Couple of things (one OT)

[Ade B]

Thing one:

Went shopping for all weather trousers this morning and was disappointed with what I tried on.. goretex Dianese jobbies and goretex Hein Gericke ones..

The armour was well below my knee and possibly due to skinny legs flapped around a lot.

Short of spending silly money on Rukka gear which seems to be in a different league - anyone any recommendations for waterproof and crash proof pants. Must have a zip out lining and goretex.

Will try Metrolpolis and Sondel sport at the weekend to try some others.


Thing Two

Whilst browsing said trousers in Infinity, happened upon an absolutely mint Triumph Speed 4, 53 plate, 3k on the clocks, alarm/immobiliser, FSH, belly pan and silly rad covers in Kermit green, looks like its never seen rain, all for £2999.



Cara is after a Vespa replacement now we appear to be moving south of the river - anyone any horror stories about the Speed 4 - and as I'm sneakily thinking of a return to trackdays under the auspices of practical London transport it seems a damn sight more attractive (even in dayglo green) than a Fazer/Hornet/SV/Monster 620/F650GS for similar money. Heck I could even learn to love that bitsa/crash special look.

Any thoughts - it works out cheaper than a travel card...

Ade.

[m25jambuster]

Re Speed Four

The speed 4 is basically a TT600 / 600 Daytona with all the bodywork off. I've not heard any horror stories about the engine and all appears to be good mechanically. With regards to the price I would try and argue a bit on what its up for on the basis that my local Triumph dealer was knocking out brand new ones a few months back for £3695 with all the bodykit / styling bits thrown in and in some cases I know that people managed to blag a Datatool alarm as well for the price. If you have any further questions about the Speed 4 point your mouse at www.t595.net and have a look at the message boards - Sport Sub-section as that caters for Speed 4 owners. Hope this helps you out.

[Ade B]

cheers M25, remember reading rave reviews when they came out and then reading about bits that fall off (mirrors) and bad vibes and shite low speed fueling (bit like the S then...) will poke about to compare prices.

will be a second bike so not too worried about practicality although it does open up possibilities of 2 bike trips - Cara won't ride the S as its too tall and heavy and the Vespa is a bit of a lottery on the reliability stakes these days.

[Ade B]

it was discussed with Cara, considered from all angles....

despite my pointing out the obvious benefits of a naked sports bike over a scooter in London traffic (er none actually) and wouldn't it be fun to have for long summer tours, all for £2.20 a day (plus tyres, insurance, services, add ons) etc. etc.

she wisely said no...

so that was that


Ade (struggling to come to terms with purchasing property and becoming a grown up)...


ps. what happens when children arrive - is that the end of bikes until becoming a 'mature born again'

[RiceBurner]

Thing one:

Went shopping for all weather trousers this morning and was disappointed with what I tried on.. goretex Dianese jobbies and goretex Hein Gericke ones..

The armour was well below my knee and possibly due to skinny legs flapped around a lot.

You often have to move the armour about on HG stuff - it's not in pockets any more, but "cloth-rivet"ed into the liner.

I use HG stuff all year round and it's saved me in a few spills. get the Hiprotec Sport neoprene armour though - thoroughly recommended!!

[throttlemeister]

Have you had a look at the BMW offerings? They really make excellent quality motorcycle clothing. Very comfortable, very well made. And besides the standard sizes, they offer length and width sizes too. Prices are above the brands you mentioned, but below the Rucha stuff.

Personally, I have the BMW Savannah II jacket and I can't say enough good things about it. Should have bought this jacket ages ago. Without the GoreTex liner it's nice and cool for spring and autumn, with all the vents open and a T-shirt it's comfy in the hottest summers. With the GoreTex liner in and a fleece underneath it's more than warm enough to ride through winter and keeping you dry in the heaviest downpours.

Don't have the pants (yet?), as I prefer to ride with leather pants.

[Ade B]

Already have cheapo Hein Gericke pants with the rivetted knee armour which sort of works (except the fabric is burned through from a leg/ header interface in week one of S ownership). They leak in the crotch like a sieve..

After putting a knee through the expansion panel in my leathers last summer, I'm quite keen on a snugger fit and some reinforcement around the knee area - having chicken legs doesn't help. Suppose I could stitch some velcro to the outer shell to fix the armour in place.

I've a HG Tricky Goretex jacket which is 2 years old and going strong and its an excellent piece of kit.

Didn't see the Tuareg pants in the shop at HG but on the website they look a bit more robust...

Will try on some BMW gear too as their stuff looks good.

Cheers Ade.

[Archie]

what happens when children arrive - is that the end of bikes until becoming a 'mature born again'

Don't actually have any kids but my approach has been to always have a bike. It's much easier to morph one bike to another, but I'd imagine once you've got down to no bike at all it'd be difficult to justify buying one. They are a bit dangerous after all

[sproggy]

Didn't see the Tuareg pants in the shop at HG but on the website they look a bit more robust...

I've had a pair of HG Tuareg trousers for ages - at least 6 years. I wear them every day, all year round except in the middle of summer and in all they've probably done well over 50k miles. Still waterproof, always comfortable, and all for well under £100.

Been through loads of jackets in that time (now wearing an HG Master which had better last given what it cost....) but the (relatively) cheapo Tuareg trousers just keep on going.

Highly recommended.

[Lightrunner]

I have three kid all pre-school age and lots of HG gear.
Road tested some of it last November and replaced it with same or slightly better as finances allowed. The gear I have now is fully waterproof, as demonstrated this week quite decisively, but is also laced with zipped vents for the warmer weather.

The only issue I can forsee with kid and bikes is when they're old enough to want their own or borrow mine.

[Ade B]

Thanks for the replies guys, will try to swing by HG this morning on the way to Kingston again.. The new Tuareg pants are £180 which takes them out of 'bum basic'...

Re Kids and bikes - I've no doubt the kids are no issue, its more the shift in priorities financially... My finances have recently gone from seeing everything in terms of a 'set of tyres' or a 'track day' to 'litres of paint' or 'a kitchen'

Ade

[m25jambuster]

Ade - re:Kids. It gets easier as they get older. Initially you will think that you will never get the time to socially ride a bike again as there is an endless amount of jobs to do. Eventually the list will dry up and you will find the time to enjoy your bike. Whatever you do - dont get rid of the bike - believe it or not it is cheaper to sit the bike in the garage for a year than it is to sell it and then try and buy another one. You will never quite find the money if you go down that route and Laura and I have both agreed that whatever happens there will always be a bike of some sort in the garage.

[sproggy]

The new Tuareg pants are £180 which takes them out of 'bum basic'...

Hmmm - these ones?

http://www.hein-gericke.com/uk/product_ ... ts_id/2566

Mine were, I think, £89. But they didn't have goretex, an adjustable waist, stretch inserts on the knees, leather reinforcement, hiprotec (although I've fitted it since) or reflective piping......

But they do have the same name!

[m25jambuster]

I bought mine at the NEC about 4 years ago. Last day bargain / barter. £29. Have never leaked or failed and have body armour etc. Were put to the test when I had my accident in May this year and came away unscathed. After the ride home from Yorkshire last weekend I can honestly say they did not let any water through. It may be worth going to the NEC on the last day if you are able to - it may just save you some money in the long term.

[tripe]

re kids; It was the arrival of kids that brought my wife to the state of mind that a bike was a good idea. The simple argument that I could be home sooner to help with all the chores of nappy changing etc rather than sitting in London traffic for god knows how long every evening, was what swung it. That was nine years ago. Since then there have only been two issues that she has not been happy about. When I took my aging R65LS in for a service and came home on an R100 Classic and when I took the R100 in for a service and came back with a Speed Triple.
She is happy, I am always home earlier. She "knows" it is cheaper to run tthan a second car
This where the S comes into its own, most of the mods can go on unnoticed. In 3 weeks the powerfilter should arrive!