No you didn't. you said something curt and expected everyone else to understand. Both talking about the same thing: Pete is eloquent, andy is stunted. Pete, who is clearly pissed off in some threads, explains why some opinion is wrong. andy, who is clearly pissed off in some threads, lambasts that opinion. I know which is better to read...
i've dropped my ktm loads! glad it has the crash bars on it. buy the new bike, keep it cosseted in the garage and buy a shitter,600 diversion or bandit etc and get your knee down, fall off, practice wheelies and get some miles on.
Well I was in the shop again today. Sat on the multistrada for the first time. Wow that's a big bike. I was pretty comfy on there i can see me touring on that thing. Aw now I want 2 bikes. Sittting on the 848 was also great and its obviously a different experience. But the salesman wasn't moving much on the price and it comes back to not knowing what I really want. Decision. Ok I'll keep the cash in the bank for a few months. I'll spend the few hundred the cbr needs for the exhaust and fairings fix up. Then give it a good carb clean and major service etc. And just ride it. Some were asking if I had dropped it. Well yes. I used it to practice uturns, slalom and figure of 8 turns for my test for a few weeks before in a private car park. I dropped it a couple of times on u turn. And a couple of weeks ago, I dropped it turning it while manhandling it out of the small garage I have it in. My driveway is the width of a car, and it leaned too far from me and I couldn't hold it. Kind of placed it down Thanks for all the info. Really is a fantastic site.
I know this thread has strayed a little bit away from the OP's first post, but i thought i might just go back to it for a bit. It is something that has always happened when it comes to taking a bike out from a dealer for a test ride and has always annoyed me a lot. In over 36 years of riding bikes and driving cars, i have never had any car dealer refuse a test drive in any car. Trade plates go on the car and off you go for a drive. So the question is really, why don't bike dealers do the same thing ? Maybe it's because they can't be arsed ? It can't possibly be just an insurance issue, after all for years and years you could pass the car test one day and take a Porsche for a test drive the next day. To me it just seems like a "couldn't care less" attitude from bike dealers.
and you are generally solo on a bike the dealer cant sit along side you......and would you get on the back of any power ranger hero for a test ride....
This. A friend of mine took a Mutli out for a test ride in the UK (at my non-insistent instigation, it should be said) and succeeded in dropping it doing a U-turn or something similar. He normally runs a bus of an old Triumph Sprint. I have ridden many miles with him. He's reasonably competent, but I wasn't over surprised at the story - he's a born again biker who doesn't do much regular riding. Letting out a guy who has recently passed their test on the latest, expensive, high-powered Ducati may just seem a risk too far for a garage. In Switzerland it's simpler, as the insurance system is one of plates. The garage will have insured trade plates on its vehicles and the policy will enable anyone with a valid licence to ride them. They are presumably insured fully comp. That is the system here. My own bike can be ridden by anyone with a licence. Were it insured fully comp, this friend of mine would be too, whilst he were on my bike. (It isn't though, so don't ask.)
I had two test rides yesterday. One at Fowlers in Bristol who took a £100 deposit, gave me a trade plate and an hour and a half to do what I liked (I suspect some dealers don't like issuing trade plates because possessing one is a gift to a thief, so they get "lost"), and another at a small BMW dealership who took both parts of my licence but no deposit, filled the bike with petrol gave me the keys and told me they'd like to shut up the shop by 5 0' clock if I could manage it. I test rode a Streetfighter before buying mine from Riders of Bristol. Their test rides are escorted. Which is a much better idea than it sounds. Your escort is another biker who likes fast riding just as much as you do, has local knowledge which keeps you away from speed cameras and knows the shortest route to the best roads which saves you wasting valuable time snarled up in slow moving traffic. And in my case, as we had been talking about the Diavel while they fuelled my bike, he chose a Diavel demonstrator for his ride and we swapped bikes half way round so I got two test rides for the price of one. A great time was had by all and I bought the bike. Everyone a winner.
i worked in a garage that rented out scooters peugeot speed fight's we had to give it up after a season due to the cost of insurance although it was busy enough.
Never had a problem with Fowlers, to be fair. Can't help feeling the nickname has more to do with the company name than any misdoings on their part. They just became a flash venue when shitty little hovels were still de riguer among bikers.
there expensive. i like a deal, there prices are firm, i like a deal so no deal, no sale. they carry good accessories and are growing so must be doing something right, a bit like Tesco.....before they went tits up.
I've bought from both. I found the service very good in both cases. There are a couple of staff members at Fowlers I'm not keen on - one guy is invariably patronising and seems to view the general public with suspicion - but they do get an awful lot of tyre kickers in there and those on the sales team I have dealt with when buying have been excellent. I don't think Fowlers prices generally are too bad but like so many dealers it varies. Some bikes look quite reasonable and some make you cough. It depend what's hot at the moment and what's not. Buyers need to know their stuff as well. Riders I found more informal and friendly. Its less like a department store than Fowlers, more relaxed and you feel you're talking to fellow bikers not sales staff. I do think their second hand prices tend to be top-end though and they're not keen on haggling whereas you can sometimes get a faint squeak out of Fowlers if you squeeze hard enough. But that said their back-up service was very good, their bikes are well prepared and they look after you. I'd buy with confidence from either of them. But they're both there to make money so as with any dealer or private vendor, do your homework and compare prices before diving in.
My sister passed her test in November and is late 40's and had the same issue but did find one or 2 independents who were willing. Last week she bought a 3 year old 600 divi without test riding as her mate has one and loves it. My advice, buy something you like the look of 2nd hand private and you won't lose much, 2nd hand bikes hold their value pretty well. Don't rush onto something too fancy. They are easy to drop when you are new.
Little story: A few years back a mate of mine in his mid 30's had never ridden a bike decided to give it a go, bought a 125 and had a lovely summer. He fell in love with an Aprillia Dorsoduro Factory 750. He put down a deposit and agreed to trade his 125 in the day he passed his test He failed the first 2 goes and had his 3rd test the day before his wedding, passed and picked the Duro up. He came and showed me the bike grinning from ear to ear with the intention of riding it home then me and him were going for a few beers and he was sleeping at mine before his wedding the next day. 30 mins later I get the phone call he needs a lift to hospital as he had a low speed spill 100 yards from his front door. He was going round the block one last time and grabbed the front brake when a car came the other way and he panicked. Long story short, spent the night in hospital, smashed his ankle and hand, went down the aisle the next day on 2 crutches against medical advice as they wanted him under the knife. Honeymoon cancelled and I spent all wedding defending motorcycle safety. He kept the bike though, not allowed out on it much. Moral of the story, careful riding when excited. Careful on new tyres and brakes. Stay safe and have fun.
ah yes the famous front brake grab. i ride with one finger on the brake and clutch. saves a grab and i always use the rear under 10 mph to slow and stop. its how i was taught
I learnt that one on a TS50ER @16 when testing the new Genelli pipe and meeting a tractor coming the other way down a country lane. just a sprained wrist and ankle. You bounce more at 16.
my brother had an er 50, with a 75 kit on it. I was a dt 50 boy..with a yz 80 engine.......my dad sussed me out soon after!
