How to confuse everyone (including yourself) in a couple of phone calls

[Fat Rat]

1. Someone visits you on a Tenere 700, you have been fighting the urge to ride one but the white and red just tips you over the edge.

2. browse the interweb and search for Tenere 700 at the local dealers. Make a few tentative enquiries at a few of them.

3. Find a nice looking used (priced more than a new model) at Thunder Road. Ignore the price, get a test ride, then buy one elsewhere.

4. This morning, ring Thunder Road to change the time of the test ride. "Can I speak to Ken please"?  "who"?
"Ken, I have a test ride booked with him today". "No you don't we can't offer test rides on used bikes" 

5. Receive a call from Ken at JTs in Swansea (who I will never buy from), confirming my test ride.   

[2112]

 

[UK_Vstrom650]

 

[mr_diver]

    

as soon as you said Ken I knew you her talking about JT's 

Mind boggling that they won't let you ride used bikes, I found that out when we went to look at the 1997 535cc Virago by dad did buy.

[The Doctor 46]

I was thinking of buying a BMW GSA 1150 at Coopers many years ago. It was used but only had a few hundred miles on the clock. When I asked if I could test ride it they said no but then wheeled out a new one for me to try. After a short ride and testing the ABS (which was all new to me) from 100 mph to zero, just to find out how good it was, I went back and bought the used one. It was already kitted up with almost every extra including luggage. I loved it.

Still at low miles the ABS pump packed up (over £1300 just for the pump) and I was told by another BMW dealer that the reason for the pump failing was because I didn't use it?

So, I've got to ride badly in order to keep my bike from failing. I had the pump changed then sold the bike because it had already let me down too many times. I wish it had been made by Honda or some other Jap manufacturer because it was by far the best bike to ride fast on all roads, it was the build quality that let it down badly. The gearbox was also replaced at very low miles by BMW..... Honestly.

[cooltshirt]

  Superb!
My VStrom (complete with beak) was bought secondhand from a proper dealer who went through all the proper checks and then were more than happy to give me a hours test ride. I mean if they aren't happy to give a test ride on a prepared used bike then you have to ask what do they know?

Re ABS certainly in cars it is a good wheeze to do an emergency stop on a damp road. Couldn't recommend that on a bike of course ........

[Joe Rocket]

I think you might like to see this cooltshirt. An SV, with/without ABS on a wet surface.

[Asmith61]

Bloody hell it just goes to show you don’t it  Joe

[Joe Rocket]

I've only tested it under instruction in the dry but it shows you the advantages of ABS. 


Sorry FR, didn't mean to spoil your embarassment.

As you were everyone, back to mocking mood. 

[cooltshirt]

I think you might like to see this cooltshirt. An SV, with/without ABS on a wet surface.

Makes the point well, but assuming when without ABS the rider is just grabbing the brake it would be interesting to see how quickly a skilled rider stopped with cadence braking ........ and of course on a VStrom the aerodynamics of the beak would have kept it stable 
For myself being er wealthy in years I am still amazed at the stopping power of modern tyres and brakes.
Worst tyres ever Swallow (really cheap Avon roadrunner copies)
Worst brakes ever chrome discs on a Norton Commando

And indeed back to mocking our great leader ......... 

[TLPower]

This will annoy him even more.

He hates 'mericans and he isn't a KTM fan.

[The Doctor 46]

In the first video the rider always turned the bars at the start of braking. It looked to me like he was trying to cause a crash.

Years ago I was riding a BMW R100GS. I was in traffic stopping and starting to about 30 mph then stopping again. A nice lady who was sitting in her car at a give way line to my left and looking at me decided to pull out at the last possible second so as to almost definitely cause a crash. She then stopped blocking my lane, still smiling at me. I hit the brakes and slid the back wheel out to my right, stopping parallel with her, close enough to have touched her car. She smiled and drove off?

I also owned a BMW R1150GSA at the time which had ABS, I know that if I had been riding it instead of the old R100GS I would not have had space to ride around her but probably would have smashed into the rear off side of her car. I am glad I have ABS on my DL650 but know that it's not always going to save me.

It was not skill that saved me just a very quick reaction and luck.
 

[kwackboy]

Not knocking ABS but these tests are always over exaggerated to prove a point and lots of new riders see this and think it'll save them in all situations.

The KTM video where the rider is banked over and comes off after braking, Who here would brake hard on the front banked over that far ..?

I certainly wouldn't, I'd pick it up to a safe angle and then brake. 

[TLPower]

I think KTM were making the point that if you are leant over and committed and if you need to brake heavily you can.

I have used it in a situation where it saved me, without it I would have had to stand the bike up to try and stop in a straight line in the room available.

[Joe Rocket]

This is a good subject and I only meant to help out with ABS use in the wet (not diverge from FR's brain lapse).

You have to accustom yourselves to ABS and know how it feels to be confident when you hang on the brakes and let it function.

I'd suggest everyone goes to the empty car park on a dry day and practice emergency stopping to get to know ABS shuddering and feel safe in the event. It's time I refreshed my own senses for sure. 

[Brockett]

Controlled braking    On Friday, just doodling on a country road as I run-in the Moto Guzzi, a tractor, pulling a machine with very spikey bits, pulled out of a field as if the driver was trying to kill me. ABS saved me a trip to hospital.  IMHO controlled braking is only possible when the rider is in ful control e.g. when on a race track the surface and curvature of the road is known and every move can be planned in advance. As for me, in an emergency, I grab the brakes and squeeze hard.
Also, ABS allows me to use the rear brake much more than I felt that I could in the non ABS past. All three of my bikes have just a single disc up front and so I use the rear brake.
My KTM has a mode for de-activating the rear ABS. I think this is for "backing" into corners on track days.