What have you done with your bike today?

[The Doctor 46]

Result! 

[cooltshirt]

Out for a bop around Edinburgh on my CB360.
Quite a lot of fettling to make it boppable ....... rebuilt the 'totally sorted' carbs. That and timing the ignition the old fashioned way with a bulb and bits of wire mean that both cylinders are doing vaguely the same amount of work.
Fixed the handling ....... by letting 20+ psi out of the tyres. The were way over 50 psi!

Then engine is good, but has a few tired threads. I have been collecting bits from all over to see if the spare (original) engine is any good. I'm cautiously optimistic.
It's a project, but largely a fun one and it is a great bike in traffic.

[The Doctor 46]

Great looking, simple bike. I used to ride my mates 250 Superdream (Wetdream) when I was a lad and thought it far better than it's repatriation, even new on it's original tyres. I think all the smaller CB range were good bikes. Enjoy! 

[NeilM]

Nice original looking bike Coolshirt.

Those pictures bring back happy memories of riding up to London on my 1968 Bonnie to stay with my sister. My brother in law had an identical CB350 and we would tear about the place together.

I also had a mate with a 250, which I borrowed for a weekend. That's when I learned NOT to have 'just one more pint' before riding home!

No harm done to the bike, it just a fair bit more poke than my Royal Enfield 250!

[nigel s]

Not a fan of using pressure washers on bikes , but after 60 miles of mud there is little option...
 There is an engine in that belly pan ....... somewhere......
Fortunately my local garage has a low pressure warm selection.....time to break out the GT85..


Ho hum

[2112]

shiny, good job 

[Asmith61]

Good job nige 

[mr_diver]

Well not today, but Sunday... I had a couple of hours while SWMBO took the small one to breakfast with Santa in the local Harvester (I was not invited  )

So I stole Jen's bike and took it up the Avan valley to the Bywlch mountain and then south thorough Ogmore Vale, where I grew up, pausing briefly outside my old house...
The current owners have really let the garden go, you can barely see the house due to the small scrubs we planted now being 30ft tall and well out of shape, the grass doesn't look to have been cut this year. (we used to cut the bushes and the grass to within a inch of its life)
All the fencing we put up is rotten and falling apart and they've knocked over some of the stone walls I built with my father.
My parents moved out in 2018, it doesn't look like the current owners have done any maintenance since then, and it was a self build we moved into in 1997 and everything was overbuilt, and it's surprising how shabby the whole house is looking in a few years.
Pleasant enough ride, textile gear, but no thermals required, just the Oxford grips on low. A nice 40miles and back home for Sunday lunch.
I'm really getting the feel of the Rebel now, fun and eager, but unintimidating, you really have to rev it to provoke it, but the Black widow can does sound lovely.
Just need some time for both of us to go out for a run now.

Today with the weather being forecast to be less wet, I used Jen's bike to go to work to beat the Xmas traffic on the way home from Swansea and brim the tank on the way home and add some fuel stabiliser.
Providing the weather is passable next Monday/Tuesday I'll likely do the same on my bike to beat the traffic and fill the tank and me and the little one can wash both bikes on Xmas Eve while Jen's working. 

[jabmotorsport]

Another soggy peak district day!

[Froglodyte]

Three Shires Head! Well done for tackling that Josh - especially at this time of year!

[NeilM]

Took the 1200GS for an MOT yesterday at AT Motorcycles, my local Suzuki dealership.

Bike passed with a couple of minor advisories, that I will take care of.

While I was there, I looked at the 900, 800 and 625 cc Voge adventure bikes that the dealer has just got in this week.

I have to say, the build quality is as good as anything else in the showroom. I''m going to see if I can book a ride on a demo 900 DSX they have on loan from MotoGB.

[mr_diver]

After struggling to fit my small backpack containing a small bridge camera, thin jumper, spare gloves and a 500ml flask in the Givi E300 top box on SWMBO's bike on the weekend I bit the bullet and bought the universal Monokey plate and fitted it lunchtime yesterday.

She's now got the Givi V47 box that was on the GSX on there.
We can now carry a slightly bigger flask on a ride now, but the box does look a bit big on the bike.
Thought SWMBO will have to keep the weight of her hand bag under 6kg which is going to be a struggle with the amount of crap she's got in it. 

The other upside is she can now moonlight delivering Domino's pizza. 

[nigel s]

Voge engines .....hmm ...been looking at Kove 450 engines . Made by Loncin , same as Voges twins.
Seems some top end troubles there too  ( KTM woes ? ) with quality control .
Scroll down,

https://www.advrider.com/f/threads/kove-450-rally-rally-pro-owners-thread.1695755/page-82

Not sure I want that cam journal in my bike .

Other sites have reported some problems with valve checks . They use different size buckets instead of shims under buckets to alter clearances. Something from the car world , where  relatively low revving under stressed engines clearances almost never go out. Not a problem in itself , bar the extra cost when a change needs doing . The problem  , it seems , is at the first check when buckets need to be changed 'cos the gap is too small that getting buckets is difficult and , more worryingly , sometimes they already have the smallest size available fitted from the factory....... dealers have just been checking and bolting it back up 'cos they can't be changed . Only came to light 'cos of those who did their own servicing 
Again ...hmmm
Bolt on shiny Brembo /Ohlins / whatever as much as they like ,  but if the engine craps out ?

Try selling a KTM 790 with 20,000 miles on....

Ho Hum

[2112]

I think with most Chinese bikes at the moment people are just watching to see how reliable they are before they dive in. At the price point some are at they are well worth buying, but make sure you sell them at the end of the warranty period. The depreciation will be very high (as a percentage) but the cost in £'s will probably be less than anything Japanese or European due to the incredibly low starting price ?

[nigel s]

That is what they are banking . HO... on.
If you do the average 4? K a year the bike will last out it's warranty. If like me you do 15/20 K it could be a problem 

[mr_diver]

Checked the Varadero over and kicked the tyres as I plan to ride it to the Swansea office Monday & Tuesday as the traffic last week was awful with everyone heading xmas shopping straight from work.

The old girl should be able to cut through the traffic and make a hole where needed - everyone gets out of my way eventually.. No-one wants to sit there and have the Varadero with straight through cans rattle out their fillings.    - yeah I may have had an accident and all the baffles fell out of the cans. 

[Asmith61]

Had a call this morning from my mate Martyn (the adventure rider)   asking if I fancied a Christmas Eve ride, as it was dry I said give me half an hour and I will meet you at yours.

He had ordered something at the superbike shop in Harlow. So we set off from his,  but Martyn being an adventure rider we did not take the direct route ( where we live out in the sticks of Essex most routes are through villages to get to a main road )   He took us down some little back roads with Grass growing up the middle ( like the ones that nigel s rides and likes  )    I was thinking my poor Harley      We took quite a few of these type of roads before coming out on to the A414 where me and my Harley are more suited and happier.
We arrived there at 11 even though it was dry it was bloody freezing 🥶 Martyn asked at the counter saying he had ordered a U lock with an Alarm, but they couldn’t find the order and didn’t know anything about it which did not impress him at all 
I said that is strange for the SBS and that I have always had good service from them.
So we set off towards home following Martyn he took a different way back through some lovely familiar villages back towards Chelmsford.
A very good ride and good to blow the cobwebs off,   Only out just over 2.5 hours.

Happy Christmas to you all.

[2112]

I admire your tenacity, 'grass dual carriageways' are not the usual domain of Harley's - even the Pan America !!!