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hello from maryport

Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2018 7:57 pm
by sniffipn
hello, my names david - and i like v-twins.

having said that, for the last few years, i've ridden a z650 (1980) to work each day, unless its icy.



wondering whether to recommission an old guzzi to use this winter, rework the zed a little, or try a firestorm.

so, here to research.

seriously impressed with how the forum is organised - and the amount of info available.

Re: hello from maryport

Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2018 9:35 pm
by nigelrb
Hi Sniffy, and welcome.

Just bought my 1999 'Storm' yesterday. Big change from my Blades and a fun bike to ride.

There are many VTRs available at good prices. Why not grab one and save the Guzzi for best?

Re: hello from maryport

Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2018 10:30 pm
by tony.mon
Storms work well as a commuter, except in city traffic for more than half an hour, I'd say.
They are very easy to use in less than ideal weather, and even in ice and snow they cope.
But when you do get a bit of straight road or a few bends on a dry day they reward you.

They'll overheat in summer in slow or stationary commute traffic, but as they're so slim you can keep moving when most bikes are stuck behind traffic.

Re: hello from maryport

Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2018 8:17 am
by alanfjones1411
Hello and welcome to the forum.IMO.the most underrated bike made by Honda.

Re: hello from maryport

Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2018 9:06 pm
by sniffipn
There are many VTRs available at good prices. Why not grab one and save the Guzzi for best?
[/quote]
saving for best sounds like a sensible idea. having said that, the zed has been more fun for the use it gets. several winters use have been hard on it, cosmetically. content to enjoy using it, maintain, repair when it breaks, rebuild it when it rusts away. and it would be sad if the tyres got old before wearing out.

i've been watching on ebay for a week or two. nothing local - though north west cumbria is 40 mins from anywhere. if there was something in carlisle, i'd certainly go for a look. newcastle, glasgow and manchester are 2 - 2.5 hours, Liverpool a little further perhaps. sooner or later i'll see something.

they appear good value - and would go on a classic policy. :D

Re: hello from maryport

Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2018 9:10 pm
by sniffipn
tony.mon wrote: Sat Aug 25, 2018 10:30 pm Storms work well as a commuter, except in city traffic for more than half an hour, I'd say.
They are very easy to use in less than ideal weather, and even in ice and snow they cope.
But when you do get a bit of straight road or a few bends on a dry day they reward you.

They'll overheat in summer in slow or stationary commute traffic, but as they're so slim you can keep moving when most bikes are stuck behind traffic.
thats the beauty of cumbria. little traffic. following a tractor and trailer at 30mph for a while - at silage making time is as bad as it gets. other than a caravan or two that is. plenty of alternative roads though.

Re: hello from maryport

Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2018 9:12 pm
by sniffipn
alanfjones1411 wrote: Sun Aug 26, 2018 8:17 am Hello and welcome to the forum.IMO.the most underrated bike made by Honda.
so i now recognize. a delight to see the interest in them.

Re: hello from maryport

Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2018 9:00 am
by sniffipn
the more threads i look at, the better i see this forum to be. its great

Re: hello from maryport

Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2018 1:51 pm
by AMCQ46
welcome to the forum.

we take a run through Cumbria on both the yorkshire meeting at the start of teh year and on the way up to the Scotland meet that we just had 3 weeks ago.

you might have heard us :lol:

Re: hello from maryport

Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2018 8:21 pm
by sniffipn
AMCQ46 wrote: Mon Aug 27, 2018 1:51 pm welcome to the forum.

we take a run through Cumbria on both the yorkshire meeting at the start of teh year and on the way up to the Scotland meet that we just had 3 weeks ago.

you might have heard us :lol:
on the m6, or the a66/a5086?

maybe next year, i'll have a vtr to join in for a few miles

Re: hello from maryport

Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2018 10:10 pm
by AMCQ46
For Yorkshire trip we went from Penrith round Ulswater over kirkstone pass and into Windermere. For the Scotland trip we got lazy and went up,the A6, but we got stuck behind a police car from Kendal to Shap, and then from Penrith up they had closed the M6 so we had to ride the white line for the rest of the A6 to Carlisle

Re: hello from maryport

Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2018 9:08 pm
by sniffipn
kirkstone is an interesting ride. so are the other passes. a colleague rides them each year. best done early in the day - to avoid the traffic and mountain bikes.

i like honister in the spring and autumn. Hardknott Pass and then Wrynose Pass can be challenging when it gets busy. some bends are tight and steep. rumour has it that an ex colleague fell off his new bmw there, whilst on a training course. reminds me to have a look on youtube. dont recall the bends looking so bad on peoples videos. maybe i was riding in the wrong direction.

Re: hello from maryport

Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2018 10:48 pm
by sirch345
Welcome aboard David :thumbup:

Chris.

Re: hello from maryport

Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2018 7:29 am
by sniffipn
sirch345 wrote: Tue Aug 28, 2018 10:48 pm Welcome aboard David :thumbup:

Chris.
thanks chris. lots of interest. tech info, inspirational rebuilds, sensible conversations going on - with friendly banter.

Re: hello from maryport

Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2018 9:55 am
by KermitLeFrog
Have you ridden a VTR yet? Or even bought one? I've not kept up with the posts.