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

Rebuilding brakes today is really making me want a ultrasonic parts washer.

Wemoto have an .ie website, I would have expected that if you order from that you'd be ok - but maybe not.

And funnily enough I've ordered a few times from fowler's UK, expecting to get hit and they've sailed through.

All sorted anywho.

Bought a 10l ultrasonic parts washer, I've 2 uses for it with cleaning parts, nuts, bolts, and then cleaning residue off plastic stuff or removing paint off them/prepping for paint.

Going by basket size 10l should be enough for callipers and while I probably won't be dunking in 4 carbs assembled at once I can fit them disassembled and do it properly. If someone wanted to clean up casing covers like head or gear then would def be too small.

Will **** up anodised stuff so if anyone is thinking about it remember that, lacquered paint usually safe dependant on liquid used.

Still have second front calliper to finish but won't need this, waiting for a set of nylon brush for Dremel as they're mostly clean now but still some crud in the grove for the seal.

Can keep renewing provided you have either taken and failed the test or are on the list to take one. Theory test cert is valid for 2 years but once you're submitted it to get a learner permit, it doesn't matter anymore once you're in the system. The 2 year limit on your IBT is a more pressing issue.

Pretty significant news for BMW motorrad in North America.

Biggest market

Earlier this year. Yes. And not for the first time. Theyre good.

Yeah, few times. There Crossans up the north. Very easy to deal with. No duties etc either.

Saw this bit of tyre changing kit on Instagram. Looks well thought out and implemented. Especially storage.

(https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxZ4nbLN3lv/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==)

Seems to be around 3/4 sizes from this brand. Not cheap 450-550 range.

New to me. In from Germany this week.

looks minty

Bought direct from dealer, arranged own transport jarvis

after several decades of always missing this show, and always promsing to go, went & drove over to it this weekend; Stafford Classic Motorbike Show.

Big crowd, lots of nice stuff - but also a lot of........dross. Galway Metal / Hammond Lane should have had a stand at it............

One thing I noticed is the increase in popularity of jap and newer classics and the decline of the more traditional brit stuff. Which is no bad thing : I started out on Jap stuff in the '80s, and never hankered for a Brit bike, so that's fine by me.

You know you're getting old though when Gen 1 R1's appear as Classics......... 😁

No-brainer for me would have been to buy any one of the RG500's - although they are now in the stratosphere, price-wise. I actually had saved enough to buy a brand new one in 1988..........and didn't. Spent the money going to college instead. It's debatable which was the correct choice, even now 🤣

Big Z's now 5-figure prices - the green one sold there for £11k. Things like RGV250's, Aprilia 250's all £9k+ and heading for 5-figures as well. The Chesterfield Aprilia RS 250 would be on my list. As would the bog-standard 1987 series 1 GPZ900r.

GT750 Kettles also on my list, but also the GS1100EFE - which is still an impressive bruiser. Old school big-torque motor and barn door fairing would still eat the miles.

The white CBX Touring was a peach, and a turnkey classic at £9k.

Saw an MBX80 for the first time in 35+ years: I did my test on one of those, in 1987. It's still a fabulous bike. The plaque beside it extolled how it was so much more expensive than an AR80 at the time, and not as popular. For the heady sum of £699. (The AR's were £529....). Sigh.

Have a gander, pics here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Q5GrRx9v8xPMLkAV7

Full clip is on youtube and in that article there. Riding like a gombeen!!

good that they showed so much of the footage before the crash - really did seem inevitable.. just the sheer amount of stupidity on display

Looking at visors online.

€137 for the one I want and that's with a 10% discount. 🥵

And that's not even mentioning the lid I'm thinking of buying.

I know 🥴

Do they seal properly when closed?

I'd be wary of how they'd react to an impact. 🤔

Back to thefts. . . . . . I heard today that a biker was jumped at traffic lights by scrotes. Be street wise more than ever. There are serious moves afoot to give more power to Gardai engaging with the bike scrotes.

It’s stories like that that worry me. The insurance has come through for my recently departed bike, and I NEED another method of transportation. Buying another bike is probably what will happen, but these scrotes are everywhere.

every biker I’ve spoken to in the past few weeks is either a recent victim or knows someone who is.

Some stainless bolts can be very soft, so if the proper bolts are expensive they could be a specific alloy! Probably be grand though!

I need some assistance from the good bikers of Boards

versys1000gt or NT1100?