Exactly which Monster was that? I would prefer a Monster (as long as it doesn't belong to the ugly generation, with the )( exhaust thing going on) and the new one is an expensive tart's handbag! Ducati have really gone wrong in my opinion. Expensive, but that is OK if you do quality, but employing blind people to design the bikes doesn't work for me. I will happily pay extra for quality, but I want it to look good. Well, at least not openly ugly-bum. FFS! It's not hard! Look at the bikes suggested. Well, not the Triumph Street Triple! I think that the sub-1000cc Aprilias are OK and the smaller Triumphs, but we linger in the openly ugly to the downright challenged in the looks department. As bikes are now just toys really, as used cars are cheaper and easier to own, I don't understand why the European manufacturers are too stupid to get it. Jap stuff is OK (maybe, I think) but Jap stuff just doesn't have the quality that I want. Mind you, neither do KTM. A battery that doesn't last two years means that I am now done with KTM.
The Monster M900ie 2002; weight 180kgs -mine weighs somewhat less. I think you have been unlucky with your KTM battery or reg/rec. My 390 Duke is a 2018 with its original battery, no problems whatsoever. You are right, bikes are now really playthings for the most part. And I agree, the looks of the bike must be such that you have to turn and look back at it as you walk away. My 390 doesn't have that yet, but like every other part of the bike, that is being "improved" and will be refined to suit my taste.
The Vendee region of France, been here a number of times, but not for a few years, much has changed on the site since last time
Security light on the garage failed so needed to replace that. Ordered the current version of the existing one so I could do a straight swap... Took the old head down and offered up the new one; bolt size & bracket width changed, so get the steps out, take the old bracket down and put the new one up and mount the new light. Then go to feed the cable through, and it's thicker, so we need to open that up. Then feed the cable through. Go inside the garage to wire it & find that the thicker cable is also shorter so doesn't reach the joint box.... Why is it always the simple jobs? Next was the porch light which was relatively simple apart from the fact that the brickwork bulges slightly, so there was a degree of playing with the screws so that the back plate wasn't under pressure. Having put that up, I found that senior management had put the bulb somewhere for safe keeping... Next stop Screwfix. The garden light needed doing but I conceded defeat & opened the beer.
Nice run up to Castleton today to meet with two old friends, planned to ride around a bit but ended up chatting all day then blasted home. A38 service south of Derby was £1.72 a litre for super!!!!! Luckily I just needed a splash and dash to get me home.
We went at the end of the season last year, it was bliss. Tbh, we’ll either go back this year or next, at the same time of year.
Quite the day today..... A guy i used to work with (our Junior) came over on his 125Duke, A 71 plate which is slowly dissovling - i think the next time it needs a strip down we'll be using an angle grinder.... So, first on the shopping list of problems was a front tyre with a bulge and a rear with multiple nails in it so a new set of tyres. The rear mudguard thingy had rusted itself partially to the swingarm so had to drill that out. Then (something he's been wanting to do for ages) KTM deliberately made the restrictor hard to get out of the end can by hiding the bolt inside so had to remove the end cap to get to that (db killer removed) The above took 4 hours to get through....he got home - went into his house to get his stuff to go to his girlfriends house, bike niked in less than 5 mins...luckily he had a tracker on it so got it back straight away but with a scaffed lock...so ill be seeing that next week... Then got to my own work - fitted the Domino throttle to the Hyper (the quickest thing i did today i might add) - about an hour. Then a new guy in the road who i got chatting to a couple of months back had got bike from someone that i quote (started out as a few boxes of stuff) - came over with a chain...took the old chain off...new chain 8 links to short so had to fish the old one out of the bin, clean it up and rescue it (lots of paraffin) and a wire brush. His rear wheel was a, falling off quite literally, about 5ft lbs of torque on the rear axle nut, a circlip that was falling about and a cover that had moved off about half an inch exposing everything and to top it all a sprocket carrier that had a good 5mm of play. Hoovered the house, bath. Sitting here typing this out...
Had a quick look on Autotrader, but nothing within one hundred miles of me. And then when you widen the search for other Monsters not thrashed with the ugly stick, you start getting this crap: I'll park it all for now. I'll get another battery for the KTM and then get rid of it. It will either go for cash or p/x for either that Royal Enfield or an Aprilia Tuono. I won't have to wait for my telecon to learn why I am not allowed my money, because I can fund it myself. I've got a few hundred thousand coming in four or five years time, so I can last. It's better for my mental health just to forget about my settlement money. I had to get the deed signed and witnessed (to ensure that I am not ripping myself off - like I care) and before I sealed the envelope, I read it. I have no rights and everyone else can help themselves and I get no say. I am pretty sure that it will all go soon, anyway as many people can help themselves. The only thing that is clear is that I have no rights and count for shit. That is why I am better off just forgetting the whole thing.
I am getting more into this now. I just checked the spec and both wheels are 17" snf weight is good. It doesn't have USD forks and I used to think that important. Now I can just go with the flow. It's only going to be a toy and I certainly will not be pushing it. And it does look nice. It looks easy to get on and off with m ymessed up leg with no mad seat hump pretending to be a pillion seat. It doesn't look easy to dump the pillion foot rests but I hardly notice them.
It’s the real deal. A good value & fun lightweight, well built bike. I have no affiliation to RE (in case anyone wondered). I just think it’s a good bike.
From June until August each year, a theatre company uses my neighbour’s enormous garden for rehearsing the play they’ll be putting on over the summer hols and then as a “thank you”, they invite the villagers over to watch the finished article. This year they are doing “Shakespeare In Love” and this afternoon’s freebie performance was awesome. Then I went and did some off-roading on a huge tract of land that only me and the lads from the local Travellers’ site seem to know about/use (it was them who introduced me to this hidden gem a couple of months ago). Unfortunately, it seems that our secret enduro/motocross playground may not be our playground much longer because apparently families that have been grazing their horses on part of it have been told to remove them because houses are going up in the near future. Curses
More houses in your little village? It’ll be a town soon enough. I bet there won’t be any extra Doctors etc tho?
It's a couple of miles away, but we had a load of new builds go up just outside the village the year before last, along with their ubiquitous Range Rover Evoques, Miniature Dachshunds and French Bulldogs, lip filler and Live, Laugh, Love cushions.
