Bike “shed” thread…
Discussion
Bit like the car shedding thread really. I’m sat here waiting for my old vfr750 to be mot’d and reflecting on how i use it all year round for pretty much everything.
Every panel has either a crack or faded paint but i love the bloody thing. I can park it anywhere and use it in all weathers.
Anyone else running an old cheapy for daily duties alongside other bikes?
Every panel has either a crack or faded paint but i love the bloody thing. I can park it anywhere and use it in all weathers.
Anyone else running an old cheapy for daily duties alongside other bikes?
V1nce Fox said:
Bit like the car shedding thread really. I’m sat here waiting for my old vfr750 to be mot’d and reflecting on how i use it all year round for pretty much everything.
Every panel has either a crack or faded paint but i love the bloody thing. I can park it anywhere and use it in all weathers.
Anyone else running an old cheapy for daily duties alongside other bikes?
I found a bag in the shed with a couple of odd VFR 750 bits in - yours if you want them mate! Every panel has either a crack or faded paint but i love the bloody thing. I can park it anywhere and use it in all weathers.
Anyone else running an old cheapy for daily duties alongside other bikes?
I was using my CB500 as an everything back as it only cost me £700 - it had rust, old tyres, glazed/cracked screen and generally wasn't very pretty. It was even great fun on track - so much so I turned into a race bike on a tight budget
At the time I bought it I was running it alongside my Aprilia RSVR Factory and then sold that to fund a BMW F800gs - the CB500 was still the first out the garage for a quick flog to the shops and back
My only bike is a shed. 2010 CBF125 with 26k on it. Cracks and scratches on every panel, someone before me has dropped it and it's been driven into since I've owned it. Paintwork on the black parts courtesy of a tin of hammerite I had knocking about, fairings have been attacked by a paint pen in not quite the right colour. Starts, stops and rides lovely though so it gets rewarded with premium fuel to gain that extra 0.2 horses.
It would be great if this thread took off like the car shed ones have.
I’d be interested to see what is out there. What would we class as a shed?
Not my thread so don’t want to hijack but I’d say under £1000 and it can’t be a 125. Nothing against 125’s but there’s loads of much newer bikes at that price point which I don’t think you could class as sheds
Quite like the look of this for the money.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/bike-details/20220730...
I’d be interested to see what is out there. What would we class as a shed?
Not my thread so don’t want to hijack but I’d say under £1000 and it can’t be a 125. Nothing against 125’s but there’s loads of much newer bikes at that price point which I don’t think you could class as sheds
Quite like the look of this for the money.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/bike-details/20220730...
Yep - I've a tatty old vfr800fi. It's a complete basket case cosmetically- it's been down the road more than once, some of the fairings have had a comically bad respray done, the exhaust is a bit dinged up etc. etc
Mechanically perfect however and it starts on the button every time, and most importantly it has all the key bits sorted - Michelin road 5 tyres - DID chain that's clean & oiled, brakes are perfect and it gets soaked in acf50 every winter so there's no rust. It cost about £1500 a few years ago and I could probably get that back now but I don't think I'll be parting with it for a long time.
Mechanically perfect however and it starts on the button every time, and most importantly it has all the key bits sorted - Michelin road 5 tyres - DID chain that's clean & oiled, brakes are perfect and it gets soaked in acf50 every winter so there's no rust. It cost about £1500 a few years ago and I could probably get that back now but I don't think I'll be parting with it for a long time.
Edited by BugLebowski on Tuesday 2nd August 10:17
black-k1 said:
I have a car! My bike is important to me and I commute on it but it's still, ultimately, a hobby. Why would I want a shed for my hobby?
I think that sums it up.I have a 2004 VFR800 as well as a newer bike. My VFR isn't perfect and as such I'm less precious about it and happy to ride it through the winter - but gets plenty of TLC and still cleans up nicely albeit with a patina consistent with its age and attracts complements (mostly from old guys!).
Edited by Seight_Returns on Tuesday 2nd August 10:49
black-k1 said:
I have a car! My bike is important to me and I commute on it but it's still, ultimately, a hobby. Why would I want a shed for my hobby?
I’m in this camp, I have 4 bikes just now ranging from 1985 to 2014. They’re all as good as I can make them. If I fumbled one of them and damaged/scratched it I’d have to repair it.
I’m just not able to leave things tatty and corrosion really bothers me.
The car (well a pickup) gets used for all the nasty stuff!
I get attached to bikes, I still have my first one after over 20 years. I’ve only ever got attached to one car and kept it 4.5 years.
I'm in - Shed of the week was what attracted me to Pistonheads in the first place! Moving house from London to Glasgow soon but job will require me to show face in London office occasionally. As such I'll need something I can leave at Glasgow airport, but run to the airport is on the M8 and if anyone knows it, being blown about on a 125 on the Erskine Bridge and White Cart viaduct doesn't appeal.
Looking on Autotrader, there are 2 bikes that are less than £1,500 and within 30 miles. They're both 125s. Where do people get bikes at this level? (actual answer - Gumtree - seeing a 200 Kawasaki ZX-6R in yellow for £1,400 which is dangerously tempting...
https://www.gumtree.com/p/kawasaki-motorbikes/kawa...
PH Mods - there's nothing in your own classifieds at the moment that isn't a 125.
Looking on Autotrader, there are 2 bikes that are less than £1,500 and within 30 miles. They're both 125s. Where do people get bikes at this level? (actual answer - Gumtree - seeing a 200 Kawasaki ZX-6R in yellow for £1,400 which is dangerously tempting...
https://www.gumtree.com/p/kawasaki-motorbikes/kawa...
PH Mods - there's nothing in your own classifieds at the moment that isn't a 125.
Edited by Marquezs Stabilisers on Tuesday 2nd August 12:13
Marquezs Stabilisers said:
I'm in - Shed of the week was what attracted me to Pistonheads in the first place! Moving house from London to Glasgow soon but job will require me to show face in London office occasionally. As such I'll need something I can leave at Glasgow airport, but run to the airport is on the M8 and if anyone knows it, being blown about on a 125 on the Erskine Bridge and White Cart viaduct doesn't appeal.
Looking on Autotrader, there are 2 bikes that are less than £1,500 and within 30 miles. They're both 125s. Where do people get bikes at this level? (actual answer - Gumtree - seeing a 200 Kawasaki ZX-6R in yellow for £1,400 which is dangerously tempting...
https://www.gumtree.com/p/kawasaki-motorbikes/kawa...
PH Mods - there's nothing in your own classifieds at the moment that isn't a 125.
Facebook marketplace has the occasional gem hidden in the horrors. Looking on Autotrader, there are 2 bikes that are less than £1,500 and within 30 miles. They're both 125s. Where do people get bikes at this level? (actual answer - Gumtree - seeing a 200 Kawasaki ZX-6R in yellow for £1,400 which is dangerously tempting...
https://www.gumtree.com/p/kawasaki-motorbikes/kawa...
PH Mods - there's nothing in your own classifieds at the moment that isn't a 125.
Edited by Marquezs Stabilisers on Tuesday 2nd August 12:13
Just do a search for motorcycles and then filter by age or price.
There’s a Suzuki gs500 for sale near me for £800 with a long mot. Would be perfect for this sort of use.
Diversions and er5s are also readily available and cheap.
Speed addicted said:
Facebook marketplace has the occasional gem hidden in the horrors.
Just do a search for motorcycles and then filter by age or price.
There’s a Suzuki gs500 for sale near me for £800 with a long mot. Would be perfect for this sort of use.
Diversions and er5s are also readily available and cheap.
You're not wrong, where I am in South London there's a lot of Yamaha R125s with no keys and "if u kno u kno" but there's the occasional diamond in the mud. I had an ER-5 at uni and one of them or a GPZ500 would do nicely Just do a search for motorcycles and then filter by age or price.
There’s a Suzuki gs500 for sale near me for £800 with a long mot. Would be perfect for this sort of use.
Diversions and er5s are also readily available and cheap.
I'd imagine that, by P.H. standards, most of the vehicles I've owned would belong in the shed category. Hasn't stopped me covering a huge amount of miles on them and trundling about to various parts of Europe. Have probably enjoyed the ownership of my old chops, economy streetfighters and the like more than I've enjoyed my top notch stuff. There's a certain element with a good cheap bike that makes living with it so easy.
Back in the 1980s, when I was rebuilding my first house, mortgage rates were at around 17%, salary was low and I'd stripped my place of its windows, floors, ceilings, electrics and plumbing. I had to sell my custom Z750 and my BSA chop and didn't have a lot of cash for a decent bike. A mate, who figured he owed me a favour, offered me a really cheap deal on a Z440Ltd that had been rebuilt after an accident. I turned him down, I didn't ride bikes under about 750c.c. back then (still don't, generally)... and I certainly didn't want something that "Bike" magazine had described as, "like a Mickey Mouse watch, fun to look at but crap at telling the time". After a week of public transport, I relented and thought it had to be better than walking or buses, even if it had a hooky V5, was painted entirely in Smoothrite and had exhausts made from water pipe.
To cut a long story short, I covered a massive amount of miles on it, never touched it with a service kit, left it parked on the road unlocked, collected all manner of building kit on it and even put it back on the road after it had been "run over" by a visiting skip truck. A length of scaffold bar and a hand from the builders opposite, plus some judicial use of a lump hammer had it sorted well enough for daily use. The thing was virtually indestructible... Definitely have happy memories of that time - would I want another like that. No. Nope. No way.
Have loads of similar stories of working bikes, but that old, simple Zed twin was a stand out. Nowadays tho', I tend to look for well cared for, low miles bikes that a previous owner has lavished money on... even if I no longer cover anything like the miles that I did.
Back in the 1980s, when I was rebuilding my first house, mortgage rates were at around 17%, salary was low and I'd stripped my place of its windows, floors, ceilings, electrics and plumbing. I had to sell my custom Z750 and my BSA chop and didn't have a lot of cash for a decent bike. A mate, who figured he owed me a favour, offered me a really cheap deal on a Z440Ltd that had been rebuilt after an accident. I turned him down, I didn't ride bikes under about 750c.c. back then (still don't, generally)... and I certainly didn't want something that "Bike" magazine had described as, "like a Mickey Mouse watch, fun to look at but crap at telling the time". After a week of public transport, I relented and thought it had to be better than walking or buses, even if it had a hooky V5, was painted entirely in Smoothrite and had exhausts made from water pipe.
To cut a long story short, I covered a massive amount of miles on it, never touched it with a service kit, left it parked on the road unlocked, collected all manner of building kit on it and even put it back on the road after it had been "run over" by a visiting skip truck. A length of scaffold bar and a hand from the builders opposite, plus some judicial use of a lump hammer had it sorted well enough for daily use. The thing was virtually indestructible... Definitely have happy memories of that time - would I want another like that. No. Nope. No way.
Have loads of similar stories of working bikes, but that old, simple Zed twin was a stand out. Nowadays tho', I tend to look for well cared for, low miles bikes that a previous owner has lavished money on... even if I no longer cover anything like the miles that I did.
I’ve been running my 2000 CBR600F4 for the last 4 years and the best part of 50kkms. That includes minimal riding due to injury and Covid the last couple of years.
Someone knocked it over a couple of years back so the fairing is cracked and the indicator wonky. Scuffs all over it. It’s got a handy bag. I live near a beach so it got a bit of corrosion parked in the street for a while for a while. I never wash it, it just gets serviced and whatever it needs whenever it needs it. I love it. It’s fast, handles well, comfy, practical, sounds amazing and I can leave it anywhere. If anything happened to it I’d be out buying another F4. My other bike is a year old and up for sale.
Someone knocked it over a couple of years back so the fairing is cracked and the indicator wonky. Scuffs all over it. It’s got a handy bag. I live near a beach so it got a bit of corrosion parked in the street for a while for a while. I never wash it, it just gets serviced and whatever it needs whenever it needs it. I love it. It’s fast, handles well, comfy, practical, sounds amazing and I can leave it anywhere. If anything happened to it I’d be out buying another F4. My other bike is a year old and up for sale.
Speed addicted said:
Facebook marketplace has the occasional gem hidden in the horrors.
Just do a search for motorcycles and then filter by age or price.
There’s a Suzuki gs500 for sale near me for £800 with a long mot. Would be perfect for this sort of use.
Diversions and er5s are also readily available and cheap.
I bought my bike off Facebook Marketplace, couldn't find a nice one anywhere and it was a last ditch attempt.Just do a search for motorcycles and then filter by age or price.
There’s a Suzuki gs500 for sale near me for £800 with a long mot. Would be perfect for this sort of use.
Diversions and er5s are also readily available and cheap.
Managed to get a 2016 ZX6R with 3500 miles in immaculate condition for around £1200 cheaper than anything on Autotrader.
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