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Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Home yet Upt'? Enjoying the weather?
Cabin on a boat, so you're not crossing at Calais to Dover. You'll be going to Hull I reckon... Rotterdam to Hull? It's a damn posh cabin if you've gotten a window... at the FRONT! You've gotten too much money boyo.
08/10/2024 07:36:11 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
I'm sure they put us in the wrong cabin Ed, I mean, a butler!
From Ijmuiden to Newcastle.
The ride home was thankfully short but predictably shite.
I now need a new chain and sprockets.
I'm thinking of going up one on the front to 16T and a heavy duty DID jobby. Probably JT cushioned front sprocket.
The OEM chain spat its o rings out all over Italy.
Pffffffftttttt.
Upt.
08/10/2024 16:01:11 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
Apart from obviously needing shaft drive, how did the 'B' perform on the trip?
08/10/2024 16:56:33 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Rod,
I haven't had a good look at er yet but I think mechanically other than the chain she did very well. The oem chain appears budget but it got us back, so I'll forgive it.
The tyres appear to have taken the abuse well with plenty of tread left, I haven't checked the mileage yet but the trip will be well over 4000 miles.
Comfort was exceptionally good, the seat and peg work paid dividends.
The screen protection was as good as it gets, the screen and flip killed thousands of mossies but my visor probably caught half a dozen in 4 weeks.
I will look er over in the next few days, get the chain done and probably put the newer tyres back on. The Italian Autoroutes were dire, if you've never experienced an Italian bridge join, try not to.
Imagine hitting a good pothole at 80 miles per hour a few hundred times a day. No, I'm not exaggerating.
I think the abuse they've taken may lead to an early retirement, the others only had an easy 1500 miles on them.
So yes, as far as I know The B has delivered in buckets.
Upt.
08/10/2024 18:34:11 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
That really confirms what people have been saying for years. The v strom just does the job.
I watched some YouTube of a couple going around the world on a 650 v strom, they certainly gave it a hard time including regular drops when off road.
The bike made the trip with very little trouble.
09/10/2024 08:58:52 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
Winter has arrived Daan Saaf.
The handlebar muffs went on yesterday, and the winter linings are going in today.
11/10/2024 08:14:23 UTC
nab301 said :-
Cool in my part of the world too with a few 2°C mornings , hands got properly cold for the first time this autumn even with winter gloves but temperatures are forecast to rise this week so I'll hold off on the winter linings and muffs for the moment!
Nigel
13/10/2024 12:30:10 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Yip there's definitely a nip in the air now, winter is coming. I can tell, Sharon's changed from her summer 3 layers of clothing to 5 layers, soon it'll be 7 or 8 layers and a lot of grumbling about the bike getting dirty.
14/10/2024 08:14:11 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Test - just checking :)
17/10/2024 13:27:21 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Are we supposed to look for Sharon's head bobbing in the wake?
22/10/2024 09:55:02 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
I don't know what our leader is testing for Ian, unless it's our patience.
Upt.
22/10/2024 10:07:09 UTC
nab301 said :-
Maybe he's sold the bike and bought a Jetski?
Nigel
22/10/2024 15:28:39 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Perhaps it's a typo, he meant to say just decking.
22/10/2024 18:59:28 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
"Are we supposed to look for Sharon's head bobbing in the wake?" - oh Ian that made me larf!
I made a very minor alteration to the code and was simply checking to see I hadn't broken owt. You're all very funny, in a horrible way.
23/10/2024 08:10:13 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
What's happening to bike dealers?
Just heard Pidcocks have gone under too.
Sales of 1000 cc bikes is well down.
Have we finally run out of credit?
Upt.
25/10/2024 23:00:31 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
I blame da kidz.
Hanging out at a bike shop this AM and I notice that while there's the occasional young ones about the vast majority are my age and up.
When I was a yoof I was probably the last generation that viewed motorcycles as a cheap and available form of transport, since then it seems, despite "austerity" and various financial crashes and the whole world just getting worse and worse (apparently) most yoofs bypass the cheap motorcycle options and go straight to the car. Or just wait until they're older and can afford to insure a car.
Is it a cultural thing? Safety thing? I can see various possibilities but there's just not the young uns coming through.
There's PLENTY of 125s available in a myriad of styles and prices thanks to the new Chinese brands as well as the established brands. I'd hazard a guess it's still cheaper to insure a 125, although I don't actually know. I dunno, be curious to see what happens.
26/10/2024 14:58:34 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
Although Pidcocks will not fit my theory, as they are a long established motorcycle dealer, many of the dealers that are relatively new to the market have been hit by the increased costs over the last few years with rapid growth and borrowed finance.
Completely motorbikes fits my theory as this type of dealer.
They have grown quickly over the last five to six years by taking over other dealers and opening larger showrooms. This growth I believe is financed with borrowing. Now if the stock of bikes in the showrooms have a value of £10,000,000 then interest rates of five years ago would have cost around £100,000. Interest rates today for the same £10,000,000 would cost around £600,000.
So finance will cost an extra £500,000 alone, plus the increase in staff costs, and increase in energy bills ect.
So with all these extra costs and a drop in sales for whatever reason, be it youths not buying or very poor weather through the summer there can only be one result.
Administration!
26/10/2024 19:49:58 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
My own thoughts mirror yours. Businesses built on debt are always susceptible to market forces far more than established long running concerns and yes, we know motorcyclists are getting old. Just look at us lot. Not you Madame du Soleil.
I also believe that motorcycles are getting damn expensive, if you want to go either adventure or tour in a BMW emporium you can easily spend in excess of £20K. Now I know I'm a rich baby booming property enriched pensioner, but that's a lot of brass for some'at sitting in your garage.
Have this wave of buyers (us) exploited their ill gotten gains and the piggy bank is now empty.
I still see people spending brass but is it brass or just credit.
Either way, I would expect some more casualties as we go through winter, it's a lean time for bike shops in the UK. Plus there must be a knock on effect with less dealers now ever further apart who will buy into these brands.
My nearest franchised dealer is at least 50 miles away anyway, but that's pretty unusual and very geo specific. I don't think many would relish a 100 mile journey to reset the EMU or ABS module when they throw a fault.
It is also relevant that many manufacturers have insisted on one make palaces to stock their shiny new stock, that costs money and commitment.
Upt.
27/10/2024 09:51:27 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Yes, but....
I agree with much of what you have all said especially the debt business. More and more companies borrow excessively - often to fund dividends - then find they can't sustain that model when borrowing costs rise. Look at water companies, "care" home conglomerates and others. They have been bought out by private equity companies on the basis of loans. The only way they can carry on is to squeeze the services they supply to the minimum. And then we're all shocked when it turns out they're not doing a very good job and are struggling financially. Although oddly enough this struggling doesn't seem to extend to their CEOs and owners.....
Not sure whether this applies to motorcycle dealers or not.
27/10/2024 10:08:55 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Just to clarify, a quick shufti at Companies House indicates that Pidcocks is in fact a family run concern so what I said above doesn't apply.
28/10/2024 12:38:02 UTC
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