Well I finally sold my M2,but it had the last laugh,breaking the belt,on my last ride home from Glenlivet. That will be the last belt driven motorcycle I ever own,thank f***k I managed to make a tool that compresses the nearside rear isomount enough to get the offside bush out ,then slide in the belt.
On the whole it has been one of the best rides ( on a motorcycle ) I have ever had, but I feel that the many new parts I had to fit due to failure ,put to much strain on my family finances.
So I am going to buy an Africa Twin,slow, but at least I can trust it to get me home.
btw,were the belt snapped has no mobile phone coverage,so I had to walk to the nearest house and use their phone,luckily the folks were home,or I would have had to walk miles.
Cheers
Lee

Better to have loved and lost, than to never have loved at all.

Good luck with your new ride.

_________________
I started out with nothing and still got most of it left.

shame to hear that it had to go for those reasons.but I agree that the cost to run one is absurd,when i bouight it i thought for some reason,based on the idea that the engine would have been developed over it's long life span to be bullit proof,wrong.and that such a basic design,using nissin,showa etc would mean further reliability, a belt would never break ,i've owned some bikes,some of which were exzotik,e.g Honda RC30,Honda RS250R,and some basic runners,but this,excluding the choices for conversion i've done ,has been the most expensive toy I've ever owned,only beaten by a 1968 Porsche 911T, still as they say
"You can buy for what you need,but you have to pay for what you want"

the new owner cant stop grinning and prefers it to his xb lol

Well it has had just about everything done to it that a Cyclone needs doing,apart from the most sensible thing,can you guess what it is?
Glad Andy's happy
Lee

Exactly the same conclusion I came too with my xb, loved it but my wallet said no more!

N.

Got the Africa Twin last night,rode it home 20 odd miles ,so far so good.
Not as exilerating,as one would expect,but the handling is good,the brakes are as good as the M2 ( the back one is light years better )the gearbox is sweet,the exhaust note ,although subdued, is pleasing,but it's weird being able to rev to 8000.
Not as slow as I feared,no doubt it will do the job,only slightly taller than the M2 seat. Letts see if I have grown up enough to embrace practicality.
Cheers
Lee

Gasaxe said

The suspence is killing me .......go on then - enlighten me ................. please.

Good luck with the AT, I had two of those: an early HRC-built 650 ('88) which was briiliant and very well made, and a '96 RD07 which was indeed a surprisingly nice ride despite modest performance, but be careful when riding one in winter: the DID wheels rot, the "floating" Nissin front brake calipers rot (watch for crumbling around the pistons ) and cost over £300 each to replaceand no OE alternatives, the frame will rot (extremely thin coat of paint), the silencer will rot (starting around the connection pipe) . Rec/reg and fuel pump both went twice in 32k which is a fairly typical defect and so is the clutch basket that doesn't last very long. Also ignore the Honda-recommended chain-slack since you will definitely destroy the gearbox and/or wheel-bearings. If you can hear the chain drag on the tarmac you'll be fine

They are a pain in the arse on long trips (litterally), esp compared to a (late) M2.
Changing plugs (4!) and checking valves is a real pain too, although not needed very often. Also keep an eye on the choke mechanism, they tend to get sticky regularly leading to bad performance and mpg (check a plug and the exhaust for "blackness").

Check out http://www.xrv.org.uk/ , loads of information like for example better replacements for the fuel-pump, rec/reg and seats. Use http://www.davidsilverspares.co.uk/ for parts, they are brilliant

I had the AT next to an M2 as backup bike but I needed the AA 3 times to get me home in 3.5 years / 32k against once in 8 years / 52k for the Buell. The Honda engine will probably live longer and it won't break out of the frame like on an M2 but Honda-"quality" isn't everything either.

My tip: get a '99 / '01 Yamaha TDM 850 instead: You will pay half for a bike half the age with an extra half of the performance and reliability compared to an Africa Twin. Better on fuel as well, although build-quality isn't: All post 1990's motorcycles seem to be rubbish built

Thanks for the information,
I bought an AT that has been painted,waxoyled,and had a new front rim and stainless spokes,by a local AT enthusiast,oh and had a stainless exhaust, but I will be buying a spare regulator to carry under the seat.
As a maintenance engineer I found some of the designe faults,eg hanging the engine off the head steady and the belt geometry just got to me, I hate it when I can't put things right,I have spent my working life trying to prevent breakdowns,Erik should have served his time as a miantenance fitter ( as should all designers )The older fitters would have put him right.
I know all bikes have their faults,and the Buell was reliable in that it always started and ran,I was amazed that I didn't have more trouble with the electrics ,given their silly location where the back wheel could chuck crap all over them, I suppose my frequent ECF50 applications helped,but i could hardly carry out a belt change by the roadside on an M2.
As for the TDM I did give the Super Tenere a lot of thought,but countershafts and 5 valves per cylinder put me off,but I havn't dismissed the Idea of swapping the AT for a Tenere,will see how the 60bhp of the AT sit with me.
cheers
Lee