Tank Slap - Motorcycle Forum

Kwacky wrote:People on the MV forum recommend this stuff as well

https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/meguiars ... -549770751" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I struggle with the logic of that... to me, if you rub matte/satin paint you're going to polish it smooth. I'll stick with the shampoo I reckon.

I thought the same Cav. Maybe Kwacky knows more.

Blade wrote:

duke63 wrote:Taxed it, it seems i have been using it for three weeks with no tax. I didn't get a reminder.

£93 is a stupid amount to pay for a motorcycle when some **** in a Range Rover is only paying £140.

Did you remember or do they follow up with a threatening demand after a few weeks?

Threatening letter came yesterday. I certainly have not had a reminder.

I guess i should have realised as its a year since i bought the Triumph this week but there is so much shit going on in my life right now, it was hardly important in the scheme of things.

All of my bikes are on direct debit for road tax.

duke63 wrote:

Blade wrote:

duke63 wrote:Taxed it, it seems i have been using it for three weeks with no tax. I didn't get a reminder.

£93 is a stupid amount to pay for a motorcycle when some **** in a Range Rover is only paying £140.

Did you remember or do they follow up with a threatening demand after a few weeks?

Threatening letter came yesterday. I certainly have not had a reminder.

I guess i should have realised as its a year since i bought the Triumph this week but there is so much shit going on in my life right now, it was hardly important in the scheme of things.

Bloody easy to forget Duke. Suspect reminder went missing in the post and its probably quite common at the moment.

Kwacky wrote:All of my bikes are on direct debit for road tax.

I did that because it makes it easy to only pay road tax when you actually use the bike. So I would SORN one month then tax it the next.

Went for a razz

Well today was part 2 of 'trying to get Mrs C a new bike'.

Off to Limoges today (90 mins away), so an early start but worth it as there are a great selection of dealers to choose from, all within 10 mins of each other.

Main target was the Moto Guzzi Dealer for Mrs C to ride a Guzzi V7. It also happened to be a Aprilia dealer, so i asked about a Tuono V4. Turns out the V4 wasnt available , so i took out a Shiver 900 but more of that later.

The thing i like about bike dealers out here is no sales pressure and if you want a test ride they photocopy your driving license and off you go - no signatures, utility bills, inside leg measurement or blood of your first born son - just go.

A quick look round the bikes and some chatting later, we get changed (kit in the car) and off we go. The Shiver is a better bike than i thought it would be. Seems to be an RSV V2 engine with more torque and less power. This one had twin underseat Akra's on it, so really good fun, pulls hard out of corners and really for a fun fast B road blaster should be on people's list. I prefered my Street Triple, but it really had character and i wouldnt be unhappy with one. Nicely finished bike, plenty of go and a seat and tank arrangement which really hugs you - which i like. Wheelie tastic too.



Mrs C rode the Guzzi. I rode it for 10 mins later in the test ride. It's even more the cruiser than the Street Twin which she tried a week or so ago now. The rake is really long and you can feel it - it feels (to me) like it steers more at the rear in terms of balance - no weight on the front and its slightly higher than the Triumph. It feels heavier too. For me it wasn't anywhere near as refined and direct as the Triumph and really didnt feel revvy, it was asking for gears on the display all the time and you could hustle it, but it didnt feel much quicker, just pissed off with you that you wanted to go faster and rush it.
Its a pretty bike - classic looks with some nice details (lots of carbon) and quilted seat. Its classically Guzzi with shaft drive and a chugging twin engine. Very cool indeed.

The bars are wide and it turned well enough, but it had its quirks. If your sat in traffic and revved the engine you could feel the rotation of the crank and the engine would twist in the mountings / frame and pull the bike around - proper oldschool this one.

The important thing for Mrs C these days is getting her feet flat on the ground, this one nearly did that but that few cm taller would mean we would have to soften the suspension and maybe carve a bit out the seat foam, but thats achievable. Once back at the dealers she stood around for a while agonising whether to buy one as the dealer gave us a grand off one - 9000 euros (she wants the carbon special edition one) and a free lid. We also got to hear one with the Arrow cans the sound is ridiculous.

Will she get one? Dunno - she prefers the looks (so do i) but its not as good or dynamic as the Street Twin. Her biggest decision now isn't which one - it's this type of bike. She's not sure if she's ready to drop sporty bikes. I know I'm not - it was fun on it but novelty factor is high - would that wear off? Not sure, so watch this space - as i've said before Mrs C takes time (a lot) of time to make decisions, but it's her bike, so she gets to decide.

They are short of stock like most now - if she wants one she has to decide as they have 1 in the dealership - otherwise it's minimum October onwards.

We also went over to a much better Ducati dealer than near us (they were hopeless) - this one also had Triumph, Suzuki, Kawasaki too. We managed to get her to sit on quite a few and again on the Street Twin to see how they feel and height. They had a few Monster Stealth 821's which i like, but Mrs C felt was too heavy up top - fair enough.

They had a V4 and a Street Fighter V4 too - the wings are ridiculous and make the bikes look really cheap - airfix kit cheap sadly. Not for me - i'd have to prise them off
Good morning mooching and playing with bikes - i suspect there might be more trips.

I tried the Guzzi V7 years ago...I really liked the look of them, and I still do.....but it's a big lump of a bike...comfortable on open highways, but out of it's depth in the twisties. And I could barely reach the bars, the tank is so long.
They're much more "Italian Harley-Davidson" than you'd guess just to look at them.

The CBR 650 is small and sporty but no where near as focused as the 600rr. You can get good deals on them as well as Honda built too many last year (a cancelled contract).

Kwacky wrote:The CBR 650 is small and sporty but no where near as focused as the 600rr. You can get good deals on them as well as Honda built too many last year (a cancelled contract).

She's adamant she needs to have her feet flat on the floor - i have to confess we havent been into a Honda dealer, so maybe thats an option. Problem is i dont think she'd look twice at one - it has to make her want to ride it and admire it. Its hard work this..

Tell her to get a monkey bike then

cbr650 is a good shout. Low seat and looks good imo. Mini fireblade

Blade wrote:cbr650 is a good shout. Low seat and looks good imo. Mini fireblade

2019-Honda-CBR-650R-Image.jpg

Nice but seat is only 1cm lower than her previous CBR.

Any other suggestions welcome

I would try sitting on one in a showroom.

Dont just use a figure in a spec sheet as its not just height, its also the seat width that can make a difference.

A slim seat will feel anything up to 40mm lower than a wide seat.

Also you can have seats lowered easy enough and some bikes have suspension lowering kits or you could easy drop the seat 10-15mm by reducing preload to increase rider sag.

Tested my new leathers out,I have to admit I tried them on and thought these are horrible uncomfortable and dont fit
After 10 minutes on my bike they felt awesome and fit like a glove, especially the legs and calves which ive always struggled with on off the shelf leathers
A car went straight across a giveaway on a main road and I had to brake that hard I left a black line followed by a brown one in my pants ,thankfully I didnt need the air bag suit .Loads of twatish drivers out tonight for some reason
Anyhow sliders are now christened and I am happy with the suit ,the s1k felt as awesome as ever

New XSR-700 R1M M4 Full Exhaust system came in today for my FZ-07!


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Looks sharp.

Does the bike need a remap now?

Fitted the secondary silencer... cus noise.
Changed the shock spring too. Just the fork oil and spring change to go