Modern Vespa

Joking apart, I'd have a Royal Enfield Classic 350 and be done with it.

I know, I know ... but I'm only keeping one. MOST of my riding is in town. I kind of want to avoid becoming a MC rider. And it's not aesthetics ... I love the Enfields. I've loved them since before I was a scooterist. It's also what's partially steering me away from the C400 because of its size. I'm sure it's a great ride out on the open road, but it isn't where I spend most of my time.

Besides, if I bought the Enfield, I'd spend all my time answering peoples' questions at gas stations ... and who wants that?

I saw what you did there.

Edit, Actually has anyone here actually owned a C400 ?

Interested minds want to know what they are like.

My advice is to find a 2012 or 2013 Vespa 300 GTS.

There are plenty of them out there with low mileage, but I might trust one better if it had 15,000 to 25,000 miles on it, as long as you knew it was cared for.

My good friend Russ has a 2013 with 60,000 almost trouble free miles.

Prices should be reasonable and you would have a high quality, fun, beautiful scooter for many years ahead.

Bill

I tried to post a picture to the "cheering up" thread. From 30,000 feet. But it failed.

So I am posting here instead.

The BMW 310 is built in India by TVS, I believe. Real close to the Royal Enfield factory. So maybe that explains the price, If you want a 400, (which is a bit big), look at the Burgman. The RE 350 Meteor, Hunter or Classic are all good, simple, in town machines. A bit heavy for the HP output, but a decent, mellow ride.

I think that BMW did a shrewd thing by subbing out the 310 because I doubt that they could have built it in Europe and still have sold as many as they have.

I'm pretty certain that KTM did the same thing with many of the 390's.

Plenty of KTM's available right now. Just sayin.

The pre-owned KTM market is taking a hit over here.

Yeah, they just kept cranking them out, even when they weren't selling.

They are too unreliable and vulgar for my tastes.

Didn't know anything was

They remind me of the Subarus of the 2000's.

Loud, crass and really boring.

Like some people

I thought they were Austrian not Australian.

For the record, the C400 is actually 350cc, whereas the Burgman 400 is ACTUALLY 400cc. If I believe the internet.

But oddly enough they are pretty much the same weight.

I expected the Burgman to be heavier.

I'd assumed the leaky toilet in our bathroom was a bad seal. Turns out it's cracked where you wouldn't see it (without a mirror).

Guess I should be happy...if I'd have refitted it we'd still be leaking.

Off for some exciting shopping. Another plus is the bolt I needed to replace will be in the box!

Indoor plumbing is both a blessing and a curse.

OFG

Trying to buy a new Toyota Corolla hatchback. Yep, in America they are like a diamond. Rare. In my neck of the woods you have to buy it when it's in the system. Not when it was arrives at the dealership. Almost ready to switch to looking for a hybrid sedan. Almost as rare but there's more out there. If Toyota stocked the lots like Chevy and Buick they'd put them out of business. Toyota is the largest in the world so they evidently know what they are doing...

Aaahhhrrrggg!

I was cussing yesterday. Had a leak in an inaccessible spot, so called a plumber. $511.13 later, leak fixed, wallet deflated.
50 year old house, so not unexpected.

When we had a tiny leak under the concrete slab, I replaced all the copper with Pex, running it through the attic and down. No more inaccessible spots, no more leaks, no joins in the pipes except at the manifolds and the end faucet, shower, tap, loo, whatever.

Good idea, but not practical with our layout. I'm totally convinced that this house was added on to at one time, but there is no record in town hall of it. Only in recent years has the town kept records of additions/alterations.
One can still see where the thermostats (for the long-gone) electric heat were, as well as the wiring and relay boxes in the basement.
The wiring is up to date, but not the best layout, either. They put two entire bedrooms and a bath on one 20 amp circuit, for instance. It's not really a problem, just seems odd to me.
Coffee time, gotta go...
Too cold and windy to ride this week

NORM!

RIP George 🍺

When we bought our new 2023 Corolla Cross (first new car purchase I've ever made) I realized that new car buying was not what I thought. It isn't like Burger King where you place your order and pick it up as it comes off the line. We ordered our car and the dealer would call us when one occasionally fell off the assembly line that was similar to the one we wanted and he was actually able to get. Our blue Corolla Cross is actually silver and includes a sunroof I didn't particularly want and had to pay extra for.

So ... yeah.

Well then, don't pay for it because you didn't order it.

They can lose the sale.

You'd be amazed at the number of people in line that will buy it if you don't. We're kinda in a bind since my car is becoming not as reliable as needed. We take care of two family members and need two cars that can travel a the drop of a hat. It's becoming a mass frustration of epic proportions...

KTM 390 Adventure owner here, and I approve this message.

In the process of thinking about my next bike and hoping I got a good enough deal on the 390 that the trade or private sale won't be too big of a loss.

I don't want to talk about BMW anything right now because our X2 just went in for front brakes, only find out the rears are also junk after >20k and I need a new motor mount.

Car is paid off this month and I'm about to spend 6mo of payments for above service.

That's just it ... they know they're going to sell them because they are in demand. The idea of "taking my business elsewhere" hurts them not at all. They actually know about the waiting list.

If I order a car in a certain spec and within a certain budget then all they can get is a car that costs more and is in a different colour, well that frankly isn't what I ordered therefore I'm not obliged to buy it.

The myth that someone else will just isn't true. If that particular car isn't a "draw" then they will be stuck with it at which point the discounts will start.

If that's not the car you ordered then don't buy it. Go to a Dealer that can or consider a Plan B.

A rough approximation of what you wanted isn't enough. If they couldn't confirm your request when you agreed to the specs then they should have told you.

Walk away.

Found a car! Not exactly what we want but probably exactly what we need. Going with a Corolla LE sedan. It's supposed to be here in early June. For folks trying to buy a Rav4 or a plug-in hybrid I wish you all the best. Corollas are a dime a dozen and are supposedly not in demand but are being sold before they arrive. Insane.

Now I can concentrate on getting tires for my BV200.

Here's a little trick that Franchised Dealers will have to employ when the Manufacturer send them a car that's highly specced but utterly hideous.

They will register it as a Demonstrator and then sell the benefits of its many features during every road test but only as a "vehicle" to sell other cars.

Yes the subtext is to sell that car as quickly as possible because no one ordered it and so they will attempt to steer people into buying it because they can't get the car they want.

Salesman are trained to play the Compensation Game.

Rubbish editing in Alone Denmark S8.

I've watched three seasons of Aus, one of UK, and i think one other season. All fine, but this Danish S8 is virtually unwatchable due to very very rapid cutting. Feels like one hour's worth of three second clips, hard to tell who's doing what, no connection to the contestants.

Yeah I wouldn't buy a BMW, new or used they get very expensive as they age.

I'd suggest anything from Japan up to about 2018 just as long as it doesn't have a CVT and then run it into the ground.

My daughter's 2007 Pruis has almost 300k miles on it with no troubles from the CVT. Although Toyota says the fluid is lifetime and doesn't need changing out, I do a full flush and change out every 60k miles and that's worked out well. My 2003 Tacoma now has 290k miles on it, just a 2.4 engine with an automatic transmission and I treat it the same. Again no problems, but it's not a CVT, of course. I did replace the radiator a month ago, but other than than, it's just been regular maintenance. My son-in-law has a BMW and there is always something going wrong with it.

As this topic has now reached the traditional 100-page limit, I hereby declare it complete.

Please see [NSR] What's Pissing you off Today? IIII for all future complaints.