KymcoForum.com
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: Stig / Major Tom on March 14, 2023, 04:57:50 PM
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Yeah - not much - but forecast caught out streets dept - wind - freezing slick and feels like 12°F this morning.
Snowed the other day, too.
A night rider is having a tough time right now - but I'm patient.
(https://i.postimg.cc/6qJk2Z16/20230313-213215.jpg)
Finally got out my Xmas present from daughter - ( she says I'm "wicked hard" to buy for - "Keep the receipt!" is my reply at gift giving time :)
Now I can keep them both topped up on these cold nights. Specially that miserable little 6Ah in the Liberty. (box is too small for anything bigger) (replaced the stock 8 in the LIKE w/a 14Ah - only 5mm taller)
(https://i.postimg.cc/0jXHGJVJ/20230314-120423.jpg)
Stig
Stig
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Cold here also. 30 F this morning but roads dry, and go in some around town errands at noon, and 46 F. OK around town but to cold for me to adventure out. I'm a woose.
Art
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ten inches and still snowing here in southern NH, not sure where I'm gonna put it, maybe have to hire a loader again
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Mid 30sF here and the 8 inches of snow we had on Saturday is melting. We expect mid 50sF tomorrow and Thursday, though rain all day Thursday. That'll be the end of the snow until next time.
Will try to send some of those temps over your way.
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Snow all gone in my bit of the UK, but temperatures barely above freezing yesterday. Been too long, so I went out for a spin and really enjoyed the first 10 miles before my hands began to feel the chill. Must remember to get the heated grips fitted when it's in for the first service!
In the end I did just over 20 miles and the poor DTX looked like a tractor when I got it home. Glad I'd doused it with ACF50 before subjecting it to these conditions.
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Snow all gone in my bit of the UK, but temperatures barely above freezing yesterday. Been too long, so I went out for a spin and really enjoyed the first 10 miles before my hands began to feel the chill. Must remember to get the heated grips fitted when it's in for the first service!
In the end I did just over 20 miles and the poor DTX looked like a tractor when I got it home. Glad I'd doused it with ACF50 before subjecting it to these conditions.
Yeah - they use 'grit' or something over there? I guess it makes a mess on bikes and cars?
Heated grips - nevber tempted on my small scoots with limited electrical systems - but always wondered, do they keep your hands warm when just heating the underside of your hand? Probably just the thing if you add muffs on the bars.
Tried muffs years ago - but I'm in and out of them too much to feel that I'm riding safely with them. They're in a box somewhere....
Pics of the dirty scoot?
Heck - pictures of anything! The pheasants?
I mean ...no wonder my daughter won't be seen with me on this....(screenshot capture from police video. Put you in mind of OJ's slow speed run out there in LA?)
(https://i.postimg.cc/LX1wb28h/20221105-085104.jpg)
Stig
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Absolutely right about difficulty keeping the back side of your hands warm with heated grips. I suspected as much when I first started riding in below freezing temps regularly so ended up with heated gloves. I sold the heated gloves (after 16 yrs) when I bought my AK 550, which has the heated grips. First time out with them I remembered my fear of warm to hot palms but cold back side when that's exactly what I experienced. The next month I researched handlebar muffs. I even tried one pair that turned out to be way too floppy. They were warm when my hands were in them but an extra hand was needed to get my hands into them... not so much an issue for the first hand but then I needed a third hand for the next one.
Then I had a recommendation for the Kemimoto muffs (they call them "winter gloves") and those are stiff enough at the opening to enable me to slide my hands right in easily, even while riding. The combination of the muffs over heated grips works really well. Like putting my hands into a warm cave.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/fYmJ9vybyDTfEubs7 (https://photos.app.goo.gl/fYmJ9vybyDTfEubs7)
But you do need to have a certain amount of electrical power available to run heated grips or heated anything, but not as much as you'd think.
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Yeah - they use 'grit' or something over there? I guess it makes a mess on bikes and cars?
Heated grips - nevber tempted on my small scoots with limited electrical systems - but always wondered, do they keep your hands warm when just heating the underside of your hand? Probably just the thing if you add muffs on the bars.
Tried muffs years ago - but I'm in and out of them too much to feel that I'm riding safely with them. They're in a box somewhere....
Pics of the dirty scoot?
Heck - pictures of anything! The pheasants?
I mean ...no wonder my daughter won't be seen with me on this....(screenshot capture from police video. Put you in mind of OJ's slow speed run out there in LA?)
(https://i.postimg.cc/LX1wb28h/20221105-085104.jpg)
Stig
Yeah the roads here get salted with a brown grit which certainly contains salt as when it's dry I can taste it on my lips when riding! As for photos, will do next time I roll her out as it won't get washed this side of 12C...
As for the power drain with heated grips, Bob's right, it doesn't take as much as you might think and I certainly never had a problem in my three winters with the X-Town. Muffs certainly help to retain and even out the heat, but look particularly naff. If I was couriering like Viper used to then I'd use them; for occasional riding, call me a fashion victim, but no thanks.
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......call me a fashion victim, but no thanks.
After 10 yrs of riding and making certain to never again look in a store window as I passed.....my daughter snuck up on me , then presented me with these horrid photos of self.
I'm thinking my entertainment value to those following me has to be a safety feature of some kind....
Stig
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I can identify with this!
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After 10 yrs of riding and making certain to never again look in a store window as I passed.....my daughter snuck up on me , then presented me with these horrid photos of self.
I'm thinking my entertainment value to those following me has to be a safety feature of some kind....
Stig
We don't ride scooters to be up with the fashion Gods - at least not here or in the US! We have all learned however, the hidden charms and practicalities of the humble scooter and if that best kept secret of biking stays out of the mainstream, the only regret I'll have is the danger of it dying out completely at our generation shuffles off this mortal coil.
Mind you the average age of motorcyclists in my household has just dropped dramatically as the 34 year-old eldest lad has just bought himself a BMW F850 GS... Correction. Having tried it again he decided it was way too top heavy (he's only 75 kgs wringing wet) and so has switched his allegiance to a KTM 890 Adventure with Kriega Top case and side bags.
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I bought myself a new pair of snowshoes for Xmas a few years ago, to replace an old broken pair, and haven't used em yet, now we got deep enuf snow, I thought of going for a walk, but my snowshoes are in the barn, and the snows so deep, I need em to get to the barn
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I bought myself a new pair of snowshoes for Xmas a few years ago, to replace an old broken pair, and haven't used em yet, now we got deep enuf snow, I thought of going for a walk, but my snowshoes are in the barn, and the snows so deep, I need em to get to the barn
Phone a teenager....they love doing crazy stuff.
Stig
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Pics of the dirty scoot?
Heck - pictures of anything! The pheasants?
Stig
Your wish is my command oh mighty Stig
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Phone a teenager....they love doing crazy stuff.
Stig
that has proven to be unreliable, I've even offered $$ that would be $50/hr or more if they bust their ass. Last summer, I needed a couple cords of wood moved and stacked, offered $150, finally a young (in her late 20s) single parent took me up on the offer, did it in 3hrs. My teenage neighbor had first dibs, but he never got out of bed till noon, then had to text his gf for a couple hours.
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Your wish is my command oh mighty Stig
ouch...
Any pic of a scooter is welcome!
That's not a learner's plate back there, or is it a warning of a rather "senior" operator?
Stig
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ouch...
Any pic of a scooter is welcome!
That's not a learner's plate back there, or is it a warning of a rather "senior" operator?
Stig
You talking about the (yellow) license plate? They’re physically a lot bigger here than in the US. Any smaller and you’ll get pulled over by the police.
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Mind you the average age of motorcyclists in my household has just dropped dramatically as the 34 year-old eldest lad has just bought himself a BMW F850 GS... Correction. Having tried it again he decided it was way too top heavy (he's only 75 kgs wringing wet) and so has switched his allegiance to a KTM 890 Adventure with Kriega Top case and side bags.
Thought you might appreciate a photo of it. All being well we collect Wednesday. He's driving and I'm riding it back. Tough job but...
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Thought you might appreciate a photo of it. All being well we collect Wednesday. He's driving and I'm riding it back. Tough job but...
Thanks for the pics!
I looked at a smaller KTM a few years ago. Liked a lot about it.
I've a VW Bus friend who owned a big white desert crossing monster of a BMW - a DAKAR or Kilimanjaro or some darn thing. It was like mounting a horse. I guess you needed that kind of ground clearance to ride over Zebras and stuff.
Like the orange!
Stig
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Thanks for the pics!
Like the orange!
Stig
So you like it, personally I don’t care for orange at all. Now, if it came in Ducati red…
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Thought you might appreciate a photo of it. All being well we collect Wednesday. He's driving and I'm riding it back. Tough job but...
Well I had a nice day yesterday. Driven to Leeds in West Yorkshire to bring home the KTM eldest lad had bought. Planned a great route home (just under 100 miles) getting reacquainted with some twisty hill roads I've not ridden since I retired from an earlier career back in 2004! The weight of this monster is 196 Kgs and seat height is 830 mm (32.7"). In the real world, the weight is easy enough (better than a Beemer GS as lower down), but there's no denying it's a tall seat height - I could get both feet on the ground, but it was tippy-toes!
As a ride? Well I thoroughly enjoyed riding back over the High Peak* from West Yorkshire into Derbyshire yesterday despite the occasional shower. Seems sure-footed in both dry and wet and the brakes haul it back from high speeds easily and without drama. Loved the (optional) cruise control, set it to 30 mph and forget about all the West Yorks speed cameras!
Took about two and a half hours and was the best ride I've had this year once I was free of the urban sprawl. See that Blue sky? Behind me what you can't see is the damn big black cloud over the tops which I then rode into! One serious downpour does not a ride spoil however, you gotta take the rough with the smooth.
* For local Forum members, this was south out of Huddersfield, through Holmfirth (Last of the Summer Wine country) then down to the Woodhead Pass and on to Glossop and then Chapel-en-le-Frith to Buxton and home. A route I used often when working and my boss was HQ'd in Dewsbury, Leeds.
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Well I had a nice day yesterday. Driven to Leeds in West Yorkshire to bring home the KTM eldest lad had bought. Planned a great route home (just under 100 miles) getting reacquainted with some twisty hill roads I've not ridden since I retired from an earlier career back in 2004! The weight of this monster is 196 Kgs and seat height is 830 mm (32.7"). In the real world, the weight is easy enough (better than a Beemer GS as lower down), but there's no denying it's a tall seat height - I could get both feet on the ground, but it was tippy-toes!
As a ride? Well I thoroughly enjoyed riding back over the High Peak* from West Yorkshire into Derbyshire yesterday despite the occasional shower. Seems sure-footed in both dry and wet and the brakes haul it back from high speeds easily and without drama. Loved the (optional) cruise control, set it to 30 mph and forget about all the West Yorks speed cameras!
Took about two and a half hours and was the best ride I've had this year once I was free of the urban sprawl. See that Blue sky? Behind me what you can't see is the damn big black cloud over the tops which I then rode into! One serious downpour does not a ride spoil however, you gotta take the rough with the smooth.
* For local Forum members, this was south out of Huddersfield, through Holmfirth (Last of the Summer Wine country) then down to the Woodhead Pass and on to Glossop and then Chapel-en-le-Frith to Buxton and home. A route I used often when working and my boss was HQ'd in Dewsbury, Leeds.
Wow!
Nice Neil!
Looks like England could use some more folks out there!
Well, we have places out west that look like Mars -so.....
Thanks for the photos!
Tank and engine look w i d e ~!?
Stig
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Wow!
Nice Neil!
Looks like England could use some more folks out there!
Well, we have places out west that look like Mars -so.....
Thanks for the photos!
Tank and engine look w i d e ~!?
Stig
Those photos were taken after about an hour on the road so it took me that long to get out into the Yorkshire boonies! We got plenty of people (pushing 70m now) for these small islands, but fortunately there are still areas of sparsely populated beautiful countryside to ride through if you’re prepared to set aside the time. The Peak District National Park is my closest such area.
As for the KTM, the tank is actually located low down on either side of the engine - those bulbous grey bodywork areas, keeps the CoG low. It wouldn’t be my first choice of bike and not just for its colour! If I was looking for this style of ”adventure” bike, I’d rather have something like a Honda NC750X the DCT variant
https://www.honda.co.uk/motorcycles/range/adventure/nc750x/overview.html
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Those photos were taken after about an hour on the road so it took me that long to get out into the Yorkshire boonies! We got plenty of people (pushing 70m now) for these small islands, but fortunately there are still areas of sparsely populated beautiful countryside to ride through if you’re prepared to set aside the time. The Peak District National Park is my closest such area.
As for the KTM, the tank is actually located low down on either side of the engine - those bulbous grey bodywork areas, keeps the CoG low. It wouldn’t be my first choice of bike and not just for its colour! If I was looking for this style of ”adventure” bike, I’d rather have something like a Honda NC750X the DCT variant
https://www.honda.co.uk/motorcycles/range/adventure/nc750x/overview.html
Neil, You know what draws me to Honda products.....
Look at what they emphasize....
"Owners love the NC750X. They love its reliability and safety features. The high build quality, durable styling, do-it-all comfort and versatility makes this bike perfect for the weekday commute, as well as weekend fun."
Notice what is not emphasized?..... S P E E D or HP.
I am after build quality & reliability, dealer support , etc. while other rice rockets emphasize stuff which does not match my personality!
Anyway....glad to read you're not lonesome on the island! :)
Stig
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Notice what is not emphasized?..... S P E E D or HP.
I am after build quality & reliability, dealer support , etc. while other rice rockets emphasize stuff which does not match my personality!
Stig
And... you meet the nicest people on a Honda!
Saying all that I've only ever owned 2 Honda's, an XL185 which was rubbish for what I wanted it to do and then I bought new a GL500 Silver Wing based on the Guzzi rip off CX500. Brilliantly reliable ride and wonderfully comfortable.