Fed up of it all... (Biking)

[veeeffarr]

Hi,

I'm really really sick to the back teeth with biking at the minute, and here are my reasons why:

After spending loads of money on tools, and having the bike for a year, I'm still too fooking stupid to do even the simplest task on my CG
The bike I bought in mint condition last July now looks like an utter dog
Getting changed all the time is a pain in the arse, and I never get a chance to ride it
All of my money goes on tools, consumables, lubricants and still I never seem to have enough stuff to get the job done
My riding is crap, and I can't afford to do my DAS

I've just been out cleaning, lubing and adjusting my chain and it's taken me 90 minutes, and I've rounded off a bolt on my chain enclosure as it is, and I'm not sure if I've done it right...

I was going to do my air filter tonight, but I'm too tired now.

Spent £20 today on Oil, Paraffin and Chain Wax.

The bike is running lean, and I can't afford to put it in the garage.

I'm just really really fed up with it all, and it's causing me more grief than it is pleasure.

Anyone been in the same boat as me before? I feel like whenever I'm working on the bike I'm just fucking it up even more, and everyone tells me to do different things.

The only thing I've really been looking forward to in my life at the moment is saving up for my DAS, but I'm going further and further into my Overdraft and just living off of that (I'm £1100 O/D now)

Toby

[XS1954]

Well I sympathise with you, I presume this is your first bike?

Just to cover the point raised:
Spending lots of money on tools, well you have spent the money now so you can't really do much about that other than learn how to use them properly and just keep having a go. Do you not have a biking friend who is mechanically minded who can offer assistance?

Bikes do soon start to look crap if not looked after, this is especially the case if the bike is used daily to commute. Try and keep on top of cleaning it and looking after it.

Getting changed is just part of having a bike.

You say your riding is crap, what is crap about it? do a Bikesafe workshop. Do your DAS with the assistance of Visa and join the IAM.

I hope you now feel better
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You're a cock.

[cagiva gezzer]

To quote an earlier thread of mine:

[phantomtek]

Like I said earlier, keep with it, the skills will come and some day you could make money off them teaching small children to fix their bike. We can't all be naturals at everything, and I bet there's lots of people on here who can't perform the simplest of tasks, the just don't dare mention it.

Stick with it, because that's a nice pair of tits you have there, shame if someone were to..........punch them........

[Itchy]

I don't get it , Toby has a low milage newish bike while I have a 13 year old bike and have ridden it for nigh 15K , only had to have new oil x4 + x2 filters , fixed leccy problem and new fork seals + tyres + sparks.



is the CG not as legendary reliability as it seems?.
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Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

[yambabe]

[Itchy]

or am I riding a death trap which will fall apart very very soon?.

(on that note the head stock bearings need sorting out so does the shaft oil and the rear bulbs).

And maybe some new pads/brake fluid
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Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

[Itchy]

[veeeffarr]

[Marcg868]

Organise a meet Toby, i felt just the same way as you, my bike has a dinted tank wtih slight rust, a gouged nose fairing, a fooked fairing bolt hole, a nice layer of black chain lube and grit on swingarm.

And if you can come up to Rivvy this weekend, can show you just what bikings about, hell even i have a beaming smile on my face and i ride like a pussy walking a piece a string across a volcano!

itchy- you fancy coming out sunday to the barn? Can meet you in Bury and ride up to Rivvy and meet Jack Cheese??? pm me or add me to msn or something mate

and one finaly thing Toby, dont give up. I was told by my gf, i just wouldnt be me if i didnt ride a bike, or come into the pub in my kit and moaning about helmet hair
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JACK, MISS YOU LOADS YOU LEGEND.

[stinkwheel]

Hell, I can reduce a perfectly good motorcycle to a tatty heap of corroded metal and dull, scratched plastic in a matter of a few months. You should see the state of my KLE now.

It is because I ride them, I don't let it bother me.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Marcg868]

I had an immaculate CBR 125, it had the brand new smell and showroom shiney finish. If stand a foot away from it, it still shines, but look closer see little corroded fury winter parts. Just keep her washed, if you use your bike day in day out dont expect it to stay immaculate forever, we're not all summer power rangers whose bikes are perfect, enjoy riding the thing. And come out for a ride soon
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JACK, MISS YOU LOADS YOU LEGEND.

[WildGoose]

being someone who has reduced more than my fair share of bikes to unserviceable wrecks and write offs i feel i am qualified to share my thoughts

i once bought a CBR400 that looked better when i bought it, than it did at any point after that, despite racking up £4000 pounds worth of spares and equipment spent on it, no one who has been on BCF for a while will ever let me forget this, there is now a stigma attached to any bike i buy and lots of scared faces when i announce potential purchase plans

i did the same to a lesser extent with a honda bros, however it was fairly serviceable after i had spent thousands on it, but it really didnt perform a huge amount better as it was still a bros

i've written off an R6's frame, and a triumph tigers engine, and lost lots and lots of money, the tigers malfunction was down to a chain that i neglected to change when it reached a point of terminal unserviceability, and probly adjusted it wrongly to compensate. however the bike was recently purchased and i do believe the dealer shoudl be held responsible however i never pushed hard enough for this

[colin1]

you dont have it that bad
its not like you bought a bike with pretty fairings and then managed to break all put one of them resulting in it being held together by sticky tape

its not like you bought a 2 stroke 125 and then it blew up and you couldnt afford a rebuild

its great that you are maintaining your bike properly and showing an interest in whether it is running correctly, but it works at the moment and i doubt it will die b4 you can afford for the mechanic to look at it

its not even that you have a puncture that you need to get fixed but dont have the cash for.

so as bike problems go, you dont have it that bad

the tools are probably an investment if you have bikes for a few more years. if not you put them on ebay and get half your money back

a lot of people have perfect looking bikes that run perfectly, then there is the rest of us

you have started with a fairly good reliable bike, it oculd have been quite a lot worse
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colin1 is officially faster than god

[killa]

Almost 7 years riding now, over the years I’ve had a hard time from the bank, the cops, the thieves and the ordinary people who say ‘DON’T RIDE, YOU’LL DIE” “IT’S A WASTE OF MONEY” etc etc.

I would hate to have the figures put in front of me what I’ve spent, what I’ve lost and what I could have had back through lack of experience or bad luck.

Including my new Kwak that I’ve just bought that makes around 13 machines I’ve owned, 3 have been stolen, I’m now thousands in debt to the bike game but the passion is there and I really don’t give a fuck.
The British Government is killing it slowly but surely, I’m not giving up, biking means too much me.

I’ve had a blast at self maintenance, I’ve messed something’s up, I’ve ended up damaging a few things on my VFR through me trying to do it myself, it makes me feel a bit shit but the learning curve isn’t apparent until later.
I must admit to that even though I have messed up something’s on the VFR, take me back to my earlier bikes like the TS125X or the RX50 and I’d be pretty good at maintaining them.

All of this I could dwell on, but 7 years ago I was riding a TS50 that looked like it had done 100,000 miles, every 10 minutes riding I had to whack the bar end back in to stop it falling off, keep repairing the seat hole.
I had to fix an oil leak with what ever I could find, keep repairing the ever increasingly worn rear hub so it didn’t snap the sprocket off.
She was stolen, burnt to the ground and thrown in a lake.

I’m picking up a ZX7R on Saturday, when I was 16, in school, I’ve only dreamed of owning such a machine, now I’m making it a reality. Although it might be a dent in the Ol finances, I’ve got my health and I’m enjoying every minute.
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Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult.
Bike:- Yamaha TRX850 | Killas Biking History | Killas Gaming History | Killas autmotive history

[Adam_P]

I can't do a god damn thing to my bike if it goes wrong, I'm a complete mechanical numpty. But then, that's what garages, mechanics and mates that know what they're doing are for!

As for riding skills, they come in time. I've had my bike just over two years now and I still struggle with knowing what it can and can't do. But its got a lot better with more riding (advice that I was given on here, funnily enough! )

Stick with it, save up the cash, do your DAS and get a bigger cc bike. You'll never regret it.
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Colin McRae MBE 1968 - 2007 RIP
Orwell Rolls in his Grave
God is imaginary

[veeeffarr]

Well it looks like I did my C&S correctly, as today I had the best fooking ride into work ever!

Blazing sun, responsive bike... Silly overtake on a leaner driver up a single carriageway (Which was REALLY stupid as there was a turn to a petrol station) but I'm alive so it's all good!

[feef]

After spending loads of money on tools, and having the bike for a year, I'm still too fooking stupid to do even the simplest task on my CG

just takes practice. There's a few colleges that even do bike maintenance courses if you fancy that

The bike I bought in mint condition last July now looks like an utter dog

need to keep on top of cleaning on a bike, especially cheaper ones with lots of steel, rather than Alu

Getting changed all the time is a pain in the arse, and I never get a chance to ride it

textile kit is great. I can ride into work, and peal it off with my work clothes underneath.

All of my money goes on tools, consumables, lubricants and still I never seem to have enough stuff to get the job done

but tool purchases is a one off.. if you learn to use them they pay for themselves easily. for excample, I bought a router, workbench, jigsaw and jig so I could do the kitchen worktops. I was quoted £300 to have them installed. I bought that lot AND the work top for under £200. I also now have the tools and the skill to do that, or similar again.

My riding is crap, and I can't afford to do my DAS

just have to ride more. go out with some experienced riders, but make sure you want them to watch you, and give you tips.

a
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Mudskipper wrote: feef, that is such a beautiful post that it gave me a lady tingle
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[veeeffarr]

[colin1]

you are in liverpool. shootings arent that rare wherever you are
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colin1 is officially faster than god

[veeeffarr]

[map]

[tribal_tiger]

Hell I rode my bikes into the ground.

When I sold the RSR, it really was on it's last legs, on my way to work it got through over a litre of oil, mainly over my boot.

I've never had a clue about doing anything to my bikes, never let it bother me. Just get out there and have fun.

I'm so gutted that I can't afford to own a bike at the moment. It really does get me down. Count your blessings and get your arse on the road
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All of it.

[TOM M]