Another motorbike.....Ducati.... am I mad

[Rannsachair]

Sorry yes xr not sx

The wife's uncle is on his second, called in to see me on it last year:

160hp sounds impressive, though electronic suspension is off-putting for me.

 

[roofman]

The wife's uncle is on his second, called in to see me on it last year:
View attachment 341546
160hp sounds impressive, though electronic suspension is off-putting for me.

That is nice...missing having a sports adventure bike since i sold my Explorer 1200 but i just could not hang with its "fly by wire" throttle and the built in glitches mid-range. Still have my FJR1300 which i will never sell as it ticks every box.

 

[Greeves246]

Fancy a project? All spares are available, RGM, Norvil and Andover Norton.

1974 Norton 850 Commando Unregistered US Import Running Restoration Project | eBay

Model: 850 Commando. Manufacturer: Norton. The switches are good in that the two "wings" are intact and move. The paintwork is slightly faded but solid, fuel tank is grotty inside. The seat looks and feels to be in good condition throughout.

www.ebay.co.uk

Norton Owners Club has a forum but

New posts

www.accessnorton.com

is better.

 

[addjunkie]

That is nice...missing having a sports adventure bike since i sold my Explorer 1200 but i just could not hang with its "fly by wire" throttle and the built in glitches mid-range. Still have my FJR1300 which i will never sell as it ticks every box.

Not a fan of these new fangled bikes, flyby wire and electronic giggery pokery just isnt right on a bike. I feel the same about my xjr 1300. Cant find anything I like more and have owned 15 other bikes in the time Ive owned it.

 

[mangocrazy]

A few years back I bought a KTM Duke 690 R and that has the full suite of electronic gizmos, fly by wire throttle, traction control, cornering ABS, the works. I have never bothered with any of them and just leave it on the default settings. I've never been aware of the presence of the electronics (obviously not going fast enough!), but was aware of snatchy fuelling at low rpm and throttle openings. It would be easy to blame the electronics, but it's just programmed to pass Euro 4 emissions testing. and runs unbelievably lean in the closed loop area of fuelling, causing the surging and hesitance. The manufacturers are just using the tools at their disposal to jump through the hoops dictated by the bureaucrats.

So I took the bike to BSD Performance and the guy there (Andy) went to town on the fuelling, richening it up as needed and softening the power deilvery in the first couple of gears to make slow speed riding more pleasant. Each gear has its own throttle map, which can be modifiied independently. The difference was huge. It's now the bike it should have been all along and made 72.6 bhp on Andy's dyno - not too shabby for a fully road legal 690cc single.

 

[GavJ]

A few years back I bought a KTM Duke 690 R and that has the full suite of electronic gizmos, fly by wire throttle, traction control, cornering ABS, the works. I have never bothered with any of them and just leave it on the default settings. I've never been aware of the presence of the electronics (obviously not going fast enough!), but was aware of snatchy fuelling at low rpm and throttle openings. It would be easy to blame the electronics, but it's just programmed to pass Euro 4 emissions testing. and runs unbelievably lean in the closed loop area of fuelling, causing the surging and hesitance. The manufacturers are just using the tools at their disposal to jump through the hoops dictated by the bureaucrats.

So I took the bike to BSD Performance and the guy there (Andy) went to town on the fuelling, richening it up as needed and softening the power deilvery in the first couple of gears to make slow speed riding more pleasant. Each gear has its own throttle map, which can be modifiied independently. The difference was huge. It's now the bike it should have been all along and made 72.6 bhp on Andy's dyno - not too shabby for a fully road legal 690cc single.

I had a similar experience with my Tiger 1050, from new it was terrible, the throttle was an on / off switch, great fun in wet roundabouts ...... I downloaded a free program called tune ecu, and with an OSB II cable I could connect the bike to my laptop and change the maps. Loads of maps available on line and I went for the TOR... Triumph Off Road tune, which as it for off road only doesnt have to comply with the emmissions restrictions...... transformed the bike.

 

[Rannsachair]

Started looking at Moto Guzzi's now Stelvio..../ V85TT

 

[stuvy]

I really like those (guzzies)

I won’t spend that much on a bike but not too bad in comparison

The triumph xc looks lovely too especially the earlier ones

https://i0.wp.com/www.asphaltandrubber.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/2014-Triumph-Tiger-800-XC-SE-04.jpg?fit=2000%2C1821&ssl=1

 

[RichardM]

Started looking at Moto Guzzi's now Stelvio..../ V85TT

Another motorbike.....Ducati.... am I mad - and now a Guzzi!

It does look nice and reminds me I need to make the lighter bash plate for the XT!

 

[Rannsachair]

Resurrecting this thread as still not pulled the trigger on something. I have been using my R75/5 to work most days now and feel strong enough to manage it easily.

Keep looking at :

Though still the odd horror story and a relatively new model, so likely high depreciation...... I would get a much better deal on an older Stelvio 1200.
Some horror story's on the net for waiting on parts I find a bit offputing. Anybody had a recent Guzzi

Keep going back to the last aircooled R100GS's too, no electronics, seem to retain value well, just not sure it will be as useable as a more modern bike. Also I am familiar with them, used to working on older beemers and parts are readily available.

Had a look at @Shox Dr 's Triumph Tiger 800, nice looking bike too..... decissions

 

[Cato]

Keep going back to the last aircooled R100GS's too, no electronics, seem to retain value well, just not sure it will be as useable as a more modern bike.

Why wouldn't they be as usable? Not arguing, just curious as to why you think so.

 

[Rannsachair]

Why wouldn't they be as usable? Not arguing, just curious as to why you think so.

Not so much power for fast overtakes, much less rubber on the road than newer bikes, so less grip, less brakes: single disk up front.

 

[Cato]

Not so much power for fast overtakes, much less rubber on the road than newer bikes, so less grip, less brakes: single disk up front.

Yeah I guess it depends a lot on where you're riding, and to be fair R100's were pretty under powered when they were new. There's quite a lot of choice in the 'adventure bike' class now and they all have a fair bit of oomph.

I know it's a personal taste thing, but I couldn't bring myself to ride the V85TT. It's one of, if not the ugliest bikes I've ever seen.

 

[Craig-SM]

Keep going back to the last aircooled R100GS's too, no electronics, seem to retain value well, just not sure it will be as useable as a more modern bike. Also I am familiar with them, used to working on older beemers and parts are readily available.

There is an honesty and charm to older bikes. Last time I had two bikes in the garage they were a KTM 1190 Adventure, fast with good handling, and an old Honda CX500, not much to really say about it. The CX500 gave me as much thrills and enjoyment as the KTM but at much slower speeds. The limitation on grip and brakes plus less power made you more involved.
Any kind of distance though and you could forget the CX500 as the KTM was far better

 

[Rannsachair]

Yeah I guess it depends a lot on where you're riding, and to be fair R100's were pretty under powered when they were new. There's quite a lot of choice in the 'adventure bike' class now and they all have a fair bit of oomph.

I know it's a personal taste thing, but I couldn't bring myself to ride the V85TT. It's one of, if not the ugliest bikes I've ever seen.

They are a bit bug eyed

 

[Rannsachair]

There is an honesty and charm to older bikes. Last time I had two bikes in the garage they were a KTM 1190 Adventure, fast with good handling, and an old Honda CX500, not much to really say about it. The CX500 gave me as much thrills and enjoyment as the KTM but at much slower speeds. The limitation on grip and brakes plus less power made you more involved.
Any kind of distance though and you could forget the CX500 as the KTM was far better

I had a KTM 950 Adventure for a while, very comfortable, used it long runs though ended up using my 91 Trident 900 more.....

 

[Cato]

I had a KTM 950 Adventure for a while, very comfortable, used it long runs though ended up using my 91 Trident 900 more.....

I've never ridden an adventure bike more than a couple of miles, but given their popularity I presume they must be comfortable on a run.

I think probably the most trouble free, comfortable and all round practical bike I used for distance was a GSX1100 powerscreen. I was commuting 300+ miles a week, rode it from Coventry to Belfast and back (ferry for part of the way as they don't float), took it to the IOM for the TT, all the luggage onboard there and back with plenty of thrashing over the mountain. The are/were superb bikes but suffered from the same issue as the Bandit, dull as ditch water.

 

[Shox Dr]

Nice looking Guzzi @Rannsachair. Ive no experience of Guzzi's though I know a couple of lads with older Cali's etc one has done 140k the other over 300k. I dont believe either have been opened up.

The 800 Tiger is a lovely bike, NO vibration at all. Loads of Torque. Not happy with Fuel consumption, averaging 45MPG. My 1050 Speed triple was up at 59. Rear shock is pants, spring too weak for two up or loaded, rakes the front out, causing head shake, and poor slow speed cornering. All fixable, if expensive.
The new 900s have a different firing order, to make them more like the AT. Cant understand why you would induce vibration. Nice looking bike though.

 

[premmington]

Yeah I guess it depends a lot on where you're riding, and to be fair R100's were pretty under powered when they were new. There's quite a lot of choice in the 'adventure bike' class now and they all have a fair bit of oomph.

I know it's a personal taste thing, but I couldn't bring myself to ride the V85TT. It's one of, if not the ugliest bikes I've ever seen.

I liked the look of it - sort of "overlander" type thing.

 

[minimutly]

Resurrecting this thread as still not pulled the trigger on something. I have been using my R75/5 to work most days now and feel strong enough to manage it easily.

Keep looking at :
View attachment 358681
Though still the odd horror story and a relatively new model, so likely high depreciation...... I would get a much better deal on an older Stelvio 1200.
Some horror story's on the net for waiting on parts I find a bit offputing. Anybody had a recent Guzzi

Keep going back to the last aircooled R100GS's too, no electronics, seem to retain value well, just not sure it will be as useable as a more modern bike. Also I am familiar with them, used to working on older beemers and parts are readily available.

Had a look at @Shox Dr 's Triumph Tiger 800, nice looking bike too..... decissions

I think you should do a conversion on a plastic maggot, got to be an improvement.