What Now?

[MrGrumpy]

Hi people
One or two of you may have noticed that I haven't posted anything in the last couple of weeks - this is due to me having a close encounter of the unpleasant kind with a tractor and trailer, whilst riding my Tmax mk6!
Quite a serious accident - broken ribs and other bones, and they kept me in intensive care for a week! I'm now OK, but still have aches and am very week, so its going to take weeks to get back to full fitness, or to ride a scoot again.

With exquisite timing, I crashed 1 week before I was due to move to Cumbria. The fact that I wasn't there for the move and relied totally on very kind friends and family to do it for me, means that the move was even more chaotic than normal!

At the time I didn't get a chance to look at the Tmax - bystanders said it wasn't too bad and might even be rideable (!) - this has proved somewhat overoptimistic. Apparently every plastic panel has been scratched and gouged, the left mirror has vanished, the exhaust has been bent and the rear rack broken. Its a clear write-off - insurance company have offered me £5.5k, which is in the ballpark I guess.

So I will have to consider what to get next. I still have the mk3 Tmax (though the main set of keys have gone missing!). I was considering getting rid of the mk3 and replacing it with something smaller, and keeping the mk6, but that plan is out of the window! Not entirely sure whether to buy another Tmax, say 3 years old, or whether to go for something smaller like the ADV350. Now I'm in the lake district, I will probably be doing more pottering along the tiny crowded back roads, and less of the fast open road journeys I used to do at my previous address - but there will be still be a need for something for longer trips eg to Southern Scotland where I have friends and family. Whether the mk3 will be good for this I don't know - its still going fine but its 15 years old now.

So I don't know....any thoughts welcome.

[Waldorf]

Very sorry to hear your news but glad you have survived and are on the mend, albeit slowly.
I send healing thoughts and good wishes for now and the future (in the North of England).
I'm very happy with my Forza 350, good both in town and on the open road.

[capitano]

Bummer!

Heal quickly ... and properly.

I can only take a bird's eye view and say what I'd do in the same circumstances.

1. Find a local independent garage and get the Mk3 sorted out properly. ie full big service, replacement keys, anything else it is likely to need for a year.

2. Ride it around, see what the roads are actually like, and do the longer trips. (I'd have no hesitation in using it for those longer trips. I use a 28 year old Yamaha for 600 mile days, still.)

3. Decide what you want to do, taking into account the local roads, dealer location and reputation etc.

eg. If the roads suit a smaller bike, and you have a reputable Honda dealer within a decent distance, buy a PCX or SH125 for local riding, or an NMax 125 if the best dealer is a Yamaha one etc

4. Decide whether to replace your Mk3 at your leisure, with whatever suits your long distance trips best

[MariaB]

Hey. I am sorry to hear about your ordeal. I have just posted my sale list for our three TMAX Mark 3. You will see that we have been members and long time TMAX fans. Not sure what you think as they aren’t Mark 6s, but 3s have a certain cache. Get better soon and you know where we are (on PM) if you are interested. Our last TMAX went to guy in Preston. Clive and Maria

[MariaB]

Sorry I didn’t read that you still have your Mark 3. Get better soon.

[knight2]

Sorry to hear of your upleasant escapade, glad to hear you survived if some what painfully. Tractors are one of those things I wouldn't like to argue with and they are not always well driven. They also have a habit of appearing out of no where, strange for a slow moving vehicle.
As a replacement how about one of these
https://www.gumtree.com/p/other-motorbi ... 1493305049
OK maybe not . For some of the lake district lanes and passes I wonder if one of the three wheelers would be suitable like the MP3 or the Metropolitan. Seems like the sort of riding that a Royal Enfield would be good for. I wouldn't worry about taking the older TMax to scotland.
I hope your mobile soon broken ribs can be extremely painful so I'm told.

[John A]

Sorry to hear about the stress you've been going through!

I went from an ADV350 to a new Tmax. The ADV does everything, that the Tmax can, but, and it's a big but, adequately. So the ADV will cruise at 70mph, as long as there isn't a large hill / headwind in the way. It can overtake on 60mph roads, if there's a mile or so of clear road ahead. So if I was you, I'd be very wary of buying a bike that you'll keep on thinking "The Tmax could have done that so much better".

Good luck with whatever you chose.

[Andym]

Glad you are relatively OK and getting better.

Apologies for a few negative thoughts, but only trying to be practical.

1. I like the idea of buy back and repair, the sewer-ants take the **$$ though. I'd enquire if you can do your own work but be prepared to walk away.

2. They don't like it when the punter wins the bet. Forget protective NCB and other rubbish they sell, they'll hammer you for the next five years. A used 350 may be easier, so consider being patient.

3. Bottom line though, pick what will enjoy though. I rate the Forza 350 over the others, leccy screen and just enough power not to need the weight and extra costs of the bigger stuff, but choice has to be yours.

Andy

[Stibbs]

Sorry to hear of your accident. Unfortunately us riders are so vulnerable. Just the other day at a junction an old guy pulled out over the give way lines from a side road into the main road into which I was riding. I’d already slowed slightly and moved over into the outside of the lane as I was in anticipating the moron would pullout. Indeed he did, albeit slowly, as his brain didn’t work any quicker, and I just managed to avoid the cretin. He was oblivious to what he’d done. Stay safe and get well soon….

[Greyerbeard]

Sorry to hear about your incident; I had similar several years ago which wrote off my first Forza 350
(Which I see is currently taxed and Mot'd again..!)
And all of which is why I invested in a Techalogic helmet camera, reflective waistcoats and white helmets