Cheap reliable hacks.

[Earnest Thrasher]

Here's an excellent " hack " . MZ ES 250, Yanmar Diesel, electric start. Home brew CVT transmission, which works loads better than gears on a slow reving diesel, pretty brisk up to 50mph, and tops out around 60, 200 mpg ish.

[wightegi]

And the trophy goes to........

[remmington]

I am interested in this "hack thread"...

I only use a motorbike for transport to work and running errands and have done for 36years...

[Earnest Thrasher]

I always had a Cub as a workshop hack, because everyone could ride it, apart from regular oil changes, and routine maintenance, the only time it ever got stripped was to replace burnt out exhaust valves, as it only had one throttle position, nailed. Even that didn't take that long. I bought a new T140 Bonneville in 1978. It was the worst bike I ever owned. It took 6000miles to get all problems sorted out (three sets of carbs, exploding alternators, misaligned primary drive etc etc) while this was going on a CD 175 did all that was required, it got replaced by another famous hack, a Panther 120, which I did well in excess of 100k on, without any major problems. Only two breakdowns which left me stranded, broke a primary chain once, and sheared the mag drive another time. I sold it when they started getting valuable, thats when I tend to lose interest. I wonder if the Purple Helmets caused the same decrease in availability of Cubs, as the Dukes of Hazard did with Dodge Chargers ?

[Capitano]

I wonder if the Purple Helmets caused the same decrease in availability of Cubs, as the Dukes of Hazard did with Dodge Chargers ?

Undoubtedly! I could relate the economics behind it but everyone would be bored by me ... again!

A certain semi-famous motorcycle adventurer, whose fame came from him using an old Cub for his adventures, was recently moaning about how you couldn't get a used Cub for £150 any longer.

I explained the simple theory of supply and demand to him, and how exposure of Cubs as adventure vehicles added to the demand.

ie he was responsible for the very thing he was complaining about!

I still don't think that he saw the irony in it. I wonder if he ever did send Mr Bogger the DVD he promised.

[Mattt]

Well someone mentioned nothing decent under a grand ,i bought a Sv650 gen1 as it was only a few doors away,as a cheap hack ,22k ,not been used for 18mths
Put tyres and caliper kits ,pads and fork seals on it ,its had a geniune generator and rectifier a year ago
Put 12mths mot,insured and rode it a bit,cant get on with the forward leaning ,although its getting bit better each week

Stuck it on a few sites,not ebay yet for £950,it needs nothing doing ,not sold ,few people keep asking via messanger is it still available, i reply yes ,and hear nothing back,this has happened about 5 times .

[bikerbaker]

Well someone mentioned nothing decent under a grand ,i bought a Sv650 gen1 as it was only a few doors away,as a cheap hack ,22k ,not been used for 18mths
Put tyres and caliper kits ,pads and fork seals on it ,its had a geniune generator and rectifier a year ago
Put 12mths mot,insured and rode it a bit,cant get on with the forward leaning ,although its getting bit better each week

Stuck it on a few sites,not ebay yet for £950,it needs nothing doing ,not sold ,few people keep asking via messanger is it still available, i reply yes ,and hear nothing back,this has happened about 5 times .

Much the same experience here, my son and I bought a K1 SV650S in 2013 for £950, for him to use when he passed his test which he did but in Oz. About the same mileage it has had a starter rebuild, tyres, battery and last year a rear caliper. It's been used every now and again locally as well as a few trips up North and I reckon the seat is more comfortable than the K6 over long distances. It's not worth much so not bothered to consider selling it. I did think I might put some straight bars on it as I've ridden a naked k6 and liked it.

The only thing I don't like about it is the rear brake is too efficient and needs care at low speed as it will lock very easily. It's a twin pot and is shared with the Hayabusa, the K6 has a single pot floater.

A local friend also has a K1 and a K7 SV1000 and prefers the 650 as the 1000 is not that much quicker and is not as nimble.

[Bogger]

I wonder if the Purple Helmets caused the same decrease in availability of Cubs, as the Dukes of Hazard did with Dodge Chargers ?

Undoubtedly! I could relate the economics behind it but everyone would be bored by me ... again!

A certain semi-famous motorcycle adventurer, whose fame came from him using an old Cub for his adventures, was recently moaning about how you couldn't get a used Cub for £150 any longer.

I explained the simple theory of supply and demand to him, and how exposure of Cubs as adventure vehicles added to the demand.

ie he was responsible for the very thing he was complaining about!

I still don't think that he saw the irony in it. I wonder if he ever did send Mr Bogger the DVD he promised.

Like hell he did.

Bogger

[Mattt]

Ive bought a hornet 900 as a cheap replacement for the Sv650,bit more upright with low Rentalls ,small screen and lots of new bits,pretty low mileage ,im going to commute once a week and get some soft luggage for the next trip abroad on it .Its touted as a do it all machine
Almost went down the HP route on a new MT07 with 2.9% finance ,but new bikes are too much money these days for the amount I currently get to ride.

[Viper254]

For financial efficiency I'm not sure I've ever managed to beat the Lexmoto Gladiator that I spent a fair chunk of my 20s blatting about on - mechanically it was pretty bombproof but I did have to do the occasional bit of preventative repair to stop other bits disintegrating. Bits for it were so cheap though... 13" tyres, seperate muffler and exhaust... it was just so damn functional. It cost £180, I rode it for four years and was my only transport at that time.