Oh shit! What a doofus! 

Age can be a bugger...

see next post but one

Spring is here, the deer are back in the garden scrounging, the air is filled with the sound of baby spadgers squawking for their grub and now the snow has buggered off it was time for my first ride of the year, with my MOT up next week.

Have to say, I had been dreading it (due to age and infirmity taking a grip over winter - the first winter that I didn't even sit on my bike, let alone move it) but once I got over the shock of the freezing tank on my knackers, that huge grin reappeared. It's funny, I keep pondering selling the Fazer, due to aforementioned age and condition (mine, not the bike...) but every time I go for a buzz I just wonder how I could be so stupid as to even consider it.

It's the only bike I've had, where I haven't been wondering how any other bike would be, or yearning after some younger, sexier bit of kit - because there isn't anything sexier than Felicity (my Fazer....). If you ever played Elite: Dangerous (I play it in Virtual Reality and it is gobsmacking) you will know Felicity Farseer, the engineering expert for engines, powerplants and frameshift drives (for warp jumps). Very suitable, I thought.

Unfortunately, there was still a lot of sludge and salt around the roads and the traffic was spraying it all over Felicity - so a very enjoyable ride ended with a back-aching scrub and polish.

This machine is 14 years old - 14! Yet not a single hiccup, from twist of the key to jacking the stand. Yeah, I'm definitely in love all over again.

I wish you all a very happy year on your Fazers - it's time to start your engines 

Does this sound familiar to you at all, mate ...

Quote

"the chap had only had it a month and he didn't seem to know anything about it at all"

So the guy clearly wasn't in any position to make promises about the condition of the bike but you happily accepted his word that it was well looked after, to the point that you evidently didn't bother going through the rudimentary pre-purchase checks like lifting the seat to check condition of the battery, fuses, CDU, wiring, frame etc.

Quote

".......I only had to shell out £1750 for the bike (£1795 asking price). I know he wanted a quick sale, but I must admit, it does make me worry a little that there's something not right."

You parted with your cash even though you felt something wasn't right, and not having bothered to check the bike over properly. You've absolutely got no cause for complaint or for calling the guy names.

I'm sorry that the rest of the world doesn't live up to your high moral standards but perhaps if you took responsibility for your own mistakes instead of blaming others you might find it a slightly more agreeable place.

So you're knocking me about a person you've never met, and what was said at a meeting at which you weren't present, over a bike you haven't seen (in the flesh and in any case not enough to make a sane judgement on its condition).

Right.

He wasn't saying anything because the bike had been crashed. Whether he was selling it for a mate or had bought it as a crashed to repair job, who knows - but I am not concerned with that, as long as it is okay. He said it had been well looked after - he lied, whilst harping on about what an honest chap he is and therefore I consider him a toerag. Simple.

And since my last post in this thread, some other, very expensive items have shown a distinct lack of TLC, too.

I'm so pleased you think he's a stand-up guy, though - I'll pass him your details so he can sell you his next jallopy

To get back on topic - I bought a Motobatt from Wemoto - been great. Old battery was deffo shagged - trickle charged it and it was down to 11v in a couple of days with no load. Thanks for your helpful replies.

Sorry for the late response guys - I thought I'd get a notification by email.

Anyway, I have the dog bones now. I can't use my ebay account - I was hacked about 8 years ago by a Russian Israeli, who tried to have my purchases sent to his place in Haifa! Anyway, after making the necessary security changes etc he did it again, but the admin there just ignored my messages until I asked them to close my account and they agreed - and now, 8 years later, it's still open, can still be logged into and I still get lots of emails advertising stuff, but I can't do anything with it,  because it is "scheduled for closing".

Beggars belief - but I digress...

Thanks for the links - in the end I got a friend to order them for me. I'm a bit surprised to find they are 145mm hole-to-hole centre, though. I thought they'd be shorter than standard. Oh well, as long as they do the job.

Thanks for the replies

Bloke on ebay isn't answering his 'phone, so if anyone here has a set and would be willing to post or send via Collect+ I'd be glad to hear from you.

Chars

Wow - I'm really gobsmacked at what you say about the Fazer.

Mine's throttle response is fantastic - especially at lower speeds (starting can be a pain, though).

Also, I'm disabled with some very nasty musco-skeletal disease and back/nerve damage and I'm very sensitive to crap bike seats and the Fazer thou is about the most comfy I've graced with my derailleur! I can ride it all day long and still walk straight afterwards.

My only gripe is the slow steering (i.e. suspension) especially once you get going on the A-roads.

Anyone know how much of a bind it is to remove the instrument glass?

All of mine have been crappy since I bought it. I can still read the things just fine, but they look shoddy, so would be nice to get them replaced or cleaned. I think the mess is on the inside because nothing I do has any effect on the outside. I can't imagine how they got so bad in the first place.

A16 'smornin'

3 vans in a row, each pulling a caravan. Thinks "as soon as we come off the roundabout, I'll do all three along the dotted line". There's a lot of oncoming traffic, but the road is very wide and straight as a die here - just coming out of Boston.

Car behind the 3 vans pulls left to give me more space - I overtake the first van and caravan, loadsa room. Couple of feet behind the second, still on the centreline and accelerating, and the bastid swerves across in front of me (traffic still oncoming from opposite direction).

I know you always think about not slapping the anchor down too hard - I've already had to change my grids after a close call with a truck in similar circumstances, when I locked up both wheels, but I thought I was going to make it and started thinking about releasing the pressure when the rear suddenly locks up and I'm all over the shop. I kept it sunny side up tho.

He then swerved back over left again (probs texting on his mobile) but had I not reacted well enough that would have been too little too late.

Once I'd got back into not wanting to throttle the git mentality I just overtook as previously intended, without so much as a glance across. Didn't want to give him the satisfaction, in case he'd done it deliberately (yes, the plonker drivers around here often do things like that and think its funny). I can't think of any other possible reason that the guy would pull across in those circumstances - mobile (or similar) or being a cunny funt.

When I got home I found my helmet flip-up cable was bust! That made my day - another 100 squids out the window as well as a new pair of grids!

Since I first started up my Fazer, it has been a bit of a bugger to spark up. Once it's warm it's not an issue.

Today, after just two (!) short attempts, the battery died. I couldn't push start it (though I did try, several times) so I got a lift down town.

When I got back, it sprang to life first time.

When the missus got home, we went out and.... died first time!  It started after just a few seconds 'jumped' to my GPZ.

Just wondering if the batteries are prone to buggeration. Should I get a beefier one, or is it just that it's 11 years old, and the seller was a lying toerag when he said it was well looked after?

I had a long-ish ride yesterday, so it should have been fine.

Chars

pm sent

Thanks for your suggestions, chaps - it turned out to be the fairing panel inners (or infills if ya like).

Starts up about 25-30mph and tails off at the same. I'll probably just put up with it. I don't wear plugs with my current helmet, as it's very snug around the lugs and blocks most sounds anyway. It's only when I have the flip up or on a calm day that I can hear these things that bother me.

Now the 1/2 bar has been added to the tyres, it's transformed the handling.

You know, guys, I've been riding about 20 years now, and owned and ridden lots of bikes, but this is the only one I've wanted to hug! I thought my Tiger 900 was the bizz, but this really has it beaten. What a fantastic bit of kit it really is!

Chars all