Replacement for Bullet

[guest27]

R80/7 - go really well - if they are not your own.  On friends, chasing GS850 the BM did a fine job of carving through a bunch of CBR600's and FZ600's.  The valves bounced on the drop to the Creg, and the crown wheel died through Gov'nrs Dip.  Thus we left the TT that year with two bikes on the RAC - Triton had not lasted past day one - but then I spotted a guy with a Ducati 750 had the split link fish missing on his chain - was the same size as the Triton, and as I was going nowhere - gave it to him.  LAter in practice week his wife and daughter joined him and his son so they were reliant on the car, so he came wandering across the campsite with the keys to his bike - apart for having it back for a couple of hours on Mad Sunday I had a Ducati for 10 days.

No answer to the replacement for the bullet mind - apart from avoid old Brit twins if you want to ride rather than push. - Oh and mild steel studding is no replacement for head studs, and Devcon does not repair stripped threads in a set of ally barrels

R

[Tim Hale]

the bmw's are fantastic. however, if it doesn't start on a prod of the button leave well alone. also if the charge light doesn't go out completely above about 1400rpm walk away. the electrics on these are expensive and can be lots of trouble if you get a bad 'un.

have you thought about a sportster? air cooled, bullet-proof and low mileage for £3'000, 1200's a bit more.

There is a local specialist for old BMW's so no worries for the R80/7. As for a Sportster, I had an 03 pre-rubber motor 1200 and shook so badly that it actually broke spokes and the build quality was simply appalling. Yesterday I looked at a 03 Bonneville that looked as if it had been dipped in salt and it was twice the price of the immaculate R80/7.  There isn't much available under £3k that you would want to ride let alone buy.

[bullet350]

i know how you feel about being unable to find a bike that you want.
if you don't like four-pot sports bikes then 95% of the bike market is of no interest to you. it seems that there are very few non-cruisers about that don't make their bhp at massive revs.
i want 4 to 5'000rpm on the motorway, not the 6 to 8'000rpm of the cb500, i think many japs reach these revs on the motorway. the faster bikes just have more revs available above this.

its the vibration that puts me off a sportster. many times on dual carriageways all the traffic is doing 75mph or more. sitting at 65mph cos you can't cruise faster cos of vibration just invites an accident.
i was looking at my old bmw owners manual last night (ah, the rock and roll life of a single man in his twenties).
it says max revs 7'200 for all the big boxers, max continuous revs 6'800. says alot for their engineering and the format of the flat twin.
if i don't have a boxer within six months i'll be amazed.

350bullet

[Tim Hale]

I finally managed to blag a ride on a Bonneville ( I used to own a '71 T120R)

Now, it looked like a Bonneville at first glance and it was small like an old Bonneville but it was simply characterless. Nothing to distinguish it from any of the faceless direct access bikes and what had they done with 800cc? Jeez, even the crappy '71 T120 could pull better and I only sold the old Bonneville last year.

No, it will be the old twin shock BMW, loadsa character, great build quality and 50% less than the Bonneville. It has 54,000 miles and 29 years old, just over 1800 miles a year.

[guest18]

i want 4 to 5'000rpm on the motorway, not the 6 to 8'000rpm of the cb500, i think many japs reach these revs on the motorway. the faster bikes just have more revs available above this.

its the vibration that puts me off a sportster. many times on dual carriageways all the traffic is doing 75mph or more. sitting at 65mph cos you can't cruise faster cos of vibration just invites an accident.
350bullet

around 4,500 rpm for 70-75ish on the Mastiff... and it'll sit all day at 80mph if you have the neck muscles
Mind you, riding home into a gale last night it was on full throttle to hold 80...

have a look at this to see why it is described as a "Spiel" Mottorrad

[Tim Hale]

Bought a R100S, about as agricultural as you can get. Almost thirty years old  but with two massive cylinders, it is a docile brute that has the legs for longer jaunts.

Shame about the Bullet but too many accidents wrough havoc with my legs and starting a hi-comp machine was becoming a real problem. Now, it is just the push of a button before the old dog shakes into life.

Tim

[guest27]

Umm rotate crankcase by 90 degrees cut off one pot - nice 500 thumper with leccy boot..

And some spares

R

[Richard Marshall]

Boxers are great, up there with Guzzis in the twin world.  Especially the R100S.  I've had mine 21 years this year.

I recall one review saying that they went about as fast as any Brit 650.  But stayed together all the way through the performance envelope.  Which is about right.

If you need any info on the Boxer get in touch, mind you, they are so simple compared to almost anything else.

Congrats.

Richard

[002]

Boxers are great, up there with Guzzis in the twin world.  Especially the R100S.  I've had mine 21 years this year.

I recall one review saying that they went about as fast as any Brit 650.  But stayed together all the way through the performance envelope.  Which is about right.

If you need any info on the Boxer get in touch, mind you, they are so simple compared to almost anything else.

Congrats.

Richard

I totally agree with Richard !
I have a 1990 R80GS,the paralever model.
Must admit to likiing it a great deal.
So much easier to service and look after compared to the modern stuff I work with on a daily basis.

More character !

Jethro

[Steffan]

So much easier to service and look after compared to the modern stuff I work with on a daily basis.
More character !
Jethro

But has it as much character as the bullet? hmmm?

Steffan

[002]

So much easier to service and look after compared to the modern stuff I work with on a daily basis.
More character !
Jethro

But has it as much character as the bullet? hmmm?

Steffan

Ah !   That is a different kettle of fish !

Or would that be Bombay Duck ?


Jethro