Hmmm...

....I can't make my mind up whether or not I like it.

The Yamaha Thundercat I've acquired yesterday, that is.

First impressions:

Reasonably comfy, if a bit heavier on the wrists than I was hoping.

Nowhere near as torquey as the VFR750 I recently rode, but then no
surprise really.

Allegedly good on fuel, something I should know either way tomorrow
when I fill it up again and if so, this'll be a big plus over said VFR
which was shite on fuel.

Seems to handle very well overall, although it has a tendency to get
unsettled by any bumps hit mid-bend, but I'll pass judgement on that
for definite once I've had a play with the suspension settings as it
seems to be more of an issue of too much preload rather than
wallowing.

Yamaha definitely invested more in the finish of these than the Fazers
of the same era, that's for sure.

Anyway... hopefully something that will grow on me if I give it a
chance, but I can't help but feel something like a GSX1100G would be
more my bag.

 

Always buy the bike you *want* not the bike you think you need.

Sound advice is that. You'll put up with odd foibles on something you love.

--


Nige,

BMW K1200S
Range Rover Vogue

 

I really, really like those. Shame they don't have a centre-stand,
because in some ways it's a better bike than the CBR of the era.

 

More roomy, slower turning but otherwise similar shit reheated in
terms of power etc, methinks.

And certainly not inferior build quality wise from what I've seen so
far.

I'll pass definitive judgement on it once I've sorted out the slightly
underperforming front brakes, changed the fork seals (1) and fitted
the set of barely run in BT021s I've been hanging onto for a while,
later this week..

(1) One has a hint of a weep on it, but not enough to be considered as
something to be causing probs in the handling stakes... yet.

 

They're thoroughly good bikes. Boring, but good.

 

All the time I don't end up losing any money on them when they get
sold on if they're not my bag, I'm not too fussed tbh. ;-)

Faired bikes wise, it has to be the VFR750 that's ticked more boxes
for me overall than anything else I've sampled to date, so I may go
for another one of them in due course.

Unfaired... well if the old man does decide to get rid of the GSX,
then I'm on for taking off his hands no matter how much he reckons
it'll end up killing whoever ends up with it in the longer term. ;-)

Have you ever met Bono?

Only the line 'I still... haven't found... what I'm looking for', may
possibly have been written with you in mind, you know. ;-)

 

fack orf you cant!

I love the BMW matey, thats a fact.

--


Nige,

BMW K1200S
Range Rover Vogue

 

Oh, I know that... been looking to get one of these or a Thunderace
for some time now, and ended up being swayed by the EXUP and oil
burning issues that dog the 'ace towards a 'cat.

....exactly what I started to feel this morning when I was thrashing
said bike over to a certain boxheads place near here.

And that... although the headlight appears to be hewn from the same
block of granite as the ones fitted to early Fazer 600s, and doesn't
have the luxury of a second bulb you can wire up to work on dipped as
well as main beam.

 

No, no, no, no... NO!

You're supposed to ask me to name a roundabout.

Good.

However, in the words of a sheep farmer on Father Ted... 'It's only a
matter of tiiiime'

 

Post corrected.

 

The only way you could look hard would be to drip liquid Viagra into
your eyes. Sonny.

 

ppfffft pissweasel stuff.

I once took some viagra for the laugh, jesus christ it's bloody horrible
stuff. Hardon from hell as it hurts like **** as it's throbbing like a puffs
arse. I suppose it's good in that you can't roll out of bed for a while.

--


Nige,

BMW K1200S
Range Rover Vogue

 

First check the tyre pressures.
The previous owner, dealer or tyremonkey has always IME got them wrong.

 

First thing I did when I left the previous owners...

 

Ah, I was going to suggest an 'ace if you thought the 'cat was boring.

The ace doesn't have the grunt of the blackbird I "backed to back" it
with, but it's a competent bike, nonetheless ..

Paul.

 

What colour is it? If you really get bored of it I'm in the market in
the next month or two if you want to wave goodbye to it. I just got a
new job, and the thundercat was on the previous list of 'lanky bikes'
that might do the job I want.

Whilst I'm here, what else was there that's good for tall people who
carry pillions and don't want a 10R yet?

 

Exactly. A litre of oil every thousand miles is hardly going to break
the bank.

 

Yamaha XTZ660 Tenere.

You won't be able to go fast but they're pillion friendly and
definitely only for tall people.

 

That's a bit wide for central london filtering, which I should have
mentioned. Also, I want something that's a little tiny bit gigglesome
for a wuss who's 2 years into biking and not yet crashed.

 

Or as far as Dover....