Could this be the start of a new forum of practical biking? Hi,and keep your avaricious desperate mitts off my baby,'86 VFR 750 FG. Bought in '00 for £200($400ish)ex-low speed incident(car pulled out,surprise). N/s f/peg brackets snapped off frame so total insurance loss,also scuffed can h/bar dinged tank and cracked up bodywork F/peg hanger fixed with steel plate bolted onto frame. Bar raisers are alloy tube,7"extension,bloody strong,(hope you like the exhaust clamps securing them!)hydraulics extended - wiring and cables just re-routed.This bar-raise is easy on 86 - 90 vfr's as the screen doesn't sweep back(ok,a bit of disc cutter work then...)as you can see the screen is off a later(89)bike with a flip screen.I'm 6'5" with a knackered back so sod the arse in the air look! FK rear wheel for 17" rubber(every 2600 - 3000 miles) Original 16" front(6000 miles-ish) It may not be clear from the pics but I do spend real money on it! Fuel drains at a rate of around 33mpg,and we pay $10 a gallon now(We're SO ahead of America!) Bald tyres are such an easy pull here it's not worth the extra 300 miles or so to smooth off the centre(and the under layer of rubber's like sponge anyway) Aren't O and X ring chains a dream?After many years pratting around with scottoilers they're real progress,I'm on only my second c/s kit. Oil....the tacho needle often visits 12,000 and is usually between 7 and 11(when I'm out with my mad mate on his ZXR750)so I change that at about 5,000 and use non-synth 10/40...why waste good fuel money? Brakes - even with a pad grinding it'll lock up the front but every now and then I have to bite the bullet and cough up...sob sob Bought a couple of spark plugs for the front 2(backs are easy to mess with)before a round Europe trip in '06 so no pain there. Slung a 100 watt rally bulb in the front Cosmetics are just as fast when scruffy as mint ones so - Oh,the cylinder on the left of the engine,tucked into the'V' is a Stobel Nautilus airhorn.It's a deeper tone than the normal twin horn and compressor type but it fits out of the way much better. Mirrors are standard Kawa,but extended about 4",no point looking at your(or my)elbows. Engine - wise I've only had one problem,in'05 the rear exhaust cam shook 2 1/2 of the 3 rivets out of the cush drive.Thanks to my habit of pulling the cluth and freewheeling past horses,I heard the new chattering noise before the springs had a chance to drop into the gear train....back home and new rivets in,no problem since! The speedo cable snapped on a Sunday(no shops) so I shortened it and it's still alive,ah - the sheer joy of getting around a problem. I owe this bike SO MUCH.What a blast!300 miles and I'm shredded - hands trembling,body buzzing,mind so full of fun and freedom,shouting to each other from temp.deafness - all that stuff! Hah,roll on Summer!The snowy pic is 2 weeks ago.... Cursed be the forces of evil with their 'speed kills' lies, cheerio from Merrie England where I live 2 miles from a 3/4 mile stretch of road with 9 cameras,and the most common birth name is mohammed(and that's official)
