That is very cool!
Your friend is a,Completist:
a person who attempts to complete a collection or set, especially a collector who wants to collect an example of every item in a particular field:
Great photo of your bike by the lake too!
-
Enjoy XS650.com? Consider making a donation to help support the site.
XS650.com receives a small share of sales from some links on this page, but direct donations have a much greater impact on keeping this site going.
Just Ride.
- Thread starter Jim
- Start date
That is very cool!
Your friend is a,Completist:
a person who attempts to complete a collection or set, especially a collector who wants to collect an example of every item in a particular field:
Great photo of your bike by the lake too!
By the way, I learned to ride on the very first DT250 model. 
Great photos Kevin. Nice collection of DT's too. That sea side shot is very inviting; should have took your budgie smugglers and had a dip.
Thats why I collected the first 3 years of the XS-650 badge bikes (XS-1, XS-1B, XS-2). Just love that style/history the best.That is very cool!
Completist:
a person who attempts to complete a collection or set, especially a collector who wants to collect an example of every item in a particular field:
Great photo of your bike by the lake too!
Love the purple on that lil 100.
Al also has a 1968 DT1 with less than 2 miles on it. It is on display at the "Throttle Stop Museum" in Elkhart Lake.By the way, I learned to ride on the very first DT250 model.
Water is probably 54 degree F and I sound funny screaming soprano when the budgies get that cold....
TAFFY HAS A DAY OUT
Since buying Taffy back in 2021 My aim was to visit the local Bike haunts 'The Cafe' in Abergavenny and 'Baffle House' near Goytre.
Last time Taffy had been woken from the deep Winter Slumber, and seemed to be running well.
Confidence gained and I decided Sunday would be the first propper ride of 2024. I checked the tyre pressure and chain tension and adjusted accordingly.
The sun was shining and it was warming up nicely, even at 7.30am. Jacket, Helmet and gloves on; fire up and off we go. A quick stop to top off the tank with Premium E5 fuel.
The ride was planned to head to Abergavenny via Caerleon & Usk using mostly A & B roads. Abergavenny bus station is a local bike gathering spot on most Summer Sundays.
Orange line is Out, Red line is Return.
On the way to Usk I am pleased how Taffy is running. Loving the B road lanes and bends. Pulling 40 - 50mph seems to be the sweet spot for these roads.
Usk is quickly despatched and onward to Abergavenny; a quicker road taken at a steady 60mph. Roads are pretty much deserted. The Cafe was still closed as I get to Abergavenny; so with confidence in the bike growing I head out further towards Crickhowell and Brecon. A loop from Brecon to Talgarth and back to Crickhowell I am passed by dozens of Superbikes all howling by at crazy speeds. Never seen so many bikes about.
Back along to Abergavenny and I stop for Tea and a bacon butty. There are many bikes here now so I spend an hour chatting with owners and admirer's alike. So I took photos of some of the most interesting machines:
Of course there were an endless number of modern Crotch Rockets there; but none of them got a second look apart from thier owners eyes!
There were loads of Harleys and an assortment of Trikes amongst the crowd.
Time to move on and head homeward via 'Baffle Haus' ....................
Since buying Taffy back in 2021 My aim was to visit the local Bike haunts 'The Cafe' in Abergavenny and 'Baffle House' near Goytre.
Last time Taffy had been woken from the deep Winter Slumber, and seemed to be running well.
Confidence gained and I decided Sunday would be the first propper ride of 2024. I checked the tyre pressure and chain tension and adjusted accordingly.
The sun was shining and it was warming up nicely, even at 7.30am. Jacket, Helmet and gloves on; fire up and off we go. A quick stop to top off the tank with Premium E5 fuel.
The ride was planned to head to Abergavenny via Caerleon & Usk using mostly A & B roads. Abergavenny bus station is a local bike gathering spot on most Summer Sundays.
Orange line is Out, Red line is Return.
On the way to Usk I am pleased how Taffy is running. Loving the B road lanes and bends. Pulling 40 - 50mph seems to be the sweet spot for these roads.
Usk is quickly despatched and onward to Abergavenny; a quicker road taken at a steady 60mph. Roads are pretty much deserted. The Cafe was still closed as I get to Abergavenny; so with confidence in the bike growing I head out further towards Crickhowell and Brecon. A loop from Brecon to Talgarth and back to Crickhowell I am passed by dozens of Superbikes all howling by at crazy speeds. Never seen so many bikes about.
Back along to Abergavenny and I stop for Tea and a bacon butty. There are many bikes here now so I spend an hour chatting with owners and admirer's alike. So I took photos of some of the most interesting machines:
Of course there were an endless number of modern Crotch Rockets there; but none of them got a second look apart from thier owners eyes!
There were loads of Harleys and an assortment of Trikes amongst the crowd.
Time to move on and head homeward via 'Baffle Haus' ....................
Last edited:
I'm so happy that Taffy is performing well. Looks like a fun ride and great photo's!
TAFFY RIDE CONTINUED...........
A short fast ride to Baffle Haus, and Taffy is still going strong; I can't beleive I'm enjoying the bike so much after all the trouble during the build process.
Nice fast road towards Goytre and the next stop is on the left before the village. I join a line of bikes waiting to get a parking space. We have to wait for about 10 minutes before some bikes pull out and we can get in. Blimey it was very very busy. Baffle house is a place where you can buy anything from a simple Tee shirt to a complete restoration of a bike or car. I could not get into the main building as it was packed (pictures next time).
Check out here: https://www.bafflehaus.com/
Outside another collection of wonderfull machines, both bikes and cars. You could spend plenty of time checking out the wonderfull machines here.
My favorite bike of the day has to be the little silver Ducati; the noise that made when fired up was magical.
What did I learn from my ride:
Firstly Taffy vibrates! In fact he shook out one of the Moto-Gadget bar indicators; which hung on by the internal wire; easily fixed at the Tea stop.
Another thing is the front forks need a full service; compared to the magical rear shocks the front end is awful, even though sourced from a Ducati.
Best of all motorcycling brings poeple together. I approached many owners and pillions when taking my photos and all were willing to give me time.
Finally Baffle Haus were intersted in using Taffy as a display machine inside the building alongside other interesting builds; not this summer tho'.
All in I think I travelled about 100 miles; quite a trip for Taffy's first ride out.
I can't wait for the next adventure.
Ads.
A short fast ride to Baffle Haus, and Taffy is still going strong; I can't beleive I'm enjoying the bike so much after all the trouble during the build process.
Nice fast road towards Goytre and the next stop is on the left before the village. I join a line of bikes waiting to get a parking space. We have to wait for about 10 minutes before some bikes pull out and we can get in. Blimey it was very very busy. Baffle house is a place where you can buy anything from a simple Tee shirt to a complete restoration of a bike or car. I could not get into the main building as it was packed (pictures next time).
Check out here: https://www.bafflehaus.com/
Outside another collection of wonderfull machines, both bikes and cars. You could spend plenty of time checking out the wonderfull machines here.
My favorite bike of the day has to be the little silver Ducati; the noise that made when fired up was magical.
What did I learn from my ride:
Firstly Taffy vibrates! In fact he shook out one of the Moto-Gadget bar indicators; which hung on by the internal wire; easily fixed at the Tea stop.
Another thing is the front forks need a full service; compared to the magical rear shocks the front end is awful, even though sourced from a Ducati.
Best of all motorcycling brings poeple together. I approached many owners and pillions when taking my photos and all were willing to give me time.
Finally Baffle Haus were intersted in using Taffy as a display machine inside the building alongside other interesting builds; not this summer tho'.
All in I think I travelled about 100 miles; quite a trip for Taffy's first ride out.
I can't wait for the next adventure.
Ads.
Last edited:
I hope this doesn't break any "rules", but...
Had my semiannual checkup with the VA Doc this morning. Due to absolutely horrific traffic congestion caused by a (sorely needed) paving project [why can't they do that at night?] I was darn near late for it, and chose to take an alternate route home.
Conveniently enough, the alternate route involved two of my favorite motorcycle roads and by golly, they're just as much fun in the Vette as they were on the bike! "Driving with both feet" as a friend puts it, picking lines, timing braking, accelerating out of the apex - I had a blast.
I've been driving VERY conservatively up to this point as I was trying to maximize mileage and it didn't do a damn bit of good. 16MPG
so I figured "Effit, just have fun with it" and looking at the gauge, I don't think it made a damn bit of difference in the mileage.
I do need to slap a plugs/wires/rotor/cap tune up on it tho. That is going to be a non-trivial task, based on the access (or rather, lack thereof) to the passenger's side plugs.
Had my semiannual checkup with the VA Doc this morning. Due to absolutely horrific traffic congestion caused by a (sorely needed) paving project [why can't they do that at night?] I was darn near late for it, and chose to take an alternate route home.
Conveniently enough, the alternate route involved two of my favorite motorcycle roads and by golly, they're just as much fun in the Vette as they were on the bike! "Driving with both feet" as a friend puts it, picking lines, timing braking, accelerating out of the apex - I had a blast.
I've been driving VERY conservatively up to this point as I was trying to maximize mileage and it didn't do a damn bit of good. 16MPG
so I figured "Effit, just have fun with it" and looking at the gauge, I don't think it made a damn bit of difference in the mileage.I do need to slap a plugs/wires/rotor/cap tune up on it tho. That is going to be a non-trivial task, based on the access (or rather, lack thereof) to the passenger's side plugs.
Had a '76 Trans Am back in the '90's. 400cid with a big ol' Rochester 4bl and 256 gears in back. In the 3 yrs I owned it, it got 16mpg. Sedate drive around town or let it have it's head out on a long desert stretch.... didn't matter....16mpg.I've been driving VERY conservatively up to this point as I was trying to maximize mileage and it didn't do a damn bit of good. 16MPG
From the front gate of Nellis AFB in Vegas to my front door in Mt Home Id was about 600mi. I did it one night in 6 and a half hrs... and that was stopping for a burger halfway in Ely Nv.... and I was towing a Jet Ski.
You guessed it, 16mpg.
Sumpin' about small (ish) cars with big engines.... they don't care..
Took a ride up Smugglers Notch in Stowe today and just had to stop and take a pic. These pics are of the same boulder with different bikes 25 years apart.
It's a 1984 R100cs and I still have it.
Very nice. The best BMW twin ever made?
Went for a super fun ride today. I was originally supposed to meet my dad at a dealership halfway between our houses (I live two hours from him)
I was on the Ninja 650 totally stock (and fully repaired from my accident last year)
He was on a Yamaha VStar 1100 Silverado (that SUPPOSEDLY has a 1300 kit on it)
I got there before him. Which shouldn't have happened. I had an hour and a half ride and he had a 50 minute ride. He broke down and called me to tell me. I asked what happened and he described a vapor locking situation. He made it another 10 minutes before I got another phone call.
I rode 9 minutes to meet him where he sat, and when I arrived he was shaping a piece of a broken kia mudflap in the shape of a heat shield for his fuel lines. We found a soda can and crushed it up to match the shape of the repurposed mudflap, shoved it into place and off we went! We rode back to the dealership, bought him another pair of gloves, then changed plans and rode all the way back to his house to reinstall the stock heat shield (I told him when we had it apart during the winter that it probably didn't need to go back on... He agreed so it's not ALL my fault
)
Everything was fine after that and we went for a nice long redemption ride afterwards. It was a super fun time. Lots of Twisties and hills.
It was pretty funny to realize we both made the mistake we did this winter and we both played a part in correcting the mistake LOL.
All part of the fun.
I was on the Ninja 650 totally stock (and fully repaired from my accident last year)
He was on a Yamaha VStar 1100 Silverado (that SUPPOSEDLY has a 1300 kit on it)
I got there before him. Which shouldn't have happened. I had an hour and a half ride and he had a 50 minute ride. He broke down and called me to tell me. I asked what happened and he described a vapor locking situation. He made it another 10 minutes before I got another phone call.
I rode 9 minutes to meet him where he sat, and when I arrived he was shaping a piece of a broken kia mudflap in the shape of a heat shield for his fuel lines. We found a soda can and crushed it up to match the shape of the repurposed mudflap, shoved it into place and off we went! We rode back to the dealership, bought him another pair of gloves, then changed plans and rode all the way back to his house to reinstall the stock heat shield (I told him when we had it apart during the winter that it probably didn't need to go back on... He agreed so it's not ALL my fault
)Everything was fine after that and we went for a nice long redemption ride afterwards. It was a super fun time. Lots of Twisties and hills.
It was pretty funny to realize we both made the mistake we did this winter and we both played a part in correcting the mistake LOL.
All part of the fun.
Attachments
Went for a super fun ride today. I was originally supposed to meet my dad at a dealership halfway between our houses (I live two hours from him)
I was on the Ninja 650 totally stock (and fully repaired from my accident last year)
He was on a Yamaha VStar 1100 Silverado (that SUPPOSEDLY has a 1300 kit on it)
I got there before him. Which shouldn't have happened. I had an hour and a half ride and he had a 50 minute ride. He broke down and called me to tell me. I asked what happened and he described a vapor locking situation. He made it another 10 minutes before I got another phone call.
I rode 9 minutes to meet him where he sat, and when I arrived he was shaping a piece of a broken kia mudflap in the shape of a heat shield for his fuel lines. We found a soda can and crushed it up to match the shape of the repurposed mudflap, shoved it into place and off we went! We rode back to the dealership, bought him another pair of gloves, then changed plans and rode all the way back to his house to reinstall the stock heat shield (I told him when we had it apart during the winter that it probably didn't need to go back on... He agreed so it's not ALL my fault
Everything was fine after that and we went for a nice long redemption ride afterwards. It was a super fun time. Lots of Twisties and hills.
It was pretty funny to realize we both made the mistake we did this winter and we both played a part in correcting the mistake LOL.
All part of the fun.
Man I would’ve loved to share my passion for motorcycles with my Dad! What a great experience for you.
It took me til I was 27 and five bikes later to finally be able to get him on a bike at the same time I had one that was operable. I always thought we would ride together in the dirt on dirt bikes and so did he. But we found that as he gets older the street is smoother and less prone to us coming up with reckless ideas. It was a blast and I can't wait to get back out and do it again soon.Man I would’ve loved to share my passion for motorcycles with my Dad! What a great experience for you.