Of course it has nothing to do with the throw away life style we all lead as consumers, constantly being told that what we have and what we do is inadequate which makes us feel inferior and miserable because we haven't got what the people in the ads have got.
But hang on, theres a cure for all of this unhappiness, go out and consume some more. Then have to work harder and longer to pay for this stuff that'll soon be 'out of date' or designed to fail in a certain time period, just in time for us to go out and buy a replacement.
Still, good job that we have infinite resources and dumping grounds to cope with our autonomous and subconscious consumerism isn't it. :dry:
I'm with your mate all the way.
Rant over.
"The distant echo of faraway voices boarding far away trains,
To take them home to the ones that they love and who love them forever......."
i ride Harleys yes i did say Harleys!!!!! one an ex-army 350MT the other a big twin.
this was injection i through this away with seven sencers and fitted a carb .
i now can fix most things myself and dont need a main dealer to charge me top rate,
i talked to a BMW dealer last year and he sead " if they made BMs as they did in the old days 70s and before they would cost four times the asking price today"
my old BM covered masive milage (R750) great bike and well made.
I've got the old, in between and new sitting here just now.
Firstly, I was out with the Tiger 800XC tonight for a quick run and a fill of petrol, ready for a run at the weekend. Modern technology at its finest! Didn't take long to put a grin on my face, the sound, the smoothness, the slick gearbox, the lack of neutral light,,,,,, WHAT! Damned Triumph electrics, bloody modern electronics! PAH!
The in between,,, the Mighty Varadero. Back on the road for a month now following the winter, brilliant bike, never misses a beat and full of charm! Old technology really, been on the go since the turn of the century, early ones hitting over 100K miles now and still never missing a beat,,,, well,,,, splutter occasionally,,, but still a cracking bike that will take its owner round the world with probably no issues. The last of them are in the shops now and Honda says when they're gone, they're gone!
The old, I have an old Honda XRV750 Africa Twin, an RD04, the very first of the 750's. I'm hoping to renovate it and put it back on the road later this yr. As Steve T has pointed out, these old @T's are worth their weight in gold!
I'm not going to write off technology yet though, the neutral light came back on eventually tonight! I'm going to give the Triumph a good go this summer, I love the bike and hope to get on with it this summer,,, as long as it doesn't give any more grief!
I have a 1961 Lambretta. Still running fine and looks almost brand new. There's hardly anything on it to go wrong in comparison to today's modern machinery. Whether my new Moto Guzzi will look as good and be running still in 51 years time is debatable :-/ however I'll be 93 by then and probably will have forgotten this great thread!!
i understand what i look at .. i could take a dep breath and attempt to dismatle it with nothing more than a camera and a slab of stella
maintanance ... .. 6 year old kid could do it
carbs
good off road .. or managable off road .. depends on the rider hmy:
very rare [over here as in hens teeth ]..i like that part i admit
you will see a thousand bms ktms and such and never see another klr
75 percent cheaper than the latest whizz bang thingys
and prbably 75 percent more managable when the pavement ends certainly by me
its mine i pay nothing a month
nearly there now just need tyres ..next week
i may then declare this ship fit to sail
..it feel pretty good over a ploughed feild ..but im optimistic it will be a good bus for me ..i have plans to chug her some distance subject to abr testing ..
i hope to back in the frame soon B)
I love some of the new bikes & have been very tempted by the KTM 990 Adventure but to be honest with water cooling, EFI, ABS...... I know it will let me down at some point. I have spent many years in specialist vehicle R & D & What the customer (MOD & overseas Forces usually) spec & what actually works out in the field are very different. Any modern car I have ever had has been a pain in the arse so I am a stern believer in simplicity over complexity. Technology has given us fuel efficiency & safety but not reliability or dependability.
I will stick with my old school DR800 which is bullet proof & does what I want when I need it to.
I suppose it depends on your needs. I had an american van with EFI, one day the temperature sender failed and the van just stopped....nothing....no go. All because the computer didn't know how hot or cold it was.
The reliability of EFI has been proven well but when it fails, it fails big. just one sensor fails and the whole thing stops. Not great if you are in the middle of lets say Africa travelling but how often are you in the middle Africa.
Personally I prefer carb bikes cos I know how to fix them without the need for a lap top and usualy they limp on even if there is a problem.
A few weeks ago I was in my local Yammy dealership looking at the 660 Tenere. I told him about plans the mrs and myself had about riding from London to Durban in SA. I asked him What if I had any issues, where can I go once I leave Europe if I have a problems? He said Cape Town.....Quite a few miles from lets say Sudan.
I dunno elecemetronics and pressurised fuel, or good old fashion hammers and spanners.
I know where I stand, everyone is different but I have a 20 yr old bike..
So there.
Gone from a Gsa to a K75 g reg. Spent a blissfull aftetnoon in the sun yestetday messing about fixing things on the K75 didnt do anything to the gsa due to warranty ect.Will run the 75 as an experiment to see if i get bored or it breaks down. Owes me nothing people really look at it and at the moment i like its old world appeal.
nug800 wrote:I love some of the new bikes & have been very tempted by the KTM 990 Adventure but to be honest with water cooling, EFI, ABS...... I know it will let me down at some point.
That was our point exactly.
If i was well off i would have new bikes for def...because if/when they broke i could just throw money at a dealer to fix them...but in the real world...im broke
the conversation started when i said i knew a Fazer owner with an FZ1 with 125K on the clock, he's now breaking the bike as spare because its packed up. (some sensors of some sort??) My mate then responded with a story about his neighbour and his bike with 140K on the clock ( Honda something...i think?). Hes just spent a good few hundred beans getting the injectors sorted...then a few months later £500 on something else (EFI or CDI??) and yes you guest it....its in the garage again at the momemt with some complicated problem thats gonna cost him big time.
Great Thread, when i passed my test i had a Honda CD175 aka tank, then a Trumpet T120, I thought it was the dogs, but it dropped oil, brealks not that good till you put Braided lines on her, & had to do a bit of work.
I look at it that, on the older bikes where meant for you to do you own work, just go buy a ural do the work your self, the shop would of already changed carbs and a few other bits and bobs due to reliabilty, some like all bikes where never as reliable as you remember, I well remember seeg a mate try to start his bike (kick start) when now days a push of a button.
I pers would like a push button start with a kick start, just to be on the safe side.
some items are better others not so & of course some just right.
A happy medeum is the answer, bike manf make design bikes, with improvments that people ask for /want it is filtered down, admitrerly some bike papers give there own view not always that of the everyday riders.
We are the Pilgrims, master; we shall go Always a little further: it may be Beyond that last blue mountain barred with snow, Across that angry or that glimmering sea.
hmy: 
