Any other motorcyclists here?

[cycleruk]

bought an older BMW today ... a 1987 BMW R850R . Never had a chance to ride it before buying, but it arrives tomorrow and I wont be able to ride it on the road for a while.... I have to redo my licence as my old South African licence is no longer valid in the UK ...

Not far from me is a motorcycle tune up centre/MOt's etc and I will ask one of the lads to take the bike for a ride to see if there are any issues and I will pay for the service

I have half an acre back garden so I will be reseeding the lawn in spring

I had one. A good bike. The problem with mine was my knees hurt after a long ride. Even though it had an adjustable seat I couldn't overcome the issue. It was me and not the bike.
Check the swinging arm main pivot bearing for movement. Mine needed adjustment but otherwise was O.K. Don't let the fuel pump run dry as this can damage it. (Pump is in the tank)
Enjoy.

[merseymouth]

Hi all, So Norton are hitting the Buffers (and Northern Rail ), but we see a common thread emerging?
Another company non-paying their taxes!!!!!!! Are they so ignorant of basic business priorities? Money in, tax element ring fenced that should always be the mantra. Flybe, Norton plus many others they all play fast & loose with book-keeping practices, any wonder they fail? TTFN MM

[mercalia]

bought an older BMW today ... a 1987 BMW R850R . Never had a chance to ride it before buying, but it arrives tomorrow and I wont be able to ride it on the road for a while.... I have to redo my licence as my old South African licence is no longer valid in the UK ...

Not far from me is a motorcycle tune up centre/MOt's etc and I will ask one of the lads to take the bike for a ride to see if there are any issues and I will pay for the service

I have half an acre back garden so I will be reseeding the lawn in spring

I had one. A good bike. The problem with mine was my knees hurt after a long ride. Even though it had an adjustable seat I couldn't overcome the issue. It was me and not the bike.
Check the swinging arm main pivot bearing for movement. Mine needed adjustment but otherwise was O.K. Don't let the fuel pump run dry as this can damage it. (Pump is in the tank)
Enjoy.

some of those BMWs had dry clutches? I used to share a garage with a German guy who bought them cheap here then sent them back to Germany. He had trouble with a nice yellow sports BMW that burnt outs it clutch at low mileaages and so had to getit fixed under warranty

[Tiberius]

seems like the famous Norton Motorcycles has gone into administration

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51303905

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/jan/29/norton-motorcycles-goes-into-administration

That has been coming for a while now.

I frequent a couple of motorcycle forums (fora ???) and there is a lot of bad feelimg out there particularly towards the CEO Stuart Garner. Plenty of tales of people putting down deposits and never seeing a bike.

Apparently he still owes John McGuiness money for riding for Norton in last year's TT.

Then there's the workforce and the various suppliers. Bad news all round.

Shame as the bikes looked brilliant !!

[Cowsham]

seems like the famous Norton Motorcycles has gone into administration

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51303905

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/jan/29/norton-motorcycles-goes-into-administration

That has been coming for a while now.

I frequent a couple of motorcycle forums (fora ???) and there is a lot of bad feelimg out there particularly towards the CEO Stuart Garner. Plenty of tales of people putting down deposits and never seeing a bike.

Apparently he still owes John McGuiness money for riding for Norton in last year's TT.

Then there's the workforce and the various suppliers. Bad news all round.

Shame as the bikes looked brilliant !!

Sounded great at tt too

[mercalia]

A short time ago I came across this Suzuki GT380 triple two stoke parked in a side road in Streatham

[hondated]

A short time ago I came across this Suzuki GT380 triple two stoke parked in a side road in Streatham

WP_20190715_15_47_09_Pro.jpg

Hope the owner was in eye sight of it as I cannot see a lock on it and its very collectible

[pete75]

Hi all, So Norton are hitting the Buffers (and Northern Rail ), but we see a common thread emerging?
Another company non-paying their taxes!!!!!!! Are they so ignorant of basic business priorities? Money in, tax element ring fenced that should always be the mantra. Flybe, Norton plus many others they all play fast & loose with book-keeping practices, any wonder they fail? TTFN MM

And taking a lot of people's pension funds down with it. https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... ns-hearing

[pete75]

Sounded great at tt too

Noo - a bit tinny and feeble. This what sounds great.

[youtube]9gJzPQ5Y7l4[/youtube]

[mercalia]

Sounded great at tt too

Noo - a bit tinny and feeble. This what sounds great.

[youtube]9gJzPQ5Y7l4[/youtube]

not down my street. I have a guy with a Harley and the noise it makes. How can they be legal?

[Cowsham]

Hi all, So Norton are hitting the Buffers (and Northern Rail ), but we see a common thread emerging?
Another company non-paying their taxes!!!!!!! Are they so ignorant of basic business priorities? Money in, tax element ring fenced that should always be the mantra. Flybe, Norton plus many others they all play fast & loose with book-keeping practices, any wonder they fail? TTFN MM

And taking a lot of people's pension funds down with it. https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... ns-hearing

We had the nutters like John Delorean but Jeff Wright took nutter status to a new and interesting level recently as the spotlight documentary on Tuesday night showed.

[pete75]

not down my street. I have a guy with a Harley and the noise it makes. How can they be legal?

Some people think Harleys sound great others don't. You're obviously one of the latter.

[merseymouth]

Harleys? Tractors with a poor exhaust system! No thank you. MM

[mercalia]

Harleys? Tractors with a poor exhaust system! No thank you. MM

I am glad you didnt call them "silencers" as they are not. What purpose do they serve, other than to send the exhaust out the back rather than at your feet

[Tiberius]

Harleys? Tractors with a poor exhaust system! No thank you. MM

Maybe once upon a time but not any more.

The last Harley 'tractors' were probably the 'Shovelheads' which died off in the early 80's The next generation Harleys (called Evolution - surprise surprise) were a massive improvement on the earlier bikes. Reliable, oil tight, smooth (wth the rubber engine mounts) and 80 - 90 MPH all day cruising comfortable.

The later water cooled bikes (2001 VRSCA onwards) were a further mega leap on for HD. Smooth as you like and genuinely fast.

I've owned three Harleys, all bought new. A 1989 883 Sportster, a 1992 FXRS Lowrider and a 2002 VRSCA V-Rod. I toured all over Europe on them (yes, even on that little Sportster tank) and they were all 100% reliable and so so easy to maintain.

I moved on to BMW/Ducati/modern Triumphs etc, but I'm really glad that I spent a great chunk of my life ticking the Harley box.

Absolutely wonderful motorcycles,