Was new 400 Burgman, now new 650 Exec.

[amsmtb]

Infact in an hours time I'm gonna rip her down the A12 back to Ipswich and love every minit of it. Love the roads at 1 in the morning.

[wuffstuff]

Had my second weekly journey from Devon to Portsmouth yesterday in the pouring rain. The Burg was mint all the way there and back. Like most middle distance bikers I set myself a series of challenges along the way - simple stuff like filtering through Salisbury quickly, overtaking at higher speed - you know how it is; you have to break the journey into manageable chunks. (1000 miles + in just over 2 weeks)

Anyway even though it rained for the whole 6 hours it was a great journey. A point of note - once I got my hands wet putting in fuel it was very difficult to get my gloves back on. Lesson learned

Looking forward now to Sundays rideout for the Devon Air Ambulance.

[Dexter]

The real problem happens getting your gloves off with wet hands
I commute from Portsmouth daily.

[SH125Paul]

For such a long commute... I cannot recomend these enough...
If you have bar ends they simply push on - i never bother with any fixings, and you can simply pull em off and put em under your seat or in the top box...
Tucano Urbano Hand Covers... way better than the giant Oxford type bike muffs... can be had for about £25...
http://www.urbanrider.co.uk/brands/tuca ... eight.html

[wuffstuff]

For such a long commute... I cannot recomend these enough...

Great advice - thanks.

[wuffstuff]

I made another journey from Devon to Portsmouth on Wednesday. Pretty bad driving conditions; heavy rain, thunder, lightning. The Burg performed supremely though I have noted now that the tyres are pretty gripless in wet conditions. I drove on to London, stayed overnight and then came back yesterday. What a joy scooting around London was. I saved hours of queuing by just zipping past (when I say zipping I really mean careful lane control - I'm still a bit nervous filtering).

I loved the drive from the City around the ring road to Marylebone, and then down to Chelsea. I came back across Putney Bridge and down the A3. Those who travel this route know how tragic Putney High St can be. I was through in less than a minute. Sometimes that takes 30-40 minutes in a car.

On the A303 the wind and rain was horrendous and after 40 years on two wheels I can say I have never been out in worse conditions than these last two days. The Burg never let me down once. It is now filthy and needs a good clean. If the rain ever stops I'll give her a wash. 1450 miles on the clock now - in 4 weeks.

Thanks for listening - I realise now this thread is like a blog. Time to stop.

[macamxthe1st]

"Thanks for listening - I realise now this thread is like a blog. Time to stop."

Not at all, it is entirely justifiable to sing the praises of these things.

Geoff.

[Data]

Wuffstuff, we're interested in how you are getting on and pleased you seem to like your new scooter. I too echo many of your remarks. I'm intrigued you find the tyres a bit lacking in the wet. So far I've no complaints in that department. Although, I haven't ridden mine in London yet on those wet greasy roads. But I have ridden in various town centres in the east of England without problems in the wet. I guess whatever tyres you may have on the bike, they wouldn't be good enough in London in the wet though. How's fuel working out?

[Bluebottle]

Interesting about the tyres. I have felt confident on standard tyres but I don't ride on greasy London streets either.
Road markings and polished bits as you would expect on any 2 wheeler. Standard tyres, light rider, standard/slightly high tyre pressure.

I get my speed thrills elsewhere so maybe I'm just too sedate in my old age to tax hoops

[wuffstuff]

Thanks for comments. On the subject of tyres in the wet, it seems as if the main London streets are awash with diesel. I could even feel the slipperyness when I put my feet down. But...... it could be my lack of confidence that makes me feel that the tyres don't grip as well in the wet. However, as the change is quite dramatic in the dry I really don't think so.

I still haven't had a decent in the dry since I got the scoot. Only minutes between heavy showers. I'm quite looking forward to moving a bit quicker. I've been up to 75 mph now for a very short burst.

As for fuel I have no real idea yet as I'm still reeling from the fact it cost me £34 to get to London and back. In my old Merc that would have been £90 (plus congestion, daytime and overnight parking - maybe another £50). Money saving isn't the issue for me, it's the stress of getting in and out of London, and that's looking brilliant so far. I accept it's radical to drive all the way from Devon to London on a scooter just to avoid London traffic but that's how it is. It was either that or retirement.