with heavy heart

[hotmetal]

Its a thing we all will face at some point. I have owned gen1s since 2001, when I bought my blue Y plate. Did 38k on that. Sold it for sprint 1050 in 2005, quickly realised it wasn't  a direct replacement. Bought another gen1 in 2008 with just 8k on clock. That now has 42k up, and just been serviced , including some work by dealer. Who praised the bikes power and handling. That's 1990s technology against 2014 current bike range....so it kinda makes one think 2 questions ...
1. Is there a bike out there to replace the fazer ...kwak sx1000?...maybe new s1000R ( faired)...whadya think ?

2.If not , how long will it keep running ?...my only concern is the exup valve, as dealer reckons its wearing , and is reluctant to touch it ! I can see some rethreading being needed this year ( again ! )..it still works , but is getting loose due to end wear. But that could be a blessing in disguise...as it wont probably seize.

Hey Jon, I'm pretty much the same. I put about 38ish on my lovely blue '02 one, traded it for a 54 plate with 8k on also in 2008. That also now has about 32k (or is it 36?) on it, but I'm starting to feel the urge for something different. I wondered about the Zed Thou SX but in the end I decided to get something totally different as a "second" bike tha would be a bit lighter and easier to thread through rush hour traffic in central London. Ended up with a Street Triple R. Nothing like the power of the Fazer, or the luggage capacity, but more suited to the kind of riding I do these days, and a lot smaller and lighter. Haven't really ridden the Fazer much this year, so in spite of new chain and sprocket, and barely used tyres, I'm thinking of letting her go. Feel a bit sad about it really as I've had Gen 1s for so long, but can't justify 2 bikes any more. It's amazing what a contender the old Fazer still is though – I just watched Sadlonelygit's track video!