Welcome to 2010!
Well welcome one and all, for it’s two-thousand-and-ten A L R E A D Y.
The weather here is atrocious at best, so because of this my bike has been constrained to the work garage, as I couldn’t get it home. Because of this, my bike has sat for a week and now that I have returned to see it, the ignition is seized stopping the key from turning (you can still get the key in though…) and thus I can’t start it, thus I can’t unseize the rear brake that’s now jammed on.
Ace.
It’s going to be a few weeks I would imagine, before this snow and ice clears up. This isn’t good because my bike needs to be in active service asap. I think what I might do is get Stuart to come and get it and do a service. Then I can just wait until the weather is a bit kinder to 2 wheels.
Anyway. I hope Santa was good to y’all and you had a great and happy new year’s celebration. We had a great time, with a new Fraser in the family (Lily, both mother and daughter are well!) and some nice relaxing fatty-eating-chocolate-and-other-leftovers joy.
2010 has to be a good year, because 2009 wasn’t. And for this reason, I have made a promise to update YamYam at least twice a week. Let’s see how I do.
Oh and the 25th of January will celebrate my 3rd year of YamYam and 2 wheeled joy. Insurance AHOY!
Cheerio for now!
Gordon
YamYam’s Top 10 Posts Ever.
So whilst I await the melting of the Fife Ice Caps, I shall collate some data…Geek Style.
I am always amazed at how sparse reviews are for products, or how biased a lot of reviews seem to be. Motostrano Blog said it excellently:
“I rarely read product reviews these days. They are all advertisements and we know it- pure fantasy. On the other hand, there’s the ‘discussion forums’ where you can read countless essays written by lonely males holed up in their mancaves about the products they’ve purchased, sharing with others the ins and outs of why the product they invested in is so great. Of course it’s great, you bought it and you’re actually wasting life hours writing about it. We beat our chests about the little gizmos and gadgets we’ve been able to scrounge up on our hunting and gathering missions out in the shopping wilderness. Heading back to camp with our gear speared on a stick- which is really a lonely little desk away from the kids or wife – we review the goods, inspect it, try it on, pose in action shots in front of the mirror, perhaps in our underwear, perhaps dressed up in our leathers in the garage. Then, as if to map out a terrain that no other fellow savage has explored, we set up to transpose our inner most thoughts on digital paper about whatever it is we just bought, signaling to other tribe members where to go and what to see along the adventure.”
So it’s with great satisfaction and indeed pride, that I have been complimented on my reviewing technique and detail. This is probably why (and you will see soon enough) my reviews are the most popular out of my posts. Naebody cares about me seeing a plane almost hitting the Forth Road Bridge. They want to know why I think the Puma Desmo’s were the best boot ever made.
Anyway, lets move along. I give you the top 10 favourite posts on YamYam ever (in descending order):
#10: Review: Respro “Foggy” Anti-fog Mask
#9: Review: Puma Brutale Gore-Tex Boots
#8: Update: AGV GP-Tech Helmet
#6: Review: Shark RSI “Eden” Helmet
#5: Yamaha MT-03
#4: Review: Puma Desmo 800 Boots
#3: Tutorial #1: How to change grips and handlebars
#2: Kawasaki ER6n
The most popular post on YamYam ever is, surprise surprise:
#1: Review: AGV GP-Tech Helmet
So there you have it. I think the reason is I got the GP-Tech really early, as in first batch. This allowed me to get a head-start and offer the viewing public a chance to see what this new helmet was like before going out to purchase it themselves.
It’s a good indication of what people are after when looking around the interweb for motorcycle type stuff.
I hope you enjoyed reading the top 10 posts, but also have a wee look around the archives at the non-review stuff. You might be pleasantly surprised…or endlessly bored.
All the best
Gordon
Review: Bridgestone BT021 – Sports Touring Tyre
I have run BT014′s and BT016′s on my GSR since new. Up until recently I was just replacing them every time they either got bald or I was guilted in to it by my lass. Anyway, whilst in Jacksons the other month there, Stuart said “why have you got these on?” and I said “cause that’s what I was given.”
After yet another dumbfounded look, Stuart then said that what I need was the Bt021′s because for the riding I do, the 14′s and 16′s are totally wrong. He puts 14′s on his trackday bike. Anyway, I got a 21 on the rear first and last weekend I got a 21 on the front, after my 2nd ever front tyre was totally done (a BT014).
Well I have to say, the BT021′s last I would guestimate around 3-4 times longer than the BT016′s. The rear, although starting to square, has been on since the beginning of 2009 and is still going strong. The front is 6 days old, but I have to say the wet weather grip is good and it seems like having matching front and back makes leaning easier. The deep tread on the BT021′s will shift a lot of water away from the suface and give you a longer tyre life.
The BT021′s aren’t any dearer than the 16′s so I have to wonder why my garage didn’t suggest these to me earlier considering that they knew how many miles I do and also the fact that I was in there every other month for problems…they had ample time to mention that there was a more suitable tyre for my riding.
ANYWAY
If you do a lot of miles but still want a really good grippy leany tyre, then look no further than the BT021. I love Bridgestones, and after having Pirellis, Dunlops and Michelins, I know how essential it is to find a tyre that you are comfortable riding with. I am just glad I suit the Bridgestones.
Go buy some.
Cheers
Gordon
Suzuki GSR600 – Well Well…
My GSR and I have a chequered past. Our relationship started out so well and quickly turned in to a nasty affair.
I have to date done 22,800.5 miles on my GSR, that’s since January 26th 2008. 19 months of GSR experience has left a sour taste in my mouth and I am done. Last week for the 3rd time my throttle began sticking. In an attempt to see if it was just a fleeting hiccup in time, I gave it a few days. By the 4th day the throttle was so awful that I would twist it and it would just stick open, a definite annoyance especially at traffic lights, when I would sit stationary, idling at 8,000rpm. Thank goodness I don’t have after-markets, or it would be atrocious. For now however, I’ll stick to ridiculous.
I took it to the garage this morning after speaking to them yesterday. I got in to the garage around 9:15am and handed the bike over. I knew it would be something to do with the throttle linkage or shaft, as that was the problem before. I got my £6 a day SV650 and off I went, fully prepared to ride back only hours later when they had fixed the issue. Sure enough, 12pm came and I got the call.
Upon arrival my bike was sitting outside the garage waiting. I headed inside and spoke to the bloke there, who spent a few moments muttering to himself and staring at the computer. “He’s going to charge me for this” I thought, and when he started speaking I actually thought he was.
In a nutshell he basically said that Suzuki are getting a lot firmer with regards to warranty jobs and my problem here, the throttle linkage being totally corroded, would start to become un-warranty-able… He said that it’s a “maintenance” thing and I need to look after my bike. I said that I wash it every 1-2 weeks, but then mentioned that it sat outside every night as I don’t have a garage. Would that contribute to this corrosion?
“Oh aye” he said, going on to mention that the condensation from both the rain and the hot engine will sit on the throttle assembly and turn to rust. This will then start corroding away. I told him I spoke to the warranty boy there and he mentioned it was a sealed unit. He agreed but then said that the moisture can get up through the bottom of the engine and basically that I need to clean my bike even more regularly including taking the tank off and cleaning the throttle assembly.
I got charged £6 for the SV, even though I had only had it for 3 hours.
We had a chat outside when he was checking the loan bike over and he openly admitted that Suzuki has made their life a lot tougher about the warranty jobs. They now have to submit pictures of the problem, Suzuki then decide aye or no to a warranty issue. He also mentioned that he thinks the reason why is because down south somewhere a garage was claiming warranty jobs, fixing the broken parts on the bike and keeping the new parts from Suzuki, then selling them thus doubling his money.
Fair enough. But.
If Suzuki are going to start saying no to issues like seized throttle bodies, then what the f*ck is the point in having a warranty? I have therfore come up with the following conclusion:
Suzuki manufacture motorcycles that are sold in the UK. These motorcycles are perfect for anyone and everyone wanting to get on 2 wheels at respectable prices. However, if you do want to buy a Suzuki, you must never ride it, and more than that, you need a warm dry garage to keep it in at all times. You must also clean it after every ride, regardless of if it’s wet or dry and forget right this second riding it in winter. PFFF
Also, where in the manual does it mention cleaning the throttle linkage below the airbox?
The side of my bike looks like a mess, but that dark splatter and massive patch on the casing is actually oil. It seems either that I now have another leaking engine part or the garage today went a bit overkill with the lube for the throttle bodies, because it’s everywhere. I’ll have to double check this as I only just noticed it after being out at the bike to take photos.
Well about 10 minutes ago I got a call on my mobile. It showed “Private Number” which usually is my Mum, because her phone is a dork. Anyway, I answered “HEeeeeeeelllooooooooooo?” and an Englishman replied, “……hi.”
Oops.
It was a guy from Suzuki GB, giving me a courtesy call about my email I had sent on Thursday. In this email, done entirely though the Suzuki website, I had written down every single problem I had with my GSR since buying it new, and just hung it out there for Suzuki to either respond to it, or forget about it. I was really expecting the 2nd one, but much to my flabbergastery, the bloke from Suzuki GB called me to say that he had received the email, had gotten in touch with my garage and had started the path to making me happy. He said that the amount of issues I have had was a bit strange and he was going to try and set it straight. Then he said cheerio.
Amazing. A quick phone call just to say hello and yes, we are going to do something. I am really delighted about this effort to let me know my issues are being listened to, but I am a bit apprehensive as to what will actually happen. I will obviously keep you in the loop.
Anyway,
Update on the bike over, next: The Bridgestone BT021 Sports Touring rubber, good? Hell yeah.
G
Fuel Light Challenge #1 RESULTS!
Read it and weep.
As Aaron said on the first post, this was quite a hard challenge to stick to, not to mention boring. It was amazing just how slow it felt going 70mph, not because I am so used to bombing along, but because everyone else was bombing past me at ridiculous speeds. Does anyone stick to the speed limits these days?
I would be tooting along at 70mph and I was able to look about more, noticing things I hadn’t even seen previously. An added benefit to watching your speed: you get to sightsee more. 
So how did it all work out then? Well from the chart you can see that I did 39 more miles, it used 2.2l more fuel and returned just about 10mpg more. I used the MPG calculator here to calculate these figures.
So in the end was it worth it? Well I have to say yes. It got me further on less fuel and I was able to relax a bit more on the journey. It would save me £300 a year as well which may not seem like much but it’s something.
Hope you found it useful!
Gordon
Scottish Motorcycle Championships @ Knockhill
Hello all,
Sunday there I was at Knockhill for the Scottish Championship motorcycle racing. It was a brilliant day out, which resulted in a mega sun-burnt panda face. Scottish wind+sun=false sense of security.
Anyway, I was there to test out a new lens I got, and I have to say I am really chuffed with the results. I shall now post them up for you.
My bike (GSR) is now back, and with it a complete history of work done to my bike including the latest sheet, which has all the parts needed for the corrosion job…and is 2 pages long.
More on that later.
So yeah, there you go!
For those who want to know, I am using a Canon 450D with a Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 II lens.
Speak to you in a bit about my GSR, I’m still thinking about what to do.
Thanks for looking,
Gordon
Review: Suzuki Gladius 650 Design
Well then well then.
Whilst at the garage yesterday bumming about I thought I would have a closer look at the various bikes outside in the courtyard. One of which was the new Suzuki Gladius 650, which seems to be the replacement for the much loved/hated SV650.
I didn’t ride it though, so this is purely a visual review and observations.
The new Suzuki Gladius. It's definitely for girls.
So what is this bike all about. Well I think this is the bike that will attempt to lure more women to biking, which is made very obvious by the inclusion of a pink and white colour scheme for the Gladius. It’s a little bit sickly for me but:
(Image taken from http://www.suzuki-gb.co.uk/bike/sfv650k9/)
The ones they have at the garage are Blue and White and Green and Black (my favourite).
Gladius 650 in Blue & White
The Summer Luvvies are BACK…
…and I’m annoyed.
Well hello folks, it has been a very frustrating 2 weeks in YY’s life. But hey, whatever.
The summer luvvies are back, resplendant in full race leather, knee sliders ‘n all and it’s havoc! This morning I finally got my bike back and I was up in good time to get going (instead of waking up and getting out the door in 10 minutes.)
It was still quite cold today, a temperature that made me swither on wearing my summer gloves, but I opted for my winters, which was a good choice. As I was cruising along the motorway a guy on an old Kawasaki (i think) went shooting past me wearing a leather jacket, cream jeans and some Timberland boots.
Reaching the city another guy with pillion went weaving through the traffic at high speed, not even flinching as he flew past a bike cop.
It’s been so quiet for the past 3 months and I miss it. I miss seeing the regulars and us both enjoying the fact that we were among relatively few (out of the whole biking frat) that were out in winter weather. Anyway, it’s all good.
The spring is arriving and it’s feeling milder, considering it was only 2 weeks ago I dropped my bike in snow and ice. The sun is out most days and I am loving it.
Bike has been fixed after the small spill.
So the 16k service was done, complete with a new set of brake pads front and back.
A new air filter was fitted and the spill damage was repaired; a new engine case/seal/bolts, new rear brake pedal. Then I got a call last minute to say my valves need shimmed, which would take a wee bit longer.
The bike was ready last night, having been road tested and cleaned (which was great as it looked ace) and the bill came to circa £580. I have gotten used to this figure so don’t flinch when I see it, but when I first was told I almost ate my phone. This biking lark is expensive! haha.
The bike feels great, really solid again. It’s amazing how quickly you can adapt to failing mechanics. It’s like the short story “The Machine Stops” where the machine starts to fail, but they find ways to adapt to it’s failings and make do. That is until it gets ridiculous and the machine fails.
I think it’s safe to say that riding with brakes on the steel is a wee bit harder than riding with new brake pads.
Anyway, biking is ace, and I would never change it for anything. 16,000 miles and counting. I promised you a review of the GSR and that will be the next outing.
Thanks for reading guys, (and girls)
Gordon
4 years worth in 6 months…
Hello all,
Hope you are all well and enjoying the current weather. It’s great! I think this will be the first of a long list of updates, product reviews and other stuff, so hold on to your hats.
Sunday was the 2nd day out of 14 that I had off, so I took full advantage of it. I had a good lie in and was heading over to the garage with Blair to get his bar end weight looked at. He said that he was riding along, and Kirsty suddenly went “I think a bird just hit me!” So they stopped and couldn’t see anything, and continued on home.
Then B realised that he had a mega numb right hand, and finally noticed the lack of bar end weight on his grip. Hmm.
Very odd. Although B does sit with his hand over the bar end weight…
So he wanted to head out to the garage to get a new one under warranty. It was a really nice day and whilst I was waiting for blair to arrive I sat on the front grass and listened to the birds and trees… Blair arrived and grabbed a quick cig before we headed out. It was a cracking day!
Once we arrived we checked out the metal sitting out the front, including the GSX1400 which was nice, and the boat, also known as a B-King.
May not look like much, but sounds amazing and goes like stink…
So after looking at the nice bikes we headed inside and B started his story up, which resulted in the guy saying (without surprise I may add) that B would have to come back in tomorrow to see the guy that deals with that particular type of request….
It’s really annoying that when someone asks if their bar end weight that fell off can be replaced under warranty, that they all can’t go, “yes” or “no.”
Whilst there, and remembering that my 7500 mile service was on Thursday, I asked if I could have a rear tyre changed at the same time as…well….look at it:
This was a week ago so it’s even more bald than this.
He said “Aye no problem” and I thought I’d better ask how much it will be.
“Well it’s £220 for the service and another £140 for the tyre”
“………well forget the tyre then.”
Bloody hell!!! Upon me asking why it was so expensive, he said “Well you get the spark plugs changed, and they cost £31, and then there’s the added labour of lifting the tank and removing the airbox.”
“Ok.”
I have lifted my tank 5-6 times now and I can now go from bike fully assembled to tank up and airbox off in 15 minutes. Now if you go on the price of the 4k service, which included the oil & filter change etc etc, that was £140. So it’s costing £31 for the spark plugs, leaving £50 for lifting the tank and removing the airbox.
My garage thus charges £200 p/hour labour. Brilliant.
So after I stopped crying, we went out to the bikes and Blair had a smoke and we talked about their complete lack of help…but that you already know about.
We then thought, whilst its such a nice day, that we would go for a quick blast up to East Lomond and then home again, which we did and it was ace.
There was a few police bikers out, but they were on one of those police training day things, where the police man takes you out and teaches you how to ride fast and safe. Both Blair and I went past them at a brisk pace, then thought, “I just went past a police man at more than the speed limit and he didn’t chase me.”
The thing with these courses is though (bearing in mind I haven’t been on one, I have just read about it) is that they don’t worry about you speeding. They actually encourage you to so that they can show you how to safely do it. It must be weird for you to be followed by a police man, doing more than the speed limit but he’s not pulling you over.
Anyway, after we got to the top of East Lomond, we stopped and had a chat about bikes and stuff. We then started talking about the service again and how I have actually done just under 9000 miles (and I’m just getting my 7500 mile service…oops. But I had my 4k late anyway) and wondered how many miles B had done.
He said that if we take off the Scotland Trip, he has done 2500 miles in nearly a year. I said that he was the UK national average biker and when we sat there thinking about it, we worked out that I have actually done 4 years worth of riding (on my GSR, which I got at the end of January, 08 ) in 6 months. All in all, I have done around 12 years of UK national average biking in a year and a half. That’s pretty scary.
He then quipped, “at least it’s cheaper. I’ve not even had my 4k service yet.”
Great.
East Lomond. Where brain’s get fried.
We then headed home and as we approached the road to my house, a Kawasaki naked old thing pulled in in front of us and it sounded amazing! We all then stormed along the road and it was a great finish to a nice ride out.
I fancy a 1 piece textile suit. For the reasons that: there’s no 360 zip to let water in, there’s only 1 entry zip that is super re-inforced, there’s more insulation thus warmer winter riding and finally, it’s smart.
I guess I’ll have to see what happens after we move in to our new house in August.
More updates soon!
Thanks for looking all,
Cheers
Gordon
Suzuki GSR600. Unreliable?
Life without a motorcycle, when you’ve had one for the past year and a half straight, is difficult. It’s even more difficult if the reason you don’t have your motorcycle is because it’s broke down.
I purchased my Suzuki GSR 600 K7 in January of this year. I’ve done, as you can see at the left there, nearly 8000 miles on it. So why, you ask, is it broken already?
Well it’s not even the first time it’s broken. This is the second. The first was in May, when the bike refused to start. I was in the middle of no-where when it broke and would have left me stranded if I were riding alone. Fortunately I wasn’t and Blair was able to give me a ride back when the Garage came to collect my bike.
They took over 2.5 weeks to fix it and the result was that they didn’t know what was wrong with it. The wiring loom was replaced and it seemed to work perfectly first time.
Well whatever the reason for it breaking in the first place has returned. My bike is “booked in” on the 8th July, when it will be looked at and probably taken through the same diagnostics that they used before, which means that it will take yet another 2 weeks to fix. I may be surprised, but plan for the worst.
2 weeks without a bike may seem like relatively little, but when your day to day life depends on it, a far greater loss is suffered.
I am really disappointed with this. I was under the impression that Japanese bikes were reliable and for the most part, they are. But for some reason this bike seems to have a problem.
Anyway, it’s pretty frustrating and I think a wee letter to Suzuki will be in order.
In other news, Emma’s Draggin Jeans that she had ordered 3 months ago still haven’t arrived. So she decided to phone them up again and cancel the order. When she did the guy that she spoke to was like “OK, that’s it canceled bye.” which frustrated Em a bit because she wanted some sort of apology or reason, but they gave nothing.
Draggin Jeans = poor customer service.
Oh well. We have bought a house! I am beyond excited about it and find myself looking at sofas, lights and blinds for our new place. I can’t wait! I keep winding Em up saying that I am going to get a 40″ flat screen and she keeps getting annoyed saying there’s other things we need first. Like a bathroom! hahaha.
I’ll keep you updated on the bike situation.
Thanks for stopping by,
Gordon
MCN Scottish Motorcycle Show 2008
Well hello everyone,
Sunday saw myself, Em, Blair and Kirsty heading off to the bike show at Ingleston, Edinburgh. The weather was touch and go, and I managed to convince B that the car was a safer option. He didn’t need much convincing though and it seemed more like the other halves that were wanting to bike it rather than us!
Anyway, early start and we arrived at the bike show little after 9am. We had booked our tickets online so got them for £13 each instead of £15. We then trudged along the hilariously long footpath to the main show, passing the go-karts and globe riders as we went. We grabbed a quick tea/bacon roll at the Charge-What-We-Like burger van and headed in. As soon as I got inside the first set of doors I could see the orange glow of what would be KTM, and having talked with B excitedly about the RC8, I told him in about 10 seconds he would wet his pants. He didn’t quite wet his pants, but the RC8 looked gorgeous. It was great product placement from KTM as everyone immediately flocked to the RC8′s side.
(Blairs Picture)
One thing that I was hoping with the bike show would be that the joe public could sit on the bikes and I wasn’t dissappointed. However the RC8 was so popular we started at the other KTM’s, in particular the bloody gorgous KTM Super Duke 990. I am in love:
This is B on the Duke. I have always liked the look of the Duke, but was worried that the ironing board looking seat would be dodgy, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was really comfy and the bars were quite wide, offering a more aggressive riding position which I love. The whole bike felt superb and I can see myself perhaps looking down the KTM SD road when I get my stuff in order. Stunning. Blair was even more captured with the Super Duke 990R, which again, was amazing:
We then proceeded around all the stands, drooling over all the shiny metal on show. We had a wee pore over the HP2 beemer, but didn’t really spend all that much time there; BMW’s are a bit overpriced and adventury for what we are in to. The HP2 is gorgous though:
Heading down the middle of the place I saw the HD-Buell sign and knew that I would soon be on a downer, all the Buell’s were there including the new 1125R. I made a concious effort to sit on the XB12Ss and it was amazing how at home I felt again. After stroking the Buell a few more times we moved on, Blair noting the XB9Sx Street Cross as a favourite.
Ducati, with the 1098R on no-touchy display was a draw for the crowd, and I had a wee seat on the 848, which was beautiful but you could tell it was unforgiving due to the instant race tuck riding position.
Suzuki was next, and along with the 2008 GSR 600 in god-awful red and gunmetal, the B-King was the main attraction for me. Having a sit on the GSR first though, I noticed the ABS logo on the clocks. Perhaps a standard feature on the 2008 model, but not really needed. Blair checked out the wheels, which reportedly show up the dodgy manufacturing of them, but B didn’t seem to worried about it.
Emma had a seat on the “bike with a built in kitchen table.” AKA the B-King. The tank on this thing is laughably wide, but even still, the bike instantly feels comfortable, and with Emma taking a wee seat on the pillion pad, she even commented that it was quite comfy. I doubt Em would share that sentiment after an hour of riding, but it was more comfortable than first thoughts.
There were a few custom choppers dotted around the show, with the highlight for me being the AC Cobra tribute chopper at the Carol Nash stall.
We had a look at the rest of the stalls, Yamaha failing to show the MT range at all, which was pretty disappointing, and Honda failing to show the absolutely breath-taking CBR1000R, but did have a poster…which was nice.
K was checking out all the 125cc bikes as she is thinking about doing her CBT. The Honda was her favourite, offering up a nicer riding position and the seat height ideal for her size, allowing her to put both feet flat on the floor. The Yamaha 125R was nice, but very heavy on the wrists. B and I joked about the wheel sizes, with the Honda 125cc having a thinner rear tyre than our GSR’s front.
The Triumph was a nice stall, but set in another hall, not really allowing the majority of people to instantly see them. But the Speed Triple was devestatingly beautiful, single sided swing and glossy black paint. Lovely.
The Aprilia was ok and I had a seat on the Shiver 750. Very similar to the KTM Super Duke but not quite as nice.
We had another go around the manufacturers, then around all the wee stalls. There was a stall that was selling hand drawn Valentino Rossi pencil canvas things, and they were fecking amazing. But £200 seemed to be a bit much, even though they were limited edition (I think out of 95). Blair took the guys card and I think he might end up getting one. Whilst he was checking out a bike stall I went and sat on the Ducati 848, and then got a call from Blair. He said he was at a stall that had Furygan and Icon stuff. Me and Em headed round and there it was. The Furygan Orona. I had wanted this jacket since I first laid eyes on it in an old MCN, but for love nor money couldn’t source one. So you can imagine my dissappointment when they only had the white one in Medium….but they did have a L Black one, so I tried that on and I liked it a lot. £125 and it was mine. I’ll post pics up later tonight.
We were all pretty hungry and didn’t want to waste £40 on 2 sandwiches, so after checking out how much the karts costed (£10 for 10 minutes), we decided to leave it and head home to prepare ourselves for the MotoGP Race 1.
All in all it was a great day, and I loved seeing all the bikes on show, and even more so the ability to get on it and get your feet up. It allowed a greater impression of what it would be like, instead of the showroom scenario of not really knowing how it will feel with both feet up.
Anyway, I am going now and will post up some pictures later of my jacket (which has an aluminium layer in it, like the mountain survival bags for heat preservation…cool or what!)
Thanks for looking folks!
Gordon
HID and seek
Hello
I have been pretty disappointed with the GSR light situation, but it is nothing compared to the Buell. I could hardly see 10ft in front of me with the Buell’s lights, but anyway, I fancied doing something to alter the situation.
I thought about LED’s and having a row of them somewhere at the front of the bike, but then a guy on the GSR forum showed me this and I just about wet myself.
Pretty amazing.
I’ll have to investigate further, but it seems to be the solution I am looking for.
February 2008
Hello
2008…………
I find myself struggling to think, not just what to say here, but just in general…
Hmmm….
Ah. I’ll start with the latest. My left wrist was really sore, I thought it was just because I played my guitar a bit much, but I stopped playing it 2 weeks ago and my wrist is getting worse. So I went to the doctors and she said I have tendonitis, where the tendons in the back of my hand are inflamed and thus I have a sore wrist. I got a tubey support and lots of pain meds and told to refrain from doing anything which caused it i.e. at work where I use my computer all day or playing guitar etc…So instead of resting like she said I was back to work the day after…I had a deadline and couldn’t take any rest, but for some reason it seemed to focus me and I have spent the past 2 days working flat out in a complete zoned in state of mind. It’s been great for ploughing through my work, but it hasn’t really left much thought power for when I return home.
What has happened in February then. Well I started my second month of 2008 on a new bike. It has been brilliant being able to actually believe I will have this bike for the next 3 years. I have finally (i hope) settled on a bike that I like to ride, like to look at and like to hear. I guess I am just glad to be away from the nightmare that was the ER6.
The o2 Eliminator mod was a joy and after a few brain freezing moments I managed to install it myself which I think is the best way to do things. I have saved so much money doing things myself instead of getting charged labour for someone else to do it for me. It’s also allowed me to tinker, which is always good.
It was mega windy a few weeks back, so I had to go over the Kincardine bridge. It was wierd because it was almost exactly the same scenario as the accident…really windy, wet, cold. I thought to myself about the crash and what the cause was. I was interested to see if it actually was how I remembered it, and not just an adrenaline fuelled recap of something similar to what happened. So I reached Kincardine and instead of going the long way round I took the right turn, headed out towards the crash site. As I reached the road I flipped my visor up so I could see better.
I crested the hill and yes, there was a bright light ahead. Very bright in fact. But I also noticed that the road actually curved to the right. The roundabout where the bright light is, was straight ahead, but the road curved off to the right and back to reach the roundabout. Also directly in front was the lay-by.
It was completely reasonable that I would head in to the lay-by thinking it was the road. I also saw the dual signage that almost killed me.
As I safely navigated past the site, I felt a wee bit happy. Not for the fact that I crashed, then got a new bike and I am happy with it…but because I felt that the crash was due to a confusing split second and not because I had wandered off in my mind. Even if I was going 20mph, I would have still headed in to the lay-by. For this reason I was happy.
Anyway,
So far the GSR is great. It is a bike that I am happy with and feel that it suits my needs better than all the bikes I have had. I still miss the Buell though.
I have a hankering for a new bike jacket, but I really can’t afford it at the minute. I still have to buy panniers and an intercomm for our trip around Scotland. My holidays are booked at work, we have sorted the route out and all the accomodation is booked. All we need now is a beautiful weeks worth of weather and some dry roads. I am starting to get excited.
Camera at the ready, because beautiful scenery is going to be a plenty.
Thanks for visiting folks, lots of visits=happy YamYam,
Take care
Gordon
Full usage to the redline and idiot white van man…
Hello everyone.
After little over 3 weeks of ownership I have finally run in my GSR. So the first 600 miles @ 7000rpm and 1000 miles @ 9000rpm are done, and oh boy is it something special.
I had the odd crank open before being “allowed” to, but I wasn’t going for it, so as soon as I crossed the 1000 mile mark I ripped open the throttle in 2nd and nothing really happens. That is until you get above 9000rpm…
Basically what happens at 9k is that the bike goes in to hyperdrive. The bike shoots forward and the engine sounds glorious and it really is a struggle to hold on. Fantastic! However, even though I have the o2 Eliminator mod in place, there is still a rather large jerk when I let off the throttle, at around 6000rpm…but I can work around it.
Anyway, this weekend past was tremendous, superb weather for being on the bikes and we took full advantage of it. On Friday I picked up Emma from her house and we headed up to mine, pretty damn cold but it was Em’s 2nd time on the bike so she was happy. It’s really comfy she says, lots of room, but she finds that she is a bit far away compared to the other bikes. Saturday I cleaned the bike thoroughly, polished it as well. I then remembered that I had to take my RST gloves back to Scott Murray, because during the months of them being in the bag they came in, the velcro strap had broke…I can’t explain it but that’s RST for you…so I phoned Blair up and he said that he had just got back home from being at Alan Duffus, and that his girlfriend Kirsty had been fully kitted out, so they fancied going out on the bike.
I was a bit worried for them, I know Blair hasn’t had that much experience of solo riding yet, but he’s his own man and it’s up to him whether or not he’s ready…so I suggested we all go to Scott Murray and then home again. Em and I got suited up and off we went. It was glorious, sun splitting the sky, quite mild but with the occasional nip in the air. We arrived 15 minutes later and had a look at K’s new gear. Nice stuff, it was mostly Spada textile gear, red to match Blairs bike. An AGV helmet with a red/silver design, the smallest Alpinestars gloves you have ever seen and some Alpinestars SMX-4′s. Very nice.
So we headed off to SM, which was a laugh. I have never seen someone on the back of a GSR until I saw Kirsty on Blairs bike. I burst out laughing because she looked so high on the bike. After a short trip over we arrived.
As we entered Billy was with someone else but he soon came over and started chatting to me. I said I was in about my gloves and he had a look at them. After a wee bit he asked how much I paid for them, as the receipts I had with me weren’t for the gloves. I said £40 but he thought they were £50. He asked if I fancied having another look at their gloves but I said do you have anything other than RST…no, but then he went away and came back with a set of RST gloves. They looked the business and he said “what do you think of them then? Try them on and then we’ll talk…”
They were pretty comfy, really well made (from first looks) and had nice design touches on them. Billy said they were £80, but “hey, for you let’s split the difference..” I said, a Fiver? and he said “yep.”
So I got brand spanking new RST GP Pilot gloves for £5. RST don’t make a higher spec glove, but I’ll post up the pics after this post…
Then we headed back home, and just before Kinross, we encountered one of the biggest idiots I have ever seen. We were going along, I was infront of Blair and Kirsty, and I saw a white van man up his arse. It wasn’t a transit, but one of those maxi van things. Anyway, Blair pulled in to let him past and I saw him accelerate off, thinking he would soon pass me. But then he swerved in front of Blair, so ended up in between us…then slowed down!!? So Blair pulled out and over-took him, and I accellerated away as well. But then he was back up his arse again. So Blair pulled in again. Seeing that he was going to pull in front of Blair again, I shot off in front, pulled out in to the inside lane, and just as I did, a car infront towing a trailer pulled out. I let off the throttle and the bike slowed, but as I looked in my mirror I saw white van man going up my arse! So I slammed on my brakes. To the point of me going 40mph. As I pulled in I turned round to get a look at this boy and he was going bananas! Shaking his hands and looking mental! …so I stuck my finger up at him, and held it there. For ages. Then gestured him to get the hell away from us and he took off.
Blair meanwhile was still behind me as I was doing all this, but then decided to undertake me just as I was ushering the idiot away. We were quite close to colliding but thankfully we didn’t. Then the idiot carried on until he was about 20ft infront of Blair and swerved in, trying to give B a fright, but he was so far in front he didn’t really do anything….
A complete and utter idiot, who for no reason at all decided to make our lives a misery, and in the process made it extremely dangerous.
Anyway
That was that, and that was Kirsty’s first introduction to Biking, not the best I think…
Sunday was good, Blair washed his bike and we went out for a moster ride. I got it all on helmet cam so I will edit that and post it up. In the meantime check out these official photos for the day, if you click the link below:
One serviced GSR
Evening all,
Saturday saw my baby go for it’s first service. 9 a.m sharp at the Garage.
My brother’s GSR was also due for a service and we were both booked in at garage, however I was 9, brother was 12.30. Blair was told that if he came early with me his bike could possibly get sneaked in as well. So I was up 8am and ready to go by 20 past.
Blair arrived and announced that he had forgot his service history booklet…so had to go for that first. I said I coulnd’t as I needed to be there 9 sharp, so I would just meet him there.
9:35 he turned up, but I didn’t care because I was sat outside staring at the garages B-King, with a new set of 2 bros exhausts. Beefcake.
This is Blair arriving for a 9am service at 9:35…
After we booked the 2 GSR’s in, we were both given courtesy bikes, which went something like this:
2 pretty old SV650′s, which is funny because Blair was set on getting on of those as his first bike. I really didn’t like them but B was insistent that it was a good deal because it looked cool and was cheap.
He changed his mind when he had the hire bike. Hate isn’t strong enough a word. But I was enjoying the twin again, even after a short time away from the ER-6. However I also thought for the first time since October last year, I can’t wait to get back on my bike.
The sound was good, the power was nice but the whole experience reminded me of the ER6, and I think I have got to the stem of the problem I had with the Kawasaki.
The SV had a 160 rear section, with the same brand and model of tyres I had on the ER, and I felt totally unstable. B felt the exact same way, affraid to lean it over because it felt so vague. Perhaps had I attempted another brand or even model of tyre, I would have had some confidence in the ER6. But then I remember the wierd steering and thin-ness of the Er6 and I am still totally solid in my decision to get rid of it. I am much happier now.
So there you go, another weekend away! It has felt a long weekend, I have been up early both days, today I was up early again to clean my bike tip to toe. It was quite dirty but I got it back to spankers again. The paddock stand forks I got for the stand last week are great, but they marked my swingarm…so I’ve taped the stand forks up with insulating tape which will hopefully stop them ripping the paint off the swingarm.
I’m off,
Thanks for reading folks!
Gordon
New bike, New rules.
Hello
Saturday 26th January was the day I would or wouldn’t get a new bike. It was a mix of emotions. On the one hand I was really excited about a new bike, I was glad to be away from the ER6 and I was excited because I liked the GSR. I wasn’t so excited about the radiator problem, the Suzuki workshop check on the ER6 and the possible snatchy GSR throttle issue.
I headed out to my mechanics shop to have him look at the radiator, which had a problem of steaming a lot. When I was on my way to work the other day it was chucking it down with rain and when I stopped at a set of lights, the whole front of the bike was like a kettle. I was worried that it was a burst radiator having just forked out £300 for new parts. Fortunately when I got to the shop and Stuart had a wee look, he said there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong. One worry was off my mind, but now the real worry was ahead.
I was worried that because I had said there was a crack in the fairing, they wanted a “full workshop check.” What is a full workshop check? Do they go over the bike with a fine toothed comb? Do they just run some checks? It was this unknown that made me most worried.
I met my brother on the way to the garage and we tootled along, arriving 30 minutes late. We headed inside and spoke with Roger who said that he would take the bike in to the garage and had I seen the silver GSR out front. I noticed it on the way in and it looked pretty smart, and I knew that it was my GSR. Bro and I headed round and he was amused that I had managed to get so many add ons for less money than he paid 3 months ago.
We hung around for 20-30 minutes, went back inside and Roger called me over. I signed many bits of paper and everything was checked and okayed. I then noticed that under the part exchange price there was £1950, which meant I was good to go! We headed out to the bike and Roger went over a few bits with me. Then I was all set to go!
It was a brilliant feeling riding out on a bike that had 0 miles on it. (It actually had 4, for checking the bike and a fuel run in) Off we went, two GSR’s in harmony. It was funny as whenever we pulled up to lights or stopped, we would be side by side and the engines would run at the same idle speed, creating this deep rumble.
I had a smile on my face all the way to the Shell garage where Blair needed to fill his bike up with petrol.
So there we go! A new bike! Hurrah!
I have done 300 miles on it so far, but I haven’t been able to ride it the past 2 days due to the horrific weather hitting the west of Scotland.
The snatchy throttle is starting to annoy me, but I have ordered the O2 Eliminator and some bobbins so that this weekend I can hopefully get it nice and clean and working how it should.
Here’s a few pictures of my new GSR600s, and here’s to a bike that I will have for the next 3 years…..hopefully!
Click below to see the rest of the pics…
January 2008
2008 got off to quite a bad start, but I’m past that now and want to look to the future. I will now do a monthly post as well as the random through the week posts so I can talk about the month and what’s to come for YamYam.
I have commited to Suzuki now, the details have all been set up, the finance agreed, the insurance fixed and the Kwak ready to go. The story for getting the GSR went something like this:
I emailed the guy at the garage and as stated before the deal was £1900 for my bike in exchange for the GSR @ £4295, leaving £2395 to pay. After speaking with my mechanic and a few other folks it turned out I was getting offered shit for what is really a good bike. So I emailed the garage back and asked if there was anything that they could do price wise, for either bike. I said I felt a bit disappointed about not getting a comparable sum for my bike as was offered from other dealers.
A firm “no” was given, but I was offered the explanation that the reason the bike part exchange price is so low is due to the prices of their bikes being so low anyway, so in actual fact, it’s all relative. I was also given the 0% finance lark and the cheapest price for a GSR in the UK as additional reasons for going with them.
I emailed back saying fair enough, I agree that the 0% is good etc etc, but I am really at the last stop as far as bikes are concerned. I explained about what happened with the Yamaha MT-03 and how Yamaha handled it, then about the Buell disappointment etc and that I hoped Suzuki would take a more vested interest in their customers etc. This would be the last bike I could possibly get so I hoped it would be the right choice.
Then I got an email thanking me for my understanding reply and assured me I would be looked after properly. Then he said as an added bonus, they have now upgraded me to a GSR600s model, with the additional nose screen worth a whopping £250. Which I checked out and he was telling the truth!
So that has really made it for me, I have been given the crash mushrooms and the “s” model upgrade to sweeten the deal, as well as the Alpha Dot etc etc. It really doesn’t matter now that the Kawasaki is going for such a low price, it’s been balanced with the options I have been given. So there.
I will pick up my bike tomorrow morning @ 10am. It’s due to be pi$$ing it down but I’ll keep my fingers crossed that something changes.
Insurance wise I got fully comp, helmet and leather cover and NCB protection for £420, which is an absolute steal compared with Bennets @ £595 standard (i.e. no helmet cover etc) and ebike @ £650, same as Bennets, no helmet cover. So I am chuffed about that. Plus the Express Insurance that I went with are official Suzuki partners so they do deals on Suzuki’s. Done.
All in all I am really excited about tomorrow, I am excited about a fresh start, I am excited about the faster and better handling bike. I am excited about the dials, which is like a mega computer compared to the ER6′s bog standard dials.
What will 2008 hold for YamYam then? Well the Scotland trip is a go-er. We still haven’t planned the route but we are going for around a week, counter-clockwise around the Scottish coast. I really can’t wait.
I’ll keep you updated with the new bike thrill.
Thanks for looking folks, I really appreciate the comments and views that you give.
Cheers
Gordon
Suzuki GSR600 deal for YamYam…not the best he says
Hello all.
The topic of this post will be….the Suzuki GSR600…..
Here’s a video! #4
I called Cupar Suzuki today and they gave me a price for my ER6. £1900.
So after I picked my jaw off the ground, I asked about the details. In a nutshell, for £4295-£1900….£2395! I am getting
A brand new 2007 Suzuki GSR600 in Silver (Great, another silver bike) and I also get:
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12 Months Road Tax
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12 Months AA cover
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Alpha Dot
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Full tank of gaseroo
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Free first service
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Courtesy Bike
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And I wangled some free Crash Mushrooms in as well (lesson learned eh…)
All of this with the 0% finance over 30 months deal, costing me roughly £79.83 a month. Not bad.
Then I called the insurance folk and after saying I got a quote for £375 he put me on hold for ages and came back with a £395 fully comp. So that’s £38 a month for that. So all in £117 extra a month to own a GSR, the last bike I will own for 3 solid years.
I got in Saturday to sort out the paperwork and the bike will be ready a week Sat.
The ER6 is still in the garage, should be fixed by Saturday with fresh parts.
Anyway, I’m off to surf the interweb. I got some new chain cleaner/chain lube today in the post, so I’ll post pics up tomorrow maybe.
Thanks for looking folks!
Gordon
First group ride!
Hello!!
Saturday was a good day for many reasons. I got most of my parts for my bike and me, Em and Blair had our first group ride out.
We headed to Cupar Suzuki to get some new gloves and then head off to Edinburgh Kawasaki to get my new front tyre.
Here’s a few photies for your enjoyment!
And whilst we were there I took the oppertunity to take some photos of this:
The legendary B-King!
I’ll post some pics of all the new gear tonight!
Cheers
G
On the bike hunt – Part 3 – Yamaha
Hello all,
Yamaha. I had one, then it melted. But despite all that, I was desperate for a FZ6.
Fast as you like, smart as you like and exactly what I wanted.
However I really had to think long and hard last night, as things have started to get a little cloudy surrounding the whole bike thing.
So what came out of it was that most people are offering me £3k for my Buell. The difference to get any new bike is £1500-£2000 and that’s just too much financially. Thus, I spent a wee while phoning around various garages that I had visited for a test ride to see what they had to offer and the outcome was not great.
For most of them I still had to fork out some money. I don’t want to, I can’t afford it, I need a direct swap. This was not a possibility for most of the garages, even for the demonstrators which had only decreased as little as £300 from new…
So I finally remembered the ER6n I test road a few weekends ago, and I wrote about it in part 1. Yes the bars are stupid and it’s not the fastest or the best looking ( I am warming to it though) but it’s cheap, fast enough, a twin (I love twins), cheap insurance and comfy for 2 up. Great. So I called back the guy from Edi-Kwak and spoke with him about a direct swap for the demonstrator which looks like:
He said yes immediately. 4k on clocks, 2005 plate, great condition, Full service history (owned by Edi-Kwak since new) and taxed. 3 months parts and labour warranty too.
I still had some thinking to do so I said “I’ve still got some thinking to do” and would call him back later. The reason was I still had some deals on the table from other garages, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki Perth. You may wonder why I have left out the biggest Japanese manufacturer here and theres a good reason for it. Honda are just too bloody expensive. £5500 for a Hornet…no thanks.
So a few of the deals were Buell+£800 would get me a brand new Kawasaki ER6n. My Buell+£300 would get me the GSR600 demonstrator, complete with Renthal bars and nose fairing….a good deal I thought.
But no no no. No more money can be spent.
So it was back to the ER6n for me. To be absolutely honest, I am relieved to be going back to Japanese. I am relieved that it is a twin, and I am relieved that it’s different from anything else on the road. So I called up and set Saturday as change over day, the day that Blair is getting his brand spankers GSR600, in Red.
In actual fact, I am really looking forward to having a bike that I don’t worship. I absolutely love the Buell, it’s my dream bike, but I was always worried that it broke or I dropped it or how much it would cost to keep. Now that the Buell is going and I’m getting a cheaper one, I can see myself starting my customising stage of biking. I will most definitely need new bars, new grips and maybe new mirrors. Then it’s seat, exhaust, clocks…you get the picture. And I shall do my best to document it all on here!
Then, after I had made the decision to go with Kawasaki, I called up Yamaha and explained the decision I had made and he suggested I go for their demonstrator I used. 100ish miles on it…he came back with Buell+£1000…instant no.
So I’m set! I will be swapping my beloved Buell XB12Ss Lightning for a Kawasaki ER6n in Galaxy Silver and red.
Plus, it’ll be the first ride in my entire biking career that I will not be riding alone.
And I can’t wait.
On the bike hunt – Part 2 – Suzuki
My brother passed his test on Wednesday 17th. I am absolutely delighted for him and ultra excited to get out there and finally ride with more than just me!
The pen hadn’t even touched the pass certificate and Blair was off to Suzuki to check out the SV650 Sport and the GSR600.
What I got back from him was that the GSR was the one to go for, but he’s heading up on Saturday to have a test ride and buy one.
So Saturday came and knowing that this could be the day that I manage to shift the Buell, I spent 2 hours cleaning it from tip to toe.
Top Tip:
If your bike hasn’t had a complete clean for a while and the bits that are hard to get to are black, leave them that way. I cleaned my bike in bits that I had never cleaned and once the dirt and grease was away, the blemishes that remained!! Oh my. Very annoying. The bike is clean but certain parts look crap. But they ain’t that obvious so I wasn’t too fussed.
The bike looked like new again!
Off we went then, with the reality of the whole situation firmly burried in the back of my mind, and I was hopeful we could get something worked out.
Having spent the past 3-4 months looking at reviews and seeing the bikes, I had read a lot about the GSR’s snatchy throttle. Going from no throttle to anything positive resulted in a fierce jerk as the power came in. The same in reverse, going from positive throttle to none resulted in an opposite jerk. I was really hoping that it wouldn’t be that obvious because I really like the GSR, it’s looks, it’s speed and the cool dials.
Once at Cuper Motorcycles we headed in and Blair got signed up for the test ride. I just had to ask, so I did, “DO YOU HAVE A B-KING!?” Why yes, there’s one just over there.
Two words: Kitchen Table.
This bike is huge. Everything is comically big. The tanks is so big you could quite easily sit on it cross legged. The exhausts are fecking massive and the whole bike feels like a boat. I sat on the one outside, in All Black colours and what a nice feeling bike! Everything seems to fall perfectly where you would want them, Handle bars not too far out, pegs perfect, seat nice and comfy. But all this doesn’t matter because under all this niceness, you know that there is 180bhp’s waiting to rip your head off and throw you in to a hedge.
The man offered me a test ride on it, with a £25 charge so that only the serious folk get a ride on it, but I said I didn’t trust myself enough and I was petrified of it.
Never mind.
So Blair got on the GSR and I followed on the Buell. It was really weird seeing him on a motorcycle. We have talked for years about both getting bikes and going to see places and now it was a reality.
I followed him around Cupar and it’s surrounding country roads and it was great. Blair was really stable and although he missed signalling and a few shoulder checks, he was good on the bike. We stopped half way round and I had a go up and down the road. Really fast, really loud and really comfy, but that throttle was just as the reviews said it would be.
Anyway he got back on it and we headed back.
When we got back I signed some paper and I went out for a ride on my own on it, to really assess it. Just as before, the throttle was snatchy, although once it was engaged it was ok. Really fast, above 7k revs or so it’s rocket ship territory. Really fast!!
Good handling and the added Renthal bars made it nicer than stock. I loved the dials, which had a needle tach, digital everything else, including speed, gear selection, fuel guage, temp and trip meter. Very informative and really nice.
On the way back to the garage I had the overwhelming dissapointment of the throttle issues. If this bike didn’t have this problem, I would have on in an instant.
Once back, me and Blair headed inside and commenced the bargaining! After a wee while of Blair trying to get stuff thrown in, all he had achieved was £50 off the price. So that was that, and then he said, what’s your situation?
So yet again I described how I wanted to part ex the Buell and told them about the £1800 insurance premium to pay blah blah blah.
After a while of the Roger and I talking he went away and spoke to his manager. He was such a nice guy and was one of those that said what he was thinking. For example when Blair was saying can we get a hugger thrown in, he said “no.” But also when talking about my situation he was saying that he is really frustrated for me and how I can’t get this Buell away.
He came back after looking at the bike and he said “it’s not good news unfortunately” and he said £3000 for it. Of course it is, it’s reality. For some reason I believed that he would offer me £4000 for it but no way. So we talked a little more and he said that he wanted me to go away and try and get more for my bike from somewhere else. He said if I came back and said “Roger, I got £3800 for my Buell” he would be genuinely pleased for me.
But the cards were left on the table and I could use the £3k Buell as a deposit for the GSR, leaving £40 a month on 0% finance to pay.
I was really bummed on the way home and knew that it’s coming to the point that I just need to accept that I wont get what I want for my bike and get it shifted.
Next up is the FZ6, which I have already test rode, but I am waiting for Alan Duffus to return my call to see what he can do for me.
Finger’s crossed..
Thanks for reading folks!
YamYam
