info on scotland bike rental companies???

[Ian Francisco]

Had an encounter with a short drywall screw recently that left me and my GS450 stranded. Since a new tire was also on the horizon for the KLR650, I have been browsing tires and settled on Motorcycle Superstore for my purchases since they have such a large selection of sizes listed and also reader reviews. The GS450 takes 90/90-18 front and 110/90-18 rear. Most stores don't stock the rear, which was the one that picked up the drywall screw. I picked a TKC 80 for the next KLR front after reading some of these reviews. Most proclaim the grip to be excellent on and off pavement. One in particular claimed 10k miles on the front of a 1200GS, so that's worth trying for on a KLR. Orders over $100 get free shipping. That's one good tire and a tube . That was yesterday and they are shipping today so they had the items in stock as well. Online stores take note. http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/2/29/393/14858/ITEM/Continental-TKC-80-Twinduro-Dual-Sport-Front-Tire.aspx?WT.ac=SLIsearch Now to reacquaint myself with my tire irons and arm and shoulder muscles I was initially just going to replace the tube on the GS450 but after seeing a date code of 3305 (Aug 05) on the S11 and having a heck of a time spooning it off the rim, I knew I could not justify remounting the tire despite having ample tread remaining. I've just been getting tires from the local shop who charge more but mount and balance free, so thought I'd upgrade the tires and do the labor myself to offset the cost. Not exactly my idea of fun though. -- ian http://www.scarletfuries.com http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Scarlet-Furies/121218125931 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Jeff Khoury]

I've always ordered my tires and mounted/balanced them myself. I do it with 3 8" tire irons and elbow grease, however I do use the Harbor Freight bead breaker on the tubeless radials on the 'strom. But I'm a cheap bastard, and it makes me feel more "connected" with my bike. -Jeff Khoury

----- Original Message ----- From: "Ian Francisco" To: "DSN KLR650" DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2012 8:19:24 AM Subject: [DSN_KLR650] motorcycle superstore Had an encounter with a short drywall screw recently that left me and my GS450 stranded. Since a new tire was also on the horizon for the KLR650, I have been browsing tires and settled on Motorcycle Superstore for my purchases since they have such a large selection of sizes listed and also reader reviews. The GS450 takes 90/90-18 front and 110/90-18 rear. Most stores don't stock the rear, which was the one that picked up the drywall screw. I picked a TKC 80 for the next KLR front after reading some of these reviews. Most proclaim the grip to be excellent on and off pavement. One in particular claimed 10k miles on the front of a 1200GS, so that's worth trying for on a KLR. Orders over $100 get free shipping. That's one good tire and a tube . That was yesterday and they are shipping today so they had the items in stock as well. Online stores take note. http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/2/29/393/14858/ITEM/Continental-TKC-80-Twinduro-Dual-Sport-Front-Tire.aspx?WT.ac=SLIsearch Now to reacquaint myself with my tire irons and arm and shoulder muscles I was initially just going to replace the tube on the GS450 but after seeing a date code of 3305 (Aug 05) on the S11 and having a heck of a time spooning it off the rim, I knew I could not justify remounting the tire despite having ample tread remaining. I've just been getting tires from the local shop who charge more but mount and balance free, so thought I'd upgrade the tires and do the labor myself to offset the cost. Not exactly my idea of fun though. -- ian http://www.scarletfuries.com http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Scarlet-Furies/121218125931 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[John Biccum]

A couple of years ago, I spent quite some time trying to find a decent bike "hire" in Scotland. I ended up renting from a place in Bournemouth, at the very southern tip of UK. Here is their information: Bournemouth Motorcycle Hire Ltd. 9 Soberton Road, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH8 9BG Phone: 01202380388 I ended up with a WeeStrom (an adventure-ish DL650X) and rode it to Scotland via the (highly recommended) Pembrookshire (Wales) coast. The rental place was a small-family owned business and both their bikes and the their service were first rate. They were also quite a bit less money than their competition. When I was ready to return the bike I took the (M6?) Motorway back to Bournemouth from Edinburgh in a few hours. I took the train from Bournemouth to Heathrow in an hour or so, there is also an express motor coach option. Both Wales and Scotland are a motorcyclist paradise but watch out for the Gatsos (speed cameras) they are everywhere. Pics here: http://johnbiccum.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/UK-Trip/4912602_wPNKnw#!p=1 http://johnbiccum.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/UK-Trip/4912602_wPNKnw#!p=1&n=12> &n=12 From: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com [mailto:DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of dat brooklyn bum Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2012 6:51 AM To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com Subject: [DSN_KLR650] Info on Scotland bike rental companies??? I've found the following companies that will rent me a motorcycle during my spring trip to Scotland to celebrate my father-in-law's 80th year on this planet. He's from Dundee originally but has lived in the US since the late '60s. Long story short, I'm looking for feedback, positive or negative, on any of the following rental companies. I'm also open to any industrious locals who want to rent their bike to me for the same or less money than the companies are looking for (seems to be about 150 pounds per day including insurance and taxes). I'm willing to provide a cash deposit in case of any damages and more than happy to reciprocate if you are planning a trip to the US any time in the future (I have a KLR and a KTM in the garage in Vermont). :deal In case anyone is seriously considering this (which I doubt), we'll be in Scotland from 26 April until 17 May. PM me if you are open to this possibility and I'll do my best to set your mind at ease that I am not going to abscond with your bike and that I will take care of any damages (with upgraded parts :evil) should I be fool enough to cause any. Anyway, here are the companies that I've found offering bikes for hire. Hit me with your feedback if you've got it or links to other companies that I may have missed . http://scotlandbybike.com/motorcycle-hire http://www.cms-scotland.co.uk/index.php?page=hire http://www.perthmcs.com/bike_hire.php# http://www.perthmcs.com/bike_hire.php> http://www.rentamotorcycle.co.uk/Prices/prices.html http://www.cupar.co.uk/bike_hire.php http://www.rental-motorcycle.com/europe/uk/edinburgh_rental.html http://www.newhorizonsbikehire.co.uk/bikes.php http://www.raceways.net/show_rental_bikes.php?manufacturer=Honda# http://www.raceways.net/show_rental_bikes.php?manufacturer=Honda> Thanks for any information you can provide!! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[RobertWichert]

I am a "TKC-80 die-hard". Robert Wichert P.Eng. LEED AP +1 916 966 9060 FAX +1 916 966 9068 ===============================================

On 2/14/2012 8:19 AM, Ian Francisco wrote: > > Had an encounter with a short drywall screw recently that left me and my > GS450 stranded. Since a new tire was also on the horizon for the KLR650, I > have been browsing tires and settled on Motorcycle Superstore for my > purchases since they have such a large selection of sizes listed and also > reader reviews. The GS450 takes 90/90-18 front and 110/90-18 rear. Most > stores don't stock the rear, which was the one that picked up the drywall > screw. > > I picked a TKC 80 for the next KLR front after reading some of these > reviews. Most proclaim the grip to be excellent on and off pavement. > One in > particular claimed 10k miles on the front of a 1200GS, so that's worth > trying for on a KLR. Orders over $100 get free shipping. That's one good > tire and a tube . That was yesterday and they are shipping today so they > had the items in stock as well. Online stores take note. > > http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/2/29/393/14858/ITEM/Continental-TKC-80-Twinduro-Dual-Sport-Front-Tire.aspx?WT.ac=SLIsearch > > Now to reacquaint myself with my tire irons and arm and shoulder > muscles > I was initially just going to replace the tube on the GS450 but after > seeing a date code of 3305 (Aug 05) on the S11 and having a heck of a time > spooning it off the rim, I knew I could not justify remounting the tire > despite having ample tread remaining. I've just been getting tires > from the > local shop who charge more but mount and balance free, so thought I'd > upgrade the tires and do the labor myself to offset the cost. Not exactly > my idea of fun though. > -- > ian > http://www.scarletfuries.com > http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Scarlet-Furies/121218125931 > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[John Biccum]

You might get 10K out of a front TKC80, the one in the picture below has gone 7.7K miles. I pulled it shortly after this photo was taken in order to fit something new for a trip. But I think it would have gone another 3K if I needed it to do so. Pic: http://johnbiccum.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Misc-KLR-photos/497409_bP982t#!i=6 4708202 http://johnbiccum.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Misc-KLR-photos/497409_bP982t#!i= 64708202&k=inBXm> &k=inBXm From: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com [mailto:DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Ian Francisco Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2012 8:19 AM To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com Subject: [DSN_KLR650] motorcycle superstore Had an encounter with a short drywall screw recently that left me and my GS450 stranded. Since a new tire was also on the horizon for the KLR650, I have been browsing tires and settled on Motorcycle Superstore for my purchases since they have such a large selection of sizes listed and also reader reviews. The GS450 takes 90/90-18 front and 110/90-18 rear. Most stores don't stock the rear, which was the one that picked up the drywall screw. I picked a TKC 80 for the next KLR front after reading some of these reviews. Most proclaim the grip to be excellent on and off pavement. One in particular claimed 10k miles on the front of a 1200GS, so that's worth trying for on a KLR. Orders over $100 get free shipping. That's one good tire and a tube . That was yesterday and they are shipping today so they had the items in stock as well. Online stores take note. http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/2/29/393/14858/ITEM/Continental-TKC-80- Twinduro-Dual-Sport-Front-Tire.aspx?WT.ac=SLIsearch Now to reacquaint myself with my tire irons and arm and shoulder muscles I was initially just going to replace the tube on the GS450 but after seeing a date code of 3305 (Aug 05) on the S11 and having a heck of a time spooning it off the rim, I knew I could not justify remounting the tire despite having ample tread remaining. I've just been getting tires from the local shop who charge more but mount and balance free, so thought I'd upgrade the tires and do the labor myself to offset the cost. Not exactly my idea of fun though. -- ian http://www.scarletfuries.com http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Scarlet-Furies/121218125931 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ---------- ---------- ---------- [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Jud]

By way of contrast, I think TKC-80s are overpriced and overrated, like most German tires. ;-{>

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, RobertWichert wrote: > > I am a "TKC-80 die-hard". > > > Robert Wichert P.Eng. LEED AP > +1 916 966 9060 > FAX +1 916 966 9068 > > > > > > > > =============================================== > > > On 2/14/2012 8:19 AM, Ian Francisco wrote: > > > > Had an encounter with a short drywall screw recently that left me and my > > GS450 stranded. Since a new tire was also on the horizon for the KLR650, I > > have been browsing tires and settled on Motorcycle Superstore for my > > purchases since they have such a large selection of sizes listed and also > > reader reviews. The GS450 takes 90/90-18 front and 110/90-18 rear. Most > > stores don't stock the rear, which was the one that picked up the drywall > > screw. > > > > I picked a TKC 80 for the next KLR front after reading some of these > > reviews. Most proclaim the grip to be excellent on and off pavement. > > One in > > particular claimed 10k miles on the front of a 1200GS, so that's worth > > trying for on a KLR. Orders over $100 get free shipping. That's one good > > tire and a tube . That was yesterday and they are shipping today so they > > had the items in stock as well. Online stores take note. > > > > http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/2/29/393/14858/ITEM/Continental-TKC-80-Twinduro-Dual-Sport-Front-Tire.aspx?WT.ac=SLIsearch > > > > Now to reacquaint myself with my tire irons and arm and shoulder > > muscles > > I was initially just going to replace the tube on the GS450 but after > > seeing a date code of 3305 (Aug 05) on the S11 and having a heck of a time > > spooning it off the rim, I knew I could not justify remounting the tire > > despite having ample tread remaining. I've just been getting tires > > from the > > local shop who charge more but mount and balance free, so thought I'd > > upgrade the tires and do the labor myself to offset the cost. Not exactly > > my idea of fun though. > > -- > > ian > > http://www.scarletfuries.com > > http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Scarlet-Furies/121218125931 > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] >