First post and asking advice please

[chickenstrip]

[Ste]

You're a gay handbag.

[Tracer1234]

[chickenstrip]

[arry]

[dsolds]

OK, so after all the kind advice, which really is appreciated, I spent the weekend looking for a bike. Sadly the Moto Guzzi I was going to look at got sold so I will find another to go and try. I looked at several BMW models, still mulling that over. The seats were all quite high (Short legs) but they did feel comfortable.

But, a chance conversation on Saturday evening with a great mate of mine saw me get the use of a bike pretty much indefinitely. He doesn't use his Yam FZS1 as he is more into MotoX these days but doesn't really want to sell it (he never sells anything). It's been in his shed for 2 years and he dropped it over yesterday saying I can hang on to it, he might want it back one day but it's better that I use it than it sits in a shed. He even added me to his insurance to save me taking out a new policy with zero no-claims, 20 quid for the year. I am about to pay the road tax on line and will be off to get a new battery for it later. Then it'll be out for a longish gentle ride to get it all moving again. Excellent result.

Like I keep saying to SWMBO (the Mrs) - she might have 500 friends on Faceache, I only have real friends, less than 10 of them. And this guy is one of them. A real top bloke who in the 30 years I've known him has only ever been a really good mate.

[Rogerborg]

https://s2.quickmeme.com/img/d7/d7dfe614383509199e42f05d43e97693e801b494f4a43d3525375d4912367571.jpg
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[chickenstrip]

You meet the nicest people on a Fazer

With one well-known exception, perhaps
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Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE!

[dsolds]

[Alpineandy]

[Kentol750]

Soooooo, where are you at now?
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Some bikes.

[dsolds]

Well, where I'm at is that I have a bike to ride which takes the pressure off me to buy one quickly. Bizarrely it would seem my dislike of chain drive is justified. I've just ordered a chain and sprockets for this bike I've been lent as it's all worn. Chatting to my mate he thinks the chain and front sprocket are original (29k miles) and the back sprocket was changed for one with 2 extra teeth a couple of years back. That explains why I keep wanting to take a gear when in 6th, and also the rather interesting acceleration

I have to say, this Fazer is an awesome machine. If only it had shaft drive I would buy one. The handling is so well weighted I can almost "think" it round corners. A lot like my old XJR1300 with twice the acceleration.

This weekend will be off looking at a Moto Guzzi or two, I also have a test ride lined up on a BMW R1200R. Once that's done I was planning on having a mooch round the superbike warehouse and a couple of other dealers. I'm just wondering how I will find the twins after so may 4 cylinder machines. Never owned a twin, well not since the days of my old Suzuki X7 back in about 1982.

But, do appreciate the banter/suggestions etc. It all helps, even if it just removes something from what started as a very long list.

[chickenstrip]

I do get the shaft drive for zero maintenance thing. Chain kits on litre bikes aren't cheap these days, and sometimes, especially in winter when the salt is down, constant chain maintenance in order to get a decent mileage from them can be a pain. And yet, I've never owned a shaft drive bike. I don't think it's anything to do with extra weight, torque-reaction forces or anything like that (although I once tried a BMW Paris-Dakar replica - 900 boxer twin, and the way the rear rose up unnoticed on acceleration, then suddenly dropped down when you let the throttle off, was disconcerting). Just that the kind of bikes I like don't come with it.

But other than that, another positive review of the Fazer thou. Why am I not surprised?
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Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE!

[Alpineandy]

[dsolds]

You could be right, but yes, my TDV8 Range Rover has cam chains, not belts. One of the many reasons I chose it over the TDV6 version, well than and 100BHP