General chat thread... Links, pictures, banter etc

I've been told if I want to order a new bike I need to pay half up front and half on delivery, I,m very surprised by this and wondered whether anyone else had this experience, the shop says there not importing any of this model and it would be a special order, I personally wouldn't buy a bike without at least sitting on it,that said there is no demo to view/sit on/ test ride . (Bikexxxxd)

They may have them in Bangor/Belfast. 4700£ in UK,. 7500€ here, (4500£=5500€). Must be a lot of taxes etc to get one here.

If it's a specific special order only, then yes a substantial deposit would be in order.

If though it's actually a common model, but they just don't have one in stock, then a smaller, more regular deposit would be the norm.

I had this when I bought my Africa Twin in 2018 - importer only wanted to sell what he had in stock (colour-wise), which I didn't like, so I ordered one from the UK (which required paying in full for it before shipping). Before this however I'd looked at them here, as well as travelling to the Bike Show in NEC and test riding it there, so I was sure it was the bike I wanted.

What make/model are you looking at ?

I'm not sure there is a new one coming, they said the existing moto was meant to have a better processor to allow for new features but nothing since. I don't see a reason why they wouldn't, and since it's a small company I don't see them doing an apple and dropping the old to sell a new one with all the changes introducing a new product would mean.

One thing you need to be 100% of if it's not an officially imported model, is that it has a EU Type Approval - Certificate of Conformity (referred to as a CoC). Without it, you won't be able to register it here, and you need to check that you can insure it as well.

Just zero the trip when you fill up and you'll have a good idea when you're getting low.

I've been doing that for year's.

Gives you a very good idea of how much mileage you have left.

I have noticed a pretty serious decline in driving standards and ability in the last 6mths.

People are speeding everywhere and driving like maniacs in my area, parking in weird dangerous spots and just generally behaving like they are the only vehicle on the road.

Its worrying, and the other part is that the council has seemingly given up painting the median line on any new roads. There are sections on the R585 that have been resurfaced and the median strip missing for the last year. Its like no-one gives a fock anymore.

I bought some new leather bike trousers and it recommends treating them with a leather proofer before wearing, I'd appreciate any recommendations if you have any?

Thanks, I never would have thought to try the equine section, but makes sense when I think about it!

i am.

€1100 now after the weekend.

Vat as well.

I think generally you're talking around a third of the price of the bike added on in fees

I got a €10 voucher from Halfords to spend online recently, there was a €40 MucOff selection down from €40 to €19, ordered it as click and collect, so only cost me a tenner... Can't remember why they gave me the voucher, but worked out well...

Bennets youtube did a pretty thorough review of all washing options a while back. Top of the pile was Aldi washing up liquid in a 10% solution. Costs 1.50 or something.

I don't buy Muc Off any more. 😊

I was thinking that myself.

Fairy liquid is meant to have low salt, was recommended on a thread as a ddegreaser when derusting fuel tanks and prepping for Por15

Checks out: https://youtu.be/9NsFLPDgFqA?t=1156 and yes, they tested for salt.

Still, at less than €1/L (diluted) Muc-off is pretty cheap relative to the other products in the Bennetts test, and I've bought it now, so I'm gonna use it. Will use washing up liquid in a couple of years when it's run out.

Depends on the liquid, some are low salt, some aren't, tbh I've used it for years on my cars and never had an issue, I don't imagine bike finishes are that delicate.

..

A bit of reading for anyone thinking about an older sports bike.

I enjoyed that

Not all of them but hey there's time yet! 😆

I have - they were good to deal with but not great for giving a test ride when you have a Southern License, apparently it's a known thing with them. They let me "take the bike around the business estate" but I took it up the road for a bit anyway. Got bike serviced with them also and they were nice as well but did manage to crack some of the plastic and one of my indicators for which they sent me replacement parts. Fitted myself because it was an easy process and I needed to get the bike home at the time.

I've bought from Charles Hurst BMW in Belfast and they are miles ahead of anyone for customer service and no issues with hours-long test rides on any bikes on a Southern License. Think I've had 3 brand-new bikes out for test spins at this stage with them.