Hi, I toured on my royal enfield meteor 350 two up, UK down to Santiago de Compostela Via Plymouth->Santander and back through France to the UK via Caen->Portsmouth. No problem, actually I enjoyed it more than ever. Before I've done it on my 1000cc BMW's or my 900cc triumphs or my 1200cc Triumph. These enfields are great for this, I'm touring, not racing.
Here in Bulgaria, no insurance company covers theft on a motorbike, I have been here almost 13 years, and never heard of a bike being stolen, and pay around £57 on a 99 zx9r, an mot is around £20, and lasts 2years, I hope you get the Bonni sorted out soon!
Bad luck about the Triumph. I understand exactly why people like Harleys. I had an Africa Twin XRV750 RD04 for four years. Great bike. A new Yamaha XSR155 is about 2,500 GBP in Thailand. And that extra 30cc makes such a difference. In Portugal, which I aim to get out of for good next year, motorcycle insurance is third party; no theft insurance. Good advice regarding insurance, Freddie. A great way to start the day. YT has been messing with my username. This is 1990, Freddie.
I went through Lone Pine from Death Valley last year in a car in August. 118 deg Fahrenheit and there are signs to turn the aircon off. 😓 Love it out there. One small bit of advice…apply for the permit to go through Yosemite in advance or they’ll turn you back and it’ll take a detour of 10 1/2 hrs to get to San Francisco not 6.
I went from never riding a bike to CBT, mod 1 training then test and mod 2 training and test then bought a speed twin 1200 and just skipped the whole 125cc thing, probably not the best way to go about it!
Another tip to reduce insurance cost is to put an extremely high excess. But take out a separate policy to insure the excess (this is often very cheap).
You make a very valid point about the insurance. Premiums can be so high that it is better to self-insure your own gear, which is effectively what you are doing by taking out third party only. If you can afford to do it, it seems like a reasonable choice. I’ve been riding since 1987, but took a break for just under 10 years, and I’m now the proud owner of a Moto Guzzi V7 850 Stone. I love the bike, but without NCD the premium for the first year was very high (especially for Yorkshire). So despite it being a new bike, I’ve gone TPFF. I don’t have a garage and keep it on my driveway with two ground anchors, and the CCTV watching over it. It’s the most I’m willing to do, as I use it on a daily basis and can’t be bothered with the faff of doing any more than that. Good luck with getting your bike fixed. The T100 was my second choice, but in the end I opted for the V7 as I plan to do my own maintenance with the warranty is finished and the V7 seems easier. Stu
I own a 2005 CB1300S and it’s a beautiful machine. However they are still being manufactured and sold in Japan. The 2023 model in the HRC colour scheme is stunning.
I love the colors on that Africa Twin. It's the same as the 90s Smokin Joe's RC45 of Miguel Duhamel. As a late teen to early 20s, I would have loved to be riding around the tracks back then.
Yes Freddie my brother was in the police force before he retired and he use to always say the police were Understaffed he actually was working at the Hillsborough disaster he said it was so bad they were rows of bodies laid down in the gym and quite a few bobbies Retired because of stress 😮
The cost of full coverage for my RE Interceptor was in the realm of $1500 a year here in the states. Likewise I decided to go with minimum liability insurance because the price of full coverage was going to blow the value equation of bike ownership. It would be a terrible loss to have the bike stolen or otherwise written off but at the end of the day I decided the risk for me personally would be worth it. That’s the beauty of a relatively inexpensive motorcycle, buy it in cash and don’t buy more bike than you can afford to lose. My break even point on full coverage vs minimum liability will be about 4.5 years. Having had the bike for 18 months I’m not there yet and time is yet to tell if I’ve made the right decision.
Hopefully the price for the fix will be affordable, one thing worth its weight in gold is a trustworthy and fair garage, but with ever rising costs across the board I do find myself having a go at fixing as much as I can myself before resorting to a garage and with used parts first. Looking forward to seeing the Scotland videos, if you're passing Rotherham on the way up, give Revs&Relics a look in, not far off Jnc 1 of the M18. 👍
Bluroc aka Bullitt are often overlooked but they share a lof of parts with their British counterpart of Bike Assemblers like MUT or Herald. To me, the Hero 125 is the sexiest scrambler out there
Fat Septuagenarian - my middle bike is an XSR 125 - also have a Bonneville and a YB100 - rode the latter round ireland and Scotland in the past couple of years. Planning to ride the XSR125 to the Alps....why not take the Triumph? It would be way to easy !! The XSR is a brilliant bike!
triumph piers are a nightmare if you move away from service items , touring m when i was just south of Prague and had just stopped at the services down the road came clatering and smoking a bit one BSA C15 with a spare engine bungeed on the back rack all the way from England the chap was heading to Poland so yes any bike van do it
I was Listening to an Item on Radio 4 AA Spokesman said due to the cost Of Living people are Skipping on Services & Repairs & this will Lead to More Unroadworthy Vehicles On the Roads mostly Cars & Vans Motorcyclists Tend to have at Least some Mechanical apptitude.
I moved my Triumph up from London to Glasgow to my dad’s garage.I just can’t afford to pay for a garage in London and I was paying £90 a month for insurance third party fire and theft keeping it in a locked courtyard in Hackney.
You did right letting someone do the work on the head, without being disrespectful I don't think you are up to the job, it's not just taking the head off then bolt it back on again, no everything needs to be correctly timed and you may well consider having the valve clearances checked at the same time and possibly the cam chain as they can stretch? Hard to believe you can't buy a head gasket off the shelf if that's what your waiting for?
For a 125 I’d go 2nd hand Japanese Honda Yamaha Suzuki Kawasaki. Can get 2nd hand parts easy. Go cheap as possible. You’ll use it for a year or two then sell it for what you paid. Do your DAS asap and move onto a mid range.
Just for comparison, i own a Triumph Tiger 800xc 2012 plate. Fully comprehensive insurance, in West Wales. £120 per year. Crazy disparity throughout the country.
It’s sad to hear that London is so bad. I would like to go there one day. We got problems here in the USA. But we got guns. As we say here in Kentucky. A lock is just a deterrent to an honest man. I hope you get the Triumph back soon. I hope that the threads from your plug hole didn’t make there way into your bottom end or cylinder walls. 🤞
Excellent ! I think to do a head swap yourself Freddie is something one would only do if you had a really good knowledge of engines and a good amount of confidence so I would do the same as you did , for me cycle parts straight forward service stuff is fine but when it comes to internals of the engine for me it's take it to a bike mechanic you can trust .Good watch cheers 👌👍
Freddie! Alwasya a fan of your videos. Just wondering what locks adn chains do you recommend ? I am in Bristol and theft is rampant. Just concious that I want to amke good choices where I put my trust and money in.
Soooooh glad we moved to Malta, from what you say about Insurance, and robbing scrotes trying to steal bikes, our Insurance is much lower, and very little crime of any description! Cheers DINO.
On the subject of locks, Freddie, would you please do a piece on the best value options? I've recently bought a RE Interceptor 650 and keen to keep it. It's parked securely overnight so just worried about times I'm out and about. I live in Manchester, by the way. Cheers
What part are you waiting for, for your Bonneville? Maybe some one can suggest a way to get it quicker or an alternative? In London the cheapest, easiest and best way to get around is bicycle - Brompton. Wouldn't even consider a motorcycle if I lived in London just too expensive and the risk of theft too high. Also bike has to be ULEZ compliant.
I think it’s the cylinder gasket, but I’ve luckily got a Himalayan for Scotland so I really hope the Bonneville will be ready for when I’m back🤞🏼🤞🏼 I drive into London last week and it really is getting less pleasant by the week for driving/riding
Hi Freddie. Saw that you reviewed the Kawasaki KLE 500 previously. If you were interested in a nice project mini adventure bike, I’m going to sell mine with all the mods and parts and all the original bits I’ve taken off. What do you think?
Adventure bikes lack character? The BMW 1150 GS that took me from Cheshire to the Sahara and back had oodles of it! The Honda Blackbird hat it replaced was bland - stupidly fast but didn't feel it. Quiet, smooth as an electric motor, did all it said on the tin but - zero character. Bland as a bland thing in bland land. It had to go. Yes of course mechanics will use original and new parts since if they don't, and there's a subsequent problem, they will have no come-back. Exception may be one-man shops who will say "I can do this cheaper with a part off eBay but there is a risk", and you can go along with that or not. My little Innova 125 Honda started running badly and after I'd done a lot of trouble-shooting it seemed the likely culprit was the fuel injector. A new one from Honda was about £130 but I got a 2nd hand one off eBay for £20, which fixed it, and here we are 3 years later and the bike is still running fine. BUT - that 2nd hand injector might have turned out to be faulty from day one, or might have failed after a few weeks or months - that's the risk.
The criminality in London re bike stealing that you mention, is an indictment of the current and past governments who dont rate it important to patrol the streets. Pathetic response from authority to this serious matter. As you say lawlessness.
I enjoy your ramblings. Totally agree with your comments on insurance. I adopted this view 50 years ago. Do the maths on that. I had an accident on a Gold Wing in the early 80s. The other guys insurance wrote the bike off and paid up (in Germany they deduct the scrap value of the bike and the bike remains yours). I put the bike back on the road for about £500 (at the time) including riding it back to UK withe a bent frame to get it straightened. So, if you can get your head around a total loss is anything but, it's the way to go.
Just looking for a first bike myself. The Herald is a fantastic suggestion, and I may now be on the search for one of my own! Having studied in London for a year, I can vouch for your claim that it can be very dodgy in parts. How highly do you rate those bits of kit which allow you to track your bike's location from your phone? I assume it would depend on how well you conceal the tracking device, and perhaps that some brands are better than others. Any thoughts? Cheers.
Love the channel but I’m surprised that you’re surprised about UK spare parts availability for a marque that’s now mainly assembled on the other side of the World from parts mainly made on the other side of the World. Why would spares availability be any better in the UK than in any other market ? Admittedly your bike is a bit older (UK assembled ?) but regardless I hope it gets fixed sooner than later.
A 10bhp Herald motor isn't a good idea, average bhp for a 125cc is 14bhp to 15bhp, i had an old rd125dx 17bhp, a heavy bike, but at least it wasn't that slow, it was practically dangerous.
I was born and raised here and it is unrecognisable to what I experienced when I was younger, it's like the wild west in many places. I only see the change accelerating, not improving. I've long considered a move up north, London is just not worth it anymore.
@@del4668 I know. The last 2 times I was up north of London, I was invited inside for a cup of tea and biscuits lol. You don't get hospitality like that in London.
Hi, I toured on my royal enfield meteor 350 two up, UK down to Santiago de Compostela Via Plymouth->Santander and back through France to the UK via Caen->Portsmouth. No problem, actually I enjoyed it more than ever. Before I've done it on my 1000cc BMW's or my 900cc triumphs or my 1200cc Triumph. These enfields are great for this, I'm touring, not racing.
I have the same bike, it's a wonderful machine !
Here in Bulgaria, no insurance company covers theft on a motorbike, I have been here almost 13 years, and never heard of a bike being stolen, and pay around £57 on a 99 zx9r, an mot is around £20, and lasts 2years, I hope you get the Bonni sorted out soon!
Bad luck about the Triumph. I understand exactly why people like Harleys. I had an Africa Twin XRV750 RD04 for four years. Great bike. A new Yamaha XSR155 is about 2,500 GBP in Thailand. And that extra 30cc makes such a difference. In Portugal, which I aim to get out of for good next year, motorcycle insurance is third party; no theft insurance. Good advice regarding insurance, Freddie.
A great way to start the day.
YT has been messing with my username. This is 1990, Freddie.
I went through Lone Pine from Death Valley last year in a car in August. 118 deg Fahrenheit and there are signs to turn the aircon off. 😓 Love it out there. One small bit of advice…apply for the permit to go through Yosemite in advance or they’ll turn you back and it’ll take a detour of 10 1/2 hrs to get to San Francisco not 6.
I went from never riding a bike to CBT, mod 1 training then test and mod 2 training and test then bought a speed twin 1200 and just skipped the whole 125cc thing, probably not the best way to go about it!
Herald use the same donor bikes as Mutt and AJS from China.
Another tip to reduce insurance cost is to put an extremely high excess. But take out a separate policy to insure the excess (this is often very cheap).
You make a very valid point about the insurance. Premiums can be so high that it is better to self-insure your own gear, which is effectively what you are doing by taking out third party only. If you can afford to do it, it seems like a reasonable choice. I’ve been riding since 1987, but took a break for just under 10 years, and I’m now the proud owner of a Moto Guzzi V7 850 Stone. I love the bike, but without NCD the premium for the first year was very high (especially for Yorkshire). So despite it being a new bike, I’ve gone TPFF. I don’t have a garage and keep it on my driveway with two ground anchors, and the CCTV watching over it. It’s the most I’m willing to do, as I use it on a daily basis and can’t be bothered with the faff of doing any more than that. Good luck with getting your bike fixed. The T100 was my second choice, but in the end I opted for the V7 as I plan to do my own maintenance with the warranty is finished and the V7 seems easier. Stu
OI, great channel, mate! I watched this one vid and suscribed at once. Looking forward to many more. Keep up the good work!
I own a 2005 CB1300S and it’s a beautiful machine. However they are still being manufactured and sold in Japan. The 2023 model in the HRC colour scheme is stunning.
I love the colors on that Africa Twin. It's the same as the 90s Smokin Joe's RC45 of Miguel Duhamel. As a late teen to early 20s, I would have loved to be riding around the tracks back then.
Yes Freddie my brother was in the police force before he retired and he use to always say the police were Understaffed he actually was working at the Hillsborough disaster he said it was so bad they were rows of bodies laid down in the gym and quite a few bobbies Retired because of stress 😮
The cost of full coverage for my RE Interceptor was in the realm of $1500 a year here in the states. Likewise I decided to go with minimum liability insurance because the price of full coverage was going to blow the value equation of bike ownership. It would be a terrible loss to have the bike stolen or otherwise written off but at the end of the day I decided the risk for me personally would be worth it. That’s the beauty of a relatively inexpensive motorcycle, buy it in cash and don’t buy more bike than you can afford to lose. My break even point on full coverage vs minimum liability will be about 4.5 years. Having had the bike for 18 months I’m not there yet and time is yet to tell if I’ve made the right decision.
A 350cc is more than enough to travel. A rider from my country, Greece, traveled from here to Gibraltar on a 125cc Honda!
Hopefully the price for the fix will be affordable, one thing worth its weight in gold is a trustworthy and fair garage, but with ever rising costs across the board I do find myself having a go at fixing as much as I can myself before resorting to a garage and with used parts first. Looking forward to seeing the Scotland videos, if you're passing Rotherham on the way up, give Revs&Relics a look in, not far off Jnc 1 of the M18. 👍
Freddie, you missed out the VanVan 125 , which is pretty cool wherever it goes. Love the channel 👍
Thanks
Thank you so much, Declan!🙂🙌🏻
Bluroc aka Bullitt are often overlooked but they share a lof of parts with their British counterpart of Bike Assemblers like MUT or Herald. To me, the Hero 125 is the sexiest scrambler out there
Glad you managed to sort a bike for the Scotland trip.
Looking forward to the videos 👍
Fat Septuagenarian - my middle bike is an XSR 125 - also have a Bonneville and a YB100 - rode the latter round ireland and Scotland in the past couple of years. Planning to ride the XSR125 to the Alps....why not take the Triumph? It would be way to easy !! The XSR is a brilliant bike!
Sadly London is like a lot of big cities here in the States. Prosecution of law breakers is selective where equity seems to be the flavour of the day.
triumph piers are a nightmare if you move away from service items , touring m when i was just south of Prague and had just stopped at the services down the road came clatering and smoking a bit one BSA C15 with a spare engine bungeed on the back rack all the way from England the chap was heading to Poland so yes any bike van do it
I was Listening to an Item on Radio 4
AA Spokesman said due to the cost
Of Living people are Skipping on
Services & Repairs & this will
Lead to More Unroadworthy Vehicles
On the Roads mostly Cars & Vans
Motorcyclists Tend to have at
Least some Mechanical apptitude.
Suzuki RV125 - Best looking 125!
I bought a Mash 7 black 125cc and it’s a great looking bike but at 160kg it’s quite heavy.
I moved my Triumph up from London to Glasgow to my dad’s garage.I just can’t afford to pay for a garage in London and I was paying £90 a month for insurance third party fire and theft keeping it in a locked courtyard in Hackney.
You did right letting someone do the work on the head, without being disrespectful I don't think you are up to the job, it's not just taking the head off then bolt it back on again, no everything needs to be correctly timed and you may well consider having the valve clearances checked at the same time and possibly the cam chain as they can stretch?
Hard to believe you can't buy a head gasket off the shelf if that's what your waiting for?
For a 125 I’d go 2nd hand Japanese Honda Yamaha Suzuki Kawasaki. Can get 2nd hand parts easy. Go cheap as possible. You’ll use it for a year or two then sell it for what you paid. Do your DAS asap and move onto a mid range.
Just for comparison, i own a Triumph Tiger 800xc 2012 plate. Fully comprehensive insurance, in West Wales. £120 per year. Crazy disparity throughout the country.
It’s sad to hear that London is so bad. I would like to go there one day. We got problems here in the USA. But we got guns. As we say here in Kentucky. A lock is just a deterrent to an honest man. I hope you get the Triumph back soon. I hope that the threads from your plug hole didn’t make there way into your bottom end or cylinder walls. 🤞
Excellent ! I think to do a head swap yourself Freddie is something one would only do if you had a really good knowledge of engines and a good amount of confidence so I would do the same as you did , for me cycle parts straight forward service stuff is fine but when it comes to internals of the engine for me it's take it to a bike mechanic you can trust .Good watch cheers 👌👍
Freddie! Alwasya a fan of your videos. Just wondering what locks adn chains do you recommend ? I am in Bristol and theft is rampant. Just concious that I want to amke good choices where I put my trust and money in.
Soooooh glad we moved to Malta, from what you say about Insurance, and robbing scrotes trying to steal bikes, our Insurance is much lower, and very little crime of any description! Cheers DINO.
Something urgently needs to be done in London, because it’s totally out of control.
I love Malta!
On the subject of locks, Freddie, would you please do a piece on the best value options?
I've recently bought a RE Interceptor 650 and keen to keep it. It's parked securely overnight so just worried about times I'm out and about. I live in Manchester, by the way. Cheers
What part are you waiting for, for your Bonneville? Maybe some one can suggest a way to get it quicker or an alternative?
In London the cheapest, easiest and best way to get around is bicycle - Brompton. Wouldn't even consider a motorcycle if I lived in London just too expensive and the risk of theft too high. Also bike has to be ULEZ compliant.
I think it’s the cylinder gasket, but I’ve luckily got a Himalayan for Scotland so I really hope the Bonneville will be ready for when I’m back🤞🏼🤞🏼
I drive into London last week and it really is getting less pleasant by the week for driving/riding
Hi Freddie. Saw that you reviewed the Kawasaki KLE 500 previously. If you were interested in a nice project mini adventure bike, I’m going to sell mine with all the mods and parts and all the original bits I’ve taken off. What do you think?
Adventure bikes lack character? The BMW 1150 GS that took me from Cheshire to the Sahara and back had oodles of it! The Honda Blackbird hat it replaced was bland - stupidly fast but didn't feel it. Quiet, smooth as an electric motor, did all it said on the tin but - zero character. Bland as a bland thing in bland land. It had to go.
Yes of course mechanics will use original and new parts since if they don't, and there's a subsequent problem, they will have no come-back. Exception may be one-man shops who will say "I can do this cheaper with a part off eBay but there is a risk", and you can go along with that or not. My little Innova 125 Honda started running badly and after I'd done a lot of trouble-shooting it seemed the likely culprit was the fuel injector. A new one from Honda was about £130 but I got a 2nd hand one off eBay for £20, which fixed it, and here we are 3 years later and the bike is still running fine. BUT - that 2nd hand injector might have turned out to be faulty from day one, or might have failed after a few weeks or months - that's the risk.
The criminality in London re bike stealing that you mention, is an indictment of the current and past governments who dont rate it important to patrol the streets. Pathetic response from authority to this serious matter. As you say lawlessness.
Just look at the mayor. He’s useless.
I enjoy your ramblings.
Totally agree with your comments on insurance.
I adopted this view 50 years ago. Do the maths on that.
I had an accident on a Gold Wing in the early 80s. The other guys insurance wrote the bike off and paid up (in Germany they deduct the scrap value of the bike and the bike remains yours).
I put the bike back on the road for about £500 (at the time) including riding it back to UK withe a bent frame to get it straightened.
So, if you can get your head around a total loss is anything but, it's the way to go.
Just looking for a first bike myself.
The Herald is a fantastic suggestion, and I may now be on the search for one of my own!
Having studied in London for a year, I can vouch for your claim that it can be very dodgy in parts. How highly do you rate those bits of kit which allow you to track your bike's location from your phone? I assume it would depend on how well you conceal the tracking device, and perhaps that some brands are better than others. Any thoughts?
Cheers.
Love the channel but I’m surprised that you’re surprised about UK spare parts availability for a marque that’s now mainly assembled on the other side of the World from parts mainly made on the other side of the World. Why would spares availability be any better in the UK than in any other market ? Admittedly your bike is a bit older (UK assembled ?) but regardless I hope it gets fixed sooner than later.
A 10bhp Herald motor isn't a good idea, average bhp for a 125cc is 14bhp to 15bhp, i had an old rd125dx 17bhp, a heavy bike, but at least it wasn't that slow, it was practically dangerous.
London is lawless. We need self defence laws.
Totally agree
Self deafened is allowed
@@Whoahandle wear earplugs for that
Left london 20 years ago , live in rural France now .shocking the state of the uk . Scum stealing in broad daylight. Sad .
Mark NewmanL arge cities in France aren't that much different, Marseille gun crimes, Nice terrorist attacks.
R U in R rehab? 😢
We need South African tactics on theft.
Just made a mental note ...Never ,never ever live in London .
I was born and raised here and it is unrecognisable to what I experienced when I was younger, it's like the wild west in many places. I only see the change accelerating, not improving. I've long considered a move up north, London is just not worth it anymore.
@@JW20236 Come up north we are a friendly bunch, the weather is just a bit crap though ☺
@@del4668 I know. The last 2 times I was up north of London, I was invited inside for a cup of tea and biscuits lol. You don't get hospitality like that in London.