I'm Marc, been riding for a little over a year and started off on a cute little vl125. I grew up in a house filled with old photos of my dads bikes - Predominantly classic Bonnevilles and BSA's (If I ever save up the money I'm gonna grab the old fart a 1960 Bonnie to fit his age). Took me half a year on my own bik to decide I wanted a Speedmaster and promptly passed all my riding tests around the Summer (What a rubbish one it was!). Ended up getting an '02 America instead. Lovely beast, the most terrifying moment of my life when I started it up and went for my first ride on her. I'd put 10,000 miles on the 125 in short of a year but I still wasn't 100% sure if jumping on the Triumph was my best idea. Never looked back since. (Aside from after an incident involving a blindingly low sun and a car deciding to stop in front of me forcing me back to the 125 while I got a new forward control bar) Recently rejetted her for some cocktail shaker exhausts and have been looking into other bits and bobs I wanted to have a go at changing, so I figured a forum might be the best place for advice and thoughts. (Also been contemplating nabbing myself a Sprint as having done my full license on a diversion, the sport bike feel is calling to me every now and then) Look forward to chatting with you lot and hearing about your bikes
Welcome Marc. I used to ride a Diversion 600 and a TDM 850 and found them both pussycats to ride. Now I have a Bonnie and just bought a Sprint ST 955. Love the Bonnie, it's a proper motorbike, and just getting used to the Sprint which is aimed at touring next year. The Sprint engine is an absolute delight. Caught myself doing 110mph on the A14 dual carriageway last week without even realising it. On the Bonnie you know it when you're doing 80mph.
I'm feeling that pain now. I lost my job last month (Hideous manager in a care home didn't like my honesty) so money for parts is now running tight.. Next on my "to mod" list are new bars. My 125 have about 8" more height than the Triumph and the position was so much comfier. Then I'm looking at some airbox replacement kits. I have a mate who has access to the tools to make some brackets with steel so I gotta try and get some measurements done up.
Hi Marc and welcome to the forum. Similar to me - only passed my test in 2014 after riding a CBF125 for a year and covering about 5000 miles. Bought a Bonnie 2 days later and loved it (sadly now gone due to a "slight off") but had already bought a Trident 900 by then, which is my day bike all year round. Have a Royal Enfield 500cc Trials for a laugh.
It stopped feeling so good when a few of the elderly ladies got flirty! Still, it kept the humour about. Between July and October I was covering roughly 50-60 hour weeks! Shame two thirds of the money went on bills! So given how I nearly burned myself out, I'm taking a restful December off with what I managed to save and the hundred of quid I've managed to make on hobby sales. (Sculpture and caster making 28mm figures, doesn't make much but it's a happy little bonus c Cheers lads. And Steve, grim curiosity leads me to ask about this "slight off"? Covered almost 3000 miles since I got my America at the start of September - I feel ashamed given that I was doing 1000m a month on the 125!
It was caused by instinctive, hard braking after the twat I was overtaking on a dual carriageway pulled into the outside lane without looking - or bothering to stop as it turned out. Big bruises and missing some skin but no bones broken. The Bonnie wasn't so lucky!
Welcome Marc, hope you get sorted on the job front. I read that you have recently fitted cocktail shakers to you America. I'm thinking about fitting the same type of exhausts to my '05 Speedmaster……..I hope you don't mind me asking, what do you think of the cocktail shakers? What's the noise like and where did you get them from?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272033517401 That's where I got mine. Disappointed on arrival to see "made in Taiwan" but they're doing fine so far. Noise levels.. Hehe, well I rode off to a mates last week and my ol' mum could hear the bike for about 5 minutes - Time enough for me to be 2 or 3 miles away. Up close it's bark/rumble kind of sounds, REALLY nice when you open her up. ..And that's with the baffles in.
Thanks for the info. WOW!! That sounds LOUD! I've seen those on ebay and was wondering about noise levels. Maybe too loud for me. I've seen steel baffles on ebay that can replace the perforated baffles in the cocktail shakers to make them less loud. Hummm.... I'll have to have a think about it. I don't want pipes which are so loud that police will pull me over all the time