero. But bikes are only second to sailing boats in the pecking order, both giving a sense of freedom that simply isnt available in a car. So I wonder what the future holds. Dammit, I gave up smoking many year ago, I am teetotal these days, on a semi permanent diet . where is the fun? SWMBO is pretty damn sure and it has two wheels. I know what you mean, two weeks ago I sold my KTM 990 SMT. Is this the end of my biking days.................what makes it worse is I work with our M/C unit, yard full of RTs 
Keith
2013 narrow bodied + 4 Ruby.
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 5,945 Likes: 28
Charter Member
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OP
Charter Member
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 5,945 Likes: 28 |
Not sure what could replace your bikes for 'the buzz', Howard ?
Racing the boat in close proximity to other boats comes very close. Sure you arent moving fast but when you have 8 tommes under you and there are two othger 8 tonners within 2 meters either side as you approach a turning mark ...................... But certainly cars wont do it.
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 5,945 Likes: 28
Charter Member
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OP
Charter Member
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 5,945 Likes: 28 |
Must have been a long time ago then Bonesie, they are anything but slow now a days  2010 ish It was the 833 Iron. I bought not long after selling my R6 so compared to that, it was a slug That makes sense then as it was the smallest and slowest they made. The 883 Sportster is the entry level to the Harley World, have a test ride on a CVO Low Rider S, it will tear your head off your shoulders  Remember - there's 'fast harley' and 'fast jap bike' - they are very different beasts. I reckon my 33yr old ZX10 will out perform the CVO (I think the CVO has about 96bhp and around 120mph? top speed - the ZX has 135+bhp and tops out at 165mph). And only one of them has brakes. Before I bought my last BM, I tested a Harley. Cant remember whether it was a Dyna or a Softail but it was one of the two. Tested it following a sales guy and damn ear wrote it off running into him because the brakes were dreadful by comparion with the BMW I had ridden to the dealer on. One single front disk to stop something weighting 300kg compared to twin discs for a 200kg BM. IMO the brake design was so inadequate as to be unsafe
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Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 411 Likes: 9
Learner Plates Off!
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Learner Plates Off!
Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 411 Likes: 9 |
 Yes swopping from bike to bike can catch you out if you're not used to it. That shows a lack of duty of care from the sales guy! He should have reminded you to test out the handling and the brakes before letting you start off! If you hire a bike from Eagle Rider they advise you not to leave the car park until you've ridden a couple of circuits around it to allow you to get a feel for the handling. They have many storys of "experienced riders" getting into difficulty. I change bikes regulary and every bike behaves differently even if they are the same model. Clutch biting point, brakes, long or short wheel base, forward controls etc it all adds to the excitment. I led a short group ride for a Harley experience demo ride, "experienced riders" wanting to try one. Even with a detailed briefing before we started one rider go into difficutly because his bike ( XR1200X ) brakes were much sharper than he expected! He applied a fistful of brake on a bend.  Everything that passes an MOT is deemed safe, but they still handle differently
Last edited by Redfate; 18/04/21 08:13 AM.
Paul
2009 4/4 Sport in Red
2022 Harley Davidson FXLRS Low Rider S
1977 Triumph Stag
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Joined: Aug 2020
Posts: 3,861 Likes: 401
Talk Morgan Addict
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Talk Morgan Addict
Joined: Aug 2020
Posts: 3,861 Likes: 401 |
And only one of them has brakes. Before I bought my last BM, I tested a Harley. Cant remember whether it was a Dyna or a Softail but it was one of the two. Tested it following a sales guy and damn ear wrote it off running into him because the brakes were dreadful by comparion with the BMW I had ridden to the dealer on. One single front disk to stop something weighting 300kg compared to twin discs for a 200kg BM. IMO the brake design was so inadequate as to be unsafe
Anyone who has been around Harleys for any period of time (although they have improved greatly in recent times!) will immediately junk the brakes, tyres, exhausts, seat, carb if they have any intention of doing anything other than what the Harleys were designed for ie long straight roads with (in most US States) 55mph speed limits...more style than substance on European twisty roads....Route 66 great, anything else can be hard work without modifications. Harleys still come with harder U section tyres rather than the European V section, U section tyres are great for straight roads and covering vast mileages by comparison with softer V section tyres designed for grip in the twisty bits but much shorter life.
22 Plus Four KIMI
12 Plus 4 Sport OZZY
08 Roadster FELIX
06 4/4 70th LOKI
77 4/4 SEAMUS
85 4/4 MOLLY
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