[High On Octane]

       Boy, nobody in a nursing home could ever find better treatment than you are giving this harley. I'm proudaya   Maybe some day you'll actually BE on a vintage and feel as good as I..... (that's the wrong story for here).

         Remember what Willy said: If you're lucky you get one good dog, one good truck and one good woman. I say there will be one, One, really good bike that you'll wish you had back to your grave.

Thanks tooseevee!  I learned many years ago that it's ok to be hard on your toys, WITHIN REASON, as long as you take care of her and stay up on the maintenance.  I do however have the advantage of being best friends with the PO, so I know exactly what has been done, and what needs to be done.  Being I do my own wrenching, it's literally just a matter of knowing what and when to do maintenance.  Just don't let the wife know I've already dropped about a grand on the 'ol girl.  Also, I turn 40 at the end of the month.  So, I'm not exactly vintage, but I think I'm officially a Classic. 

Went on this year's Distinguished Gentleman's Ride.  Well, I didn't actually go on the ride. I broke my collarbone at the track yesterday so no riding for me. But I was there for the departure and after party and that was fun. Still got dressed up. A couple of mates took my old Ducati and my TRX850 cafe racer and the offspring's partner was there on his cx500 cafe racer. Great day out.

I really wanted to do the DGR again this year but just had way too much going on.  Between the recent move, recent job change and training for my running races, I just haven't had much free time recently.  I plan on making it happen next year tho.

[Stanley]

After decades of riding with flat bars or clip-ons, arthritis drove me to put Pro taper bars on my SV650S. After all that surprisingly tedious work the upright position puts the weight on my nalgas. Today I'm installing a $13 gel insert to ease my ischial tuberosities.
By contrast, my stock Bullet fits like a glove. 

[gizzo]

I've been crash repairing a KTM RC390 belonging to a friend. She thinks it's the greatest bike ever built (her only other bike was a Sachs 125  ) but I think it's a piece of arse. The engine is horrible. It sounds like a lawnmower, has no single cylinder grunt (but a lot of top end power) and I think KTM could teach RE a thing or two about installing oil leaks. My god, this thing has leaks all over it.
It runs really (Really) hot in traffic. I've been riding with her in city traffic and seen her bike overheat and stop on a 25 deg c day. That sucks. I suppose the heat the motor makes has something to do with the oil leaks.
She had a bit of a spill a month or so ago so we're fitting a new second hand alternator cover, headlight, rear shock, front brakes, tyres and shift mechanism.
I went for parts yesterday. The local KTM dealer had no listing for front pads ( "we've never sold a set yet....) and couldn't supply an alternator cover gasket. 5 weeks to get one in....
Luckily another dealer had the brake pads and I'll just make the gasket. It'll be quicker. At least they keep oil filters in stock.

Meanwhile, I'm making a vibration absorbing muffler mounting bracket for the CGT.

[Richard230]

I have a friend with a KTM 690 Duke. He tells me that servicing the Duke is involved and expensive. He really moans about the cost of the oil required for the bike. The oil is formulated in Switzerland, fully synthetic (naturally) and sells for around $22 USD a liter.    But apparently it is really fun to ride when it is not being serviced or repaired. 

[Richard230]

Last week I bought two cheap and thin (1" thick) Chinese bathroom scales for $15 each from Amazon to satisfy my curiosity about what my bikes weigh - and now I have a scale in every bathroom. 

Here are the results weighing those motorcycles' front and rear wheels and their total bathroom scale weight:

2011 Royal Enfield 500 Bullet: front: 190 pounds, rear: 228 pounds = 418 pounds
2018 Zero electric motorcycle with all of the batteries that will fit in the chassis: front: 266 pounds, rear: 203 pounds = 469 pounds
2009 BMW F650GS twin: front 220 pounds, rear: 266 pounds = 486 pounds
2002 Yamaha FZ1: front: 249 pounds, rear: 268 pounds = 517 pounds (It feels a lot lighter than that when pushing it around)
2005 Triumph Bonneville T-100: front: 247 pounds, rear: 283 pounds = 530 pounds
2016 BMW R1200RS: front: 276 pounds, rear: 276 pounds = 552 pounds (Which feels a lot heavier than that when pushing it around.)

[Narada]

The Bonneville weight seemed kind of heavy so I googled it and got an article fromm 2005 Motorcyclist.com which said "dry weight 451 pounds", then my google connection went down... 

Do you have saddle bags or other accessories, + gas, oil, tire sealant, dirt that would account for the difference?

Just curious....

[Richard230]

The Bonneville weight seemed kind of heavy so I googled it and got an article fromm 2005 Motorcyclist.com which said "dry weight 451 pounds", then my google connection went down... 

Do you have saddle bags or other accessories, + gas, oil, tire sealant, dirt that would account for the difference?

Just curious....

I have a small windshield, center stand and soft bag mounts on my bike and that is all.  I also have a battery, oil, a full gas tank, a side stand, air in the tires and some wax on my bike, which no doubts adds to the manufacturer's "dry weight" claim. Not too much dirt, though. 

[gizzo]

I have a friend with a KTM 690 Duke. He tells me that servicing the Duke is involved and expensive. He really moans about the cost of the oil required for the bike. The oil is formulated in Switzerland, fully synthetic (naturally) and sells for around $22 USD a liter.    But apparently it is really fun to ride when it is not being serviced or repaired. 

Yes.  Another friend has a 990 SM which we rebuilt the top end on not long ago. Because an oring in the cylinder started leaking.  PITA.  He said the same thing about the oil. It has to be one specific type or it can't get through a metering jet to cool the alternator or some crap.  What a joke.  But, like you said. Hilarious fun when it works.  Be a cold day in hell I bought a KTM. 
Same friend says he's going to buy a Suzuki drz400 Supermotard after seeing how good,  reliable and bombproof mine is, so he doesn't have to ride the Kato.

[Arschloch]

I would take the GT535 over a 390 KTM anytime. With little moding it beats the crap out of it too.

[gizzo]

I would take the GT535 over a 390 KTM anytime. With little moding it beats the crap out of it too.

Same here. But I don't think so. It's fast.

[longstrokeclassic]

The 390 seems fast along the flat where it can rev but I was gradually catching one up last Thursday up a very long steep incline. He was loosing speed and revs whilst the Bullet just kept going. Once we breached the peak though, he just disappeared. Of course there may just have been something wrong with the KTM but the look on his face which seemed to appear more frantic every time he looked around seeing me that little bit closer was priceless.

[gizzo]

An Enfield is not catching a rc390 unless the Kato owner can't ride, won't row the gearbox or his sitting on the side of the road on a smoking overheated ruin. They do that. Highly strung little buggers.

[longstrokeclassic]

 Just checked the tech specs for the KTM, with twice the horsepower of a Bullet and carrying a lot less weight something was definitely amiss somewhere    

Today my [non Enfield] Watercooled T120 Bonneville is going in for a service. 

[gizzo]

Got the charging system working on my old Honda C90 postie bike!
woo!

[Richard230]

Just checked the tech specs for the KTM, with twice the horsepower of a Bullet and carrying a lot less weight something was definitely amiss somewhere    

Today my [non Enfield] Watercooled T120 Bonneville is going in for a service.

Good luck with your Bonneville service. When I had the 36K service performed on my 2005 T-100, I got hit with a $850 bill, which did not include tire replacement or fork servicing. I am still in shock.