Africa Twin wanted

[CRAIGREVO]

I think the KTM would suit you magwa, as you seem to enjoy fixing things. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[CRAIGREVO]

That's a very nice bike Magwa - I would be really proud of it, it were mine.

Is a Transalp a different version of an African Twin, or are they something completely different? :unsure:

Very very different.

Transalps and AT's did share the same engine in the 650 AT , but not anymore.

We had an XL600V TA as a run around a few years back. It is a physically smaller bike and not as robust plastics tend to shatter , but I found one to be quite capable off-road , and they make a great but not fantastic middle distance tourer. Big failing is that servicing is a nightmare , as with many Hondas , you have to take most of the bike apart to do a major one. Also due to the myth that Hondas go-on for ever people neglect them a lot so many for sale are really expensive money pits in the making...

But if you get a decent rattle free one and are willing to put up with taking the radiator and most of the body panels off to change the front spark plug,as the previous owner has lost the special spakplug spanner that only Honda makes and if I remember correctly costs £24 and takes three months to arrive from Japan and the expensive OEM exhaust system that is prone to rotting through after two winters they are not a bad bike.

The AT is a lot bigger and as I have never owned one can't really comment on how much of a PITA they maybe to service,or ride.

I think when it comes to V Twins you are always going to have a little trouble accessing a spark plug. But with the right tool its A peace of pish.(£11.50 from David Silver 48h delivered)
Its horses for corses the plug is fiddly but the clutch is easy. :whistle:

[scouse]

That's a very nice bike Magwa - I would be really proud of it, it were mine.

Is a Transalp a different version of an African Twin, or are they something completely different? :unsure:

Very very different.

Transalps and AT's did share the same engine in the 650 AT , but not anymore.

We had an XL600V TA as a run around a few years back. It is a physically smaller bike and not as robust plastics tend to shatter , but I found one to be quite capable off-road , and they make a great but not fantastic middle distance tourer. Big failing is that servicing is a nightmare , as with many Hondas , you have to take most of the bike apart to do a major one. Also due to the myth that Hondas go-on for ever people neglect them a lot so many for sale are really expensive money pits in the making...

But if you get a decent rattle free one and are willing to put up with taking the radiator and most of the body panels off to change the front spark plug,as the previous owner has lost the special spakplug spanner that only Honda makes and if I remember correctly costs £24 and takes three months to arrive from Japan and the expensive OEM exhaust system that is prone to rotting through after two winters they are not a bad bike.

The AT is a lot bigger and as I have never owned one can't really comment on how much of a PITA they maybe to service,or ride.

I think when it comes to V Twins you are always going to have a little trouble accessing a spark plug. But with the right tool its A peace of pish.(£11.50 from David Silver 48h delivered)
Its horses for corses the plug is fiddly but the clutch is easy. :whistle:

It was Dave Silver quoted the price and the delivery above...

BTW changed the clutch on it and it took as long as it did on the Beemer as I had to drill out so many corroded swiss cheese bolts... build quality my arse, all Jap bikes have crap cheap swiss cheese fastners as they all buy them from the same company

[CRAIGREVO]

It seems you bought one really bad transalp. Even if every single bolt snapped doing the clutch on my @, It would still take less time than removing the whole back end of a bike to do it. :pinch:

24K-6.jpg (173.66 KiB) Viewed 1851 times

[magwa]

It seems you bought one really bad transalp. Even if every single bolt snapped doing the clutch on my @, It would still take less time than removing the whole back end of a bike to do it. :pinch:

24K-6.jpg

plus one
Agreed

As a matter of course you should be replacing 20yr old fastners as AT's are no longer young ( bit like me really!)

Magwa B)

[magwa]

Africa Twin on e bay
looks good and a good price to boot :blink:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWAX:IT

This is another RD04 model....The dogs danglies with NEW wheels....
what more can I say

except I'm nothing to do with the seller
usual disclaimers apply

Good luck

EDIT

AND IT SOLD FOR £1800 WHICH WAS A BARGAIN !!!!!

[Barnman]

I really...really..really wish you hadn't done that, now I have to keep saying....


must not
must not
must not
:laugh:

[scouse]

It seems you bought one really bad transalp. Even if every single bolt snapped doing the clutch on my @, It would still take less time than removing the whole back end of a bike to do it. :pinch:

plus one
Agreed

As a matter of course you should be replacing 20yr old fastners as AT's are no longer young ( bit like me really!)

Magwa B)

Actually at the time it was only a 12 year old bike... and it was the bolt heads snapping off or rounding off in deep recesses - not an unknown issue any Jap bike of that era.

As regards the beemer - in real terms - that is an extreme way of doing it and as per the BMW Service manual.. the real way is take the gearbox, swingarm and rear wheel off as a complete unit takes about 20 minutes - take the battery out and loosen off a couple of bolts and swing the rest out of the way attached by a tie strap to a garage roof strut as essentially it is just a lightweight subrame and a big plastic airbox another 30 minutes if you have a cuppa half way through ... however if you then notice a weeping seal on the gear box it will take extra time if you don't seat the new seal correctly and your manic friend with an airline in his workshop just before shop shutting time decides to "help" by sticking it in the breather to "blow" the seal out and before you can yell "No..." then starts looking sheepish as bits of rubber and oil explodes in several directions at once... made him buy a new set... and put them in for me while I stood over the airline controls. As a result I now have a set of oil seal drifts turned up from the nylon bump stops used on classic racing Aston Martins to replace the rubber road going ones.

Excellent mechanic and engineer is Bob... but at times a wee bit erratic You just don't ask how or where he got the things that get pulled from his many cupboards and drawers just as they are needed... the tales take a long time to tell and have to be listened to over a beer or three and the work never gets done

[magwa]

I really...really..really wish you hadn't done that, now I have to keep saying....


must not
must not
must not
:laugh:

That's how I came to buy mine.....I folded paid up and never looked back....for the third time

[CRAIGREVO]

It seems you bought one really bad transalp. Even if every single bolt snapped doing the clutch on my @, It would still take less time than removing the whole back end of a bike to do it. :pinch:

plus one
Agreed

As a matter of course you should be replacing 20yr old fastners as AT's are no longer young ( bit like me really!)

Magwa B)

As regards the beemer - in real terms - that is an extreme way of doing it and as per the BMW Service manual.. the real way is take the gearbox, swingarm and rear wheel off as a complete unit takes about 20 minutes

:blink: 20mins and BMW charge just under £600 to do it. hmy: