Getting the new bike

Unfortunately I didn't have ability to reply to Playtpus post in Kettering
due to technical probs with puter replying to the gropu as I took a look at
the bike I was planning to see over the weekend - and was well impressed but
had to make a pretty sharp decision there and then what to do.
By today morning it was up to me to decide whether I was going to put up a
deposit or say nay, so I said deposit it is.
Back home now and able to get repies to newsgroup on my own puter.

To be fair I wanted to have a chance to look at it as an alternative, and I
was even supposedly going to keep my mind open to something like a W650 kwak
but there you go.
Tried to send from newsreader over weekend to pickup on the threads and look
at Platypus as an alternative but it wasn't playing, so had to stick to my
guns and ended up putting a deposit for £100 down on this other beast.
Noted that it went on on ebay, looks like a worthy and honest machine just
in need of a slight bit of tlc which is well worth bidding on - but didn't
really give me any idea there and then as a comparison against this machine
which I had a definite cost on.Circumstance as it is, I'm committed now
having laid down some readies.

Granted this red one tends to focus more on the plastic nature of the crappy
badge. Which would no doubt be coming off, as well as proper pipes to make
it sound a bit more nice. Looks like Playtpus bike is a lot subtler on the
badge front.
Anyway that is a parallel, its done 5k km (3000 miles) and really is
immaculate.
The guy has only ridden it in dry miles and garaged it and sems to have
really
looked after it, so fair play. Really excited about picking it up which is
going to be in a couple of weeks which is when I will be back in the saddle
again!
Thing that is shocking about this bike to me is the width of the bars. So I
can pretty much rule getting it into just about any kind of shed or
outhouse, then.

Piccies
http://www.aqwe64.dsl.pipex.com/vn800.jpg
http://www.aqwe64.dsl.pipex.com/vn800-2.jpg

Antoine

 

Looks a hell of a lot cleaner than mine.

 

From a negative viewpoint though, this is a parallel so lower value. It got
kph clocks. But it was too cheap to resist, very low miles and the guy seems
like a very careful owner and has hardly used it. I had a small window of
opportunity to see this bike and made sure I put a deposit down.

Having said that, if I'd wanted to save about a grand, as its only meant to
be a fill in for 6mths or so until I have my custom on the road then yours
would have been ideal if I had just caught it sooner. This would have been
preferrable to be honest. My only problem is forseeing trying to divorce
from it later on like you might be difficult.
I wouldn't think the missing panel and any corrosion on the forks and stuff
like that as that much of a deal, for somebody to put some time into
sorting.
Even paint work scratches (I didnt see any but talking generally) can be
sorted out if you have the time.
It's actually more important to me that the mechanical stuff like servicing
has been taken care of which it seems you have, than cosmetics as these are
probably easier, cheaper and more straight foward apsects to sort than
something like an engine rehaul! It would have been a small effort to sort
that sort of stuff.
Boo. Whatever, I always manage to miss out on things until they have past by
me.

Another reason for deciding it early on is my girlfriend would have not been
that entertained at spending several weekends travelling all over the place
looking about for bikes and given our other commitments - and she was as
happy as I was about it when we saw it, so we definitely got the x-factor
when we saw it.
Probably the huge comfy looking pillion seat that did it, as opposed to
sitting on a razor blade.
So it seemed to make sense to take the path of least resistance - even
though the used guides always say never buy the first you come across.

I think I am also getting somewhat slightly better in my age at purchases -
I recall an old mate of mine picking rust off the door of a Golf GTI mk1
many many years back and I still went and bought the piece of shit - but now
I trust my instinct a bit better. I even did the boring stuff with checking
the engine/frame number, tread etc !

Antoine

 

My general recommendation for pillion use is to crank the shock up to
maximum preload - it's pretty soft with not much damping. By about 20K
miles, it'll be shagged, and the handling will be shit two-up. Hagon do a
replacement, which I'll probably be getting if mine doesn't sell.

Haynes actually do a book for the VN750/800 series, including the Drifter.

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=9807&item=2488995651&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

"BIG cruiser". Heh.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Antoine

****, what an abortion!
--
Nigel - Manufacturer of the "Champion-105" range of rearsets

WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL)
ZZR1100, Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner",
Honda GL1000K2 Kawasaki ZN1300 Voyager "Oh, Oh, It's so big"

 

Nigel Eaton says...

That's a bit rich, considering what you've recently bought.

 

Is it? Looks just like any other cruiser to me.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Ace

It's the panniers. They just don't... fit, somehow.
--
Nigel - Manufacturer of the "Champion-105" range of rearsets

WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL)
ZZR1100, Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner",
Honda GL1000K2 Kawasaki ZN1300 Voyager "Oh, Oh, It's so big"

 

Too square. They'd look fine on an R100/7.

 

What, you think they spoil the looks?

Bwaahaahaa!