Manky Monkey Motors

Sold my lovely, lovely bright green Speed Triple back in the Summer -partly cos it was beginning to make a lot of mechanical noise & had had very little maintainance in the year I owned it, (too busy riding it!), so was going to start costing a lot of money in the very near future, & partly cos I'm basically a plodder, not a racer & the Triple just encouraged me to ride like an 'ooligan. I was either going to lose my licence or my life -or both.
So I flogged it & bought an immaculate CB1000 Honda. Lovely bike. Very sensible, very comfy -very BORING!! First bike I've ever owned that I'm just not that bothered about riding. It's totally characterless, soulless. I can do 100 miles on it, get off & walk away without even glancing back at it. Reliable but just SO bland.
My lock up's full of junk at the moment so the bike's stood outside my flat under a cover & the dreaded rust is starting to creep in. Paid 1500 for it & it's probably still worth that. So. Question. What do I replace it with? Haven't had a chop for a few years & would love another little hardtail, but as my girly lives down in Southampton it's got to be something that'll do the motorway mileage without falling to bits -or breaking down & leaving me stranded. Rainbow's got a Fazer but I don't want a commuter bike or I'll end up bored again. Wouldn't mind a little 883 Sportster but would I get a decent one for the sort of money I've got & would it be up to regular motorway work? Wulfgar was flogging a GT750, part stripped for triking on the 100% Biker forum last week for 300 quid. Very tempted cos they've got a good reputation but I've already got a part built trike & just want fill-in transport till it's back on the road really.
Any suggestions? Anyone want to buy a big Honda?

Sorry to hear your not happy with the Honda!!!

How about one of those manky "monkey" bikes they tear around the station car park in Alton.  You can do two up on them!!!  That'll give you back your grin when you park it and walk away.  (Not to mention other people watching you).  HA HA HA. 

Heh heh! I could carry one on the rack of the Honda as a spare! As I said, it's a nice enough bike, but just doesn't do it for me at all. Loved the Speed Triple but it was way too complicated for home maintainance & too costly for dealer services, (was quoted over 400 quid for it's 12,000 mile service!). Just want something with the fun factor that the Honda's missing.

2003 KAWASAKI VN 800 DRIFTER,
Champagne and Black, very good condition, unwanted present, only 2225 miles, full leathers and helmet available, for fast sale. £1,950. ono
Telephone: 01271 816479 or 07968 185009
Distance: 133 miles
Price: £1,950 ono
(http://pictures.autotrader.co.uk/ATD_web/servlet/media?id=264534066)

Hmm, never been quite sure about those. Can't decide if they're cool in a quirky, retro kinda way, or just plain weird! Saw one recently in black with red pinstripes & a big solo saddle, (which looked far better than the standard thing), but not sure. Got to either flog the Honda first though or find somewhere that'll do part-ex, so probably looking for something around the grand mark, but very reliable & fun! I've had 4 or 5, (can't remember now!), XS650 twins. They were great. Very simple, stylish, thumpy little motors, but getting a bit long in the tooth now so don't think they'd do the motorway journey a couple of times a week. Thought about buying back the XS1100 I flogged to Kris & Doro cos they've got a new project now, but would probably spend a grand getting it roadworthy. Ooh! I don't know! Just know I'm bored with what I've got & want to offload it before it deteriates & depreciates too far out in the winter weather.
Maybe just flog it & put the pennies in the bank? Not really riding much at the moment & would make more sense to get the trike finished wouldn't it? Don't you just hate indesisive gits?! ???

I have always liked the VN800/1500 drifters
If i could still ride a bike that is the one i would have

Yoda

Yeah, I could see you on one of those actually.

ive got a sporty (well em has) thatll be up for sale soon.... too many bikes ::).....way to many projects ;D

a bit tatty paint wise but, rebuilt gearbox and clutch ..fxr tank ..forwards.. after market carb

Hello postie, you would never believe it but i used to be indecisive..... but im not so sure now ;) ;D

 ;D
Heh heh! Hi Pete.
Critchy, haven't got any spare pennies, just 1500 quid's worth of Honda. I take it you don't want to trade?
Change of plan on my trike frame. Going to use your spare Sporty tank if you've got one & the same solo saddle as all the other Manky Reliants, cos I like the look of that set-up. Ska man's going to have my ally tank cos it was made to fit the green frame. I may as well have just given him the whole trike & started again! So now I've got to cut the seat rails off my frame & do 'em again! One step forward, several back.
Have forgotten to keep you informed of your frame's progress. Forks turned up on Friday & were taken to Ska Man's garage on Saturday. Made a start on laying out the tubes on Sunday. Should be a fuzzy shot here of the down tubes. Ultra high tech plumb line, (a big socket on a bit of string), shows they're nicely in line with the centre of the crankshaft pulley, (cylinder head on the Reliants is offset to the right). Headstock's on & trued up, engine mounts & gearbox cross member too. Basic bottom frame cradle is done, just needs gluing to the axle clamps. Tomorrow we'll add the gearbox mounts.
Should be done by the weekend, bar a bit of tidying up. ;)

Not going to say I told you so...

But...

 ;D

Yeah, yeah, I know. :)
The only other Honda I've owned was my very first bike, my little CB200. I was flushed with the excitement of first time biking then though. Now I'm old & jaded & the CB thou' just doesn't do it for me. They're very nice bikes -they do everything very well, but I think that's the problem. Too sanitised. There's no rawness to them at all. No excitement. I don't suppose Reliants get described as raw & exciting very often, (neither do I :(), but the little hardtail trike was basic enough to be lots & lots of fun. The Honda just ain't.
I offloaded the Triumph cos I was scared of killing myself on it -I've come to realise I may not be immortal after all, but it was also going to need some very expensive maintainance at some point which I could never afford. Saw my beloved "Kermit the Thug" the other day. Sat in the corner of my brother's workshop, covered in dust. The guy I sold it to has only ridden it a couple of times. Smashed the bar-end mirror off somehow. Such a waste. Tempted to try & exchange it back again, but think I could be inviting mechanical & financial disaster!

You want a nice Benly, you do. Lovely practical little motorcycle. And a capacious top box.


Getting my coat...  ;D

I once had a very scary moment with a top box. Think it's put me off them for life.
I'd borrowed a mate's bike, (whichever heap I owned at the time was off the road -a regular occurence in my teenage years), & was riding home from a late night do somewhere. Cold, dark, foggy Winter's night. Spooky back roads, feeling slightly lost & praying the bike would keep plodding on & not leave me stranded in the dark. Slightly fuzzy beer brain starts to wander, thoughts of mad axemen lurking around every bend, scary shadows closing in on me & my feeble 60 watt headlight bulb. Trying to wring a few more mph out of the bike & hoping I'd reach a village or at least a lit stretch of road soon. Getting jumpier by the second, imagining all sorts of horrible creatures of the night hiding at the roadside, waiting for me to trundle past.
I'm doing 50 or 60 miles an hour. I should be safe, nothing's going to keep up with me, I can out run anything that may suddenly loom up out of the gloom. Just keep going, don't think about what might be out there, get home.
Then I felt a tap on my shoulder.
AARRGGHH!!
Bloody top box lid had popped open. 

That is possibly one of the best opening lines to a story ever!

 ;D
Maybe it's time to start that novel I keep saying I should write.

Well, you've got the first line...   Beats Snoopy's 'It was a dark and stormy night' into a cocked hat! ;D

He's been working on that for about 30 years now hasn't he?
I fancy retiring to a little crofter's cottage, (I'll buy it off the little crofter), beside a Scottish loch & writing a travelogue -"Triking in the Trossachs", "Travels with my Tricycle", "Trikes, tartan & tranquility". Maybe I won't give up the day job just yet.

I think that sort of travelogue actually depends on having a trike that will travel. Or even go.


*SMACK* ... *OWWWW!*Bugger, you've moved the door....

Serves you right! I'm getting there -slowly. Still be on the road before Flap's. Just decided to cut off the seat rails & re-do them. I'd planned to re-use my very expensive handmade ally tank from the previous incarnation, but it restricted the shape of the frame & meant I had to have the gearstick coming up through the nose of the saddle as before. Decided to use a standard Sportster tank, (which hopefully I can blag from Critch), & a solo saddle the same as the other Manky trikes cos I like that look. Gearchange will come out to the left under the seat. My own trike keeps getting pushed to the back of the queue though. Back on the road for the Summer -maybe.

Which summer???

This Summer, but maybe not this lifetime.

I shall bring it with me, possibly mrs critch too depending on babysitters..(you cant keep her though ;D)..

Your fault I've got to cut my frame up & re-do it. I was quite happy with the stretched King Sportster from my previous trike until I tried the Sporty tank Rainbow bought. Now I want one!

this one is a stock sporty mate....

Yeah, that's what I'm after. Rainbow picked one up on Ebay. 50 quid, with nice shiny black paintjob, (we'll shotblast that off!), shiny screw-in cap & tap.

you can get the flush push in caps for just over£20 with the postage from ebay.. they fit in the stock screw in filler ..good for the msva mate

Hmm, got a link for those? Checked the measurements -the MSVA book says the cap mustn't protrude more than 15mm above the surface of the tank & must have a domed top I think. I wonder if they used a Harley cap for those regs cos it conforms exactly. Might be worth sticking a flush one in for the test though, & I might be interested in one myself.

no you know me techno phobe and all that... i just looked in ebay under harley filler caps in worldwide search mode

I'll go & look later.