You've owned a bike for 43 years??? Wonder if anyone on the forum can beat that,off topic I know I was young at the time. It's a 1954 BSA A10. The previous owner had just blown it up (literally just 30 seconds before) so I offered him £40 to take it off hi hands. It needed new pistons. I ran it for...

I've never worried about the resale value of a bike, mostly because I rarely sell them. I've got bikes in my shed that I bought in 1974. Sometimes needs must, but I do suffer from a degree of blindness when it comes to the aesthetics of some of my bikes. I do like to get value out ofmy bikes and mos...

My 690 is much more difficult to clean thoroughly than some other bikes I have with conventional frames. Aircooled bikes are generally a lot easier to clean in the engine area. Certainly older bikes are easier to live with as it's easierto ignore scratches and scrapes. I used to have a really well s...

Fewer bikes... :huh: Yes that's the reality of it. At the moment I delude myself that I am keeping up with all the maintenance, which I'm not. If all the bikes were fully ready to go all the time I'd have no time left to ride any of them - if that makes any sense. I am selling off some of them but ...

I'm not complaining, just looking to see if anyone has some labour or cost saving tips - other than not riding in mud or water and not pressure washing the bike. I used to take the wheel out of my xt350 after every ride to clean the rear drum brake, for example. I've also made some parts for the 690...

I do actually like working on my bikes and keeping them in good order but with limited free time nd far too many bikes to keep going, workshop time has a serious impact on riding time. I've just worked out that this time round I've spent about 400 euros just on basic supplies and a seat cover. I'm a...

Thanks for the comments. I'm not unrealistic about the level of maintenance required, nor am I trying to cut corners/save money. I use waterproof grease and 2rs bearings. The point I was making though was that the extra maintenance required on cmpetition orientated enduro bikes (EXCs) is relatively ...

It's all wet and muddy. I don't ever trust a dealer to do a first service let alone regular maintenance.

I used to have a KTM 530 EXC, great bike but, apart from it being far more capable than its rider, the maintenance schedule always seemed to be backing up so I changed it for a 690 with its relatively long service interval. After 8 years and 25000 kms (less than 2k on tarmac) on the 690 it's become ...

I've had a wave for 10 years or so - seems to be the best general purpose one out there.