Modern Vespa

Thank you for your good wishes Robin Happy Birthday tomorrow - we'll raise a glass to you this evening!

Sorry, I can't hangout. My uncle's cousin's sister in law's best friend's insurance agent's roommate's pet goldfish drowned. It was tragic..

milano has been ejected from this topic

I am thinking genie will not be crying in her beer. Piss off milano.

Best wishes to all of the birthday and near birthday Skoks, and a happy holiday season to all.

I put up our outside Crimble lights today and the spirit started to take hold. My wife has booked us for a quick trip to Florida to see her family and my dear old dad, who was diagnosed with a touch of malignant melanoma yesterday.

His surgery is scheduled for Monday and although I won't be with him, he is in remarkable good spirits (and health, after several close brushes this year.) We'll see him soon enough and the news today was just another reminder to love the ones that you have, forget the tinsel and onslaught of holiday commerce and perhaps just enjoy the season in a spirit of thankfulness and wonder that many have seem to have lost.

Be careful out there, you lot!

Ha ha ha

That's soooo funny

I can't stop laughing

Actually, that's the third time you've had to be ejected from a Donk thread for being an asshat. Three strikes and all that. You're out... please don't come back.

Asshat? Surely you meant asshole/arsehole?

How can you drowned a goldfish FFS

Technically you can Terry, but I guess that isn't really the direction the thread needs to take.

I think we should live with the negative and not censor it. I can take the odd dickhead post, I'm a bg boy. It will become far too twee in here if we boot out every mickey taker that posts.

i'd rather just get rid of idiots than have to put up with the whole tiresome troll-feeding scenario. they're like cockroaches - you have to flat-out exterminate them or they just keep coming back and winding you up

Ronin - thank you for the good wishes! I had a really lovely birthday celebration have a wonderful christmas and i hope things go well for your dad.

i'm all for sidestepping the whole commercial onslaught - all of the blokes in my family are getting a bottle of wine, all the women are getting soap, and the million nieces and nephews are getting a kiss and a hug and the news that we've sponsored a tiger in Sumatra in their joint names.

I have to agree. They are exercising IFSG - Internet Forum Self Gratification. What they really want to do is masturbate in public, but they are cowards and self conscious of what little they have to work with. Let them go elsewhere.

End of rant. Hope I didn't hurt anyone's sensibilities, other than those who perform IFSG.

You mean they are wankers?

(Am I allowed to say wankers on here??)

Sticky banned Milano.

At bloody last.

Sir I salute you.

Bill X

Spike has a full roundel. ( yay )

I've had a full one (fnar fnar ) for a while now

Also I'm gonna nick a bit of your signature Bill if its ok?

nah that would have been me... You looked fab last night Genie! Had a lovely time, just a shame I had to leave early. It was good to see you both.

Good news this morning, I managed a far better trade in than I expected and rode two BMW bikes. I hated the first one which was an F800 which was a horrid, vibey thing. The other was a monster as far as I'm concerned - (Ewan Mc Gregor's bike, or at least the current version of same, from the Long Way Down), the BMW R1200GS. It's a huge bike, but relatively easy to ride. Trouble is when I was doing 70 on a country road, I thought I was doing around 40... not so good. Too damned expensive as well.

I am now scooter less for the first time since 2005. In fact, I now don't have a PTW at all. That feels very strange.

I stand corrected Doug. Well done that man.

So what choo gettin then Doug ?

Bill X

You're welcome!

Yeah I just threw him out of the pub where Doug was waiting in the alley for him.

Sorry i was in storm induced radio silence for your birthday Genie. Wishing you many more and all the happiness you can stand.

And for the girl who has everything, sticky banned a troll in your honor! No exchange receipt required!

Banter
Trolling

Been and done that too, Doug. I've had long test rides on all of BMW's big 'uns since the R1100GS. always convincing myself I'm ready for a BMW and that I'll love 'em..but disliking them for reasons I can't really explain.

The best of the bunch at the moment for me is the cheaper F700GS. Less horsepower than the 800 but for me a much nicer ride. The old single disc F650GS is arguably even nicer. A mate has one he's put 43000 miles on in 3 years and loves it.

This was the last 1200 I took out, and probably the last one I'll ride.

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Watching the Long Way Round/Down series a few times made me look twice at the 1200GS, a 'maybe one day' thing. When we did the Great London Ride Out from London to Southend ride in June, Gass invited a riding mate to meet him there for lunch, and he was riding.... a 1200GS. So I took the offer to hop onto it for a minute - literally - because even at my height its the huge monster to get on that Doug says it is. Definitely a great design for effortless touring (which is what the guy did) but as I could only just get a few toes down it felt unwieldy even for me. BMW made a slightly smaller GS650 from 2004 and an 800 from 2008. There are lots of examples out there of both.

BMW F800 S Please.

I'd buy that for a Dollar.

Edit - Kawasaki J300 £4095 ahem........

Bill X

Ged... yes that's just like the one I rode. Nice bike, just not here in this here and now!

Bill... I'd avoid the BMW 800 engines full stop. They are horrible.

In fact, I'd go as far as to say, that the Triumph gearboxes AND engines are much smoother than you'd find on any BMW and perhaps any Japanese bike. The gearbox on the Street Triple is pretty amazing, as is the smooth engine and throttle response.

The drivetrain is certainly better than the Yamaha XJ6 which is supposed to have the smoothest engine/gearbox combi for the beginner.

My order is in for this exact bike - I pick it up in January - I give you the Street Triple R in graphite:

One last whinge... my Triumph dealer looked at the price of a BMW C600 Sport compared to a Street Triple and started complaining. In fact the scooter probably costs a damned sight more to build as it has a lot more parts...

Erm that is a really nice looking bike and the colour choice is a good one ( mainly because it's what I would have chosen )

Would I want to ride it ?

Bill X

Nice choice, Doug. I prefer Triumph's more lairy colours but that's just personal preference.

I've ridden most of their Triples in one form or another and never been disappointed with what the motor delivers.

The last one I owned was a Sprint RS 955i in 2001, and over the years I've often wondered about buying it back as it still knocks around locally .

As I intimated previously, the BMW 800 motor works better in detuned form in the F700GS, but put a Tiger 800 in the mix for comparison and I'd be signing on the Triumph dotted line every time.

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I had a look around that and a long sit on it at the NEC show this year. Seating position is low, like a 400 Burgman for instance, but it does look great in Kawasaki racing green.

I'm going to suggest that when it warms up we all take a ride down to Brighton to meet Capitano.

He seems like a really decent fellow.

Bill X

Appearances can be deceptive.

Yes but objects often appear closer than they are in the rear view mirror.

Take a complement when one's due eh ?

I think we should invade Carluccio's again.

Birreh !

Sounds like a plan, especially as I've never been in the place myself. Walked past it many a time though.

I've just made a Bovil drink from a cube that I've had in my house for about 10 years and you know what - it still tastes delicious.( this point of view is somewhat subjective )

mmmm tasty yeasty goodness........

Bill X

Bovril

I got a new woolly hat for my birthday

I like to swill out the last dregs of the marmite jar with hot water from the kettle and drink it from the jar itself.

I re-discovered a favourite woolly hat I'd forgotten about, probably because I bought it in the Summer (of 2012 at the Isle of Man TT).

It's a Purple Helmets Display team hat.

Purple Helmets

Bill X

Wow Doug you lucky thing that's lovely

I just put our Christmas tree up.

Off out now for round 3 of my mother in laws 70th birthday celebrations

Hope you're all well

Kitty

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