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Wide open spaces...

Posted by Brickboy on March 16, 2025, 10:17 am

You know what's happened then.

I was pondering what should be the third bike but now I'm pondering what should be the second...

I do like spending my time looking at all the pretty bikes except... Firstly, bikes I think of as modern things all seem to be 25yrs old. This is quite odd and I don't understand how that happened although it does mean classic insurance applies. Secondly there aren't enough of them in good condition for me to enjoy comparing them. Thirdly, proper classic bikes aren't big enough for tall people. They never have been but I've begun to run out of patience with that. I remember a 3TA that I could barely fold myself around. Sounded great tho!

What's a man to do with space, time and cash but nothing remotely interesting available? Go on holiday, I reckon! I would buy another MX5 but they rust, rust, rust and anyway I have a proper car with a roof and proper engine already.

BTW, I was chatting to a recovery driver yesterday who tells me the Post Office in a certain part of Britain have a large stock of electric decorations in the car park. Apparently they won't charge below 4C which means they aren't entirely useful for delivering anything except financial losses. Gosh, what a surprise . Another volunteer colleague tells me his wife's new Hybrid (part car, part carp) has a tiny battery that won't start it after sitting for a week. She has no confidence in it at all and the remedies are suitably Heath Robinson to make me think he should ask for his money back under the 'fit for intended purpose ' legislation.

Re: Wide open spaces...

Posted by Stuart on March 16, 2025, 11:23 am, in reply to "Wide open spaces..."

Hi Simon,

>You know what's happened then.

Cunning ... avoided the "sweepstake" jokes ...

>the Post Office in a certain part of Britain have a large stock of electric decorations in the car park. Apparently they won't charge below 4C

Hmmm ... I'll be passing the Inverness Royal Mail(?) depot tomorrow, I'll check the car park ...

>Hybrid (part car, part carp)

"Like"

Regards,

Re: Wide open spaces...

Posted by Tonupdave on March 16, 2025, 11:45 am, in reply to "Re: Wide open spaces..."

I can sympathise being six foot six never really found a bike that fitted the Pan was the best but heavy as to cars two good friends have hybrid cars same problems with batteries my neighbour you have to laugh has an electric car that is constantly plugged into his house ..an old VW van that is constantly on charge as he's put loads of gizmos in it that drain the battery he has just converted it to have LED front lights so new bonnet with unusable solar panels.. third car is a normal Skoda Octavia.. like me but ours is petrol and cheaper to run plus tax is low

Tonupdave..T.U.D.

Re: Wide open spaces...

Posted by geoff the bonnie on March 16, 2025, 12:58 pm, in reply to "Re: Wide open spaces..."

I found big problems with EV and hybrid.
My Toyota would not start after my holiday and battery being in the boot, i could not get access to it so needed a breakdown service. Toyota tell me that it has a tiny battery to keep weight down. Not much good if it will not start the car.
EV cars, i get offered a 20k discount on a new one but could get a bit more off. VW is now leasing a new ID3 at under 300 pound a month. However, if you charge at a motorway service area, the charge cost is a lot more than filling a petrol car.
Other problem, -4C and an EV has to use some of its charge to warm the battery just to be able to drive it away. This left just 60 mile range in a brand new 60k car.
Most manufacturers are stopping making EV cars. Mercedes now offer a Chinese ORA car at rock bottom price so the quota of petrol cars can be increased to avoid the 15k charge for selling too many petrol cars. They hide them behind a new wall in the showroom so no one can see in from outside at the Exeter showroom.
Audi were prepared to sell me a really good EV at half price but still not enough range.
If you travel around Birmingham on motorways, you will notice many cars driving in the rain without lights and 56 MPH behind lorries to get a slipstream tow to the next charger. Some Tesla owners have bought the tow bar which holds a very big generator hanging off the rear of the car and with a diesel engine charging the batteries on the move.
Nissan run a 1.6 petrol engine which gives direct drive to an electric motor which really defeats the EV idea

Re: Wide open spaces...

Posted by Lannis on March 16, 2025, 1:48 pm, in reply to "Re: Wide open spaces..."

Good riddance to globalist rubbish.

Musk is still making Teslas here, but they were always nothing more than a temporary scheme to take advantage of government subsidies, along with windmills and solar farms.

I only know one guy with one, and the only thing he says about it is that it will out-accelerate any car he's ever had. Big woooo.

Lannis

I don't take health advice from people who think the world is overpopulated.

Re: Wide open spaces...

Posted by geoff the bonnie on March 16, 2025, 2:03 pm, in reply to "Re: Wide open spaces..."

If you use that power with an EV, it soon shuts the car down to protect the batteries from igniting. The many fires you see of Tesla cars, are often when parked up after a fast drive then the heat soak ignites the battery pack. I see that the Cybertruck is banned from many Countries now. Teslas in the UK seem to be very popular as company cars and not seen any broken down on motorways yet.
Looking into servicing of EV cars in the garage, it is not possible due to needing an extra employee to be watching that the mechanic does not get electrocuted. A few garages locally looked into servicing these and no one took it on. Teslas does have a large warehouse for servicing in Exeter but stangely, does not have any signage to show its Tesla

Re: Wide open spaces...

Posted by laverdabru on March 16, 2025, 4:22 pm, in reply to "Re: Wide open spaces..."

Royal Mail have history with wasting money on EVs. When I was there our Malvern depot was issued with 6 EHCT's. Electric High Capacity Trollies. These cost c. £6k each. 6 months later, only 2 were working. They short circuited in wet weather, sometimes driving themselves. Into a shop window on one occasion!
They also would run out of charge on the hilly routes. For H&S reasons (our vans did not have a tail lift) we were not allowed to recover them ourselves if they broke down. Once 'my' EHCT was left in a car park for over a week & only recovered when the Plod found some gentlemen from the 'travelling community' trying to push it to the local scrappy to trade in the batteries.
When I did some research I found out the model RM had decided to buy was designed for work in warehouses & hangers - usually dry & flat environments.

Re: Wide open spaces...

Posted by Brickboy on March 16, 2025, 4:32 pm, in reply to "Re: Wide open spaces..."

Apart from the dangers that posed to the public, that's a very funny story of an out of control EV with a mindless mind of its own!

Re: Wide open spaces...

Posted by laverdabru on March 16, 2025, 6:38 pm, in reply to "Re: Wide open spaces..."

What happened was they had pressure switches built into the handle, right & left, intended to respond to the 'driver'. When they got wet, they would sometimes 'decide' to go round in circles...
The sad thing is, RM also trialed E-trikes, which apparently fared much better, & cost less. But as they had just got rid of the RM Pashley pushbikes on H&S grounds, it was decided to go ahead with the EHCT's.
British management at it's finest.
Bru.

Re: Wide open spaces...

Posted by Will on March 16, 2025, 7:53 pm, in reply to "Re: Wide open spaces..."

Teslas in the UK seem to be very popular as company cars and not seen any broken down on motorways yet.

Me neither, but I have seen one crashed into a set of petrol pumps on a local garage forecourt. I felt it was profoundly symbolic

Re: Wide open spaces...

Posted by Andy C on March 16, 2025, 8:32 pm, in reply to "Re: Wide open spaces..."

"I see that the Cybertruck is banned from many Countries now"

Think that might be down to the sharp edges all over the damn thing, so a safety hazard, the absolutley humoungus size aside.

Think I saw it in a video on You Tube, where some bloke in the UK had one "confiscated"

Who needs a signature anyway......

Re: Wide open spaces...

Posted by JERRY on March 16, 2025, 4:47 pm, in reply to "Wide open spaces..."

Simon I can recommend a Yamaha XJR1300.Big and comfortable lovely to ride and would suit someone 6 foot plus. Oh and they hold there price. The older carb models like mine are becoming very sort after.

The oldest rocker in town!

Hooray, bike recommendations!

Posted by Brickboy on March 16, 2025, 8:34 pm, in reply to "Re: Wide open spaces..."

Cheers Jerry,

I loved my FJ1200s so I expect I'd like an FJR but I have been thinking of another Stelvio. I like intricate electrical problems and a million fairing screws along with expanding petrol tanks. Oh, er, well I do like Stelvios but...

I've thought of an SV1000S but I don't think it's me...

I suppose I've cancelled Brits and BMW for the foreseeable - had too much involvement with both tbh. I could get a V Strom 1000 which seems the obvious thing but I've already got the 650. Lol