Featured What you been doing with your TRIUMPH today??

No ice on the road there yet, but rain + dead leaves on our mountain roads make my ride trajectories somehow hazardous.

 

What about a inexpensive car for the bad days?
Where I live it's not possible to ride the whole year , and a 4X4 car is not luxury sometime to climb up there.

 

You could always catch a bus

 

I'll update the image when it goes dark so you can see how bright these really are, but in daylight, they look like they will make the driver behind take more notice. I hate the thought of taking one up the rear

.

 

I don't judge.

 

when I was short on money and moved in there I found a 30 years old cheap Fiat Panda 4X4 that did the job until falling apart and spreading rust clouds on her way

 

MOT done, passed with no advisories - The guy who tested said it was in great condition ...and did I ever ride it

 

Very clean indeed. @Privateer you should ask @MadMrB how he does it so well lol

 

Was that your first angle grinder project?

 

I've got a crappy old Suzuki Jimny, in 4 wheel drive in snow it is brilliant. In normal conditions it's ok if you don't go over 60, kids love it because it's like a fairground ride. Not sure how cheap they are as I got it off my Dad when he went to open a bar in Lanzarote when he was in his 80s!

 

where do you go for MOT's please?
I used to go to spenders m/c but will go more local if there's anywhere recommended?

 

Taking it to Ivinghoe Beacon - it was such a beautiful day that I didn't want to waste it.

 

RGS Motorsport in Wellingborough http://www.rgs-motorbikes.co.uk

If you scroll towards the bottom of the homepage there is a link where you can book an MOT.

 

I took the Street Triple on a run around the country roads of Yorkshire and Derbyshire today for a spot of breakfast. It occurred to me as I was riding that I couldn't remember the last proper ride I had on it. I only put it back on the road this year and I've been using the Ducati for most trips, especially for two-up journeys. (Shouldn't have to worry too much about that any more now she's got her full licence.)

I still think the suspension needs sorting out - I'm sure it's less compliant than it used to be; some bumps are quite jarring.

I also reminded myself how much I need a dark visor for those damp mornings when the winter sun glares brilliantly off damp roads. Couldn't see a damn thing on some stretches.

 

^^ I had mine done by a lad in Rochdale who used to work for Honda racing team as there lead mechanic.

https://www.facebook.com/swsuspension/

 

Getting a lid with a drop down dark visor was a good purchase.

I can also pretend I'm a fighter pilot, so bonus.

 

SJs and Jimnys are bloody capable tools

 

Dunno your budget Duck, and I've done an enforced winter when really too bloody old on an unsuitable (fireblade) bike so I really feel for you.
Honda HRVs turn up cheap, I bought a rustbucket for 500 quid and passed it when it's MoT ran out eight months later for over 250. I love SJ suzis but they're getting a bit cult status and demanding prices above their value. There is def cheap 4x4 stuff if you've no brand loyalty/predudice and think laterally

 

It's bloody hard work riding a bike through winter. What a leisure rider might not appreciate is that at six in the morning the roads ride a lot different to when they've had a bit of traffic and the sun is up. I'll shake your hand here Duck and we'll poke eachother in the eye for laughs elsewhere on the forum when the occasion demands

 

I have been in the habit of riding to work this year as my situation favors the bike commute once again. I always used to ride to work when I lived in the UK. In fact, even though I had a car I would usually ride unless the roads were icey. I lived in Knowle on the south of Bristol and worked out of Frome as a driver for Western Vinyls. The ZX9R was pretty good at keeping the elements off you if you went fast enough, and given I was in my late 20's I didn't care much about being cold at 4.00am on a Monday.
Throughout my office career in Cincinnati with P&G I would commute on the bike most days on a Multi or a Diavel when the weather was fairer, and then again when I lived in Tennessee I would commute on a bike unless I was dropping off the kid at Day-Care.
However, until I got this Speed Twin, pretty much all the other bikes had a fairing or screen of types. Now I find myself wanting to ride the Speed Twin over the S1000XR at 7.00am in the morning and while the fly screen and Rukka jacket keep my trunk toasty, my skinny legs wrapped in thermal underwear and cargo pants get a bit chilly when the temperature near freezing point. I need to get some thin waterproof windbreaker over-pants.
Where's all this going?
Well, as this is only my third week of ownership I am a little bit surprised to discover how much heat the water-cooled twin exudes when at a stop light or plodding along in traffic at low speeds. It certainly helps. In order to aid this good fortune I felt I needed to aid the breathing so I installed a nice free flowing air filter and removed the snorkel, and what a difference it has made. Much recommended as an aid to cleaning up the on/off throttle response at partial throttle. Next will be a Booster plug to cement the deal.