New bike thread!

[Taipan]

Right, I sold the BMW as the Scooter is perfect from my commuting needs. Trouble is, having a bike there is one thing, having no bike there is another. I always miss a bike when I don't have one! But I know for commuting in London's traffic I prefer an automatic, hence the regular scoot ownership thing. So a bit of a no brainer to go back to an auto/DCT bike really and meet both my needs.

I had a N750X a couple of years back, but it was when I was waiting on a replacement knee and it put my knackered knee in exactly the wrong position, so it had to go. I also found it very under powered. Some time later I bought a manual NC700X which had way more grunt than my 750 ever did and led me to conclude the 750 was probably A2 restricted?

Having thought about it for 2-3 minutes, I couldn't shake the idea of owning another DCT, so I had a quick look on eBay and found Craigs Honda had one with a good few extras such as heated grips, spotlights, bigger screen, centre stand, heated grips, TUTORO chain oiler etc. Great service history but with 38k miles. These low revving engines do spaceship mileages and you cant load a auto engine either, so the mileage wasnt a issue for me and it brought it down to great price! So another one of my hasty decision was made on the spot and I rang them straight away and bought it!

Should have gone for a virago ....

[Bigyin]

It’s only an Alta when you put the badge on!!

That looks superb for a cheapo ebay purchase. My fake Akra isnt that good so might have to change it now

[Yorick]

It’s only an Alta when you put the badge on!!

Whenever I search Aliexpress it just brings up loads of shit, no matter what I search for

[Taipan]

It’s only an Alta when you put the badge on!!

That looks superb for a cheapo ebay purchase. My fake Akra isnt that good so might have to change it now

Got mine from the guy below. As with most of them, look at it then dont buy and they'll contact you with a discount.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/madeinchina1 ... 7675.l2559

[Taipan]

Had some errands to do for family today, so I decided to take my tools on the bike and make sure there were no problems and it would keep starting etc. Straight into sport mode this time and i'm more than happy with its gear changes now.

The screen and its bolt on deflector is better for an adjustment but I still get some buffeting. I know a few MM either way can get it right so I'll have a few more tries, but if not I think I'll just bin the deflector.

The bike was obviously someones pride and joy as I noticed things like bolts and fastners have been painted silver! WTF has the patience to do that!

I found a USB lead with a phone or sat nav connector on there. Sadly it wasn't an iphone one, but I may change that and put a quadlock mount or something on there for my iphone.

Once again I found myself making a longer ride out of my journey than I needed it to be, which proves to myself I am enjoying riding the bike. Its a keeper!

[weeksy]

What's it like on braking ? It goes down the box for you ? Lets say you're at 7000rpm and brake hard into a turn, how does it handle it ? If you're leant over, does it unsettle the bike at all when changing down ?

[asmethurst99]

Had some errands to do for family today, so I decided to take my tools on the bike and make sure there were no problems and it would keep starting etc. Straight into sport mode this time and i'm more than happy with its gear changes now.

The screen and its bolt on deflector is better for an adjustment but I still get some buffeting. I know a few MM either way can get it right so I'll have a few more tries, but if not I think I'll just bin the deflector.

The bike was obviously someones pride and joy as I noticed things like bolts and fastners have been painted silver! WTF has the patience to do that!

I found a USB lead with a phone or sat nav connector on there. Sadly it wasn't an iphone one, but I may change that and put a quadlock mount or something on there for my iphone.

Once again I found myself making a longer ride out of my journey than I needed it to be, which proves to myself I am enjoying riding the bike. Its a keeper!

I put some windscreen adjusters on that raise the screen by 5 cms - 15 quid (from Ebay Ali express might be cheaper )

[Taipan]

What's it like on braking ? It goes down the box for you ? Lets say you're at 7000rpm and brake hard into a turn, how does it handle it ? If you're leant over, does it unsettle the bike at all when changing down ?

Yes its the same as a car and changes down when braking and it does it earlier if in Sport mode. I don't think it revs to 7k, or that's about its maximum revs, its a very low revving bike by design. Can't say I've noticed it unsettling the bike, but yes, in theory it could be an unplanned down change whilst lent over? Its not really the sort of bike that people would buy to ride on the limits though.

[Claude]

Had some errands to do for family today, so I decided to take my tools on the bike and make sure there were no problems and it would keep starting etc. Straight into sport mode this time and i'm more than happy with its gear changes now.

The screen and its bolt on deflector is better for an adjustment but I still get some buffeting. I know a few MM either way can get it right so I'll have a few more tries, but if not I think I'll just bin the deflector.

The bike was obviously someones pride and joy as I noticed things like bolts and fastners have been painted silver! WTF has the patience to do that!

I found a USB lead with a phone or sat nav connector on there. Sadly it wasn't an iphone one, but I may change that and put a quadlock mount or something on there for my iphone.

Once again I found myself making a longer ride out of my journey than I needed it to be, which proves to myself I am enjoying riding the bike. Its a keeper!

Highly recommend this!

[G.P]

What's that front tyre?

Dunno about the amber light, but if there was a specific 'traffic' reason, you'd expect it on the other side.

Tyres are Michelin PR2s, not very old either, or at least they have loads of tread?

Two very different attributes lol

[Taipan]

I used it for its intended purpose today and it did it perfectly. Its an excellent commuter and more interesting to commute on than my hallowed sh300.

Okay, its not all honey, the seat and suspension are shite. I'm wondering if the forks are the same diameter as an XT660 as I have some spacers that Cheb made for me, so could play with the air gap, different oil and a bit of preload. I haven't even looked at the rear shock yet, so it maybe there is some adjustment on there, but i gather replacement is common because of its crapness. I'd be happy to throw a few quid at this tbh. Not looking for miracles or perfect suspension, just something that is a bit more compliant over London's pot holes etc.

Seat wise, ill just keep an eye out for a 2nd hand Shad, Corbin etc, or maybe just buy a new one? I'll see how the suspension changes help first.

These things aside, i'm very pleased with it and think it'll do what I need it to very well. I'm a happy camper tonight.

[the_priest]

BTW do check the lower dogbones have been greased up etc. If they are sticky that will affect handling.

[G.P]

I used it for its intended purpose today and it did it perfectly. Its an excellent commuter and more interesting to commute on than my hallowed sh300.

Okay, its not all honey, the seat and suspension are shite. I'm wondering if the forks are the same diameter as an XT660 as I have some spacers that Cheb made for me, so could play with the air gap, different oil and a bit of preload. I haven't even looked at the rear shock yet, so it maybe there is some adjustment on there, but i gather replacement is common because of its crapness. I'd be happy to throw a few quid at this tbh. Not looking for miracles or perfect suspension, just something that is a bit more compliant over London's pot holes etc.

Seat wise, ill just keep an eye out for a 2nd hand Shad, Corbin etc, or maybe just buy a new one? I'll see how the suspension changes help first.

These things aside, i'm very pleased with it and think it'll do what I need it to very well. I'm a happy camper tonight.

Given the price you paid for it and the potential miles you could do on it if its a keeper. A shock, some springs and a seat seems like a reasonable investment

[KungFooBob]

The forks on my 700 were dire, had no trust in the front end at all, but I guess it is only a shopping bike, built to a shopping bike budget.

[Taipan]

I used it for its intended purpose today and it did it perfectly. Its an excellent commuter and more interesting to commute on than my hallowed sh300.

Okay, its not all honey, the seat and suspension are shite. I'm wondering if the forks are the same diameter as an XT660 as I have some spacers that Cheb made for me, so could play with the air gap, different oil and a bit of preload. I haven't even looked at the rear shock yet, so it maybe there is some adjustment on there, but i gather replacement is common because of its crapness. I'd be happy to throw a few quid at this tbh. Not looking for miracles or perfect suspension, just something that is a bit more compliant over London's pot holes etc.

Seat wise, ill just keep an eye out for a 2nd hand Shad, Corbin etc, or maybe just buy a new one? I'll see how the suspension changes help first.

These things aside, i'm very pleased with it and think it'll do what I need it to very well. I'm a happy camper tonight.

Given the price you paid for it and the potential miles you could do on it if its a keeper. A shock, some springs and a seat seems like a reasonable investment

Exactly where my heads at.

Been in the loft to get Xmas decs down and found a extra height BMW seat which was £275 and an GPR end can, so should pull in best part of £300 for those alone. Some other stuff up there too!

[Taipan]

I found the Cheb spacers and I *think* they'll fit. If so i'll increase preload and I'll remove some oil to also increase air gap and hopefully get a more compliant ride. This costs me nothing to try,so I may as well do this first. I think i'll still change the springs for ones more suited to my weight though, just cant make my mind up whether to drop some PD fork valves in whilst I'm at it, but then I may as well do the YSS fork upgrade kit? Due to time constraints it'll be plan A for now...

[Taipan]

It didn't start again this morning! Battery issue again. Not sure oi ftye terminal has come loose again or something is pulling the battery down. There was some life in the battery but no dash lights so I suspect its a terminal issue again? I have some star washers now so i'll look into it tomorrow. Didn't bother this morning as I had to come into work and didn't want to get an issue in London.

[Taipan]

Hmm, battery showing 9.03 volts? Its on the optimate now and I'll see what that says, but I wonder if I have a parasitic draw somewhere and I'd suspect the heated grips if I do. If it charges okay i'll connect it to the OEM wiring and leave everything else unplugged and see if it stays okay. Then plug stuff back in one at a time? I'd prefer it to be the battery gone as i'd just bung a motobatt on and be done with it. Much easier than messing around finding electrical faults. I cant exactly drop it back to Craigs Honda in Yorkshire! D'oh!

[weeksy]

You'll need a day or 3 of it off the bike to see if it drops when not connected first?

[asmethurst99]

For what it's worth my one ( bought from a dealer) did exactly the same thing - I charged it and checked it etc went back to the dealer for a check as it was under warranty and it was the battery - I suspect it had sat on the showroom floor for a while .
It's a 2016 but it only had 4000 on it when I got it in June .