Thumper Club Forum

Club House => Chatter => Topic started by: niblue on February 01, 2009, 10:11:39 AM

Title: Hello
Post by: niblue on February 01, 2009, 10:11:39 AM
Just though I'd say hello as I've been browsing the site as a useful source of info having just bought an XBR500 yesterday.

Bought the bike on Ebay then had to ride it 200 miles home to Edinburgh yesterday. It performed faultlessly on the ride but it is so not a motorway bike! It's road legal (or will be when I tax it tomorrow) but needs a bit of tidying so stand by for various advice requests soon.

(http://www.pbase.com/niblue/image/108742392/original.jpg)
This is her. The plan is for me to use it as a local playbike and for SWMBO (who has had a full license for years but never ridden anything bigger than an SR125) to re-learn on.
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: robG on February 01, 2009, 10:20:58 AM
Welcome !

A nice example of the breed , well done .

Rob .
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: squirrelciv on February 01, 2009, 04:49:40 PM
Hello and welcome to the nut house. :P
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: guest7 on February 01, 2009, 05:09:45 PM
You got your hands on an SJ model, the last of the line, with spokes. Well bloody done  :)

Cheers
GC
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: Bill Rutter on February 01, 2009, 07:07:27 PM
Looks a lovely bike, one of my favourites. Welcome to the club.

Bill
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: Andy M on February 02, 2009, 07:58:35 AM
Nice bike and welcome to the nut house. Bet you are glad you got it home before the weather changed.

BTW, don't let GC near it, it'll be in a thousand bits then sporting an industrial chain and second hand chinese tyres in no time  ;D

Andy
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: Steffan on February 02, 2009, 08:18:02 AM
You forgot to mention the chair clagged on the side - not so much a chair as the bastard child of a Jagdpanzers and a B&Q toolbox

Steffan
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: niblue on February 02, 2009, 09:26:45 AM
Nice bike and welcome to the nut house. Bet you are glad you got it home before the weather changed.

I'd seen the weather reports so that's why we went to get it on Saturday - weather wasn't too bad then, just a bit blustery.

Quote
BTW, don't let GC near it, it'll be in a thousand bits then sporting an industrial chain and second hand chinese tyres in no time  ;D

It's already got a horrible Cheng-Shin on the back which will be getting removed ASAP and replaced with a nice BT45 to match what's on the front.

This is my first road thumper, but I've had a couple of off-road ones before (DR350S which I liked, XT600 which I didn't).
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: guest288 on February 02, 2009, 11:52:38 AM
Nice- looks like you have the GB500 headlight clamps- cool.
I too have an XBR, the long suffering members on here will testify that its taking me ages to get it sorted, therefore its still in bits- cant wait to get out on it this summer though!
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: niblue on February 02, 2009, 02:24:01 PM
Do all XBR's have floppy indicators or are the ones on mine non-standard? they were bouncing about all over the place when I was riding it home.
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: guest288 on February 02, 2009, 06:49:52 PM
No, it looks like you've got the standard indicators just mounted on the headlight clamp instead. (a la GB500) I think the GB500 ones were chrome affairs on stalks.
Usually the XBR ones are mounted just above the lower fork clamp around the upper part of the fork tube.
I think they're flexible so they don't get damaged as much if they're clipped, and also prevents premature bulb failure.


I've just looked up an '89 XBR with wire spoked wheels and it appears the indicators are mounted on the headlamp bracket so it looks like yours is correct for its year.

http://www.bikez.com/pictures/large.php?image=http://www.bikez.com/pictures/honda/1989/12210_0_1_4_xbr 500_Image credits - HONDA CO..jpg
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: crackedhead on February 02, 2009, 08:01:49 PM
A nice, standard bike !! I live in the Edinburgh area as well, so can let you have a look / loan of the Honda Workshop manual if you need to check anything.

Title: Re: Hello
Post by: niblue on February 02, 2009, 08:33:10 PM
A nice, standard bike !! I live in the Edinburgh area as well, so can let you have a look / loan of the Honda Workshop manual if you need to check anything.

Thanks for the kind offer however I was fortunate enough to get a copy of the workshop manual with the bike. I also got the owners manual and all the MOT's and tax discs since the bike was new - turns out that for the last few years the bike was doing about 200 miles annually (but still being kept road legal) so in riding it home I've already done it's allowance for 2009...

I can't recall having seen another XBR in Edinburgh but I'll keep my eyes open for you. I'm more usually seen on a silver CBR600F or a gold Deauville (bit of a Honda fan!) but plan to be using the XBR more than them round town.
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: niblue on February 02, 2009, 08:37:30 PM
I've just looked up an '89 XBR with wire spoked wheels and it appears the indicators are mounted on the headlamp bracket so it looks like yours is correct for its year.

Cheers. Going by that pic the bike looks standard apart from the 2-into-1 Micron.
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: SteveC#222 on February 02, 2009, 09:06:25 PM
Hi Niblue,
                Welcome to the club!

Your indicators are standard. I think the earlier models may have had fork mounted indicators, but my XBR is an H model (1989) and has exactly the same indicators as yours.

Nice bike!!   ;D
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: guest7 on February 03, 2009, 08:36:14 AM
The nice thing about those headlamp brackets is that it's easy to fit prettier indicators. I hadl little R&R bullet chrome ones on mine... they rusted in about half a day  ::)

GC
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: Richard 003 on February 03, 2009, 10:47:34 AM
Greetings Mr Blue. Don't mention you're a refugee from Ixion  ;) And don't listen to anything this lot say, or before you know it your shiny new bike will be covered in sh*te and have a sidecar bolted to it.

Regards
Richard
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: niblue on February 03, 2009, 11:04:41 AM
Greetings Mr Blue. Don't mention you're a refugee from Ixion  ;)

Ok, I won't!

Quote
And don't listen to anything this lot say, or before you know it your shiny new bike will be covered in sh*te and have a sidecar bolted to it.

Well it'll definitely be covered in shite before long (given my aversion to cleaning bikes) but I don't think a sidecar is on the cards! It doesn't seem a particularily obvious choice of bike for that anyway, so I was quite surprised to see that more that one such example exists.
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: Richard 003 on February 04, 2009, 11:04:57 AM

I don't think a sidecar is on the cards! It doesn't seem a particularily obvious choice of bike for that anyway, so I was quite surprised to see that more that one such example exists.

It makes for a very nimble, lightweight outfit. Obviously not one that is ever going to go very quickly.

Regards
Richard
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: guest7 on February 04, 2009, 09:39:27 PM
An Ixie! marvellous.

I think there are a few current and retired Ixies in the club (Ixion is a very long-lived and large motorcycling mailing list that has developed a 'culture' and even a vocabulary of its own).

Is marvin still spelt with a lower-case m? Are there still examples of EKS on the list?

I still wear my Smidsie robot wars T-shirt, bought via Ixion.

GC
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: guest18 on February 12, 2009, 08:47:09 PM
Not the only XBR in the Edinburgh area... though mine has been hiding in Dunf over recent months! If you need tools/brew/a look at a filthy XBR with a chair bolted to it(!) Drop me a line as I'll be back in circulation in early April (currently away with work).
I binned the floppy front indicators quite early as they were just TOO annoying but I believe they are standard.
If you saw a blue '02 MZ Mastiff piloted by a short bloke round Edin in recent years it was probably me btw  ;D
Anyway, welcome to the madhouse... it's a very sociable and friendly one!