Never gonna buy a honda again

[garyboy]

I just realised I may have some insight into this?

With PCP, you are not the owner of the bike .. Honda Finance is .. and so do not need your authority to do repairs etc ???
Basically, you are just renting the bike until the balloon payment is completed .. you then become the owner.

(Also, incidentally, I seemed to pay a lot more on PCP then on HP, and over a longer period, ??)

My dealings with Honda Finance are vey different to yours .. but then I had an HP contract with them, not a PCP (that contract is with another company, for my NC750)., and I had no real mechanical problems with my CRF250L, apart from the silly clutch.

They gave me finance very quickly, I paid regularly, and it was all over in the 3 years stipulated. When I came to sell the bike, they told me it was no problem as I was already the owner and could do as I wished with the bike, even before the payments were finished, as the loan was a Personal Loan which had paid off the bike immediately, tho I personally owed the money to Honda Finance, ..which is now paid off. All the payments were accurately logged and paperwork sent to me annually, with no problems at all.

PCP is a different thing .. the finance company is the owner .. and remains so until that final balloon payment is done.

[garyboy]

Neither were really suitable for me, as an older relatively shorter rider


What I am saying is that a trail bike of a different colour is more suitable.. a colour that is lighter in weight and more manageable

I assume the colour you’re talking about is orange - I always thought they were very tall, the ones I’ve ridden were. I don’t believe weight per se is the main issue - centre of gravity and height IMHO.
If you can flat foot then you can paddle through difficult sections - especially if the weight is down low.
As I say just my opinion

Orange .. KTMs are much much lighter, of course, though I have never ridden one in me life, [except a ktm E-mtb, which is great.]
100 kg as opposed to 145kg is a big difference .. (ktm 250 ..v.. honda crf 250L.)
I agree that c of g is very important and can overcome weight .. my Blue TTR600 was great in that respect .. 160kg but seemed to be low down, even tho it did not look it .. I think the superb suspension had a lot to do with it …… if only the engine had not been so vibey, in a headachey sort of way. I could even NOT reach the ground with 2 feet, but that great suspension and balance/ c of g made all the difference, even tho I had little confidence in extreme going, due to the height.

I think I messed up the Red crf250L by lowering the seat by slackening off the rear spring .. by all 4mm .. doh … making it even softer and bouncier .. as well as lowering the rear by 3 inches by drilling the rear shock …. then later, after getting stuck in ruts and so raising the ride height back to spec, fitting an oversize depth tyre that actually raised the seat and inch !! o dear … still too tall for little old me ..
ps .. why are most trail riders giants??

Additionally .. I found, from riding with them, that the colour Blue .. ttr250 .. is a very competent bike .. and seemed more powerful and more capable than my crf? … old Green 250 bikes seemed to have good reviews too.

I still think that Honda are an excellent brand, with great bikes .. but my Red tinted specs have come off, to be replaced with open vision lenses

[fozzy17]

I may sound pessimistic towards Honda, .. its just that they are not the biking panacea I always thought they were .. but they are still a very good brand and I would certainly buy another one, especially a smaller older one.

It seems their quality has reduced recently, judging by recent comments, but this seems to be a universal thing in modern globalised mass production?

The crf250X is a great bike, but most modern trail/enduro/adventure bikes are too tall and heavy for the average-sized oap. At high revs it transformed into a smooth whooshing jet, but, I was told, it would not last in the engine department like that for long journeys, needing an oil change on the way! .. the engine oil is separate from the clutch oil, and both are minute in capacity and need constant changing, with the shims needing changing too, but knackered when a finite limit is reached, needing a re-build. This is not acceptable to a mud slogging, long distance, slow old guy like me, .. enter the crf250L … pretty but portly .. butt with a great seat.

your right ,all bikes are not built like they used to be, nuts, bolts, chrome paint, powder coat, is substandard on most bikes, its all about profit manufacturing cost have gone down but prices of bikes and cars have gone up.

[garyboy]

I was checking out a local off-road bike dealer, yesterday.. and was shocked at the very high prices of second hand stuff .. 5-6 k was the lower end with one or two a bit lower.

Even on Ebay, the very old stuff .. 70s plus .. was shockingly high.

[Scott_rider]

I was checking out a local off-road bike dealer, yesterday.. and was shocked at the very high prices of second hand stuff .. 5-6 k was the lower end with one or two a bit lower.

Even on Ebay, the very old stuff .. 70s plus .. was shockingly high.

I think the rise in second hand values of dirt bikes has been partly fuelled by buyers from overseas. I sold my 400EXC several years ago to a buyer from Slovenia who sent over an articulated lorry to fill up with about 40 bikes from up and down the UK. Apparently, a lack of stock and higher prices over there made it a worthwhile exercise to come to the UK and buy in bulk.

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

The low £ makes them attractive.

I recall in the financial crisis of 2010 used bike prices (esp trail/enduro) being very high.

Had a conversation about it with James at AMS KTM, who said that he could have sold their entire used stock to an exporter, but didn't because when the bikes went, the parts business went with them.

[garyboy]

So much for the free movement of goods

Too easy to take our stock and reduce our standard of living

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

...on the other hand, if we were in the Euro...!

An economist could argue that a falling currency in a failing economy like ours is a good thing as it makes exports more competitive and imports more expensive so boosting industry.

However, very sophisticated manufactured goods are produced anywhere in the world without at least some imported content: ie all British made cars have substantial components (including engines and transmissions) imported, and pretty much every car made anywhere in the world will have British components from GKN and other such companies.

So the imported components become more expensive for a British company to buy, thus raising cost for the British manufacturer.

I think...

[johnnyboxer]

So much for the free movement of goods

Too easy to take our stock and reduce our standard of living

Blame Brexit for the weak pound

[garyboy]

perhaps not so much Brexit as the uncertainty around Brexit caused by uk politicians

Brexit hasn't happened yet, as we know, .. it is the delaying tactics by remainers that is unnecessarily delaying confidence