Tango

Yeah, I saw that suzuki UK are offering a £500 discount on the 650s if you take a test ride and then order one. Not sure if that will happen here, but I'll be looking out.

I don't think that carrying a pillion is going to be too often, but it needs to be available when the need arises. Given the state of some of our local roads, I think that the Tracer 7 & 9 are probably a little too road focused. I've looked at the v-strom 650 and 800 at the local dealers. The 800 was a bit heavy. The 650 wasn't bad, but is looking a bit dated now, however, the XT version hasn't been discounted completely. I sat on a Tenere 700. It was like sitting on the top of a step ladder! Even I, at 6'1", was on tip toes! No way could Mandy climb on board that! And it's not really meant for pillions, even though it has pillion pegs.

It's a good bike, Pete, but the range isn't great and it's no good for a pillion, so I may see if anything else fits the bill better.

Just don't do it again!

I'm looking at a few bikes, Pete, but I need to try them out before making any kind of decision.

That was a really scary incident @Slowlycatchymonkey, I'm glad that you lived to tell the tale.

Maybe some can't get to dealers and don't want to waste a long journey only to find out that that there's a waiting list?

That's interesting. I've not visited any of the local Honda dealers recently, so they may well have demonstrators in. I'll have to check them out.

You'd want to at least sit on one before pulling the trigger? I know that there are big delays in the production of new vehicles, so maybe it's to give them an idea of demand before going into full scale production?

Obviously they're new, but surely if you're interested in one you'd just rock up at the dealers and put a deposit down. Bearing in mind that there are no bikes available at the moment to test ride, so you'd be buying blind! It just struck me as bizarre?

I was looking at the new Honda Transalp and Hornet 750 on the Honda France website and noticed a link to "register your interest" to buy the new Transalp 750. Intrigued, I followed the link and it transpires that, for a 99€ deposit, you can get your name put on a list in order to buy one! After registering your interest and stumping up your 99€, you then need to visit your Honda dealer within 14 days to actually place an order and once you've done that they'll condescend to let you know when you can expect to receive the bike! It's not just in France. The Honda UK site has the same "deal"! I don't know, am I missing something here?

Another millstone?

I'm trying to work up the energy and will to do some of the jobs around the house that need doing. So far drinking coffee and listening to Prog radio seems to be winning though!

Sounds like a stuck float in the carb, so it's probably flooded now. You could try tapping the float bowl with the blunt end of a big screwdriver to see if that unsticks it. Otherwise you may need to remove the carb and check the float height and needle valve seat. Enjoy your ride and lunch anyway.

The farmers are pretty aggravated by it!

Beware of booby traps!

Thanks @Slowlycatchymonkey