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
Repair Bills and Suzuki
Goodevening all.
This weekend was a mixture of good and bad. But lets be positive and start off on the good.
Got the ER6 back on Friday, one of the windiest days so far this year. It was looking ace in the dark, really shiny and it was cleaned quite well. Got all my still dirty gear on and headed home from the Garage. It was a weird feeling riding for the first time after the accident. But moreover it wasn’t a secure feeling on the ER6. Really twitchy.
The repair bill was quite reasonable. The parts list was as follows:
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Gear Lever £25.98
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Generator Cover and Gasket £52.62
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L/H Front Indicator £23.67
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Front Brake Lever £25.45
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Rear Brake Lever £20.30
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R/H Footpeg and bank sensor £46.62
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Clutch Lever £7.67
So there you go.
On Saturday I went to the Suzuki garage and started arranging the GSR. I chatted away with the guy about it all and gave some details, £200 holding fee which they refund me in a weeks time….silly, and some details about the ER6, at which point he asked what the condition was of it. I said that it was good condition and that it was a test ride bike so has marks on the footpeg hangers. There is also a crack on the fairing. At this point he took interest and asked what sort of crack etc. And eventually he said well we need to do a workshop check before agreeing on the price for the ER6. He wants it in showroom condition so may need to order some parts in. Ok I said and off we went, agreeing that Saturday was the time to do it all.
When I arrived home i went out to the ER6 and took the front fairing off to inspect in in the kitchen and it was scraped to buggery. If he sees this he’s going to know that it was dropped etc so I need to replace it.
So I will call the Garage tomorrow and get one ordered as I dont really want to go in Saturday and they say “ooo it’ll cost you £200 for a new one so we’ll take that off the part exchange price..” when it actually would have cost me £50. At least it gives me proof of them trying to pull my pants over my head. But it’s all depending on what the boys at Suzuki deem to be “Showroom Condition.”
We’ll just have to wait and see. Me and Em went out for a 2 hour ride today and I put the helmet cam on her this time. Which shows a really smart angle. I’ll convert it tomorrow and post it up to let you see. However the lens gets dirty again. I am starting to think that this camera will only be really good in the complete dry weather. But it was a good ride out and already my confidence has came back.
I also got my quote through from Express Insurance, with £395 as the official quote.
So yeah, I’ll keep you posted on what happens with Suzuki.
Thanks for looking folks,
Gordon
Post Crash Video – Snow blues
Hello everyone.
I took my helmet cam to my very first day back at work, which also happened to be the icy/snowiest day. Instead of being sensible and getting the bus in, I decided to be an idiot and go on the bike..but I got there in the end. Shame the very next day I would be flying through the air…
Here it is:
Pretty cool except the rain getting on the lense of the camera. But it did show some cool effects as I got to the bridge! Psychadelic…if that’s how you spell it…
I will hopefully be heading to Suzuki this weekend to trade in the ER6 for a silver GSR600, brand spanking and the final bike I will own for a while.
I am still to confirm some stuff, but it looks like I will only get £1900 trade in for the ER6, because the garage “doesn’t sell many” which I think is crap. But there you go.
I will get the 0% finance dealio, as well as the Alpha Dot, 12 months road tax, 12 months AA cover, first service free, courtesy bike when in for a service and I have asked for a deal on crash mushrooms….hahaha
So aye, I am looking forward to it for sure!
I’ll update you before the weekend to let you know if I will have my first new bike of 2008! HAHAHA.
Thanks for stopping folks,
Gordon
p.s. The music in the video is Biffy Clyro, Wave Upon Wave from the Infinity Land album…it was on at the time so that is why i used it. Plus the microphone that I got with the camera was crap, so all you heard was a really distorted voice and wind noise. Sorry bout that. The intercom that I am looking at will hopefully have an OUT socket for connecting up an audio feed. More on that later.
Last Chance Cafe & Crash update
Hello all,
Firstly the quote for damage to my bike has came in.
After I dropped my bike off etc I gave Stuart a call back the next day and we chatted about what to do. The options were that he orders some of the parts and he plastic welds and paints the fairings, or just orders all the parts except the fairings and tries to make them look as un-broken as possible.
So the option two was better because 1: it was £200 cheaper and 2: Stuart is a wizard and I’m sure he can make it look presentable.
The parts list was a new front brake lever, a new right hand peg, a new engine casing, new rear brake lever and a new gear shifter. This all comes to £212, with labour etc totalling it at £284.
I was a bit surprised as I got a quote for the peg and lever at Edinburgh Kawasaki and it was £60 for the peg and £30 for the lever. Which means that for £122 I am getting the engine casing, rear brake lever and gear shifter…I got a new rear brake lever for the MT-03 and it cost me £15, so say another £15-£20 for the gear shifter and it leaves £92 for the engine casing. It is a cast lump but £92 for f*ck sake. OEM parts eh…
So yeah it’s all good on that front, I was expecting at least £400 of work, but I suppose the fairing would cost a bit anyway.
Bike should be ready to go this week some time. I can’t wait because it means I will be moving on for the final time. And this time I have to get the right bike.
I was looking at the Z750 before and I was totally dead set. I had read the reviews online and they all pointed to a nice bike. But then I read my BIKE magazine, which I respect 100% and they said the Z was completely crap, bottom of the table in a shootout with a Street Triple, Hornet, Fazer and a GSR600.
They said the forks were crap, the power was pretty gutless, the handling was good but the whole experience was disconcerting and very uncomfortable. I was really disappointed. Then I read the reviews for the other bikes and although the Street Triple didn’t really come out top in anything tables wise, it was their pick of the bunch. Fair enough, but they forgot to mention the ludicrous pillion pegs. This was a one person bike from the off, which was also disappointing.
The I looked at the Fazer, which had a pretty duff write up as well. But it was closely matched to the GSR600. Which my brother has.
Upon reading the review the GSR was left in pretty good light, with great power, great handling and great looks, but fell on tank size and snatchy throttle issue.
It left me thinking…What do I want from a bike?
I want:
• Comfortable
• Fast
• Stability
• 180 rear section
• Comfy 2 up riding
• Good dials
• Good lights
• Nice posture
• Quality build.
The GSR has pretty much all of those, with exception to the tank range, which tops at 140 miles by BIKE standards, which is what I am getting with the ER6 at the minute so no change there.
I would have had a GSR off the bat had the throttle issue not been there. Basically when going from no throttle to introducing the throttle there is a lurch. Going from Positive throttle to rolling off the throttle, there is a negative lurch. This not only is annoying but it unsettles the bike mid-corner and can be quite dangerous should you forget about it.
However upon reading the GSR forum for a bit, I came across the o2 sensor eliminator fix, which you buy for £18 and it fixes the snatchy throttle. It does this because as a standard bike the GSR runs lean, to pass fuel emission regulations. This means that at low throttle openings the bike lurches about. This o2 eliminator tricks the bikes ECU in to running rich, which removes the lurchyness.
If this works, then I think the GSR would be a great bike.
But with all this said, I have to remember one thing: This will be the very last chance to get it right. I have had 3 bikes in a year and I can’t go on like this. So I think I will go for the GSR, which will make me have the same bike as my brother but I like the looks, it sounds amazing and has everything going for it. But should this O2 Eliminator not work, I could have to put up with it for at least 3 years. Anyway, I am just glad the ER6 is going, because it’s unsafe.
Sorry for the long post folks!
Thanks for looking again,
Gordon
YamYam Motorcycle Accident #2
Hello everyone.
Last night I had a pretty major accident. I made a video of the damage and explain what happened. I’ll add a diagram of it in a mo.
2nd day on the bike in 2008 and a major crash notched up already. Bring on the rest of the year…
DogCamSports Helmet Cam
Hey everyone,
Back to work tomorrow….boo.
I thought I would post up some pictures of my new helmet cam for y’all to have a nosey. So far I have been nothing but impressed with the camera. Yes it’s a budget job but the picture quality is perfect for what I wanted and for £60 all in it’s a great deal!
So without further adoo,
So there you go! I will be posting up new videos as well as more blogs so keep checking back!
The videos will be available on YouTube as well but the description etc will all be here.
Thanks for looking!!
Thanks
Gordon
It’s 2008 – the year of the helmet cam.
Hello everyone and Happy New Year to you all!
Christmas was a good time and a very relaxing time as well. Which is always good.
I purchased, as promised, a helmet cam from Dog Cam Sports. It’s the “budget” camera, pulling in 420 lines, and the camera, battery holder, microphone, sucker mounts and fixed mounts cost me £60, which is a steal considering the pretty good quality of the camera. I haven’t had a chance to shoot on the bike yet, but I did manage to get it working! See below my first every YamYam video! Enjoy!!
The video was in widescreen format which makes it look squished. I have remedied this for the next time, which will hopefully be Saturday when the snow has cleared up. I will post up some pics of my helmet cam setup soon.
Thanks for stopping by!
Gordon
p.s. I found an older Bike mag and it was the 600′s shootout. The z750 came bottom in almost everything. Guess I will have a rethink then…FZ6 anyone?
