Well, on Saturday I went for a chat at the local(ish) dealership after a few email exchanges. I posted a few weeks back that I was coming back to biking after many years (and never holding an actual motorcycle licence) and I am still in that process (Mod 1 booked for next week and Mod2 for early December) but the chat turned into a lot of sitting on bikes and reving engines and ended up with a signature! When I first decided now was the time to start riding bikes my original thought had been Harley or Indian. My wife encouraged me to look at British bikes as she found them to be 'nicer' and felt it would make it look less like I was trying to hard (or words to that effect ). My first point of call was the Speedmaster staying with that Cruiser mentality and I really wasn't keen on the peashooters on the T100/T120. Over the weeks following the T120 kept coming up and I started to change how I felt about the full retro look and it came more and more into the frame. So armed with a whole load of you tube information and some follow ups with people 'in the know' I went to the dealership and proceeded to sit myself on both the SM and the T120 knowing that neither would be a bad option. I kept going back to the T120, I loved the higher perch and I loved the dual clocks. I have 3 children who are all keen to ride pillion and the T120 seat seemed to be a much better option for comfort on that front (not to mention they'll need the USB port) and the info I had that the T120 would probably be a slightly smoother ride (or can be made so) on British roads was all it took. I know, I know, I haven't even given them a test ride but I'm rolling with this and I couldn't resist the deal. Also, the wife would likely have killed me if I kept discussing potential options for another 2 weeks. So I have ordered.... T120 Black - Jet Black With Black Intake Covers Black Head Bolt Covers Bar End Mirrors Sump Bash Plate That should give me some extra focus to pass the Mod 1 and Mod 2!
Congrats on your prospective purchase and best of luck with your test(s). You’ve probably got one of the nicest user friendly bikes to start afresh on, very forgiving and easy to ride, if a little weighty but I’m sure you’ll be fine. Welcome along, ride safe.
Welcome to the forum mate. Good luck with your test ... new bike already purchased .. no pressure then!
Welcome in and good luck with your tests, don’t take this wrong but , god forbid, you should fail I would sacrifice a bit of space and look after it for you, you know, run it in, scrub the tyres in etc etc! Ps that helmet won’t do!!
Nik Welcome to the Family. Its seems you have a very intelligent wife there. She sure knows her bikes. You will like it here peeps will help you along so if you got a query ask the peeps here. Of course you will get all sorts of replies. Just pick the ones you like and you will be fine. It depends if the patrons have had their meds or not before replies not good after some sense coming back and they will talk to you. But seriously we will all be there routing for you now so keep us in the know. Regards Joe
Ha ha, yep, neither will the Lycra. However, that is likely to be a good thing for the general public!
There will be no failing you ride a bike well its easier as you don't have to pedal. And I think your better half might have her eyes on it. Not to mention the Children. You just come back to us when you are fully fledged and we will all cheer you on. Regards Joe
welcome, you will fit in well in here, just remember to post pics asap coz some of us cannot reed or spel veri well. oops nurse is on the way with the big needle
Keep the lycra, just wear it under your leathers, makes them easier to get on and off, so much less messy than butter!
Welcome, I took a black T120 (not my kind of bike) for a test ride just for the laugh with the other half on the back. I must say that was one of the most fun bikes I've ridden for a while. She loved the seat compared to the modern rubbish I usually ask her to sit on The only negative I found which wasn't to my liking was the front brake. It had no bite and needed some softer pads in or something but then this was after riding the RS with Brembo's With three kids I think one of these would even pull a caravan for you!
Welcome from sunny California. One more bike you might want to look into if you can bear to wait. There will be a new 2019 Speed Twin coming out soon. 1200 cc styled similar to the 900 street twin. Just a thought. I really like my Street Twin and this should be similar, just bigger !!
Hey Nik, made me smile when I read your post, like you I bought my Street Twin before I passed my test, had her in the garage for 7 weeks whilst balls'ing up my test. All good in the end, just super frustrating not being able to ride whilst training. Good luck with your Mod's, nice purchase, best colour. All you need now is a standing order to Squardeals and Motone for bits and bobs