Careful Not Tight... ON THE ROAD!
Written in Wolverhampton
Triumph Speedmaster 865cc (2005 model)
I have yet another motorbike!
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Recently, I bought a very tidy, low mileage, British made motorbike, a Triumph Speedmaster 865cc twin. Less than 7500 miles on the clock, only been owned by older members of society and needing very little to get it spot on. This bike is to be "a keeper" with the intention of riding it for days out with the wife. Perhaps a trip to France, who can say?
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The basic bike comes with a few "flaws" for riding with a passenger, mainly the seat is ridiculous and leaves a passenger clinging on for dear life, no backrest, which can only add to comfort and a better feeling of remaining on the bike and even though it had a brand new MOT, I knew it would require a service and probably a new chain and sprockets.
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One very nice thing about the bike was that it came with a screen fitted by a previous owner, some slightly sportier exhaust pipes (which are not that loud at all) and the original exhausts in perfect, "as new," condition!
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With the help of a mechanic friend who is heavily into bikes and cars we have completed the service and chain and sprocket replacement along with new cush drive rubbers for the rear wheel which, apparently, is a known issue with wear after quite a low mileage. At £60 a time I will be looking at this in greater detail before long!
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A Facebook forum proved to be a cracking place for obtaining a second hand mint condition touring seat for only £80 and Ebay provided me with a sissy bar (Backrest) which has a small rack for carrying the odd holdall.
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Am I pleased with the bike so far? Very much so, it's a very comfy and economical bike that being larger than the Kawasaki (Below) fits my physical stature to a tee!! It is early days of course and I can see a few little things that need doing to it in due course but, I love it!
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Kawasaki Vulcan VN800 Custom
After about 32 years of no motorbike I bought my self a Category 3 Insurance right off!
The bike had been stolen and recovered with a bit of damage that made it uneconomical for the insurer to repair and it was effectively scrapped.
A friend found it on Ebay, and with his help we ascertained a good fair price to buy the bike at leaving enough in the pot to repair it and get it back on the road. I duly bid for the bike at about 9.00 pm at night and 9.00 am next morning... kerching!
My phone beeped to tell me that I had won that bike!
Was that a problem? Well yes... I had to tell the wife! It was also nearly 80 + miles away in Wigan!!
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Upshot of it is, we got it home, we ordered parts off Ebay, Facebook Groups dedicated to the model and the local dealership, who supplied odd bits we could not obtain secondhand.
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A good friend, who got me into all this trouble, filled and sprayed the tank and mudguard etc, helped me service the bike and best of all made me some sets of baffles to quieten the thing down. Some bright spark had removed the baffles and it was SOOOOO LOUD!!!!
Am I happy with the outcome?
Well, yes to be frank!
I could sell it for more than it has cost me, its quick enough to get me into trouble if I am daft, it looks nice, it's economical and so far very, very reliable. The big question is will I do something like this again? YES!! This winter will see me scouring the internet for another with my wallet at the ready!
(Psst... DON'T tell the wife!)